I am a bit lost for words actually as this is the biggest break in the blogging since I launched my artist website, so with nearly 2 months away from writing I feel slightly lost, lol.  I have been back at the easel painting furiously for the last few weeks though as I have some pressing deadlines that had to be met.  I have just finished one of my painting commissions but still have several artworks still to do, so I am sneaking a little bit of time from one creative process to furnish another.

This artwork is handmade ceramic and mosaic and is called Travelling Cats, which fits this art and travel blog perfectly I think.

ART AGENT AND NAIVE ART EXHIBITION

Anyway I will start by sharing the reason for my absence and it starts with our very hectic but wonderful trip to Europe.  My husband and I had 5 weeks overseas and the pace was frantic at times.  We had originally planned a trip to India this year but as our daughter and boyfriend were going to Greece and invited them to join us our plans were changed.  As it was things snowballed from there as I was also invited again to the Naive Festival in Katowice Poland and to come and stay with my lovely European art agent in Copenhagen.  Then of course there were other places we wanted to see as holiday makers and other art business to attend too.

ARTISTIC ITINERARY

To give you some idea of the places we traveled to here is the countdown; Dubai,  London, Milan, Cinque Terra (Italy), Florence, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Krakow & Katowice (Poland), Vienna, (Budapest, Belgrade) Bucharest (Romania), Sofia (Bulgaria), Athens, Rafina, Mykonos, Santorini, Istanbul and then back to Dubai for another 3 days and then home to Adelaide Australia again!

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

Some of the countries and cities I had of course been in before over the years but others were completely new to us and every one of them had something new to offer and was a delight to explore.  Very important for the artist inspiration to explore new horizons and I hope to share some of the travelling stories in future blogs and artworks.

Here is a quote I think fits rather well here by Susan Heller,

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

Till next time happy painting, sculpting and travelling.

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.

Todays travel and art blog continues on from 166. Rondellhund, Roundabout dogs Sculptures as we finished a great smorgasbord spread in the Rondellhund factory.  So if you should want to catch up on the travel and art blogs leading up to this point in our recent Europe trip here are the links;  156. ART & FREQUENT FLYER POINTS and 157. Art & Never judge a book by it’s cover and 155 The Art of Packing Light and 164. ART, TOILETS AND TRAVEL

REVISITING SOLD PAINTINGS

After dinner we were taken to my Aunty Lillian and Hasses little red cottage for coffee and cake, it was lovely to see it and three of my paintings hanging on their wall which they had purchased when I had a Swedish art exhibition some years ago in the South of Sweden.

After a nights rest we were picked up by Aunty Lillian and Hasse again to go for a sightseeing tour around both Huddinge where I grew up and Spanga, Solna and Sundbyberg where my mum and dad lived and went to school many moons ago.

First we visited the house that my father built and that I lived in from age 7 until 13 and we were very kindly invited inside when we were found lurking, lol outside taking pictures of the front of the house by the owner.

Lol, we could have been undesirables casing the joint but the lovely owner trusted us and it was fantastic to see my childhood house again.  My dad was way ahead of his time in building it with lots of fantastic features that still looked modern today, among them a great big slate fireplace in the middle of the room and a marble tiles floor in the entrance hall leading into the big room with a parquet floor.  The kitchen had not stood the test of time unfortunately and a new one had been put in and in the backyard the pergola, potter’s wheel and my cubby house were long gone, as were the gate to the neighbour’s yard as they had moved long ago taking with them their 3 kids, my playmates.

THE ART OF LETTING GO

The next stop was a little tricky emotionally – we were going to visit my Grandparents graves.  I was very very close to my Mormor and Morfar (as Grandparents are referred to in Swedish; Mothersmother and Mothersfather, that way no one is ever confused as to which sets of Nanna and Pa’s you are talking about!)

Last time 30 years ago when I visited their graves I was a total wreck with the grief and hurt so raw that I had been dreading going back.

My cousin Berit had arranged to meet us there and had bought a beautiful flowering rose for me to plant on their grave which we did together.  What I really appreciated this time around was the beauty of this graveyard.  It was beautifully looked after with trees, bushes, flowers everywhere.  The paths continued on through from the graveyard meandering in a picturesque setting to where my Grandparents had maintained a little Summer house (Kolonistuga).   These miniature cottages of one or two small rooms each are set out like a tiny little town on small plots of land with lots of vegetable and fruits growing and a communal park area for parties and Midsommer celebrations.  Swedes who live in apartments buy or rent these types of cottages as place to get away during the summer and potter in the gardens and feel one with nature.

ARTIST INSPIRATION

The inspiration for this  acrylic painting called “The Good Life” no doubt comes from my childhoods memory of seeing all the vegetables, flowers and fruit my grandfather grew in his little garden, whilst my grandmother rustled up delicious food all the while telling funny stories and laughing lots!

