This has been a busy week in the art studio as usual, still I try to post at least one post every day on social media to keep my profile up and also to have fun and interact with my lovely friends both from real life and new made in cyberspace!

If you would like to follow me on the other media platforms here are some links which you can either copy and past or just click on the highlighted names;

Instagram; http://instagram.com/marie.jonssonharrison   Pinterest; http://www.pinterest.com/artnaive/  Facebook ; https://www.facebook.com/Naiveartbymarie  Twitter; https://twitter.com/Naiveview so come on down and be part of the fun!

INSTAGRAM

I find these days that Instagram is ticking along nicely without the annoying ads and popups seen on Facebook so firstly here are a few of my post from there.

CERAMIC AND MOSAIC SCULPTURE

Then there was the Carrots and Peas artwork a sculpture made out of ceramic and mosaic posted with this quote;

“Life is not like a box of chocolates.  It’s more like a jar of jalapenos.  What you do today might burn your ass tomorrow.”  ~Author Unknown

FUN WEEKEND

We did also have a most enjoyable weekend down at Hindmarsh Island staying with good friends and taking part in the annual Yacht Challenge.  Here is our efforts in dressing up as The Sopranos!

ARTWORK

Pottering of the Port artwork always receives a lot of attention and has also made it into quilts and duvet, shams and pillowcases made by ARTnBED selling in New York and Israel as well as on the internet.  My quote for this artwork was;

“Remind yourself it’s OK not to be perfect!”

I couldn’t agree more with that as we often put too much pressure on ourselves in that department.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and to you all.  Wishing you a lovely week.

Love Marie xxx

FOR EXPLORING MY WEBSITE HERE ARE A FEW LINKS

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 we are looking back over the week I thought this quote by Doug Larson may resonate;

“Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.”

I was thrilled recently to see a well respected interior design company Classica Decor feature my art and the bedding designs from ARTnBED on their website.  If you would like to have a look what they wrote in their blog use this link CLASSICADECORBLOG.  This acrylic on board painting of hot air balloons flying over the Barossa Valley in South Australia was one of the artworks they featured on their blog.

INTERIOR DECORATING

Classica Decor is based in Miami, Florida where they are not only a major force to be reckoned with in the interior designers sphere but they have also come up with a “Design Touch eBook program” for all you around the world who want to decorate your own houses.

In their consultation meetings, they frequently came across clients who had tried to decorate their own homes.  After buying a few items they felt overwhelmed, lost and frustrated and were unable to finish what they had started as all the components of the rooms did not seem to fit together.

DECORATIVE ART

That is why Debra and Dafna from Classica came up with this wonderful program which includes the eBook, 5 tutorial videos and online support.  Both have spent many years immersed in global culture and from this international background Classica has a worldwide perspective on design and moved away from the typical formulaic ideas which they replaced with the unexpected element, making their creations stand out among the rest.  I can only imagine that is also why my artworks appealed to them.

DESIGN AT HOME

The “Design Touch Program” is offering solutions to home decor dilemmas and the Classica’s support team will answer any questions.  The members can email in their photos and get personal advice and all the while the eBook covers everything from calculating a budget to new decor, how to choose a color palette, combining fabrics, colors, prints, furniture  both old and new.   How to buy readymade pillowcases and drapes or even how to make them yourself shown in detailed videos all made easy with the Classica’s support team on hand.  The eBook itself is divided into 10 day/sections, each section will guide you through a different topic, all the way from getting the inspirations to installing the new decor.

GOOD DESIGNS AND GREAT IDEAS

The eBook was created for people who strive for a beautiful decor in their home and wants to create it themselves.

The website shares great ideas and good designs with many before and after photos, an interesting blog full of great tips and they work closely with each client to design exactly what their heart desires.  So whether you want their professional decorators to do it all from concept to deliver or you want to do it yourself through the eBook give ClassicaDecor a go.

So here is a quote I feel fits well here by an unknown author;

“Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions”.

Till next time happy painting, sculpting and interior decorating 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.

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.

This painting Balloon Wedding is one of my favorite artworks and is available as a Giclee print these days. Often bought as a wedding present which brings me very neatly to the wedding we attended on the weekend and also to the topic of opposites attract.  I love painting wedding scenes and going to a good wedding, well what can I say I am a party kinda girl!

THE ART OF A GOOD WEDDING

It was a beautiful occasion on the foreshore of Goolwa South Australia, the ceremony in a garden setting beautifully decorated, the only colors prominent being white and the lovely bridesmaids in pale yellow set against the green green color of the grass and trees. The bride; Stacey, Hillivi’s best friend had never looked lovelier with her hippy free flowing hair and in a stunning sparkly one shouldered dress. The day was full of wonderful memorable touches such as the bridal party arriving at the reception by boat and then going with the beachy feel we had to find our names on a colored thong (flip-flop shoe) and then match it to the one in a clear vase on the tables. Original and fun, relaxed and very Aussie beachy feel, we partied until midnight and had a great time. Thank you Eva and David and thank you to the beautiful Stacey and handsome groom Brad too and we wish you an amazing life together.

