Galah is sometimes used as a derogatory Australian slang word meaning ‘fool’ or ‘idiot’ or someone dressing in a gaudy fashion, which is where the term “flaming galah” probably comes from.  However I can reassure you that the real thing, the parrot is certainly a very clever bird.

THE ART OF SOCCER

I have had my lovely Galah for the last 28 years, her name is Pele named after the Brazilian soccer player, strange name for a girl – well at the time when she got her name we thought she was a boy.

Although I have just recently found out that there is also a connection to an Australian team of footballers that played against the Irish, in a series of test matches of International Rules Football in the late 1960’s which were nicknamed “The Galahs” so perhaps the name Pele, does fit her for many reasons.

Still to this day whenever I refer to her I call Pele “him” even though she has demonstrated many times by laying EGGS that she is a girl!

NAIVE PAINTING OF BIRDS

You familiar with my art would have seen that in most of my paintings there is a galah somewhere and more often than not a whole flock of them.  They are such a lovely bird to paint with the distinctive bright pink body with a pale grey to mid-grey back and rump, a pink face and a light pink mobile crest.

Pele picked all her feathers on her chest out when she was very young so she looks a little like a half plucked chicken, LOL.  The fact that she likes to tear up and hide in newspapers at the bottom of her cage doesn’t help her looks either as the black from the print turns her lovely color a little dirty too.

Without the warmth of her chest feathers Pele lives in two cages one outside during the day and then I get her to hop on my finger and she comes in to the studio where she has a smaller cage to sleep in.  If the weather is very cold she stays inside amusing herself with cardboard boxes and newspapers and toys, rustling around keeping me company as I paint.

THE ART OF GETTING FAT

However a check up at the vet today revealed that she is getting too fat!  My Galah is obese with some fatty tumors called lipomas on her abdomen and legs.   So now the poor bird has to be on a diet, no more treats of cheese, bread and sunflower seeds, just vegies and special pellets and budgie mix is allowed.  Poor darling I know how boring diets can be, well I guess most of us do in the western societies.

Galahs are very loyal and mate for life and Pele thinks we are married and dislikes my real hubby very much, trying to give him a nip if he walks past.

This quote made me laugh as Pele would no doubt love to do to my hubby if she could;

“Birds of a feather flock together and crap on your car.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and bird keeping,

Love Marie xxx

If you want to read a funny story about dogs here is an art blog about that; 28. ART & Sometimes its just about the little noises you hear

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.

Even during this economic downturn in Europe the members of Fivan, Szyb Gallery and Jacques Dubois particularly, has manage to pull off the impossible – another successful Naive Art Festival in Katowice, Poland.   As this exhibition is continuing into August I sincerely hope that you will try to some and see it.

This painting “Playing hide and seek” was in last year’s festival in Poland and crisscrossed the world as it ended up selling to a Japanese client.

This exhibition whereby artists from 32 countries around the world are chosen to take part is only the 5^th Art Naif Festival held in Poland and the host gallery is again the amazing Szyb Wilson Gallery.  It is the privately owned gallery in Poland and I would think one of the largest if not the largest private gallery in the world at 2500 square meters on two big halls and a balcony.  It is situated 10 minutes away from the city center in the Nikiszowiec district which is a historical settlement of Katowice.

The area where Szyb Wilson Gallery stands was in fact an old coal mine construction, a virtual wasteland.  As Jacques says it is very fitting that the naive festival is held in this place: “to change the image of a dirty and black city into a place where happiness and colors are together to warm the heart.  There’s nothing like naive artists to believe in things like that.  Improve the world, little by little and all together.”

ARTnBED

Last year Cuba was the guest country and this year we celebrate Israel and their wonderful Naive artists, they have a great history of Naive art with a terrific gallery that supports them in Tel Aviv called Gina Gallery of International Naive Art.  It is also from Israel that my latest venture with ARTnBED comes from with art works on duvet and shams (quilt covers and pillowcases) that were recently released both in Israel and USA.

NAIVE ART IN ISRAEL

The philosophy of Dan Chill the owner of Gina Gallery is as follows “GINA Gallery seeks to support the naïve artists‘ quest for “Paradise Lost;” to encourage them to share their timeless vision of everyday life; and to provide them with a forum to bare the child-like ruminations of their hearts and souls. In parallel, GINA Gallery hopes to facilitate the entry into this field of talented, mostly self-taught artists (young and old) who strive to relate – by means of brush, paint and canvas — the fairy tale figments of their fertile imaginations.

ART WORLD

GINA Gallery also seeks — by gathering and displaying worldwide naïve art — to expand the existing art lovers‘ awareness and appreciation of this multifaceted art form, and to introduce the wondrous beauty of this unique, easily-accessible genre to those who have been reluctant (for whatever the reason) to visit art galleries, thereby allowing naïve art, and those who paint it, to assume their proper place in the pantheon of the art world.”

ART WINNER

Last year’s winner of the Grand Prize of the Public 2011 was Stefen Lewis from Tanzania which means he has the honor of designing this year’s poster for the Festival.  This year Museum PASZIN, located in south eastern Poland was invited to submit 100 sculptures dating back from the early 60s.  Also the Museum of Lodz followed suit and presents 50 pieces on the theme of Mary, mother of Jesus.

This year even the best major Taxi companies have gotten behind the festival and are acting as “Ambassadors” handing out cards to the tourists with naive paintings on the back.  This is another ingenious idea by Jacques Dubois and his wonderful team from Fivan, Szyb Wilson Gallery and helpers from Poland and France.  We salute you!

Here is a great quote from Danny Kaye that I love;

“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx

If you enjoyed this art blog you may also like this one: 117 Henri Rousseau Naive Artist

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 have always loved that expression, so of course I had to paint the image one day and this (acrylic on board) painting is the result.  If you look closely in the first row on the left hand side by the stage you will see me and my family, hubby and me with our arms around each other and Kai and Hillivi standing enthusiastically with their arms up looking at the stage.

