Marie Jonsson Harrison » Country Life

207 HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY ART & Carpe Diem

mariejon — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 04:36:44 +0000

PAINTING HOLIDAYS

Happy holidays and a happy 2014 to you all across the world. On this painting you can see my husband and I kicking back and relaxing on our farm seizing the day. Sitting under a tree having a picnic, sipping champagne, reading a good book all whilst being watched by the kangaroos and sheep and our two dogs; Moses and Saba. Kai and Hillivi our children are flying kites nearby whilst the birds are all feeding their young in the trees, an idyllic summer afternoon (with a bit of artistic licence of course, lol) It’s from a few years ago now as the kids are all grown up and the dogs sadly passed on but still in our hearts forever more.

THE ART OF HAPPINESS

I hope this new year will bring you all that you wish for and be the happiest yet, and for some reason it doesn’t always work that way keep this in mind “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything they just make the best of everything”. Wise words I think by an unknown author and something I have seen many, many times during our travels, some of the happiest people I have ever met have been in third world countries. Happiness is not something measured by the number of cars you possess, the amount of money you earn or living in the fanciest of houses, no it is something within. The beaming smiles and laughter and giggles often come from the simplest of dwellings, overcrowded and basic but everything is shared and strangers are welcomed as one of the family.

THE ART OF CARPE DIEM

So I would like to share a few quotes about Carpe Diem which means; to enjoy the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future.

“Life is short, God’s way of encouraging a bit of focus.”

(Robert Brault)

“Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.”

(Chinese Proverb)

“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”

(Elbert Hubbard)

“Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.”
(James Dean)

“The important thing is not how many years in your life but how much life in your years”
(Edward J. Stieglitz)

“Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead.”

(Scottish Proverb)

“To change one’s life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.”
(William James)

“You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted.”
(Ruth E. Renkl)

“Most of us spend our lives as if we had another one in the bank.”

(Ben Irwin)

“Minutes are worth more than money. Spend them wisely.”
(Thomas P. Murphy)
“If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.”
(Larry McMurtry)
“Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself.”

(George Bernard Shaw)

“We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.”

(Japanese Proverb)

“Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is the special occasion.”

(Author Unknown)

So on that note I leave you, till next time happy painting and sculpting and just enjoying life, Carpe Diem.

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.

54.Art & The Place of the Ground Frog (All Roads lead to Mallala, part 2)

Marie — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:05:47 +0000

ART & FROGS

Unlike this painting, this little country town is actually rather quiet with only a population of 500 and according to Wikipedia the name is aboriginal for ‘madlola’ which means ‘place of the ground frog’. Not that I saw anymore frogs there than anywhere else, but maybe that’s how come I picked up the frog inspiration because I do like to paint them, for you who are familiar with my naive art. Here is another art blog & painting where the detail of the frog above comes from 49. By the Seaside & Art

Below are two different versions of the painting “All Roads Lead to Mallala”.

ARTISTIC LICENCE

At various times in the time we lived in Mallala, there actually were both cows, sheep and runaway horses that raced through the streets, my artistic licence is just that they did not all do it at the same time!

The yellow school bus you see is one that stopped outside our church and took Kai the 10 km in to the local primary school.

A lovely little country school with nice teachers and principal, as a matter of fact the first time I met the principal he was dressed up from head to toe in a purple monster suit, a friendly monster I should add, being the Purple people Eater on a “school dress up day”.

To me that was quite amazing, coming from Sweden where people were more stiff and formal and you would never on your life catch the principal in a dress up costume (well not during office hours anyway, I am sure they have their scandals too just like the British and their polititians in suspender belts and the like.)

The pub on the right is where “Smokey the Chip eating sheep” was raised, and the white ute (pick up truck) in the top picture was Bryan’s car that Smokey came home in, 11. “SMOKEY” The Chip eating sheep Art blog

This pub has been owned and run by several different owners and continues to thrive, now perhaps the most popular it has ever been with delicious meals and often a band rocking the night away, and it is a popular spot for country folk.

MALLALA CAR RACING & ART

Mallala is quite famous in its own right for its Motor Sport Park which regularly hosts national and international car racing.

The Royal Australian Air force originally established their base there in 1939 where they used to train their pilots until they closed down in 1960 which is where the car racing now takes place.

With the Air force in mind here is a quote by Toni Morrison (writer) that I like.

“Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down”.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and maybe I should say happy car racing too,

Love Marie xx

52.Art & All Roads lead to Mallala

Marie — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 05:05:00 +0000

ART IN THE GRAVEYARD

All roads lead to Mallala, is the name of this painting and when we first moved out to the country from the big “smoke” this is where we moved to, well nearly, 10 km from here, as you can see there is a lot that goes on in the country too depicted in my naive art way.

We lived in an old church which had been converted into a 2 story house, surrounded by paddocks and with a graveyard over the back fence.

A lot of people would comment that we were brave to live there, but even though I am a scary cat in other aspects the graveyard never affected me, it was a serene and peaceful place.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

We were told when we bought the place that it was no longer in use, so I must say that once when we arrived home and there was a fresh grave there it was a little confronting, lol.

But still no ghosts or any funny goings -on, the only funny business came from our dogs at the time Spike and Saba and the rabbits that lived under the graves.

Spike our small terrier used to chase them down the rabbit hole and I would be beside myself wondering if she would come out alive, or get stuck there forever, or goodness gracious- bring up a bone that did not belong to a rabbit!

If you enjoyed that dog story you may just enjoy this art blog too 8. Thunder in the Thunder Box & Art

Mallala was our first taste of country life and we were welcomed to the district with open arms and met such a lot of nice people, some of whom we count as our best friends even today 20 something years later.

ART OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

However there was one less than friendly person there, who shall remain nameless lol. In any case this woman was not from the district but opened a video hire outlet there in conjunction with the local takeaway.

She was grumpy as, heaven forbid you should bring a video in a minute after the allotted time, or even worse actually had faulty video that you could not watch and then complain about it.

It would be like facing the Gestapo; you would tremble at the thought of bringing the video back and telling her about it. Of course she would insist it was your fault and that you deliberately broke the video and you better pay up or else.

Lol luckily this particular woman did not last long in this business. Funny don’t you think when people run their own business and have a shop front and then have not learned to be friendly to their customers, they do not realize that repeat business comes not only from the product they sell but also from their demeanor too, you know customer service. You can see the Video shop a little left of center in the artwork.

Here is a quote from Victor Hugo (writer)

“Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters”

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

Love Marie xx

49. By the Seaside & Art

mariejon — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 23:45:56 +0000

ART & FLOODS

As it happens we should just have stayed at the farm, because four days after we moved to the seaside the seaside actually came to the farm would you believe! If you missed our house moving tales here is the art blogs on our adventures 40. Tree Change for a Sea Change & Art and 41. Art & Collecting Cackleberries and Thank you Balaklava and of course there has to be a packing story in there too; 42. Art & All That Packing ..mmm Better have a Holiday

So four days after we moved to the seaside one of the biggest down pours in history happened at Whitwarta where we lived and according to the locals the water levels were at record heights!

The river of course broke its banks and the new owners of our farm house had the water lapping very close to the front door. Several paddocks were completely submerged and only the top of the fences showed. The water pipe for the house was ripped out by the water as was the water meter.

This painting shows a country scene and was inspired by the country life, and as the new family that has moved in has six children under ten, it can easily be them with their lovely mum and dad, Janette and Kirk (apart from the hair colours!)

THE ART OF KEEPING YOUR COOL

The new owners had a wonderful C’est la vie attitude and took it all in their stride, called us up to find out where the water pipe that connects to the house was located and so on. They said it was a great way to meet the neighbours, and everyone rallied around and helped them lay a temporary water pipe down the drive way for the time being.

I think the river flooded as a greeting for them, as it did the same for us many years ago just 3 or so weeks after we moved in, although this time the food did a lot more damage.

I must say it is spectacular to watch and it brings new life to the area and lots of seabirds and little creatures. The frogs which hibernate during winter and seem to disappear totally during the drought years, just magically come back to life and their croaking is something I never tired of listening too.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

This painting of the Frog Pond was made into a Care Card and sold for Charity, there were so many visions in the country that made the creative juices flow, all around you there is another scene that you want to recreate as a sculpture or artwork of any type.

My father made a little wooden dingy for the kids when they were little and they used to take great delight at rowing in the river, although they did have to wait until the water had subsided considerably as during the peak, it is a torrent of water collecting everything in its path.

Great big logs and drums and a tyre or two have been spotted winding their way down, and heaven forbid that you should fall in, even the strongest swimmer would have a hard time getting to safety.

When the river dries out again it is like Christmas to walk down in the riverbed and see what the water brought this time.

