For those who read my travel and art post a couple of weeks ago called Thailand here we come! this is the continuation of that.  As you may remember we were not very happy with the hotel and after a big of searching on the internet we decided to go and look at the hotels we liked the look of first hand, as we didn’t want to have another disappointment.

ORIENTAL PAINTING

This particular painting is actually of the Chinese Gardens in Sydney, but I think the oriental feel fits quite well into my Thailand story.  No doubt Phuket and this holiday will find its way into artworks later on, that’s for sure.  If you look closely you will find my hubby and I with the two kids in this painting (often we appear in my artwork) as this was a day we enjoyed whilst in Sydney for a wedding.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

Anyway back to Thailand as we spent the first day going around checking hotels out in the Patong area and settled on the Mercure after checking out their rooms and facilities.   Our room was on the sixth floor with a balcony which was in a private position (away from the stairs and walkways) overlooking the lovely pool and swim up bar.   Breakfast in the restaurant was plentiful and we enjoyed cocktails in the swim up bar during happy hour as well as in the lobby area where there was also some great live music for a couple of hours each night. The hotel was central to all areas with Hard Rock Cafe across the road, the markets along the way and Bangla road and the beach within walking distance.

THE ART OF TRIPADVISOR

As I wrote a TRIPADVISOR MERCURE HOTEL review when we got back I was very happy to see that the General Manager had immediately taken up my two suggestions for improvement, needless to say that was not the case with our other hotel TRIPADVISOR BLISS HOTEL I must say that I do really like TripAdvisor which gives you a chance to see what peoples opinions are and also to rate your own experience both good and bad.  I find though that you have to take everything with a grain of salt to account for biases and tastes!

TAILORED ART

The rest of our stay was great, we found lots of good restaurants, had some suits and shirts made by a tailor David (he was originally from Burma but spoke very good English and also Swedish as it turned out) who I would also recommend.  We did of course do a lot of shopping at the markets and shops on our walks and the quality of the goods in Thailand was really good for the most part.  Saw quite a few “backrooms” with high end knockoffs too, which of course demanded a higher price.

I found the Thai people very friendly and nice, perhaps not quite as full on in their selling style as it is in Bali if you show the slightest bit of interest in their wares, which meant shopping was a little more relaxed.

THE ART OF THE HAPPY ENDING

We both loved the Thai food and also tried quite a few other cultures restaurants too, which was fun but my favourite thing to do was to have a massage.   Hillivi our daughter recommended a fantastic spa at very reasonable prices very central to everything called Limone where we went almost daily.  You really have to choose your spas with caution as we learned from an amusing story told by our friends (who recently celebrated 30 years of marriage)Jim and Ros Franks who on their Phuket holiday decided to have a massage each.  From what I understand they were in adjacent rooms at the same time, and both massages were lovely and relaxing, that was until Jim’s masseuse startled her client awake and said; “Only five bucks extra for a Happy Ending!”

So I will leave you with this quote from Jim Rohn (perhaps he is just home from Thailand too:), one that was perhaps faced by our friend Jim recently;

“Everyone must choose one of two pains:  The pain of discipline or the pain of regret”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting and of course lots of happy endings, lol.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Just got back from our holiday in Thailand, a very memorable trip for lots of reasons, both good and bad!  We did of course see some beautiful flowers and monkeys as you can see in this naive acrylic flower painting as well as many other things.  Pairing this painting with my blog is to calm the waters a little before the storm so to speak.  So many inspirations for me to paint and sculpt in the future, even the not so good things will make funny paintings.

THE ART OF PARTYING

I first heard about Phuket the amazing Thailand party town during my modelling days in Europe.  At that time my favourite getaway places were Ibiza (an Island of the coast of Spain) and Bali which I frequented lots.  My intentions had been to get there earlier but something always got in the way, life generally – but now finally we were on our way.