ARTISTIC EDUCATION

As the kids were growing up we believed it was part of their education to take them to all sorts of events and places, to try to expose them to as much culture as possible so this Opera in the Park was part of that.

I am not really an Opera lover myself but I do enjoy the spectacle of it once in a while and when the South Australian Opera company were presenting the free entertainment of “Opera in the Park” it was a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of.   It was held in Elder Park on a stage and the audience sat on the lawn in the grass, just wonderful as the sun set and the stars came out to play.

ADELAIDE THE ARTS CAPITAL

We are very lucky in Adelaide to have the whole city surrounded by park-lands, the city itself was set out by Colonel  William Light, a British military officer who designed it in a grid pattern with wide streets and lots of little town squares whilst he was the Surveyor –General of South Australia.  He is famous for choosing this area to put Adelaide on and his lovely design, which works very well even today some 170 years after his death of tuberculosis in 1839.  Today he rests in Light Square the only person legally buried within the town square.

Elder Park is in between the Torrens Lake and the Festival Theater and has a famous rotunda in the middle of it which was built in 1882, one which constantly is debated whether it should be moved to make place for some new idea and concept of the day.  It is very lovely and quite big with ornate lace and roof and is very popular for wedding s and photo opportunities of every sort.  My brothers (he is also an artist) band the Clowns of Decadence also played in the rotunda for a very worthy cause; against Vivisection during the 1990’s.

Elders Park is a very popular place to have picnics with lots to do for the whole family with cycling trails and cycles and paddle-boats for hire.  The river is usually full of water birds of different varieties and some interesting looking sculptures are now in the water – made to look like giant origami newspaper boats which add a childish playfulness that I love.

ART & MOVIES

My philosophy has always been “to look on the bright side of things” and the “cup is always half full”  “It isn’t over till the fat lady sings” which has kept my spirits up during some harder times that we all have in life.  I was reminded of another great saying from Dev Patels character in the new movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which by the way looks really great and  follows a bunch of English retirees adventures in exotic India.

Any way what his always optimistic character Sonny says;

“Everything will be alright in the end, so if it is not alright, it is not yet the end”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and perhaps singing 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.

One thing I really miss about living in Australia is the Sankta Lucia tradition, and yes I know some of you are going – What’s that?  This acrylic painting should help to paint the picture for you.  (Although something awful must have happened to the girl on the very right of the picture, don’t know what that is on her face!)

THE ART OF THE SWEDISH MAIDEN

Sankta Lucia is like a shining angel coming to the Swedish darkness all dressed in white and has a wreath of candles burning on her head.  It is celebrated on the 13^th of December which is the longest night of the year.  Even though the celebration takes the name of the Italian Saint Lucia from the 4^th Century, I’m led to believe that it is really named after the Swedish maiden that appeared on the shore of one of the big lakes and proceeded to give out food to the starving masses during one of the famines.  She is said to have worn a crown or wreath of lit candles – well it was dark wasn’t it and since battery operated torches was not invented yet, what else could a resourceful girl do?

THE ART OF GETTING CHOSEN

When I lived in Sweden it was every girls dream to be crowned the new Lucia and the crown always went to the prettiest girl with the long blond hair.  She would lead the procession dressed in a long white gown and have a bright red sash around her waist and of course the wreath with candles all alight in her hair.  The rest of us could be Tarnor, and we would also be wearing white although our wreath was somewhat smaller and made out of silver tinsel (always the bridesmaid never the bride, lol) Not to be outdone the boys would also join us, some dressed in the long white gown too with a long white pointed hat (LOL actually the hat would look like one of those dunce hats you wear in the naughty corner) although it was decorated with stars and the boys were called sjarngossar – starboys!  A couple of boys would also be Santa’s little helpers dressed in red.

GUN JONSSON – THE ARTIST

My Aunty (father’s sister) Gun Jonsson was actually crowned the Swedish Lucia in Stockholm many years ago Miss Lucia 1947 – part of her prize package was a life time supply of Palmolive soap!  Gun went on to become firstly a dancer in an international dance troupe called “The Cassel Girls “and later became a famous actress.  She was in several plays directed by Ingmar Bergman and Gun is also a much admired director and producer, something which she still does today.  (‘Bad Javlarna’,’ Hem till Byn’ and ‘Sova rav’ are just some of her Swedish movies and TV shows, you Swedes know what I am talking about.)

Of course we would all be singing Christmas carols but the song we started and finished with would be this one.

Natten går tunga fjät
rund gård och stuva;
kring jord, som sol förlät,
skuggorna ruva.
Då i vårt mörka hus,
stiger med tända ljus,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

Natten går stor och stum
nu hörs dess vingar
i alla tysta rum
sus som av vingar.
Se, på vår tröskel står
vitklädd med ljus i hår
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

Mörkret ska flyta snart
ur jordens dalar
så hon ett underbart
ord till oss talar.
Dagen ska åter ny
stiga ur rosig sky
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

The night goes with heavy steps
around farm and cottage;
round the earth the sun has forsaken,
the shadows are brooding.
There in our darkened house,
stands with lighted candles
Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia.

The night passes, large and mute
now one hears wings
in every silent room
whispers as if from wings.
See, on our threshold stands
white-clad with candles in her hair
Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia.

The darkness shall soon depart
from the earth’s valleys
then she speaks
a wonderful word to us.
The day shall be born anew
Rising from the rosy sky.
Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia.

(Translated: by Chris Troy and based on an article by Elizabeth Dacey-Fondelius)

THE ART OF BAKING

When my own kids were little we would go to the Swedish Church in Adelaide and they would take part in the procession followed by coffee and cakes.  Traditional Lussekattor  (cats) which are baked buns made from saffron, so they were slightly orange colour and with raisins for their eyes, as well as lots of other Swedish biscuits mmmm…. makes me hungry just to think about it.