Usually lots of logs and branches get caught up in some tree roots snag and look just like huge beavers nests, and that’s what we used to call them.

The local wildlife would take up residence there and the beaver’s nests would cater for foxes, rabbits, lizards and snakes, all very exciting for little children and dogs.

So to the new owners of the farm, the Taylors,( a more perfect family we could not think of to take over this house), we wish you all the best and hope your time in the this new home will be as happy and wonderful as it was for us.

I think this motto fits well in here said by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (writer)

“The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xx

42. Art & All That Packing ..mmm Better have a Holiday

Marie — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 04:00:50 +0000

THE ART OF MOVING

Now who was the idiot that thought that would be a good idea!!!! Fourteen days in Bali sounds nice, yea right! Mmm…might have been moi ! (well Bali was fantastic, it was the aftermath that sucked! Lol) You see the timing of this little holiday really sucks but it worked out this way as we had our house on the market for a while and decided to live our lives as we always do regardless which meant painting and sculpting and also having holidays.

We had no idea that the week after sunning ourselves in Bali (at the time of booking the holiday) we would also have to move the entire contents of the previous 17 years of our lives out of our huge farm house. We tried to change the settlement date but had to work in with the new owners, so for the first part of the holiday we were feeling decidedly STRESSED, so much to do and so little time! Not only did we have to shift all our stuff but also all the animals we own, birds and cats as this painting shows and also the dogs too.

COMEDIAN; THE OLD FELLA

I suppose I only have myself to blame with the timing of this but I couldn’t help but laugh when a comedian friend of mine Rodney Gregory, you probably know him as The Old Fella from the Australia’s Got Talent (check him out on Youtube here) said:

“Good luck with shifting, great idea to go away in the middle of it??” I might try that, we are shifting in about 3 weeks, can hardly sleep in anticipation”.

There is no way in words to describe, what a terrible and stressful time we had for that last week at the farm, as we sorted, gave away, threw away, burned, packed, dusted, scrubbed and cleaned and I thought it would never end. As the settlement deadline loomed closer and closer we were 5 people working our fingers to the bones, including our cleaning lady and the window cleaning guy and my baby boy.(here is the window cleaning guy, Craig as he has appeared in a previous artwork, in ceramic and mosaic)

THE ART OF SORTING

Of course we could have hired removalists, however as we were downgrading and only taking half of our belongings we actually had to go through everything ourselves anyway. We had of course started packing before we went away but we are talking 17 years of accumulated stuff.

We also have many objects of value and sentiment, however I cannot understand why I agonize so much about throwing away stray bits of paper and ornaments with a chip in it and clothes that are out of fashion, never mind the perfectly good rubber bands and paperclips and the like.

Why do I think it will all come in handy one day lol! Someone SAVE me and just put it all in a big skip!

For the last 2 nights Bryan and I only got 3 hours sleep each night, the pace was that frantic that I’m surprised we didn’t have heart attacks so I can only deduct from that our hearts are probably quite healthy! We still managed to go over the time limit by 2 and a half hours but the new owners were very gracious and did not complain.

So here are some wise words from Ernest Hemingway (writer) that I think fit well here. “Never confuse movement with action.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you.

Love Marie xx

41. Art & Collecting Cackleberries and Thank you Balaklava

Marie — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:34:37 +0000

(continuing blog from Tree Change to Sea Change , see story below)

ARTISTS INSPIRATIONS

There are other things we will miss very much and appreciate about living in the country too. In this painting called “Collecting Cackleberries” we are of course collecting the eggs, the four of us and every one of our chooks had names, boy they were hard to remember!

Can you imagine sometimes I wrote birthdays cards with everyone of the chooks mentioned by name and not to forget the ducks, parrots cats, dogs and horses, cows and sheep.

That soon wore thin and now only us and the dogs names gets on the cards!

GALLERY & BALCO ART AWARDS

We were so lucky to have been made so welcome in this little town that is so supportive of the arts as well.

They have the cutest art gallery which used to be the Courthouse, entirely staffed by volunteers where they have exhibitions all year round and also run an art competition called the Balco awards, with entries from artists far and wide, which I have been lucky enough to have won the major ART price one time and minor prizes quite often.

COMMUNITY ARTS

The whole town have come out in support for the different art projects and sculptures and they have a first class theater group called the Balaklava Community Arts.