THE ART OF TIME

On the plane to Sydney to catch our international connection the airhostess told us all over the loud speaker that the Sydney time was quarter to 11 and we all put our watches back.  As we had a couple of hours to kill we got coffee and planned our lunch and then were going to do a brisk airport walk around to get the exercise quota in too.  Just by chance a sloppily handwritten boarding time got us talking about the time and as we now had several different times on our tablets, watches and phones we decided to really check and my goodness lucky we did!  The airhostess had made a mistake; the clocks should have been put forward half an hour and our plane was boarding now and not in an hour’s time and we still had to go through customs!!

NOT SO NAIVE

We had booked great seats on the plane and happily saw that there didn’t seem to be any babies within the vicinity, well that must have been an optical illusion as very soon 3 little ones materialized in close proximity all in fine voice.  All 3 babies took turns to scream their lungs out for the entire 9 hour trip, so loudly that not even the earplugs whilst watching movies would drown them out.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

Now I am starting to wonder about this trip – what else is going to go wrong, lol.  Well we arrive at the airport and are met by a friendly driver in a nice car, so far so good.  However he then turns into Mr Roadrage for the next 45 minute drive to Patong Beach and was within a centimeter to having a high-speed accident.

Not such BLISS full ART INSPIRATIONS

We finally arrive at Hotel Bliss overlooking the beach within walking distance to everything!  The reception seemed OK and so it should be, as we had checked the TripAdvisor thoroughly and this hotel was highly recommended.  However what we did not know was that there was an old part and a new part and guess what – we had a room in the old part!  So we got taken through old mouldy walkways, a lift and corridors that had seen better days to our room which was a major disappointment.  The only thing it had got going for it was that it was clean but otherwise very poky and the piece the resistance for me was the cubicle made from partly obscured glass in the bedroom where the shower and the toilet sat!  Now you tell me – what is with this design trend, how many people actually like seeing their partner sitting on the toilet?  Particularly in Asian counties too where the toilet visits may be a little more frequent perhaps, lol.   Call me boring if you like, but seeing hubby on the loo with pants around the ankles while I lay in bed does absolutely nothing for my libido, funny about that!  The room had neither bathroom privacy nor anywhere else either as the windows and balcony also was in view of everyone outside, unless you closed the heavy curtain, which was so depressing.

So we were two rather depressed holiday makers sitting down for a very average dinner in the outdoor hotel restaurant discussing our options of how to turn this bad start to our holiday around.

Luckily we managed too, so if you come and visit me again you will find out how.

Here is a quote I think fits rather well here by Erma Bombeck;

“We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

As an artist you get inspiration from EVERYWHERE and in my case it really is from everywhere.   The busier the better as what some people have pointed out there seems to be a little of “Where is Wally” about my pictures.

This painting of Kings Cross is also a long and skinny piece of streetscape and features the hustle and bustle of Kings Cross, everything from the “ladies of the night” the prostitutes and pimps, police, brothels and strip clubs, Tiffany Jewellery, cafes and ice cream parlours, graffiti artists (see if you can read the graffiti) and pickpocketers, basketballers, Rajneeshees (Orange people, remember that cult?).

The painting then continues on the other panel (which I will share another time) with Rastafarians (Bob Marley) Yes people from all cultures, Salvation Army playing the tambourine, Swedish and Chinese Massage venues, Pawnbrokers, fire breathers, thieves, girly reviews also among all that are we; my husband and the 2 kids as we went there together one night after we had been to a wedding in Sydney many years ago.

ARTISTIC EDUCATION

Our son was only 4 years old and daughter was a baby in arms and before you think that I was a dreadful mother introducing them to the seedier sides of the railwaytrack so to speak. Let me say in my defense that we only spent a short time there having a look, eating an ice cream and having a Chinese neck massage each on the footpath. I have always believed in taking the kids with us everywhere so they get a full education of life in all it’s forms. So that they have all the information and knowledge needed before they reach an opinion on different subjects which seems to have served them well!

BOHEMIAN ARTLAND

Kings Cross is located 2 kilometres east of the Sydney centre and is known as The Cross which was the bohemian heartland and featured strongly in the Underbelly television series about the Australian drug and red-light capital of Australia. Most people that visit Sydney wander up there for a look to see how the other half lives. Among the strip clubs, topless waitresses and adult bookshops and nightclubs there are also trendy cafes and wonderful restaurants so it does have an interesting mix.

