This Saturday the 12^th April is certainly a celebration for me, not only is it my gorgeous daughter Hillivi’s birthday it also is the opening of another art exhibitions with my art in Europe.

GALLERIE KNUD GROTHE

It is with the very prestigious gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark called Gallerie Knud Grothe and this Easter Exhibition is the 30 year celebration of this Naive show.  Knud does not do things by half so there will be a Jazz Band playing, chocholate eggs by Michelsen and they will be serving lots of red wine!  Such a shame I will not be able to attend in person, but I will be going there after the show finishes so at least I will be able to see this gallery first hand.

CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS IN DENMARK

Gallery Knud Grothe was established in the 1970’s and is still going strong exhibiting a rich mixture of contemporary art from around the world as well as Denmark of course.  Knud says his favourite genre of art is naive paintings and he has a yearly exhibition at Easter showcasing the naive artists in his gallery.

NAIVE ART IN DENMARK

There will be 300 paintings on show from 44 different Danish Naive artists, a couple of Swedish artists, one French and me!  So with all this wonderful talent I was very thrilled and humbled to have my painting called “The Dane and the Tassie Devil” on the invitation.  The talent among naive artists is incredible in Denmark some of the best I have ever seen, so it is wonderful to be in such company and I hope that I will be able to meet some of them in real life later on.

THE DANE AND THE TASSIE DEVIL

In this artwork you will find if you look closely Prince Fredric and Princess Mary on the sailing boat dressed up to the nines with long dresses, sashes and tiaras, just the type of gear any Royal worth their salt would wear for a relaxing summers sail trip.  I feel sure the Royals will share the joke with me as they seem such a down to earth type of couple which is reflected in everything they do.  As I paint I make up a little story in my mind so to me the paintings comes alive and I can feel what the characters are thinking and feeling.  That is how I amuse myself and enjoy every day of my life in the studio.  I guess as an artist you do have licence to be a little bit eccentric, well that is what I tell myself anyway.  I daydream about the reactions of the audience that views my work and hope that they have a little chuckle and laugh, spreading a little bit of happiness is my aim, lol.

ART GALLERY IN DENMARK

Charlottenlund is one of the most affluent suburbs in Copenhagen and got it’s name from Princess Charlotte Amalie, she is the daughter of King Frederick lV and the sister of King Christian Vl who rebuilt the Gyldenlund Palace in 1733 and named it Charlottenlund Palace after her.

DANISH CELEBRITIES This suburb Charlottenlund is also the home to Danish celebrities and corporate executives and lots of other wealthy individuals and families, the suburb has lots of gorgeous ocean views and most of the mansions and estates are around the Strandvejen (Beach Road).

ARTISTIC HISTORY

I have shared with you in another artblog that I have recently had some other art exhibitions in Copenhagen, Denmark and you may be forgiven to think that it was  GALERIE KNUD GROTHE I was exhibiting with, but no it was some other gallery and if you fancy you can read about one of them here;   177 ART EXHIBITIONS IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK & SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Also here are a couple of blogs about Knud and his incredible generosity and the history of how my participation in this show came about; 182 GIVING PAINTINGS AS GIFTS and 180 ART AND THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS and 193 NAIVE ARTIST Walther Schaldemose

Here is a quote I think fits well here by William W. Purkey;

“You’ve gotta, dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth”.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and maybe just drinking red wine!

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’sPAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE andSCULPTURES for sale orWALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

For those who read my travel and art post a couple of weeks ago called Thailand here we come! this is the continuation of that.  As you may remember we were not very happy with the hotel and after a big of searching on the internet we decided to go and look at the hotels we liked the look of first hand, as we didn’t want to have another disappointment.

ORIENTAL PAINTING

This particular painting is actually of the Chinese Gardens in Sydney, but I think the oriental feel fits quite well into my Thailand story.  No doubt Phuket and this holiday will find its way into artworks later on, that’s for sure.  If you look closely you will find my hubby and I with the two kids in this painting (often we appear in my artwork) as this was a day we enjoyed whilst in Sydney for a wedding.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

Anyway back to Thailand as we spent the first day going around checking hotels out in the Patong area and settled on the Mercure after checking out their rooms and facilities.   Our room was on the sixth floor with a balcony which was in a private position (away from the stairs and walkways) overlooking the lovely pool and swim up bar.   Breakfast in the restaurant was plentiful and we enjoyed cocktails in the swim up bar during happy hour as well as in the lobby area where there was also some great live music for a couple of hours each night. The hotel was central to all areas with Hard Rock Cafe across the road, the markets along the way and Bangla road and the beach within walking distance.