So this area was so full of wonderful memories of my childhood and I really felt at peace with the fact that my Mormor and Morfar were no longer alive but that their spirits were still here and so very much part of this place for me.   They were actually buried in the absolute best possible place for them.   If I looked up to my right there were the Rasberrymountains where their apartment had been and on the other side of the graveyard was Lotsjon; a small lake that my Grandfather and I always walked around feeding the ducks and birds.

THE ART OF BEING THANKFUL

All of us were then treated to a lovely lunch by Lillian and Hasse in this gorgeous little Grona Stugan (Green cottage restaurant) that was next to the lake with all the ducks.  So atmospheric and beautiful my heart was filled with happiness and grateful for the wonderful childhood I had experience with the most loving and caring Grandparents ever and also felt so cherish by the lovely relatives sharing this day with me.

So I think this quote by an unknown author fits well here:

“There are things that we don’t want to happen but have to accept, things we don’t want to know but have to learn, and people we can’t live without but have to let go.”

I wish you all a beautiful day, month and year and happy painting or sculpting or whatever else gets your fancy.

Till next time,

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.

I miss New York and our New York friends so much today!  Don’t you just love the “Big Apple” the city that literally never sleeps.  Streets teaming with people of every race and nationality and shops and food from every culture.    Talking about the culture – what about all those fantastic Broadway shows and the fact that you can pick up a cheap ticket either in the booth at Times Square  or through the lottery the individual  theaters use.  New York has a multitude of artistic inspirations to which artists never tire of exploring in all art forms, including me of course having done many paintings and sculptures on the subject.

MODELLING AND ART

As I have mentioned before – hubby had promised to take me to New York 25 years prior to our arrival there – you cannot say he doesn’t keep his promises, lol.

In the early 80’s whilst I was modeling in Europe, Bryan backpacked  through Europe where he made lots of friends along the way,  American couple Peter & Amy were two of them,  newly married and on their honeymoon.  Later on when he found himself in New York he decided to look up them up, and was immediately offered a bed, being the gorgeous people they are.    Bryan stayed with Rosslyn & Sol (Amy’s parents) in Paramus which is in New Jersey about half an hour from the city centre of New York.

You know how life goes – they all kept in contact for the first 10 or so years with a letter or postcard here and there, then life got in the way and we would get the occasional postcard from Peter as he circumnavigated the globe on various adventures in his job as Chief Engineer on various ships.

So we plan our first trip together to the USA and although I had never met them I have spent the last 25 years hearing all about the great time Bryan had and the wonderful friends he met and now the search is on to try to reconnect.

Boy what a saga that was, endless searches on the internet and phone calls etc, but finally a bit of luck through the maritime college in New York where Peter used to teach, and bingo they got in touch.

(Below is my acrylic on board painting of the apes at the Bronx zoo, a must in the sightseeing schedule)

THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP

What came as a complete surprise however was the incredible warmth of these lovely people.  As soon as Amy heard that we and our children were coming their way, we were offered a bed with her parents in Paramus.  This is 25 years later mind you and for all she knew we may have turned up on her doorstep as Riff Raffs, lol but she had no hesitation and we spent 2 fantastic weeks there.

We spent 14 days on wonderful adventures in and around New York sometimes with Amy & Peter and also on our own investigating the city.  Met more of their family and friends too and spent a combined Christmas/Hanukkah as that year, the 2 celebrations fell on the same day.

Oh and what a feast that was.  Amy does not do things by half, the table was laden with goodies such as various finger foods; meat or vegetarian, platters of roast beef and other meats, vegetables in all their colors, a French dish made from filo pastry stuffed with cheeses and jam (to die for) a glorious Mushroom Pie (dead again,lol), olives, nuts, chips, crackers dips, pâtés, cheeses, fruits, bagels, pumpkin pie, cakes, biscuits and cookies in every shape and form.  Our eyes truly boggled and when I asked Amy how come she had bought and prepared so much food enough to feed an army, she said; “Well you got to have a choice, don’t you!”  It was one of those days where you ate and drank from midday to midnight and couldn’t possibly do up your pants or they would bust.

It is a Christmas that we will always treasure, so a big salute and cheers to our New York friends and I leave you with another dear New York friend,  Bob’s favorite quotations, he is funny as a fit and we met through Amy & Peter.

“Some people are like Slinky’s – not really good for anything buy they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs..”

“Why don’t you slip into something a little more comfortable….like a coma”.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting everyone,

Love Marie xxx  (c)

If you enjoyed this art  & travel blog you may also like this one about New York: 137 ICE SKATING IN CENTRAL PARK

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.