The illegal alcohol trade as featured in the Underbelly series was called sly grog and was infamous in The Cross led by the rival brothel owners Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh back in the day.

FAMOUS AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS

Lots of artists, including writers, poets and journalists also made their homes in the area such as Peter Finch, Chips Rafferty and Sir William Dobell. The American service men flocked there during their R&R and organized crime and police corruption was rife.

However at the same time it was also the home to The Wayside Chapel, run by Reverend Ted Noffs (now deceased)who ran a drop in centre and counselling service whereby the church was open most of the time to everyone. The Ted Noff Foundation continues his good work today, supporting young people and the not so young in their hour of need.

ARTnBED

Those among you familiar with my work know that I painted the entertainment street in Adelaide, South Australia: Hindley Street which was later used by bedding company ARTnBED for a duvet.

Nadine Williams said in her article that this exciting quilt features all the one-time familiar icons of Hindley Street-Jules Bar, Downtown Leisure Centre, Flash Coffee Gelataria and Jerusalem Restaurant in a splash of vibrant street life. Crazy Horse nightclub is depicted alongside Goodwill Stores. And the instantly recognizable eclectic imagery is jammed with a multi-cultural crowd of people.

Here is a quote by Ian Seed, which suits me well. I love exploring new cities by foot and find that a fascinating past time.
“The city disappears street by street as you enter it.”
Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.
Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

In this weeks travel and art blog I thought I would share with you an article written by Andrew Fenton for the SA Weekend Magazine which comes out with The Advertiser every Saturday.  His column is called “Wiseguy” and that suits him to a T, as he always has a wiseguys slant to his answers, with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek I would imagine when he gives the general public his advice.

ANIMATIONS

This animation of my painting of my trip to Japan to attend my first art exhibition there has been animated by my friend Susan Flashman, if you fancy reading about that adventure here is a link; 57. Art & Signing the Contract and 64. Art & Flying to Japan (continuation of Signing the Contract)

ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

I do always enjoy reading this supplement to our Saturday paper as it is most of the time full of Art and Culture in all its different forms.  Anyway this week’s column starts with the question from P.D at Murray Bridge asking;

I have a fair bit of trepidation about taking my first 27-hour flight.   Do you have any advice?

Wiseguys answer is as follows; “Yes I do, thanks for asking.  To prepare myself for international flights I like to undergo a few dry-run simulated training exercises in the months and years leading up to the journey.

Essentially, I lock myself in a tiny cupboard with my obese friend Nigel and stare at a low resolution portable DVD player from 2001 while watching old episodes of Friends for hours.  Then I neck a bunch of sleeping pills and just as I’m nodding off I get my wife to shout out irrelevant facts about my height above sea level through a megaphone, and randomly open the door every 20 minutes to shine a harsh fluorescent light in my eyes or to thrust a crying baby/ready meal through the door.

This exposure therapy somehow helps alleviate the night terrors I’ve experienced ever since I was assigned a seat in the passive smoking section of a Garuda flight in 1999 which saw me completely wired, awake and sweating for about 36 hours from absorbing the equivalent of 400 cartons of nicotine through second-hand smoke.  But anyway there’s no need to be nervous about your flight.”

THE ART OF FLYING

As I have spent a lot of time over the years on airplanes firstly as an international model flying around on assignments and then later as an international artist exhibiting around the world and not forgetting a love of travel in my spare time too, I can really relate to all of that.

All so true,   however at the same time I really do like flying.  I find it is the one time that I can truly relax.  It is difficult to do too much more than; read, watch movies, TV shows and listen to the radio, eat, drink and sleep.  So I usually totally unwind, well in-between getting poked and prodded by the people behind, squished by the person in fronts reclining chair and climbed over by the owner of a small bladder that is.  Oh the joys of flying!