THE ART OF OPPOSITES ATTRACT

One thing I know for sure and that is you will not be bored together, for as often is the case, opposites attract. I can see that Brad is the steadying force, planning ahead and thoughtful, to Stacey’s exuberant, full of fun and vivaciousness.  Isn’t that just so often the case that we are drawn often to the qualities that we lack ourselves or that we only possess a little of. It is like the Universe has already decided for us to make a complete unit we need all the elements together as one. My own marriage is much the same although I probably have a little of the crazy thrown in as well but I plead artistic license on that LOL. The same is clearly evident in my daughters relationships and it is also rather fitting that for Hillivi’s 21st birthday Stacey delivered a very funny speech – most of which I cannot repeat here for risk of my daughters wrath. However I will share with you how Stacey described their first meeting and also her being instrumental in introducing Hillivi to her boyfriend Brett;

THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP

“We met when we were around 5 years old and Hilly and Kai had come over to ice gingerbread biscuits at Christmas time. At that age we didn’t understand the underlining reason for us kids to be playing together until later when we realize it was an evil plan of our mothers forcing us to be together just so they could brag about their daughters being best friends with another Swedish girl.

I’ll admit it definitely wasn’t love at first sight for me as it was for Hilly….who locked eyes with my little mermaid handbag as soon as she walked through the door. This was our one and only serious fight we’ve ever had. We didn’t see much of each other after that as we parted ways, until the first day of high school came round and we were both hassled by our mothers to find the other Swedish girl once again. Conveniently we were placed in the same home group. Our love blossomed but it was very early on that we realized that we were the complete opposite. Hillivi liked everything pink and pretty, doing her music and drama lessons, makeup and hairstyles and already talking about boys. While I was one of the boys and had no idea what mascara was? However we became inseparable.

THE ART OF ROMANCE

Hillivi and my cousin Brett will always have me to thank for their relationship! I introduced the lovers to begin with and played an active part in getting them together from organizing catch up days with Hilly and giving Brett the tip-off where she was. To taking Hillivi to tennis and football games and where her interest in these sports somehow came about after meeting Brett is anyone’s guess? I know what you all thought and still think about these two…how do they make it work? They are the complete opposite and to this day I still can’t tell you. It maybe because Brett has a secret love for fashion, hair, nails and the Kardashians? Or is it because Hillivi has a secret love affair with John Deer farm machinery, wife beater singlets and sculling jugs of beer?”

THE ART OF RELATIONSHIPS

So what is it that makes your own relationships work? I would be very interested in your thoughts and points of view?

I think the jury is still out on the subject so here is a quote along those lines by an unknown author;

“Opposites attract but the like-minded last”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all. Love Marie xxxx

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.

Today I am continuing the travel and art blog about our adventures in Europe during 2012 and if you would like to recap of what has happened up to this point here are some links with lots of artworks too of course;  156. ART & FREQUENT FLYER POINTS and 157. Art & Never judge a book by it’s cover and 155 The Art of Packing Light

ACRYLIC PAINTING

This acrylic on canvas board painting shows the typical red and white timber cottage in Sweden although I have painted a very small house “stuga” here of course.

We loved our stay in Gothenburg and now we were catching the train for the 7 hour journey north to Sundsvall to visit my cousin Kent and his lovely wife Karin.  But of course there is a call of nature to be done before we get on the train so I go for a quick visit to the ladies at Gothenburg train station.

ANOTHER PAINTING INSPIRATION

I opened the door into a small walkway and then tried to open the next one when I heard a cough and a stern voice call out to me, sitting behind some glass in the corner was a very grumpy man demanding money to enter, and he was sort of hidden behind the door.  Coming from Australia where all the public conveniences are both plentiful and FREE the Swedish public conveniences was a shock to the system.

Anyway in I go and as I am washing my hands with another 5 or 6 ladies in walks this old woman in her 80’s and lo and behold – suddenly another door opens and in sweeps this grumpy man in amongst the rest of us women in the “ladies only” toilet and belittles this poor woman for not paying.  She just like me had probably not seen him on her way in and was not trying to get a free pee, although the way he was acting it was more like she stole the queens silver!

The toilet visits in Sweden seemed rather expensive I thought and just to make it a bit more unpleasant as I later found out most of them are also unisex.   Which means that at Stockholm’s Central for example where there are some 30 or so toilets you stand with a huge mixed group of people waiting, something I wasn’t a fan of and then to be ushered into the loo where a strange man with a newspaper under his arm just vacated.  Never mind having strangers of the opposite sex staring at you when you retouch your make up, something I found very unsettling.   I think some of them didn’t really need to go to the toilet but were just in there to have perve!  (My apologies to the lovely men I do know read this who would not behave in this way I know, I am just talking about a few bad apples!) Although these type of moments for an artist provides great inspirations for paintings and sculpture though so you gotta look on the bright side!