Then Father Christmas would turn up with presents for all the little kids (which their own parents would have bought and wrapped and put in the sack).

I will never forget when my son Kai was just a little baby and we were attending his very first Lucia celebration.  He had been enjoying seeing all the lights and singing and even did not mind being presented to Santa, however when Kai with a bit of help from me unwrapped his present, the poor little boy screamed blue murder and got the fright of his life.

His stupid mother “moi” had bought him a Jack-in-the-box and it scared him half to death.  To add injury to the insult I had paid good money for this toy bought at David Jones and he never ever played or even wanted to look at it again. LOL, not that I blame the poor boy!

Here is a quote by Franklin P. Jones which I think fits well in here;

“Children are unpredictable.  You never know what inconsistency they’re going to catch you in next.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and baking to you all,

Love Marie xxx

Here are some links to stories about 2. SWEDISH EASTER & Art or Swedish Christmas and Swedish Smorgasbord. Enjoy!

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’ve just had Chevy Chase here to stay, all the way from California via Sweden, without a word of a lie – see for yourself down below is the picture to prove it.  Well ok then maybe just a little untrue, but you have to admit he is a dead ringer for him, my cousin’s boy Kalle.  As delightful as it has been to have Kalle and his friend Kristoffer staying with us, it is Kalle’s father, my cousin Bjorn that I would like to tell you about.

PAINTING IN SWEDEN

This acrylic painting was bought by his mother when I had an exhibition in Sweden and it pretty much depicts where Bjorn actually lives today, although when I painted it, their little red cottage in the woods by the sea did not even exists.  Perhaps I inspired him to build one, who knows.  Anyway Bjorn is in the corporate world of IBM and has pretty much traveled the world with his job, currently working mostly out of the UK.  But he calls the little red cottage and Sweden his home and goes there as much as time will allow.

ROUND ABOUT DOGS SCULPTURE

You see that is where Rondellhund.com (Roundabout-dog) was born, in the shed at the back of the cottage.  It was in 2007 that Bjorn Andersson decided to combine his love of dogs and the tinkering in his shed by making some Roundabout dogs and giving the money raised to charity.  According to all that know him – Bjorn has a heart of gold and his vision is to keep Rondellhund at Philanthropic Street Art level and give a moment of enjoyment to all people traveling by car.  His dogs have traveled the world to places in the USA, Australia, UK & Germany to name just a few.

RONDELLHUND ARTIST

The first Rondellhund was actually made by Peter Nyberg and his intention was to “mock the state-employed artists, who get so much money to make sculptures that we can do just as well ourselves”  he said.  From what I understand, that was after there had been an official roundabout installation in Lindkoping by sculptor Stina Opitz, made in concrete.  This sculpture was vandalized and got some media coverage and shortly after anonymous people started placing little wooden dogs in roundabouts. (ref. Wikipedia)

PAINTING ON WOOD

The dogs Bjorn makes are of scrap pieces of wood and then painted in every way imaginable, with spots, stripes, checked, stars  & flowers.  He even made some for the Royal weddings between Sweden’s Crown princess Victoria and Daniel as well as the English Royals, Kate and William; with the crowns on their heads of course.   The idea is to sneak out in the middle of the night and place your dog sculpture in the middle of a roundabout or in some other public place to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.  Now lots of family groups come to the shed to help build & paint the dogs, and they are also available as flat packs (like Ikea) to send across the world.  The dog sculptures all have a tags on them, as quite often they go missing, and it is asked if they are “stolen” that some money is donated to charity and this seems to be the case too – nice honest thief’s lol.

So come onboard and make a dog yourself or sponsor someone else to make one.  So far the money raised has gone to a local dog rescue center, Starlight children’s foundation UK, Guide Dogs UK & many other charities.  You will find an easy instruction on how to make your own dog and see pictures from Rondellhund across the world on this link.  You can also join Rondellhund on Face book.

The quote for today comes from my cousin Bjorn who says on his website;

A few simple situation I wish for but I will never know ………..

When the family see a rondelhund in an roundabout they smile and stop to buy ice-cream.

When Steven see a rondellhund he smiles and call his mother to say how are you, I’ll stop by for coffee.

When Rosanne see a rondellhund she smiles and stops the car and hug her kids.

When Jane see a rondellhund she smiles and start thinking of new ideas for her class.

When Peter see a rondellhund he smiles and new music ideas start developing in his mind.

When ………..

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx        (c)

If you enjoyed this you may also like this art blog about my artist brother Matt Jonsson; 91 He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

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.

]]> http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/88-chevy-chase-and-roundaboutdogs/feed/ 1 http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/79-you-and-me-and-bunny-makes-three/ http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/79-you-and-me-and-bunny-makes-three/#comments Fri, 22 Apr 2011 03:08:10 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=2328 ART & EASTER

Happy Easter to everyone and I hope you are all having the loveliest of times wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

This acrylic painting “You and me and Bunny makes three” was one I painted many years ago when I first started out as an artist.  I have always been fascinated with animals and wonder how they are feeling and what they think.  I think we don’t give them enough credit and assume they only do things by instinct and not because they actually think about things.  I feel sure they are a lot more like us humans.

(Here is another link to my art blog and painting about how ants really live in apartments 70.  ‘’CONDO’S OF KATHERINE”)

That said perhaps I have gone a tad overboard in my depiction of how the rabbits live – but you never know – have you been down a rabbit hole?

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

Really, if I could I would have asked our darling dog Moses who lived to be 18 years old; he had the heads up when it came to rabbits and their dwellings.    When we lived in a renovated church, we had the grave yard right next to the house and the rabbits thought the grave yard was the perfect place for their burrows, so nearly every grave had a hole or two going down into it.  My little dog Moses thought it was so much fun to chase the rabbits down there, as he just fitted into the holes.  Quick as a flash he would be gone and I was always so worried when he disappeared as I thought he might get stuck underground, or even worse come out with a bone in his mouth and not of the rabbit variety, lol!