Here is a quote by Gil Stern that I think fits perfectly here;

“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society.  The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all, oh and flying of course.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’sPAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale orWALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I have always loved travelling; I think the bug bit me even before I was born.  My grandmother ran away to sea at 15 and then she met my grandfather Anton and they both ran away with the circus.  Here are the art blog about that 20. Antonis Tivoli &  21. Life in a Circus Tent.   My father joined the merchant navy as a young man whilst my mother did a stint working in England as a young woman.  Born and bred in Sweden we did our fair share of travelling before we immigrated to Australia too.  I have then crossed the globe many times both for work as a model and artist and on family holidays.

THE ART OF PERSUASION

However this time when we had our European holiday all mapped out I did not want to go – and neither did hubby, go figure!  Our kids actually talked us into it, you know the old chestnuts “you only live once, and you will forever regret the things you didn’t do” etc.  And yes they were so right, who would have thought? LOL.  The kids took us to the airport; I think mainly to make sure we were on that 30 hour flight to Sweden!

30 hours I hear you say, yep when you use the frequent flyer points that’s what you get, lots of take offs and landings all around the world.  Luckily we soon got in the groove, I had yummy Indian vego meals booked and we saw some great movies and docos and just chilled.  We even thought of joining the Mile High club, lol, but decided the space was too cramped, ha ha.

UNION ART

When we got to London we wisely decided to forgo the waiting at the airport option and got a bus to Windsor Castle instead.   These painting details are from my artwork London 2012 that is also available as a Giclee print with Union Art .

LONDON2012  ARTWORK & MEETING THE QUEEN

Windsor was lots of fun, I had not been there before and we saw the changing of the guard which was quite spectacular and then poked about up and down the alley ways.  The queue to the actual castle was a bit long for our liking and the queen wasn’t even in residence that day so we gave that a miss.  I mean we would have made the effort if she was making us tea and cucumber sandwiches! (If I had checked the painting above I would have known she was really still stuck in a traffic jam).

Then back to the airport with all the rigmarole of check ins and security and the like.  I must look really suss as I always gets pulled aside for the extra screenings, not sure if they think I am a terrorist or a drug smuggler or whether they just want to fiddle with my stuff,  lol.

ART & THE OLYMPICS

Also if you would like to read about how the London2012 painting came about have a look at this art blog 147 Art and the Olympics.

We finally arrived in Sweden a little worse for wear (a spruce up in the airport loos just don’t cut it does it?) luckily we were met by my wonderful cousin Leif and his family who overlooks this fact.  Leif is one of those truly beautiful souls, gentle and kind and caring man in a 6 feet 4 body, a gentle giant.

So here is a quote I like about nice guys by an unknown author.

“It is not true that nice guys finish last. Nice guys are winners before the game even starts.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to all of you or just enjoy the view!

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

If you have just joined me now you may want to read the travel and art blog “Leaving Sydney Harbor” as this tale is the continuation.   My family and I are now on the Pacific Jewel  a P&O ship sailing from Sydney to New Caledonia and Vanuatu, stopping at Isle of Pines, Mystery Island, Lifou and Noumea.

We departed Darling Harbour and set sail under the iconic Harbour Bridge, passing the Opera house and Fort Denison before leaving the Heads in the evening twilight.  The entertainment onboard was rocking and the drinks flowing as we turned into a long North-Easterly course towards New Caledonia, initially passing Nobo’s Head and Port Stephens before leaving the mainland astern.

PAINTING INSPIRATIONS

Here is a acrylic painting on canvas that I recently painted dreaming of our cruising holiday.

The Pacific Jewel has a capacity of 1915 passengers and 730 crew, it was built the same year my daughter was born 1991, and for you that loves facts and figures its length is 811ft/245 metres with a gross tonnage of 70,310 tons, draft 8.2 meters and the max speed is 20 knots.  Captained by Tony Draper from Scotland and the rest of the senior officers are from England, Italy, Zambia, USA, South Africa, France, India and Bulgaria, so a rich mixture of cultures from all over the world.

The Pacific Jewel can carry the equivalent of five fully laden 747 jumbo jets and is 50% bigger than the Titanic and the same size as the Cunards Queen Elizabeth with a two story show lounge that can seat 800 people.  So it is a big ship – a great ship to work on according to some of the crew who told us that they don’t have too far to go to work as compared to the Queen Mary ll where you need to get up and hour earlier just to be able to walk an hour to work each day!!  Hard to imagine isn’t it.