LOL, I digress and that’s enough about toilets, anyway we now find ourselves 395km north of Stockholm in Sundsvall, a picturesque town with a population of 50 thousand plus another 45 thousand in the surrounding areas.

THE ART OF TRAVEL

The city has quite a history as it has burned down and been rebuilt four times.  In 1721 it was set on fire by the Russian Army in what was called the Great Northern War.  The last time was in 1888 when they think the fire was caused by a spark from a steamship, this fire was the largest in Sweden’s history and the town this time was rebuilt out of stone and nicknamed “The Stone City”.

However my cousin Kent lives in a traditional 2 storey timber Swedish house, but instead of it being painted red and white it is blue.  Their house is a few kilometers away from the so called city of Sundsvall and about 5 minutes walking distance from both the forest and the water’s edge in an idyllic setting.                                

THE ART OF A GREAT COOK

Kent picked us up at the station, whilst Karin had gone all out bathing the whole house in candle lights and cooking up an amazing 3 course feast, starting off with a to die for Kantarell soup (a yellow Swedish mushroom that grows in the forest) and is my absolute favourite mushroom!  Karin is a wonderful cook and lucky or unlucky for us we only had 3 days with them otherwise I think I would have put on some serious weight!  Of course just like in Gothenburg we were spoiled rotten with wonderful sleeping quarters, we had the whole top floor to ourselves and food galore.  We also visited their children and their partners and the feasts just continued.  My hubby also tried elk for the first time which he enjoyed; the elk had been hunted in the forest by our host’s father.  Being a vegetarian myself I found it hard not to think about the poor elk, but tried to comfort myself with the thought that at least he enjoyed a free life in the forest unlike all the cows, calves and pigs etc, that are penned and killed for human consumption every day.

I again felt so well loved and connected to my relatives and my Swedish roots and kept on talking Swedish all the time much to hubbys annoyance, but he coped very well considering.

So here is a quote about languages which I thought fitted well here by Franklin P. Jones;

“It’s a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water”.

Till next time happy Painting and Sculpting and travelling 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.

Footnote;  Special Congratulations to the little baby boy born today up in Sundsvall to Asa & Tobias, a little brother to Anton, nephew to Kristoffer & Annikki and long awaited grandchild to Kent and Karin.

The art of packing light is obviously not something that I have mastered and with all the travelling that I have done for work firstly as a model and then as an artist and just for pleasure that’s a real shame.   I always find that I need whatever it was that got eliminated from the suitcase, so instead I carry everything but the kitchen sink around with me and get held up at Customs & Security at every airport for some reason or another!

This Public Sculpture is part of 9 freestanding sculptures of mine at the Airdale Primary School in Port Pirie, South Australia

As you can hear we have just come home from another trip, this time to Europe for 5 weeks and what a fantastic time it was too.  Hubby did all the coordinating and organizing over the net with hotels, planes, cars, pickups and trains which worked a treat.

PAINTING INSPIRATIONS

We arrived in London where after some sightseeing caught a flight to Gothenburg, Sweden (3 nights), Sundsvall, Sweden (2 nights), Stockholm (4 nights), Katowice, Poland (2 nights), Prague, Czech Republic (4 nights), Budapest, Hungary (3 nights), Zagreb, Croatia (1 night) Dubrovnik (3 nights), Venice (2 nights) Amalfi coast (7 nights), Paris (3 nights) and then back to London before the 30 hour flight home again.

Of course there are lots of travelling tales and inspirations for future paintings and  art blogs to come but what I will start with today is the reason we undertook this trip in the first place.

ART & THE LOVE OF ITALY

This Mermaid painting sold in Japan but I think the inspiration comes from under the sea by Hotel Onda Verde, on the Amalfi coast.

Our good friend Robert had decided that Italy may be a great spot to celebrate “that” big birthday in.  His lovely wife Christina’s family comes from there so they wanted to share this wonderful country with the rest of us.  That’s how come 11 people from Australia found ourselves at the stunning hotel Onda Verde situated in between Positano and Amalfi at Praiano, a hotel fashioned into the side of a cliff overlooking the blue, blue Mediterranean sea.  Not just any hotel mind you but one where the owners, staff, rooms, ambiance, food  & drinks were second to none – just ask Pierce Brosnan or Jessica Alba, as they stayed there too just recently!