THE ART OF KEEPING COOL

We were told when we moved in,  that the graveyard was not used anymore, and we never felt one bit of unease living so close to it.  It seemed to me to be a very peaceful place however I was a little bit unsettled when I came home from work one day and found that a fresh grave had been dug and there was a big mound with flowers left over from a  funeral.  That feeling passed however and nobody that had been put to rest there ever came back to visit or haunt us.

THE ART OF CELEBRATIONS

We spent many wonderful Easters both in the church and at the farm and now this year will be the first one in the new house by the sea.   Things are still a work in progress around here but we will be joined by both kids and their lovely partners for a little celebration.  We won’t be having all the trimmings as there is only so much you can do when you live in on a building site, lol.

However I can guarantee that there will be lots of food and wine and laughs anyway.    How us crazy Swedes normally celebrate Easter is something I have already written about and if you missed this Blog 2. SWEDISH EASTER & Art I would really urge you to have a look as it is quite a scream and has enjoyed a lot of traffic on the net!

Here is a quote I like in the spirit of Easter from Kahil Gibran (Lebanese American artist, poet and writer)

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. “

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

You know it is really strange to be living without a roof over your head for a while, you see, we are renovating, putting another story on our house and to be able to achieve that the old roof had to go. So we have had live-in workmen here for the best part of a month and the whole house is a shambles with dust and boxes, stacks of timber and insulation bats and bits of this and bits of that.This particular painting is called “It’s raining cats on dogs” but I will get to the “men” part later,  to explain the title of this art blog,  It’s Raining Men & Art.  Here is another link if you fancy a look later 42. Art & All That Packing ..mmm Better have a Holiday

It is driving our dogs crazy too as the workmen live on the ground floor and when they come up the stairs the dogs go mad and bark their heads off at what they perceive as the” hobos” from the basement, lol.  Now I must clarify that I don’t share the dogs view on this, not at all.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

You know there is something so enticing about guys who do physical work, all that sweat and the bare chests to look at, it is really quite easy on the eye!

One problem they have had is trying to do a balancing act up there on the rafters of the roof and we have had quite a few fall through the ceiling, all of a sudden as you are going about your business there is an almighty bang and a foot or a knee or something falls down.  My niece tells me when she had the same work done, her workman fell into the ceiling bum first, so that was a good view she said.  So I am patiently waiting for that and in the meantime find myself singing the song that “The Weather Girls” made famous – It’s raining men, hallelujah it’s raining men……

So it goes without saying then to get any work done at all I have had to rent a room 5 minutes away from here with a couple of uni students where I can have an art studio and paint in peace and that has been an interesting experience too.  However I find that after all these years of working from home I am quite disorganized and when I get to my other place I have invariable forgotten some important reference material, such as an art book or that special paint brush that I just needed that day.

Although I do have a bed in my new share house I have been going home to hubby and the renovations at night, most of the time the guys are still at it finishing off one thing or another and then we usually sit around and have drinks, chat and enjoy a BBQ.  I have discovered there are only so many BBQ’s that you can have in a week, lol but as we don’t have the gas connected to the house at the moment I will just have to eat it and shut up!

The Boss of the guys here is actually my nephew Kurt and we have especially enjoyed having him around not only is he just one of the best builders there is but also one hell of a nice guy and if that wasn’t enough-he plays the guitar too!  So at night we have been sitting around listening to the acoustic version of AC/DC hits such as Hell’s Bells and Highway to Hell.  I must confess that has me in my absolute element as they have always been one of my favorite bands.

In fact on a not so good a note lol, I think I will have to blame AC/DC on my slight hearing loss.

HEARING LOSS FOR THE SAKE OF ART

You see during my modelling days I spent quite a bit of time in Japan and the “Walkman” had just come on the market, so of course I had one glued to my ear everyday catching the subway and bullet trains to and from assignments.  The bands album “Back in Black” had just come out and I had that on full volume blasting my eardrums as they sang” Hell’s Bells”,” You shook me all night long”,” What do you do for money honey” and all the rest.  Funny isn’t it how when you are young you think you are invincible and those fuddy duddy adults and their silly warnings about hearing loss is just a load of rubbish.  Well maybe not! LOL.

So I think this quote by Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire (philosopher and writer) fits rather well here, although I must point out it is only the hearing loss that refers to me, lol not the other afflictions.

“I am a little deaf, a little blind, a little impotent, and on top of this are two or three abominable infirmities, but nothing destroys my hope.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and renovating 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.

We had a most interesting weekend recently.  I had been asked to open an exhibition for my dear friend Ted James who was celebrating 50 years of being behind the lens of his trusted camera.  It was held at the Rustons Rose Garden and Convention Centre in Renmark, South Australia.

This Artwork Sold in America

ART IN PICTURES

I first met Ted as a 17 year old just after I had starting modelling and over the years he put me on the cover of a few magazines.  In the hectic days of fashion and glamour, Teds shoots were always very different.  They would take a whole day and involve some great locations, either down by a beach or in the middle of a wheat field just before harvest.  Ted would always pack a picnic with dried fruits and nuts, cheese and crackers and fruit juices and everything would happen at a leisurely pace resulting in some great photographs.  He also worked for the Australasian Post and Pix Magazine, Scope Magazine in South Africa as well as Pietro Press in Italy.   Ted maintains that his favourite work was photographing beautiful girls, and who can blame him, great work if you can get it eh, Ted?

EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK

By no means was Teds photography limited by beautiful girls however much of a dream job that may seem to some of you!  No, he also had many a distinguished clients, as he plied his trade from landscapes to river scenes, horses and cars, working for British Leyland, Volvo, Bank of Adelaide, and Faulding’s, just to name a few.  Of course he also did a lot of fashion work for most of the designers of the time, including Lidwien and those photographs were exhibited at the Rockefeller Centre in New York.

GOLD PAINT

A couple of the artistic engagements that stood out for Ted  was the “Golden Couple” from Holland,  who as Ted put it were “starkers” apart from the gold paint that covered them from head to toe, whom he photographed at Noarlunga Beach.  But it was as they were driving home that they really scared some other motorists, sitting there looking like “gold statues” in the car and then they suddenly moved and looked at the car next to them.  “You should have seen the looks on those poor peoples faces, said Ted!” Another highlight in his career was photographing Swan Lake and several other Ballets for Michael Edgely and his first wife.

The most successful shot however was from a Bird of a Different Feather- a pelican no less.  As it happened I had a very small part in that too- you see it was on the way home from dropping me off to Bryan after I had accompanied Ted on another job on the Murray Explorer, that Ted stopped off in Loxton at 6am in the morning and captured that photo which then was used all over the world for the State Government and other organizations, the famous, “Pelican on a Snag” which most of you would have seen one time or another over the years.

Another of Ted’s interests is Orchid growing and I feel very privileged to just have had a flower named after me, which was a great honour.

Here is another link to a modelling story in my art blog if you fancy a look; 12. Salvador Dali and C’est La Vie

THE ART OF AGING WELL

At 83 he shows no signs of slowing down and still goes out on the river and rows most mornings before he starts work.  When we first met, Ted told me that he was going to live to a 130, and I believed him then and I believe him still, so I was not surprised when he just told me in an email recently, after I had bugged him with all my questions about his past, he said, “I am exhausted, you have put a “middle aged” man under pressure!”

Half his luck, I certainly hope that I follow his lead and Ted I wish you great success with the rest of your  “middle age”.  Just keep on enjoying Life.

And I think this saying by Peter Ustinov (actor) fits perfectly here.

“The point of living, and of being an optimist, is to be foolish enough to believe the best if yet to come”

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.

]]> http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/58-a-lifetime-of-pix/feed/ 0 http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/55-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-tooth/ http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/55-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-tooth/#comments Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:12:37 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=1455 ART OF PAINTING SMILES

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.

The invitation read” HENS NIGHT, come and join Fiona and dance the night away before she walks down the aisle on her wedding day!  Girl’s Night Out with fabulous food and wine, Dress code Bling”- and Yes it was and Yes we did!  We had so much fun but I must say that hen’s nights had changed a lot since when I got married, and this certainly inspired me to both paint and write art blogs.

Funny thing is I cannot actually remember my own hens night, maybe that is because I did love to party and probably had a dozen girls nights out before I actually walked down the aisle, or maybe that is also something that we should blame on the champagne.  Oh the champagne has a lot to answer for!

THE ART OF THE BUCKS NIGHT & STAG NIGHT

I do remember that Bryan had a bucks night though, well maybe that is because there is pictorial evidence documenting the terrible deeds!  That was in the day when the groom would get tarred and feathered.  So there is a photo of a rather worse for wear groom standing in his jocks with shoe polish all over him, and I mean ALL over him.

Lucky for both him and I that it all ended well as some stories I have heard of what the so called “mates” do to each other sometimes ends in tears.  This next story is a classic example.  One” groom to be” was tied up after a very heavy night of partying to the pole of a jetty, by his best man and some mates.  It was a hot balmy night and the tide was out so the lads figured all was sweet and left him there and continued to party up the street.

THE ART OF SURVIVAL

Well a few hours passed as they do when you are having fun and finally they thought they better check on the groom, who at this stage was now millimeters away from drowning, the water was lapping up under his nose and he had to time his breath after each wave.  If they had waited another couple of minutes there would not have been any wedding to go to.  He lived to tell the tale but the story ended bitter sweet anyway as that was the last time that the best man and the groom ever saw each other, he and the other couple of mates involved were persons non grata at the ceremony and 20 years later they haven’t spoken to each other again, the bride saw to that and who can blame her.

This painting depicts seals at the Zoo (which sold in Japan) and the only thing it has in common with this story is the being up to ones neck in water!

ARTISTIC IDEAS FOR FUTURE PAINTINGS

Anyway us girls are a little more kinder to each other and these days the last night of freedom (as it were) are carefully orchestrated affairs with every little detail taken care of by very dedicated and wonderful bridesmaids and maids of honors.  At this one for my gorgeous niece Fiona (who is marrying handsome nephew Regan) held at the Ambar Lounge at the Ambassadors Hotel, there were hors D’oeuvres and drinks, a scrumptious main meal and for dessert a Penis cake.

Mmm…haven’t I mentioned that word yet!!!  That’s funny as they were everywhere on this night.  Just the generic brand actually and not attached to an actual man or anything!  There were lots of games both guessing ones, like” What part of the body does the groom prefer on his bride to be”, and each right answer was rewarded with a small gift which was a little bit naughty.

Then there was “Pin the tail on the Donkey” although in this case “he” was definitely not a donkey and “it” was certainly not a tail”.

Would you believe that I was the winner of that game, go me!  I obviously know where they grow, lol, although I will have to admit the blind fold was not done up too tight and I actually had a little peek.  Naughty me, and that won me a tube of Chocolate Body Paint, funnily enough my daughter came second and she got a funny little toy in a box, we haven’t figured out what it is yet, looks like a little torpedo, lol.

SEX & ART

The Penis cake was to die for and both I and my daughter was wildly excited it was also gluten free, so we could actually eat some.  It was presented with lots of little chocolate penises around it on a silver tray and the chief bridesmaid had made it herself, obviously another artist in the making!