THE ART OF BEING GREEN

Anyway after we set sail and had a little rest we dressed for dinner which the silver service restaurant required, smart casual today.  Kai’s girlfriend Sam was putting on a brave face and joined us for dinner even though she was looking a little green around the gills – if that is possible for a beautiful Fijian woman!  Poor baby, it wasn’t long before she had to excuse herself and retired to her room with green apples and bread rolls for dinner as prescribed by the crew to ward off seasickness.

Next call would have been the on-board Doctors seasickness injections, luckily Sam found some tablets that seemed to keep it at bay as the injections were $120 a pop we later found out.  Too bad if you had a real bad case and needed a couple of shoots a day!

THE ART OF THE CHEF

The rest of us enjoyed our 3 course dinner and Hillivi and myself were in heaven – we are both Celiac (gluten intolerant) and vegetarian but that was no obstacle as a special menu was arranged and every need taken care of by our wonderful maître de Eroni Vvetibau (Fijian) and Chef Bupendra (India).  It is no wonder that people put on weight on cruises, the food is absolutely magnificent, a wide choice of dishes every night to choose from, everything that you could wish for from every part of the world too.  Oh Chef Bupendra I want to take you home!!

We were spoilt rotten by our waiters Rajesh Dzouza (Indian) and Nathan Legaspi  (Philippine) with our every need taken care of; they were funny as a fit too with all sorts of tricks!  I had no idea that so many things could be made out of serviettes – no idea at all!

THE ART OF THE DIET

There is no wonder that quite a few rather large people were on the cruise – I am not sure what came first though, if they came on the cruise because of their size and leisurely style of holiday or they put on the weight whilst on the cruise because of the wonderful food.   All I know for sure is that when you get home you have to diet for a while – oh how boring I hate diets!!

Here is a quote I like by Woody Allen on the subject;

When we lose twenty pounds… we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have!  We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you,

Love Marie xxx   (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I am back!!  Finally home again after a cruise on the Pacific Jewel to New Caledonia and Vanuatu.  I do apologize for the break in my normal ART blogging and social media routine and thank you for the lovely messages whilst I have been away.

THE ART OF TAKING A CRUISE

This was the first time ever on a cruise ship so a very new experience for the Harrison family.  We had planned the holiday for a while as it was part of a 21^st surprise present for our daughter Hillivi, and she was mightily surprised on the night.

There were 6 of us on this adventure, my hubby and I, daughter Hillivi and her partner Brett as well as our son Kai and his partner Samantha.  We all caught an early flight to Sydney and as there is a train under the airport that according to hubby goes straight to where the cruise liner is docked we jumped onboard.  Hubby is usually pretty good at organizing us however I was having some doubts when he told us to get off at Circular Quay and go to number 5 Warf.   We cracked up laughing at Warf 5 standing next to the ferry to Manly as hubby said:”Here we are now where is the ship? The Manly ferry is rather puny in relation to the size of a cruise liner!!

ACRYLIC ON BOARD PAINTING

This acrylic on board painting is of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the original artwork sold many moons ago in Japan, however there are Giclee prints available here UnionArt .

Luckily we had plenty of time up our sleeve and instead of searching for a taxi that would accommodate 6 we decided to walk, not such a trick these days when suitcases have wheels.  We must have looked a sight as we made our way through the winding roads of The Rocks towards the ships real dock, although the short cut downs some very steep stairs was probably pushing things a bit!

THE ART OF THE VIEW

Finally the ship came into view and it was huge, the by now sweaty six were very pleased to get the ship formalities over with and get onboard and find our cabins.  For the cruise ship novices among you out there (like us) let me give you a tip – book a cabin with a window.  We hadn’t this time and although the cabin was roomy enough and very nice otherwise it made me lose track of night and day and feel a bit couped up.

Next it was time for a “look about” and familiarize ourselves with the layout of the ship, 14 decks in all with lots of bars, restaurants and shops and spa and fitness club.