THE ART OF TRIPADVISOR

As I wrote a TRIPADVISOR MERCURE HOTEL review when we got back I was very happy to see that the General Manager had immediately taken up my two suggestions for improvement, needless to say that was not the case with our other hotel TRIPADVISOR BLISS HOTEL I must say that I do really like TripAdvisor which gives you a chance to see what peoples opinions are and also to rate your own experience both good and bad.  I find though that you have to take everything with a grain of salt to account for biases and tastes!

TAILORED ART

The rest of our stay was great, we found lots of good restaurants, had some suits and shirts made by a tailor David (he was originally from Burma but spoke very good English and also Swedish as it turned out) who I would also recommend.  We did of course do a lot of shopping at the markets and shops on our walks and the quality of the goods in Thailand was really good for the most part.  Saw quite a few “backrooms” with high end knockoffs too, which of course demanded a higher price.

I found the Thai people very friendly and nice, perhaps not quite as full on in their selling style as it is in Bali if you show the slightest bit of interest in their wares, which meant shopping was a little more relaxed.

THE ART OF THE HAPPY ENDING

We both loved the Thai food and also tried quite a few other cultures restaurants too, which was fun but my favourite thing to do was to have a massage.   Hillivi our daughter recommended a fantastic spa at very reasonable prices very central to everything called Limone where we went almost daily.  You really have to choose your spas with caution as we learned from an amusing story told by our friends (who recently celebrated 30 years of marriage)Jim and Ros Franks who on their Phuket holiday decided to have a massage each.  From what I understand they were in adjacent rooms at the same time, and both massages were lovely and relaxing, that was until Jim’s masseuse startled her client awake and said; “Only five bucks extra for a Happy Ending!”

So I will leave you with this quote from Jim Rohn (perhaps he is just home from Thailand too:), one that was perhaps faced by our friend Jim recently;

“Everyone must choose one of two pains:  The pain of discipline or the pain of regret”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting and of course lots of happy endings, lol.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I often miss my grandparents and infact hardly a day goes by when I don’t think about them. In this painting I have painted myself and my husband as we may look in our old age.  If you look on the paintings and photographs on the wall behind us, some of those are my version of actual paintings that we have on our walls that were painted by my talented father artist and sculptor Ted Jonsson. (The REAL paintings I have photographed and posted below for you to see:)

My grandparents on both sides of the family were the loveliest of people and I do deeply regret not spending enough time with them.  One reason for that was as I entered into the teenage years hanging out with my friends suddenly became really important and then the other that we immigrated to Australia and distance kept us apart.  Unfortunately by the time I had started to model and earned some serious money to go over and see them they had all already died.  If you fancy a read about our recent trip to Sweden here is a travel and art blog 167. THE ART OF LETTING GO

THE ART OF NO REGRETS

So these regrets I have inside is something I didn’t want my own children to be burdened with and therefore spending time with their grandparents is something I have always prioritized for them.  I found a lovely article on the subject in the Saturday supplement to the Advertiser by Mark Dapin which I would like to share with you here;

Here’s to you, Jimmy (by Mark Dapin, from SAWeekend)

“I had a drink with my grandad last week, although he’s been dead for 24 years. It was a ritual I used to observe, a pledge I’d always planned to keep: every time I found myself alone in the bar, I’d toast Jimmy. I’d think of him, and share my thoughts with him, as if he were there. Because, in life, Jimmy was always in a bar, raising his beer glass to clink with another, or lowering his whisky glass under the table to take a surreptitious refill from his hip flask.

He died the week I left England, so I couldn’t go to his funeral. For many years, asleep in my bed in Australia, I dreamed he’d ask me to go for a beer. I’d tell him I couldn’t, because he was dead. He’d say it was all a mistake, and we’d set out for the pub, happy and relieved. And then I’d wake up believing it was true, that I was still young and my grandad hadn’t died.

One night, the dreams ended, and Jimmy never came again, although occasionally in my sleep I’d find myself in the warm, dark living room of his tiny terrace house, with Jimmy asleep on his armchair and my nan perched fretfully on the lounge.

We probably stopped having our first beers together when I had children. Then I got my first iPhone, and gave up the few small spaces in my life I used to fill with memory and contemplation. I texted the living rather than drinking with the dead.