She said her husband came home unexpectantly whilst she was baking and wondered if she always made penis cake and chocolates whilst he was away.  She also pointed out that the cake had collapsed a little in the middle but she had got over that problem by filling that part up with cream,  which all us girls thought was rather authentic anyway!

The rest of the girls went out clubbing afterwards and I should have too, as life is too short to sleep it away, next time!  But this time I caught the train home with my little box of goodies- oh did I forget to tell you about them, all of us got a little box full of little naughty sweets, yep you guessed it in the shape of you know what!!

So there I was, sitting on that train which was absolutely full of people, some perhaps a little bit worse for wear just like me (well it was 12am on a Saturday night) and I could not help having a little giggle to myself thinking about what my little box contained!

So here is something I’ve learned said by J.A.Wheeler (physicist)

“If you haven’t found something strange during the day, it hasn’t been much of a day.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie  xx

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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.

As I was writing a art blog about another painting where I depicted us losing our false teeth while we were madly dancing, I was reminded about what happened to a good friend; she unfortunately had to have all her teeth removed at an early age and was made a set of false teeth by the dentist.  Here is the link to the art blog & painting of us loosing our teeth 23. Don’t let your arthritis get in the way & ART

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

Good looking girl who lived alone apart from her two dogs.  (The two white dogs in this painting on the right hand side of the art work are the ones in question.)

Anyway she was just starting to get used to wearing these false teeth, but they had been hurting a bit so she put them in the glass by the bed, got an early night as there was a family gathering the next day.

As she explains it, she woke up and just sort of dozed in bed for a while, contemplating the day ahead.  Then she slowly started to take notice of this strange sort of crunching sound under the bed and thought she better investigate.

Well under there, she found her two darling Maltese Terriers looking up at her ever so innocently, each with a brand new set of false teeth in their mouths,  well that’s probably an over statement let’s just say that a few hours ago they were brand new…now they were distinctly chewed up and broken into several bits.

Brave lady this one, still made it to the party wearing her temporary ones whilst the dentist made another set.

CAT AND DOG SERIES OF ARTWORKS

It has been a lot of fun to paint for the dog and cat series and they are all so cute and great to research too, plus I have the perfect subject’s right here, our dogs and also two cats called Milo and Ozzie ( named after Ozzie Osbourne)

Ozzie is really an outdoor cat who we normally do not see for weeks at a time, however since Kai came home he has been hanging around constantly, guess we weren’t the only ones to miss the baby boy !

Here is a quote by Helen Hayes from the book Wag Lines, that fits perfectly here.

“When I hear tell of the character and the loyalty and devotion of dogs, I remain unmoved.  All of my dogs have been scamps and thieves and troublemakers, and I’ve adored them all”

Till next time 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.

]]> http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/28-sometimes-its-just-about-the-little-noises-you-hear/feed/ 2 http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/23-dont-let-your-arthritis-get-in-the-way/ http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/23-dont-let-your-arthritis-get-in-the-way/#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:19:15 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=759 PAINTING ON THE COVER OF THE ADELAIDE REVIEW

I was thrilled when I found out that my painting Don’t let Your Arthritis get in the way was going to be on the cover of  the Adelaide Review it was printed in conjunction of an art exhibition at the time.

Quite amazing to me that one can have two completely separate occupations and both ended up gracing covers on magazines.

THE ART OF GROWING OLD

Funny though you would never get a cover in modelling showing old folks like this.

Shame isn’t it that growing old is not celebrated more; you often hear that youth is wasted on the young and in many ways that is true.

Although I must say in my own case that each passing year just gets better than the last.  Yes sure, there are always hick ups along the way, life happens to you whilst you are busy doing other things…. as Lennon said.

But for the most part, it’s such a joy to be alive, I’m just not totally happy with the allotment of time…..are we talking round the 100 or so years at the most, give or take a few years.

How is that going to be enough, there is so much to do and see and experience and equally important are the quiet times, sitting cosy by the fire with the rain falling on the iron roof, kicking back with a good red and the latest movie.

On this painting you will find me (30 years or so into the future) the one, in the middle kicking my legs up, yes I do that still and intend to till the end, if I can still muster up the energy.

Bryan is by the bar, hair grey now (it really is grey now although I always paint him still with his blond curly hair and blond moustache)

PAINTING & FRIENDS

The others in the painting are our friends, and you may not have noticed but we have been a little to boisterous in our attempts at some good old fashioned boogying that we have all lost our false teeth, they are all around us on the floor.

Well let’s hope that not all my paintings come true, I would really like to keep my teeth were they belong, and not in a glass by the bed.

Here is a thought by Albert Schweitzer (humanitarian and philosopher) that I like.

“An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight.  The truly wise person is colour-blind.”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting!

Love Marie xxx                             (c)

Here is another art blog with my artwork on 112 Artlink Magazine and also as a model on the cover of Playboy.

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.

How fantastic the internet is!!!

Oh it’s probably all ho-hum to you lot, but you see I am a real newcomer to this.  My Husband/Manager Bryan has been looking after my old art website and anything electronic since forever and I swore black and blue that I was just not INTERESTED and did not even know how to turn the stupid thing on!  I used to say when asked that I still marveled at the invention of lighting a match.

Well how things change….I got a laptop for Christmas and here we are and now I think it is the best thing since sliced bread and my children and husband say, welcome to the 21^st century.

SOCIAL MEDIA & ART

One of the fabulous advantages for me has been the re-connection with my Swedish relatives through Face book which is another thing I so love.  The time just runs away when you are on that, so parents don’t be so hard on your kids, they can’t help it, time speeds up I swear. Lol Really nice to meet so many new face book friends too.  You see there is a whole artistic community on Facebook & Linkedin and so many art groups and artists which is fantastic.