ARTFORM IN A GROUP

As if that wasn’t perfect enough we then had the good fortune of having a group who just fitted together like a glove.  All the elements were there; we had Judy who supplied the guts and hutzpa, her husband Jeff gave us irresistible one liners, Coralie sorted out any kinks in the tour/gratuities arrangements and Emma was the expert tour guide with her knowledge on everything Italian whilst her boyfriend Paul keep us amused with funny stories (my cheeks still hurt from laughing).  Carol added sensibility & practical advice and her hubby Graham was the thoughtful one (he saved me from swimming all the way to Capri) Husband Bryan was the steadying hand as always whilst Christina and Robert the perfect hosts, showing us “their” Italy on tours & boats and treating us to drinks and long lunches.  The usual Mr Grumpy was nowhere to be found and in his place was Mr Perfect and clearly I bought the birthday boy the wrong T-shirt as the photo shows! Oh and I’m not sure what I added to the group but I like to think it was a touch of enthusiasm for life!

INSPIRATIONS FOR ARTWORKS TO COME

I think perhaps all of us fell a little in love with Italy and everything Italian- their passion, the language, scenery, people, wine & Limoncello and the food.

I always thought the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach but go figure it works just the same on a woman, lol.  My mantra has always been; “Just because I am on a diet, doesn’t mean I cannot look at the menu, right?”  Yes and look I did, well what’s a hot-blooded girl to do when the “chef extraordinaire” says he is making love to you with his eyes and through his food, bringing out dish after dish and then watches every bite you take….

Oh temptations… here are a couple of quotes on the subject which amused me;

“ Nothing makes it easier to resist temptation than a proper bringing-up, a sound set of values – and witnesses.”

(Franklin P. Jones)

“Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.”

(Author Unknown)

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting!

Love Marie xxx

If you enjoyed this  art blog you may also enjoy these about our cruising adventure;  139 Cruising on the Pacific Jewel & Art and 138 Leaving Sydney Harbour & Art and 144 Mystery Island & Art and 143 ART, LEONARDO DA VINCI AND THE ISLE OF PINES and 149 Art,Lifou and Sharks

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.

(c)

]]> http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/155-the-art-of-packing-light/feed/ 3 http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/137-ice-skating-in-central-park/ http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/137-ice-skating-in-central-park/#comments Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:37:58 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=3444 ACRYLIC ON CANVAS PAINTING

This acrylic on canvas board painting is called “Ice Skating in Central Park” and was inspired by our trip to New York a few years ago.  Here is the start of that story if you would like to recap in the paintings blog “I MISS NEW YORK”.

THE ART OF ICE-SKATING

We were in the mood for some ice skating and initially we went and had a look at the ice rink at the Rockefeller Centre but that was standing room only absolutely chockablock  full of people – not that we were planning for any laying down on the ice but you got to have some swing room right?

Perhaps that would have been the perfect place for me to skate as I have a bit of a history when it comes to ice skating.  Just to digress from New York for a moment my ice skating incident was in Melbourne some 10 or so years ago.

The kids and I had gone over there and stayed with friends and smarty pant “moi” thought I would show off a little bit.   I was born in Sweden after all and spent a lot of time skating as you do in a cold climate.  I had my own white skates when I was little and could do all the fancy spins and turns like a regular ice princess.  So I obviously thought that skating was just like riding a bike, never mind the decades that had passed in the meanwhile!

THE ART OF THE SHOW OFF

When we arrived there were some competition skaters practicing and I thought this would be my moment of glory to show off for the kids, so off I went and did my spins and turns like a prima ballerina and the kids were so impressed.  Oh mummy they said; “You are so good at it” and my head swelled even bigger as I copied the fancy turns of the practicing couple.  By now the kids accolades had completely gone to my head and I had thoughts of being asked to join a professional group for the winter Olympics or even a gold medal, the sky is the limit right?  I thought I would do some backward tricks next and that’s when I came undone – fell down HARD on my bum and broke my coccyx.

THE ART OF BEING A STAR

Yep that’s what happens when you get too big for your britches and think that you are a star; you land on your bum quick smart!

It was such a strange experience when I fell as suddenly even my hearing disappeared and it felt like I was enclosed in a glass case with the kids and all the other people outside, I could hear them talking to me and see them but all muffled and dreamlike.  Instead of glory I got 3 weeks of lying on a mattress watching telly instead, waiting for the pain to subside!  Note to self don’t be a show off!

So back to New York and this time the kids and I went skating in Central Park, to the same place where they filmed Serendipity, no showing off this time and we all stayed on our feet and afterwards enjoyed some hot chocolate.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

I really wasn’t prepared for the size of Central Park, it is so big.  We were there during December so there was lots of snow on the ground and most of the trees had lost their leaves.  Another time it would be lovely to visit when it is all green too.  We also enjoyed a horse drawn carriage around the park which was lots of fun and of course reminded us of Kramer and Seinfeld.  Lots of images for artworks and Artworks blogs, how to fit in making all the sculptures and paintings?

Here is a Danish proverb I think fits here

“Bad is never good until worse happens.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all and maybe skating,

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.

The day before Australia day, hubby comes in from the backyard and says “I think I just got bitten by a Redback, something crawled up my shorts and a minute later I saw the spider crawl away” With hubbys track record lately I was starting to fear for the “Family Jewels” lol.  For you familiar with my art blogs there has been a myriad of mishaps culminating in the heart attack scare, however in this case it was just a false alarm!

