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.

Looking at this painting brings back so many memories from when the kids were little.  There is a four year age gap between our children Kai and Hillivi and were for the most part the best of friends growing up.  We lived on a farm until just recently and the nearest kids were 10 kilometers away so it was just as well that they enjoyed each other’s company.

In this particular painting they are playing tea party which was a favorite game.  Another one was playing restaurant, they would have all their soft toys and dolls sitting around the tables and come in ever so official with notepad and pencil and inquire what everyone wanted to order for dinner (obviously the toys could talk, because they got busy writing it all down.)  My gallery in Japan had bought them this huge set of plastic food and a burger counter and they would spend hours making and serving the food.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS & RED CORDIAL

I think though from the look of Kai bouncing on the bed he must have just come home from a friend’s birthday party!  You see we were rather careful on what we gave the kids to eat at home, healthy living and all that.  What we  found out the first time Kai as a little tacker came home from a party was that he was totally uncontrollable, he was literally bouncing of the walls, running from room to room like his pants was on fire and talking a million miles an hour.  With trial and error we found out that it was “red cordial” that affected him like that, so at least we knew that any time he went to a kids party he would come home all wild eyed and crazy.  (Weird too that any magazine or newspaper reports on the food colour issue during that time all said that food colors do not affect kids, where as the real life experience of a lot of parents are quite different.)

ART AND KIDS PARTIES

Little Miss Hillivi was not to be outdone however oh no, she would come home from every party and promptly chuck up!  The first time it happened I thought she had been food poisoned and rang the mother of her friend to warn her just in case it was affecting all the kids.  However as time went on we found out that every time Hillivi went to a kids party she would come home and throw up.  It took a little bit of investigating to find out that my sweet little baby girl would turn into the cookie monster when she arrived at any parties and stuff herself so full of snacks and lollies that her body could not cope with the overload, lol.

FOOD POISONING AND ART

Another time on the way home from a Saturday outing which had included a cafeteria lunch in a furniture store (no not Ikea!) both Kai and Hillivi complained that they are not feeling well, so we had to stop the car.  They of course hang out the back doors of the car and say goodbye to; what looked like a “very yummy trifle” an hour ago and this time as there had been no overeating it must have been bad food.

Try as I might – there was no chance of contacting the store on a weekend even though they were open both Saturday and Sunday.  The phone calls went straight to a recording and you couldn’t even leave a message – so I wonder how many other people got food poisoned that weekend, as there was a whole tray full of trifles there when we left the store.

Here are a couple of quotes that amused me on the “lovely” subject; the first by Johnny Depp;

“When the kids hit 1 year old, it’s like hanging out with a miniature drunk.  You have to hold onto them.  They bump into things.  They laugh and cry.  They urinate. They vomit”.

and the second one from the comedian and actor Jon Stewart:

“The night I turned twenty-two I drank a shot for every year.  I was so drunk. My friends drove me home and left me propped up on the couch holding a bucket.  I woke up with vomit all over me.  The bucket was clean as a whistle.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xxx    (c)

If you enjoyed this art blog and artwork you may want to read another here is a link about what comes out of the mouth of babes; 55. Art & The Rise and Fall of the Tooth

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 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.

This painting “Happy New Year at Regine’s” was inspired by my mad modelling days, and crazy mad they were too, but sooo much fun.

As you can see from this artwork (which sold in Japan) we models know how to kick our heels up and we did!

However I have to admit to overdoing it a couple of times too, so if you look closely at the painting you will see a crossed eyed girl behind the sports car which could have been me, but in this particular painting I am standing with my long-time friend Debonella  (her name was really Deb, I just always called her that,lol)  You can find us on the right hand side with our heads together, the blond and the brunette.

THE ART OF PARTYING

We would party till the milkman came around (and for you familiar with the milkman that would be in the very early hours of the morning) and I remember one particular night when we obviously had consumed more than our fair share and we were caught- throwing up in the rosebushes, together mind you-well that’s what friends are for!  Luckily most of the time we were lady like and behaved ourselves, that is what we preach to our daughters anyway (guess we will be caught out now!)

I have many tales of our terrible deeds coming up later on in other art blogs, however what made me think about this now was that I just received an invitation to a very swanky “DO” that’s being organized in town by former model agent owner Sandy Clark, who after she sold her business went on to have another very successful career as an event organizer and later as a public relation journalist.

We have recently lost a dear friend and fellow model Adriana Xenides, who died much too young and made us all question our mortality.  For those of you not familiar with Adriana, she was the longest serving hostess on the TV game show called Wheel of Fortune here in Australia.

Well Sandy decided to do something about that and we all take our hats off to her.  She had organized the most fantastic event at our new international hotel the Crowne Plaza here in Adelaide  invited all past models, clients, lecturers and past students and anyone connected to the industry for a wonderful cocktail party to reminisce  and celebrate “that we are still here!” (borrowed from Monty Python’ s “we are not dead yet!”)

PAINTING FOR CHARITY

The funds raised went to “Teen Challenge for the homeless” and “Variety Children’s Charity” including what was raised from the painting I donated to the event as well.  Here is a link to that and to the art blog about the night in question 50. Not a trout pout in sight

Just a little thought for you, why not try to contact the people that were important in your own life, see how they are travelling, catch up for a drink or a meal, talk about old times.  Life is short, WAY TO SHORT- so let’s make the very best of it while we can.

Here is a quote I like from the Mammoth book of useless information-

“One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to 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.