Jimmy took me for my first drink at a pub called the Mansion in the middle of a park, and I brought him his last, in a hospice as he lay dying. We had a couple in between, but too few, far too few.

There were so many things I didn’t ask him, so many answers I thought I’d never know. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve grown into him, and now I realise what his life must’ve been like, and there’re many things between us that can go unsaid.

Which is just as well, since he’s dead.

But last week I was sitting alone in a country pub, a snug steakhouse bar with a log fire, and I was about to message a friend when I remembered Jimmy, and I sipped my beer and gave him the time of night. I thought about the tickle of his whiskers as he rubbed them against my cheek when I was little, and the smell of alcohol on his breath and on his skin.

When my meal arrived, I remembered his favourite dinner (he called it “tea”) was steak and chips, and the way he’d mop up my nan’s gravy with soft slices of white bread. I could see the bubbles of fat in the gravy, taste the salt in the juice. He liked HP Sauce on his chips, and it’d been years since I’d thought of that.

I tried to build a picture from there, to recall all I could about the house where they’d lived: the odd things they’d kept in their cupboards, the treasures they’d stored in their drawers. I thought of their dictionary with its section of maps and I wished I had kept it so I could look at it again.

I have so little of my grandparents: a handful of photographs, and a sprinkling of memories which fade, in truth, into memories of memories, until they become just stories I have told or been told.

They lived through the Depression, the war, the blitz, rationing, austerity and the end of Empire.

Jimmy saw children’s bodies smashed into kindling and crushed among the bricks of bombed out homes. So by the time he had grandchildren, I think he understood how fragile and temporary we were.

Across the bar in the pub I saw a boy eating out with his grandparents. I watched him ignore them as he played games on his iPad. I wanted to tell him to look up from the screen, and make himself some memories. Because one day he would need them more than he could ever guess.”

An article well worth reading I thought and even though it is something we try to keep in mind I still made the whole family read it!

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Alex Haley;

“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.  Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.”

Till next time happy painting, sculpting and also spending lots of time with your own loved ones.

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.

Yep it is Christmas here again this week.  Not only do we have winter in South Australia at the moment when the temperature’s been down to 3 degrees Celsius some nights, but it has also been pressie time again, as I just received some more paintings, wow lucky me, really lucky me!

THE ART OF BEING SANTA CLAUS

Boy, I cannot express to you the surprise I again got when there was a knock on the door with another courier and this time 2 parcels arrived at the same time from Denmark and Knud Grothe’s Art Gallery.  I am seriously starting to suspect he is Father Christmas, well after all he does live in Denmark and Scandinavia is very close to the North Pole so I fully suspect that he wears a red suit with a black belt across his ample tummy with a fetching red hat on top of his gray hair, right?

ART BLOGS

If you missed my artblogs about Knuds generosity and the wonderful Danish artists here are some links180 ART AND THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS and  182 GIVING PAINTINGS AS GIFTS

DANISH NAIVE ARTISTS

Anyway let me tell you about the 2 wonderful paintings the first parcel contained.   This artwork is called “Circus Life” by Hanne Hojfeldt and since my heritage stems from the circus, this was very fitting present indeed.  (Here are some art blogs about that 20. Antonis Tivoli Art and 21. Life in a Circus Tent )

ARTIST HANNE HOJFELDT

Hanne Hojfeldt started her career in 1994 with great success and has continued in that vein including of course exhibiting with  GALERIE KNUD GROTHE in Charlottenlund.  Hanne was born in 1949 and grew up in Hjorring where she was introduced to art and developed a love for painting through her father.  Her subject matter is diverse: lush women, exotic flowers, rare animals, stars and dreams where the she can make anything happen.

Her work is so sought after that one of her paintings was actually stolen.  This artwork was an illustration called Art Canned 2007 for Sv. Michelsen Chokolade one of Denmarks leading chocolate makers  whose products are a favourite by the Queen of Denmark no less.  In any case it was stolen from Illums Chocolate Department (top end department store in Copenhagen) where it was on exhibition the day before Christmas 2006 and has not been seen since.

Now where was Father Christmas on that day – I am just saying, lol this all ties together with the title of this artblog and now the artnapping the day before Christmas!  Art theft would have to be the highest accolades for an artist when you work is so sought after even the thief’s cannot resist! (One accolade however you wouldn’t wish for.)