PAINTING REDBACKS AND SNAKES

Redbacks and other creepy crawlies is something we have an abundance of here in Australia, although on this acrylic on board painting “The Snake Pit” snakes are shown in the zoo, in the everyday backyard there also lurks many dangers.  Something we take great delight with in scaring the wits out of any tourists that comes to stay, lol, well just a bit of teasing really.

Lets start with the Redback which is considered one of the most dangerous spiders in Australia and has a neurotoxin venom that causes severe pain.  There have been only 14 deaths recorded from the Redback spider bite which is quite low compared to the numbers of people that get bitten by them each year thought to be in the thousands.  Only about 20 percent of people bitten require hospital treatment and get the antivenin, after experiencing severe pain and swelling spreading from the site.  This can then lead to nausea, vomiting, abdominal and chest pain, headache, fever, tremors, coma, and of course death.

SEX AND ART

However spare a thought for the male spider as he is the one who almost never comes out of the sexual encounter alive!  The female who is much bigger than the male spider consumes the male spider in 2 out of 3 cases while the mating continues.  He is one of only 2 species of animals who actively assist the female in sexual cannibalism.  The advantage for the male spider is that he is able to copulate for a longer time whilst he is being eaten!!!  You men just don’t know when to stop!! LOL

THE ART OF THE ITCH

“Stop” being the operative word here as it brings me to my daughter’s boyfriend Brett and his itching, lol which I will tell you about in a minute.   We had actually decided in having a quite Australia day as we had done such a lot of partying in the weeks and days leading up to it.  However we quickly got into gear after Hillivi called to say she wanted to celebrate with us, much the same as Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis from Christmas with the Kransks.

So they arrived fresh from the Chemist with a bag full of potions and lotions to try to sooth Brett’s feet.  He had managed to get a thousand little bites all over his feet which were suspected ant or sandflies bites and they were driving him crazy.  The poor boy could hardly concentrate on anything other than the itching and tried to discreetly itch them with anything he could find all the while being told off by Hillivi.  The conversation over the dinner table pretty much became a 3 way deal whilst Brett was alternating his attention between the itching or Googleing cures for his ailment on the Iphone.

Every now and then he would pipe up and say “Did you know they suggest smearing vegemite on the bites or maybe marmite” or “They say here I should pop them with a needle and put on some alcohol”.   So watch out all of you planning a trip down under and come prepared.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Bill Vaughan;

“We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting or perhaps itching?

Love Marie xxx  (c)

If you enjoyed this art blog you may also enjoy this one also featuring my daughter and her boyfriend Brett also featuring more artworks of course ; 100 Some like it hot in Art

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.

Now you think this is a story about dogs don’t you? – the kind when you are out walking and the dog does his business and you being a good citizen and all, you’ve bent down and scooped it up in a little plastic bag eh?  Well you couldn’t be more wrong…….

So this cute little puppy in my acrylic on board painting, Precausious Pug was not to blame here!

THE ART OF A GOOD NIGHT

Are you game to keep on reading or not? This is a true story told to me by a good friend about her girlfriend and for obvious reasons we won’t be mentioning any real names!  So we will just call the lady in question Lucy.  Well Lucy got dolled up and went out for the night to her local pub, and as faith would have it she met this really nice guy. They chatted for a bit and had a boogie on the dance floor, she got introduced to his friends, a few drinks were consumed and a fun time was had by all. So then at the end of the night when the young man in question asked Lucy to go home to his place for a night cap she eagerly said yes. They had the nightcap and then one thing led to another as they do and what eventuated was the most wonderful night of love making.

Lucy was falling in love and as fate would have it the young man was smitten too.  He whispered sweet nothings in her ear and hinted at a future together and how sweet life would be, and Lucy could not remember a better night ever. Well in the morning the young man had to go to work but kissed Lucy tenderly and told her to make herself at home, have breakfast and get ready in her own time, let herself out and that he would call her later that night.

THE ART OF HOLDING ON

Lucy did just that, she had breakfast and coffee and got dressed and thought about her wonderful night and as often happens in the morning, nature called and she went off to the toilet. As Billy Connelly the comedian says during his performance “the wee little jobbie” would not flush down.  Try as she might flush after flush without joy, and to leave” it” there and let her new love find “it” was out of the question so she hunted up a plastic bag, yes you are right – fished it out and put it in the bag.  Now of course she could not put the bag in the rubbish could she, in case he happened to find it so she decided to take the bag with her when she left and dispose of it properly.  I hope the people in my ceramic and mosaic artworks have only shopping in their bags!