Then we enjoyed a lovely lunch and drinks before cast off when the entertainers got into full swing and put on a great show as we sailed under the Sydney Harbor Bridge taking in all the sights of Sydney Harbor and wondering what our adventure would bring.

Here is some good advice by Susan Heller that I should have listened to, lol;

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.  Then take half the clothes and twice the money”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx  (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

At this stage I had signed with the Japanese Art gallery and then spent one year painting like crazy.

This painting “If I could turn back time” was one of the artworks that the Japanese Gallery wanted to see in real life before we signed the contract and it was sent over during the negotiating stage (available as a limited Giclee print).

My contract stipulated 40 acrylic artworks in various sizes from small 30cm x 40cm to the larger ones at 120cm x 90cm, luckily I had a few in stock but all the rest needed to be produced.

The problem for me is that all my artworks take a very long time as they are so very detailed and also the paint is layered with lumps and bumps (all bottoms and breasts stick out!)   At times I wish I was an abstract artist and could just slap the paint on and make at least one painting each day, but oh no life cannot be that easy, mine take at least a week for a small one and more like a minimum of 3 weeks for the larger works.

ART STUDIO

My studio is just outside the backdoor in a separate building with views of the paddocks and the trees along the river, so it’s just as well that I love being there and painting as that next year and the years following I nearly spent every waking moment in there.  My husband always jokes to friends that he keeps me locked up in there, and that is almost true, lol.

Finally the big day has come, I had an all expenses paid trip to Nagoya Japan Business class mind you, for me and for the two art gallery guys from Melbourne who were my art agents at that stage.  We get picked up from the airport and put up in one of the nicest hotels and wined and dined every night at some of the most wonderful and interesting restaurants in Nagoya.

However it was the actual opening of the exhibition that really threw me!  I am used to going to exhibitions obviously, lol with a drink of wine or champagne in your hand you stand around and chat to the clients and friends and have a merry old time, and that is what I was expecting.

ART EXHIBITION OPENING

Wrong!  Around an hour before the opening I get told that I am actually going to be sitting behind a desk and drawing little pictures for their clients.  So now I get really worried, I am really not very good at drawing on command like that.  As you know I am an naïve artist and my drawings look more like stick figures – so now I was really breaking out into a sweat.  If that wasn’t enough now I also find out that we have to sit in a tiny little room and wait for the gallery to fill up with people where I will be presented like the Queen, lol,  I have to walk through the crowd as they part ways and line the sides and clap, and present me with a huge bouquet of flowers before the speeches.

DRAWING

Then as promised I sit at a table with my translator and meet the people one by one as the clients stand single file in a big line which snakes along the room.  Each Japanese person has got a white board embossed with gold edge which they ask me to draw something on.  Most of them know what they would like me to draw, maybe a bird, a cat or a flog (well that’s how they pronounce FROG lol) and I am to write their names and a little message as well as well as sign it.   As paintings sold I also had to write a message on the back of them too.    So I was flat out working for a couple of hours straight and not a drink in sight (unless you count the glass of water lol, but that doesn’t count does it?)

I must say though that in the end I thoroughly enjoyed it and found the Japanese people so very lovely, warm and giving.

The exhibition was held over 4 days with four separate openings and each night we waited in that small room until it was time to start.  I felt like a movie star by the end of it and each day an average of 10 paintings sold until it was a sell out!  (I have now made many trips to Japan over the years, but I will tell you about them another time.)

Here is a saying by Michael Jordan (basketball player) that I can appreciate,

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost almost 300 games; 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.  I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.”

This Japanese family bought this painting at my first Japan show in 1993 and then came back for the 2006 exhibition.  They are holding up the drawings I was talking about.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you.

Love Marie xxx     (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I had been painting for about 5 years when my gallery in Melbourne called me to let me know that a scout for a Japanese gallery had been in to see them and were very interested in showing my artwork in Nagoya.

This painting depicts my Qantas flight over to Nagoya in Japan for my first exhibition, however there was a lot of I’s to be dotted and t’s to be crossed before that first trip.  You see the Japanese do not do things by half and it took more than six months before that first contract was signed.