They put on at least one major show each year such as Oliver, Wizard of Oz and Jesus Christ Superstar, with amateur actors some whom could get a professional gig if they wanted to pursue it further. It is also so endearing to see the local teachers, shopkeepers and people around town strutting their stuff on the stage!

Our children did most of their schooling here and I think they were very lucky to be able to go to a small country school that was still able to provide nearly all the facilities and support that you get in the city.

However what we valued so much was the personal attention and interest the kids got both from the school and sporting organizations but also from the local community. Smiling faces and caring people who look out for one another that is something that we will really miss.

FARMING IS AN ART

I am happy too, that we had a chance to experience the farming life (although we had a share farmer do all the heavy work) we understand now the changing of the seasons and the heartbreak when the rain does not fall and you watch your crop whittle and die on the paddock. I get it now when the farmers complain when the drought sets in and the animals have little to eat, and the devastation when your animals contract a disease, when you have done everything in your power and there is nothing else that you can do.

Whenever I miss you Balaklava, I will try to think of the things I did not care for; such as the flies and dust and the scorching hot days when you can’t even take a breath without burning your oesophagus in 47 degree Celsius heat.

But I bet you my thoughts will center on the laughter of the kids playing and running around our big farm house and yard, how they were chasing after chooks and dogs, and their surprised faces when the rooster turned around and chased them.

How can I forget riding our beautiful horses around the paddocks, rugging, feeding them together with the kids and then taking walks along the river on a moonlit night and seeing the starry sky, so chockablock full of bright stars like nothing would ever prepare you for?

So THANK YOU BALAKLAVA you will be forever in our hearts.

I will have to remember in the coming days this quote by Boethius (statesman and Philosopher)

“Nothing is miserable unless you think it is so”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting, and for you farmers happy farming too

Love Marie xx (c)

40. Tree Change for a Sea Change & Art

Marie — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:32:02 +0000

ARTIST INSPIRATIONS

This painting is one I painted early on in my career (which sold in America) which was inspired by our new life on the farm, and what a lovely time it has been too.

Here we are unloading the truck with the dairy cows that we had on agistment each summer, they actually came on foot so the red truck is artistic licence.

We have lived here for the last 17 years and loved every minute of it, if it wasn’t for the fact that our children both now need to live in the city and find it hard to work such long hours and study at uni at the same time we would probably never have thought about leaving the country. I must admit I have had quite a few changes in my life from international model to artist for one! Leaving the farm though will be hard.

Now however it has finally happened and we don’t know whether to be happy or sad about the next chapter of our lives by the sea and with only 30 minutes to the city centre.

To wake up to the twitter of little birds and loud screeching of Galahs and Corellas is something that we will miss (oh maybe not the screeching bit, lol)

Speaking of Twitter if you would like to follow me there, here is a link https://twitter.com/Naiveview

Other things we will miss is the serene 40 minute river walk on our own property that we do each morning, often seeing the kangaroo who lives part time in our paddock and also ducks and other river birds that visit from far flung places.

The possum who comes to visit us at night looking for an apple or some bread, a wild animal who reaches out and grabs the treats with his little hands so trusting that we won’t harm him (we won’t miss the little brown pellets he leaves behind though lol)

HORSES AND ART

Our two remaining horses Pringles and Zipper, miniature ponies, have already found a wonderful place to live, with rolling hills and lovely people who spoil them with treats.

Our horses inspired many paintings and art blogs and here is a link to one of those with some artworks 61. Can Horses Write ?

I will sorely miss the open fires, the rain on the iron roof, the smell of the freshly cut lawns and rain, the peace and quiet and not a neighbour in sight. Not to mention; our permanent waterhole and the river when it flows and the whole area rebirths with new life and the trees full of figs, apricots and oranges.

Our 2 dogs and the birds will be coming with us and also Milo the cat, however we are going to have to plead our case with the new owners for Ozzy (yes named after Ozzy Osborne) our other cat, as he never took to being inside and likes roaming the country side. I must say that it is very rarely that we find a bird eaten, he is however quite the Mouser so he earns his keep so to speak, and with the current mouse plague that is quite an asset.

This saying by Titus Livy (Historian) fits well here I think.

“In difficult and hopeless situations the boldest plans are the safest.”

Till Next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie (c)

11. “SMOKEY” The Chip eating sheep Art blog

Marie — Sun, 02 May 2010 03:11:24 +0000

PAINTED PICTURE OF THE COUNTRY

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)