Anyway had a message from my cousin, whose mother had bought 3 of my paintings at my Swedish exhibition a few years back.  He had heard that I often paint the family in my work and asked where we were.  His question was “Where is Waldo?” (The Swedes have a funny way with translations; it should be Wally, right lol)

MY FAMILY IN PAINTINGS & PRINTS

So I sent him this picture of “Pottering at the Port” so he could compare and find us in the other paintings (we are on top of the lighthouse on the right hand side Bryan in an orange shirt, little Kai and Hillivi and me next to them waving. No clue who is next to us, never spoke to them, so never found out! Lol)

You see I nearly always paint us as we were when the kids were little.  Hillivi will be forever 4 and Kai 8 years old. I don’t know why I do that; perhaps it is because they were just mine and Bryan’s then.

We did not have to share them with boyfriends and girlfriends and work and just life.

They will forever be my baby girl and baby boy and I still call them that today, as you can imagine that was not a cool thing to be called during the awkward teenage years but they coped well with their mothers little idiosyncrasies.  Although understandably teenage son at 18 was less than pleased when I called him my little “Possum Poo” in front of his new girlfriend, I think as I remember I got a bit of silent treatment then, well deserved too, but I swear it just slipped out.  The lights were on but there was no one home. Lol

Here is another saying I like from Price Cobb a racing car driver.

“Some days you’re a bug.  Some days you’re a windshield.”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xxx

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I had so much fun designing and creating this work, all the animals are hand made out of clay, set to dry over several weeks on boards on the floor of my studio and then fired bisque.  Followed by, in some cases up to five coats of paint, two coats of glazing and of course drying in between and then fired again in a kiln up to 1000 degrees.

MOSAIC

The artwork is much like a giant jigsaw puzzle, glued on a waterproof sheet and then mosaic around.  My ceramic work hang equally well inside or outside as everything is waterproof and the glue is the same as they use in swimming pool tiling.

I am particularly fond of this art piece and love to imagine all the different species of animals all being friends, no one is being anybody’s lunch.  All in perfect harmony, everybody is happy, just like I would like the world to always be.

ARTISTS PASSIONS

This artwork which recently sold, “All Creatures Great and Small”, celebrates the wonderful animal kingdom of our planet.  As does a lot of my artworks both in sculpture & painting.

So another passion is of course animals, how anyone could live without animals is beyond me.  Particularly dogs, man’s best friend (and womans.lol) right now we have two dogs Vegas named after Las Vegas of course, where we renewed our wedding vows a few years ago and Cheech named after the comedy duo Cheech and Chong.

And really those names so suit them ,Vegas a Chihuahua and very lady like and likes the finer things in life and Cheech is like and adolescent with ADHD and a learning disorder, lol.

He is all over the place all at once and drives us all crazy even Vegas, but hey, is extremely cute and very lovable.  They told us at the pet shop that he was a cross between a Chihuahua and a Mini foxy, but I am sure another “ring in” got in on the act. I will tell you about all our other animals another day.

Here is another thought that I like by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)

“Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms”

Hope to see you again in the meantime Happy painting and sculpting everyone!

Love Marie xxxxx   (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.

My mother always cooked and really well too, she used to have all sorts of biscuits and cakes and buns waiting for us when we came home from school.She also made jams and so did my mother in law,  I was always fascinated by their skills although none of it unfortunately rubbed off on me.  Oh no not a skerrick rubbed off, my husband Bryan is the cook of this family and for a very good reason.  I burn everything even water he is fond of telling me,  you  know it is actually possible to burn water if you forget it is on and let it all cook away then you will burn the saucepan.. well I am good at that.  So lucky I at least could paint food to satisfy at least a little bit of my cravings!

FOOD IN ART

However I am fascinated by the process of cooking and I do looooove food,  I also like to paint food, I am interested in the different colors and textures.  Perhaps it also stems from a life deprived of food during my modelling days, when just looking at it would make you gain weight & old habits die hard even as an artist!

Here is a acrylic on canvas board painting of Jam making in a country kitchen, whilst the cats amuse themselves with the mice.

This reminds me of a funny story that my brother just told me, which seems perfect for my art blog.

ARTISTS INSPIRATION

My mother had decided to make toffee and unfortunately it had not turned out that great, it was incredibly sticky so she decided to throw it away and make another lot.   She then thought, waste not, want not, and decided that the dogs may enjoy it instead.

I think they probably had a little go at it but also found it impossible to eat and left it in their dog bowls outside overnight.  So when my brother got up the next morning he describes a site for sore eyes.

Stuck in each dog bowl were 2 sparrows,   up to their knees in  toffee and flapping their wings like crazy when my brother approached but to no avail-my mother’s toffee had set around their feet like glue.

But, do not fear, they were duly rescued and all finished well.  So that will have to be another painting idea for me next time.

This is something Bill Cosby said, which made me laugh, being a vegetarian myself.

“Did you ever see the customers in health-food stores?  They are pale, skinny people who look half-dead.  In a steak house you see robust, ruddy people.  They’re dying, of course, but they look terrific.”

Till next time, 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.

We have two dogs, and in this artwork I started out painting Cheech but changed my mind as I went along and ended up doing Dalmatians instead.  Although Cheech has the same colouring (check the YOUTUBE video on the Bio page, he is the black and white pup dressed in various outfit, poor child with a weird “mother”.) Great soundtrack too eh?

We suspect  that Cheech has A.D.D; he is like a fly on a string when you take him out for a walk on his lead.  I think he was probably traumatized as a pup, perhaps when he was left all alone in the pet shop cage for a couple of days after his 8 siblings had already found their new owners.

ART STUDIO

Well anyway he is scared of most things and very needy, follows me about and lies in the studio whilst I paint or sculpt, and also sleeps under the covers in our bed by my feet.

So this particular night I woke up because suddenly I had a dog in my face, shaking panting, dribbling and telling me to wake up.  It wasn’t long before I realized that we had a thunderstorm going on and as you guessed this brave little soul is a bit of a ‘scary cat’ .  As we were now both awake I thought we better both get up to do our ‘business”,  his turn first, but oh no do you think I could get him out the door.  Not on your Nelly, not with all that thunder rumbling, no he insisted that I come too and stood right next to him whilst he found a bush.