THE ART OF WHAT NOT TO DO

However before she left she put all her stuff on the kitchen bench whilst she wrote her new love a love letter – telling him what a wonderful lover and nice guy he was and that their shared night had been so very special and she just could not wait to see him again.  With butterflies in her stomach and love in her heart she scooped up all her belongings and left and closed the front door. OH NO – that’s when she remembered that next to the love letter on the kitchen bench she had accidently left the bag with the pooh!  Now she tried to get back in but as he lived upstairs in a flat there was no way she could get in without breaking down the door. So this is a love affair, lol that ends badly for of course, he never did call her again.  What was the poor man to think when he got home and found a beautifully written letter about what a wonderful lover and sweet guy he was and then next to it a bag with a pooh in it!!  What message does that send ,lol.  You were really, really crap, or you stink or at the very least he would have thought that this girl certainly has a screw loose.

If you enjoyed this story you may like a funny & romantic one in this art blog; 118 Put a Ring on it

Here is a quote from Stephen Hawking (physicist) which I think fits well here,

“Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.”

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 SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

As previously said I started painting when I was pregnant with my first baby and the very day my son Kai turned one years old we set off travelling by car to Katherine in the Northern Territory.

We had his birthday party on the Sunday before and then said our goodbyes as my husband was going to be working on the Tindal Airbase where houses for the air force were currently under construction.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS IN COOPER PEDY

The distance was only, lol 3000 kilometers, this country Australia is big remember, so we figured we should do it in 3-4 days without too much trouble.  The first night we spent in a dug out, that’s the way most people of Cooper Pedy live in what seems very much like a normal home but completely underground.  The town inhabitants are mainly opal miners and other essential services that support the town of about 5000 people.

When you first get there you think it’s a deserted place as all you can see is holes in the ground and something poking out of the ground which is actually the ventilation shafts that go down to all the rooms (looks like a small white plastic pipe).  There are some larger ones to let a bit of light into the kitchen and living rooms.   We stayed the night in a dug out motel, it was lots of fun but I have to admit I felt just a little claustrophobic; however it was totally silent and very cool.  The temperature can get to 50 degrees in Cooper Pedy so it is a very clever way to keep cool without air-conditioning.

THE ART OF CELEBRATING

We had done a day’s drive when we got to the dugout hotel, our little boy Kai was ready for bed so Bryan and I settled into our room and celebrated our sleeping baby boys birthday with a take away hamburger (vegetarian for me) and a bottle of champagne (of course!)

ART AND A SPA

The next day we kept driving and in the end it took us 4 days to reach Katherine, the whole way I was excitedly looking out for the rainforest and the palm trees which I mistakenly as it happened thought would soon appear on the horizon.  But oh no that is up Cairns way and the closest we got to that tropical feel was in the very picturesque Mataranka Thermal Pool.  Now that is my idea of heaven, a virtual oasis in this very bare and hot landscape sprouts a palm forest with a natural pool which is a constant 34 degree fed by a spring.  I could have stayed there for a month at least!

However it is the subject matter of this painting that I was going to tell you about “Condos in Katherine” acrylic on canvas board, sold long ago, but available as a limited edition Giclee print for any of you out there interested;  Giclee Prints for sale

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

What so fascinated me when we first got up to the Northern Territory was this great big mounds made of clay by the termites.  To me they seemed like little cities with skyscrapers full of little apartments and I just could not get the image out of my mind.  I saw all the ants, living in their little flats, going about their business, making meals, house cleaning, having a sleep and going about their days just like we do.  So of course I had to paint it.  The image has been very popular and was also used in a book published by McGraw-Hill Publishers called Art Smart written by Lou Chamberlain, there I had my own chapter in a field of the great artists like Picasso, Miro and Da Vinci, and so you understand I was rather pleased.

THE ART OF TERMITES

The termite “homes” are usually referred to as Anthills here in Australia and they grow very large in the Northern Territory.   The ants mix saliva and mud together which becomes like cement (the ones I saw were red oxide in colour) and can take over 50 years to finish, and can contain a few million ants.  So I probably gave them bigger apartments then they are used too, lol.  However the termite nest can actually stretch up to 10 meters underground apart from what we can see aboveground, so perhaps that was where the opal miners of Cooper Pedy got their dugout ideas from?  The ants also have lots of tunnels that act as an air-condition system and also contain indoor gardens, nurseries and it goes without saying that the Queen has her own chamber!  Here is another travel art blog that you may enjoy 6. San Francisco Art Blog with more artworks and fun.

So here is a quote from Charles Darwin (naturalist) which I think fits well in here,

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.  It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

Till next time 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 SALEand 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 must be very fascinated by teeth I think, as I always paint the big broad grins in all my paintings and sculptures, or is it that I want the whole world to be happy and gay the Laxit way! (to borrow from an old Australian commercial)

As you can see in the snippets of these artworks lots of teeth are the go.  So it goes without saying then that I have another couple of stories up my sleeve about teeth.