So in the meantime I lived on hope, as during both my days as a model and then in the art business I have come to know that you win some and you lose some, and I didn’t know which category this was going to fall into.

Firstly I had to send pictures of my artwork to Japan, price lists, mediums and sizes etc, and then they wanted to see some of the actual paintings in real life so a couple of paintings had to be sent over to Nagoya.  Then there was lots of to-ing and fro-ing about the price I was to receive for each art work and the commission for the art gallery in Melbourne.

Eventually a representative from the gallery in Japan flew to Melbourne and they flew me from Adelaide for the final meeting and signing of the contract, which was held at the Melbourne gallery who were my agent in this new art venture.

ART & KIDS

I took one of my dearest friends Christina with me as well as my two kids, Kai and Hillivi.  So off we go; Miss Hillivi my daughter  was 2 years  old at the time and had just sat down in her seat on the plane and fastened the seatbelt before she threw up all over herself, (there are quite a few stories like that with little Miss Hillivi) luckily I had Christina there to help me out.

I do know that first impressions are really important and thought my chances with the Japanese would not be enhanced by being covered in baby spew, so by now I was getting a bit worried.

ART MEETING

The problem was we had to go virtually straight from the plane to the Japanese meeting, as typically the plane was delayed.  However as one door closes another one opened and I ran into an acquaintance on the plane that said we should come to his hotel and get changed.  Saved by the man on a white horse so to speak as both I and Hillivi did not smell so good by this stage(brave man), so that offer came in very handy.

Then there was another small problem with taxis.   Here in Australia you have to have children in seatbelts and in booster chairs when travelling if the child is under 7 and of course, I had not thought of that.( I am normally very safety conscious but tell me how you get around in a new city with kids and no car.)

We eventually found a taxi driver to take us (although we had to duck in the backseat all the way) and surprisingly enough still made it to the meeting on time.  Christina, bless her cotton socks amused the kids in a café down the road whilst I against all odds and with nothing left but hope finally had that contract signed and sealed.

If you would like to know what happened on my first trip to Nagoya to attend my art exhibition there here is a link;  64. Flying to Japan (continuation of Signing the Contract)

So here is a saying from Lu Xun (writer) that I think fits rather well here.

“Hope can neither be affirmed nor denied.  Hope is like a path in the countryside:  Originally there was no path-yet, as people are walking all the time in the same spot, a way appears.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting!

Love Marie  xxx                                               (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

When I wrote this Art Blog my son Kai was working and living in London while on his gap year from uni.  Whilst there he decided to follow his roots and visit my birth country and home for the first 14 years of my life; Sweden.

Here is one of my paintings on the midsummer theme from my wonderful childhood.   What I only just now found out was, that my Swedish exhibition had been a sell out and that my dear auntie and cousins had traveled half way across Sweden to purchased some of my artworks.

My son stayed with several of our relatives and was looked after so well and given a big insight into the Swedish culture.  It was amazing to hear all about his adventures from the other side of the world.  Kai visited my childhood home that my father Ted (also an Artist) built, the new owners showed my son throughout.

Then a visit to my mother’s home where she grew up, and the graves of my much beloved grandparents, Hillivi and Erik, whom my children were named after.  Lunch in a cafe my grandmother worked in and then across town to see my father’s school and the house he grew up in.

MODEL & FASHION SHOOTS

I was thrilled and very moved that my son at 22 took lots of pictures and seemed genuinely interested, a far cry from his naughty mother who went to Europe to model at around the same age.  Apart from working, the only other sights I saw were the insides of discotheques.  Oh perhaps I saw some sights in the early morning light as I walked back to the hotel, whilst carrying my shoes.

Thought nothing of partying all night and still being able to look the part and have the stamina for the fashion shoot the next day.  I can’t do that too often these days, although I do give it my best shot sometimes. Lol….

Here is another quote which amuses me…..

‘I like to have a martini, two at the very most.  After three I’m under the table.  After four I’m under the host.’

Dorothy Parker

Hope you come back and visit me again, till then happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.