ART IMAGE

Now it was my turn, off to the bathroom we go, and you know this was 4am and I was still half asleep and stumbling down the hall way.  I  finally sit down, and lo and behold quick as a flash after another big thunderclap I suddenly had a dog in my lap on the toilet, and there was no way that he was going to get off until I was finished.  Lol  mmm…I feel another painting coming on…

Here is another saying from the book Wag Lines, said by Rita Rudner.

“My husband and I are either going to buy a dog or have a child.  We can’t decide whether to ruin our carpets or ruin our lives”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting everyone!

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.

Sometimes I paint from personal experience and sometimes I paint and then experience and that is what happened here.  Some artists that I know hate doing commissions, I feel the opposite entirely, and I love doing them.  I think it is because it makes me take a look at a subject that I may not have painted otherwise and I strive to please the client, however I have been very lucky and most of the time get just guide lines and then my imagination can roam free.   The hard part is that you have to research the subject matter, but at the same time you then acquire knowledge and you never know where that can lead to.

This painting of San Francisco was a commission again for my US gallery and ended up being bought by an interior designer.  I had so much fun pouring through travel books and coffee books on SF, that I felt I had really been there, and finally last year we went.

THE ART OF TRAVEL

Our daughter went to Ecuador, son flew in from London and went to San Diego (we were to meet up later in LA) and me and Bryan hired a car for the drive from LA to SF.  What we did not realize was that it was the Thanksgiving Weekend which is the busiest time of the entire year on the roads!  So what should have been a 5-6 hour trip took us more than 12 to complete.  It was amazing to me that we got there in one piece as the multi lane highway is very scary not to mention they drive on the opposite side of the road, luckily Bryan felt confident to drive (and had been there and done that before anyway)  I on the other hand nearly held my breath the whole way and almost relished the traffic jams so that I could rest a bit.

MORE IDEAS FOR ARTWORKS

All experiences find their way into my art blogs or paintings in one way or another!  Anyway we finally arrived in San Francisco but then were unable to find our hotel, so after a lot of map looking and going on and off the freeway, we decided to ask in a liquor shop for directions (the idea being; get a bottle of wine for the hotel room and some takeaway Thai as now it was nearly 10pm and too late for a hotel dinner).

Bryan went in and I stayed in the car, but it wasn’t long before I realized this may just be the seedy part of SF as I had a passing parade of girls in miniskirts and people decidedly worse for wear walking past.  I tried to busy myself in the car (trying not to make eye contact) paying great attention to the contents of a rather boring handbag.  I was getting a bit worried I may soon get a job offer from some unsavoury characters and besides that there were 2 fellows drinking out of paper bags  right  outside the liquor shop were Bryan was.   I was trying to call Bryans mobile as 25 minutes had passed by and I couldn’t go looking for him (might get dragged into a dark alley lol) but that did me little good as his phone rang beside me on his seat!

Thought at this stage maybe Bryan had been pulled into a dark alley himself, however when he finally got back to the car, he also had a long tale to tell, with a handful of directions on several bits of paper.  The funny thing is that all of those directions differed from each other, the store keeper gave one version as did his wife, then a customer had called his wife as she worked close to the Hotel, and someone else said that was not right and gave another version.  Finally a totally legless man had come in and said they were all wrong and given his version.  Would you believe the very drunk mans directions were spot on, and the others did not have a clue, as it happens!

(to be continued)

Here is another saying I like by Ernest Hemingway;

“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk.  That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie

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.

So here I am again, talking to myself lol, or maybe you, if you are out there somewhere.  So my artist website is finally up and running after its initial crash and then what seemed to be an eternity whilst it was being redesigned by Powwow.  And they did a very good job too I am pleased with it.  Hope you all use the E cards, free of course and add your own caption to a couple of them.  I have had fun thinking of captions myself, but I am sure you can think of plenty. You should find something there for every occasion.  We will be changing them from time to time to, like Christmas and Valentine’s Day etc.  This painting now a print and a portion of it is an E-card “The true colours of Hindley Street” is a favorite of mine.

HINDLEY STREET

I had so much fun painting this and it was bought by a psychiatrist and hangs in the waiting room, where it is very popular with the clients.  In my youth Hindley Street in Adelaide, South Australia was The place to hang out, we would often “crack a Hindley” and check out what was going down, lol.  You would find every type of person there, much like Kings Cross in Sydney.  The establishments offered everything from fast foods, to books, gelaterias, charity shops, pasta and pizza, nightclubs, dry cleaning, as well as adult only shops and strip joints.  People of every race and religion was there just to look or in the case of The Salvation Army and The Hare Krishna’s, there to convert some wayward souls.  Don’t know if it did them any good but it certainly was interesting.

So what a fantastic place for an artist to get inspired to paint a picture, there has been many reincarnations over the years and different shops have come and gone, but basically the feel of the street has remained the same.

If you are not familiar with the twisties packets in the pockets of the raincoat brigade, you may have to listen to the lyrics of Skyhooks’ Living in the Seventies Album’.  Lol, they were a major influence on me and a band I still love.  Mmm…Talking bands, AC/DC you ROCK!!

ARTnBED – ARTWORKS ON YOUR BED

There has actually been a very interesting development in this story as this painting Hindley Street has this year 2012 been made into quilt covers or duvet by ARTnBED.   So if you are interested in having art not only on your wall but also on the bed here is a couple of links for you to check out ArtNBed website and also my blog on the subject 140 ART n BED as well as the page ARTnBED.  Look out for more of my artworks, as the bedding range will be added too soon.

Here is another saying that amuses me…

God may have created man before woman but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you too!

Much 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.