If you want to see the whole of this sculpture “If you remember the sixties you weren’t there” and read the art blog here is a link 10. If You Remember The Sixties, You Weren’t There, ART

ART INSPIRATIONS – OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES

When my adult teeth came along as they do round about 7 years of age I had a gap in between my front teeth, everyone said that it looked charming (but I don’t think I ever believed them)

So during my modeling years I would if the job called for, wear like a little gadget that fitted over the front teeth and made them look straight from Hollywood so to speak.

However eventually in my early thirties I decided that with the inevitable wrinkles about to land on me, perhaps it was time to finally have perfect teeth.

And so it was and they were very nice, until my daughter was around 4 years old, suddenly whilst eating a sandwich, I felt that there was something else floating about my mouth and it was not part of the sandwich filling!

Off to the bathroom mirror I went and shock and horror, one of the caps of my front tooth had come off.  Now I do not have to describe that to you, how I looked was not a pretty sight.

So I rang the dentist and had an appointment to get it fixed the next day, thank god.

However in the meantime life had to go on at home and the kids came home from school and kindy and I greeted them with one hand held firmly over my mouth.

Kai my son took it all in his stride but baby girl Hillivi, who would never accept the word NO, did not give up and asked me at every turn, to take my hand away and show her my mouth and the missing tooth.

She nagged and nagged me all day until bed time and then she said ever so sweetly as only a little 4 year old girl can do “Mummy I love you so very much and I don’t care what you look like I will love you anyway, and you are my beautiful queen, so don’t worry and just show me”

So how could I resist such comforting words and her sweetness got the better of me and I did show her very quickly.   She took a good look with her eyes as big as saucers and then she said “Oh mummy I still love you, my darling little WITCHY POO!”  Out of the mouth of babes, right?  (Where had the beautiful queen gone now, I wondered, lol?)

SCULPTURE & ART BLOGS

The above detail is from the ceramic and mosaic wall-based sculpture; “Apple juice is fine but we rather have a wine” – (Adam & Eve) If you fancy seeing my artworks of Adam & Steve as well as the art blogs, here is a couple of links; 14. Adam & Steve 2 Sculpture and 35. The First Adam and Steve Artwork

MORE PAINTING IDEAS

Another friend of mine, a lovely lady just told me her tooth story and it goes something like this.

She was 11 years old at the time and playing netball (a game similar to basketball) when she fell over and broke all of her front teeth and consequently had to have false teeth made and fitted.

Some time passed and then one day at school, those pesky teeth fell out of her mouth and broke and of course she did not want any of the boys to see her with no teeth, so even though they were broken she put them back in.

But the story does not end there, she finally got home from school and sat down to have her dinner, and you guessed it, she swallowed them!  Off to the hospital it is with the parents in tow for x-rays and the medical staff could not believe that this child had actually swallowed her false teeth until they saw the evidence before them!

So to all of you who now feel terribly worried, fear not I say and keep these words of wisdom from Benjamin Franklin (statesman) in mind.

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen.  Keep in the sunlight.”

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.

As you may have figured out by now, I do like to paint just about everything, any subject matter, most of the time colorful and busy.

I am often asked about my religious scenes like the one here, Noahs Ark.  Am I religious – well, I do hope there is an afterlife, I have so many people that I would so dearly like to see again.

Is there a heaven and will my loved ones that died before me be waiting for me ?     Oh I truly hope so.  Well if that is what I hope, what about God and Christianity and all the other religions?

MAKING THE WORLD BETTER THROUGH ART

My belief is that all religions play a part and all have more similarities than differences.

To me it doesn’t matter whether your beliefs are of the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhism, Catholic or any of the other Christian flavours.

We are all people of the world and ideally we should care for each other and help each other.  I do think the 10 commandments make sense and try to live my life in ‘doing unto others’ and all that.  Sometimes I fail but I do try to Pay It Forward, small kind gestures that make this world a better place.

So to sometimes paint a scene from the bible gives me a sense of peace.  I will have to familiarize myself a bit more with the other religious books as I am sure they also have very rich and interesting material for new paintings, sculpture and artworks in general.

Here is a thought from one of Douglas Pagels books, which I like.

You have the ability to..

Follow your heart.

Trust your instincts.

Listen to the song that sings in you.

And let your spirit Dance to that tune

I hope you will visit me again.

Till then happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie xxxx                                                                     (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 first started this painting “Save the Moon bears” about a year ago because a dear friend, Joanna Polities was actively involved in the charity Animals Asia.

She has been the South Australian voice for these bears and raised a lot of money for them through various functions and fundraisers that she has organized over several years.  In any case I put the painting aside when I was half way through as I had some urgent artworks that needed delivery.

So there I was sitting in my studio working away on various projects whilst I listen to the radio as I always do (usually an ABC channel with current affairs and news of the day, magazine style you could say) when Simon Bryant a well know chef, who up until recently had his own cooking program on TV starts talking about his passion for the moon bears and I am yet again reminded of the half finished painting.

So again I am back painting some more on it until another deadline looms.  Sometimes this is how the paintings evolve with other more urgent artworks coming in between, and as my work is so detailed it does take quite a long time to do each piece.

ARTWORKS AUCTION

To cut a long story short, the painting was auctioned at a major fundraiser at Adelaide Zoo July 2010, together with many other donated items.    The crowd fell silent when Jo and her husband Richard took to the stage to announce that the total amount raised from the event was $125,000 and every penny of that would go to the Moon Bear Rescue. An amazing result and the highest ever raised for Animals Asia in Australia from one single event.

The invite is below and if there are some people that would like to donate just call 1800 666 004 or go to the Animals Asia website.

I cannot bare to even write about how these gorgeous bears suffer other than to say it is barbaric and atrocious to say the least and it makes me so totally depressed, so instead if you are not across the details of their plight please look up Animals Asia (the link will take you there) and see their  website and get ofay with their terrible situation so we can all band together and stop this cruelty.

Here are some wise words from Henri Frederic Amiel (writer) about grace under pressure.

“It is dangerous to abandon one’s self to the luxury of grief; it deprives one of courage and even of the wish for recovery”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting everyone!

Love Marie xx                                                                                    (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.

We went out to dinner recently with some close friends, to Enoteca in Adelaide which I highly recommend.

There were 9 of us and afterwards we went and saw the Ukulele playing, Lady Carol at the Garden of  Unearthly Delights for the Fringe Festival and the whole night was such a treat.   You can see from this ceramic and mosaic wall hanging, I do like eating out and do so often which is a constant source of material for my paintings & sculpture as well as the Artwork blogs, as is everything that I see around me.  The title of this artwork is “The Grass is always Greener on the other side”.

In this artwork that is exactly what both the man and the dog are thinking about.

ARTISTS INSPIRATIONS

Every night we eat out, ‘that’ is how my husband feels about whatever he has chosen to eat.  As the food passes by him to their rightful owners he looks longingly at every plate and with wistful eyes and sad voice bemoans the fact that he should have ordered that instead.  Always cracks me up inspires another artwork.

One of our companions on the night, a very dear friend, is currently recovering from a triple bypass but you would never suspect this from looking at him.

THE ART OF RECOVERY

Never have I ever seen someone 7 days out of hospital walking all around the city and shoe shopping with his wife, dinner and lunch in different eateries and to top that off he has just spent  4 days at the Clipsal car race.

What’s with this man does he not realize he has just had a major operation, lol, his luck is certainly holding.  According to his doctors he could have dropped dead any time during the last 3 years, however being a non smoker would have certainly helped him.

He is, at the best of times, shall we say a grumpy little bugger, and was of course true to form, although I think the food and wine did pass muster that night.  He made me laugh though with his running commentary of the salt content in everything and heaven forbid just a little grain of salt should ever pass his lips again.

Here is a little wisdom about friends from Oprah Winfrey that I like.

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”

I hope you come and visit me again, till then 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.

As a lot of you know by now we live on a farm, although recently we have reduced said farm’s acreage substantially.  However it is and has been a wonderful place to live and for our children to grow up on, and with so many tales to tell. The farm and the country side in general was a wonderful and inspirational setting for an artist, supplying vistas that I never got tired of recreating in artworks or paintings or writing about in Art blogs.  Here is a painting which sold in America which pictures the country side here, not quite our farm but a romantic view of it.  What it does show is the White Ute (pickup truck) and that is what this story is all about.

One of our friends had a sheep called Smokey, not your normal type of sheep, no this one was the potato chip eating variety, that had been hand raised in a Hotel, all you had to do was to rattle a chip packet and Smokey would come running and nearly bowl you over whilst licking her lips.  The Publican and his wife were now moving away, the cute but by now Big sheep was looking for a new home.  Yep and that was us, so Bryan dear hubby of mine thought he would swing past said friend and pick Smokey up.

WHAT A PICTURE

He rolled up in his White ute and now with a bit of blokey discussion back and forth they decided that the only way they could transport this sheep (as he was you know, more like a family member than a sheep) in the FRONT Seat of the ute.

Yep that’s right, that’s where Smokey sat for the 25 minute drive from Mallala to Balaklava.  Oh did I forget to tell you, of course he had his seat belt done up, that’s the road rules you know.

So here is little wifey-poo patiently waiting for hubby and sheep to arrive home, you know on the back of the ute like, and I cannot tell you of the fright I got when they arrived home late after dark and I looked into the passenger window and saw this very strange creature sitting there looking at me, sitting on her bum mind you, upright with the seatbelt across her and looking out the window.

Crazy men, I just thank the lucky stars that she sat perfectly still the entire trip cause otherwise neither of them would probably have made it home that night. Lol

Here is some more of the wit and wisdom of Oscar Wilde with his quote:

“I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability”

I hope you will come and visit me again, till next time, happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie                                                                (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.