ARTIST LONE VILLAUME

The other original artwork I received from this gorgeous man Knud is called “Tillykke” which I think translates to either Congratulations or Well done!  In any case this is a miniature artwork by the artist Lone Villaume and as you can see is just delightful.  The joy and humour just bursts out from the artwork and that dog looking up at the ladies is just the cutest you can find.

Lone Villaume is another interesting Danish artist who straddles both the naïf camp and the more contemporary with her installations.  It is though with her naive works that I have fallen in love and couldn’t agree more with Tom Jorgensen who said in his article A true humorist; “Lone Villaume’s major force as an artist is her ability to define a universal human universe, marked by great warmth, compassion and a keen eye for everyday comic troubles.

The tools are sparse until the ascetic: a plain background, a tiled foreground and the action in the center.  No superfluous details, no color-related or compositional excesses, but a solid and carefully balance between action, image composition and pure pleasure.

Lone Villaume is one of the few artists today who makes us smile and feel warm in the heart.”

UPCOMING ART BLOG

Next week I will share some more art from Denmark from 2 wonderful art books and also some photos from GALERIE KNUD GROTHE

So again Thank you Knud from the bottom of my heart for these beautiful paintings, I feel so blessed to have you as a friend and look forward to exhibiting at your gallery next year.

So here is a quote I think fits very well here by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.”

However this one by Dennis Miller sure made me chuckle;

“Santa is very jolly because he knows where all the bad girls live”

Happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

As you can see by my art I am clearly an animal lover and have shared my life with many gorgeous creatures over the years.  I always love painting them too.  This acrylic on board artwork is from the vet’s waiting room and of course I had so much fun painting it too.  This story today is from the Undercover Vet who had an amusing story to tell about a patient of his and a rather intoxicated owner.

THE ART OF DRINKING

A middle age woman came into the vet with a large dog who was scratching and licking himself constantly.

The vet examined the dog while the nurse held him on the table. On his fur, there was an army of fleas all over. His body was crawling with the little buggers!
It was all explained to the owner (more than a little surprised she hadn’t noticed the fleas herself). The recommendation was to initiate some flea treatment and also treat the house for flea eggs.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION
This woman was clearly drunk, the alcohol on her breath was so strong, that her just breathing on the dog would probably have been enough to kill the fleas (or at least make them intoxicated enough to fall off sideways!). Her response to the advice was that we had no idea what we were talking about and that all her dog needed were steroids to stop the scratching. She denied that there were any fleas at all on her dog!

Here is another art blog with a similar theme 87 Art & It could be worse, they could be fleas with a cat painting and lots of bees and butterflies.

We then tried to point out all the fleas, the little parasites crawling around her dog’s body. The fleas were absolutely all over the dog, with a population density like Singapore, with bodies everywhere. The owner said that we were lying and there was nothing there. Understandably, the vet was getting annoyed by this woman’s stubborn and drunken behavior.

It was pointed out to the lady that both the vet and the nurse could clearly see the fleas and that if she didn’t have her beer goggles on and could actually see with any clarity at all, she would also be able to see them! She was told that she clearly didn’t value the vets professional opinion and promptly sent her and the poor dog on their way (probably back to the pub!).

THE ART OF APOLOGIZING

The following day, the lady returned to the clinic and sheepishly apologized for her behavior the previous day. She agreed that the diagnosis was correct and took both the flea control and medicine recommended.

So here is a quote from George Eliot that I think fits well here; “Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie xxxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I am frantically painting away in my studio trying to meet the deadline for the Naive Festival in Poland.  Normally I can pretty much concentrate on my work but lately life, the universe and everything has gotten in the way.  Oh and I will write a blog and tell you all about that too, not happy Jan!  But today’s art blog is about 2  art exhibitions that I have opening this week in 2 different cities, well countries in the world.

ART EXHIBITION IN DENMARK

The first is in Denmark at a gallery called Galleri Naif and run by Mia Cara who is a Bulgarian naive artist herself,  this exhibition is in Islands Brygge in Copenhagen and runs until the 5^th of May and is called “Spring exhibition”.   Mia also runs a website if you would like to take a look at her own artwork.

ARTISHOP.DK

This exhibition was booked through my lovely friend Eliane Kristensen who I first “met” online through either Facebook or LinkedIn (I cannot remember which).  She started following my artblogs and making comments and we found that we had lots in common.  Eliane is a very interesting person, bubbly and vivacious full of “get up and go”.  She runs her own website called artishop.dk as well, which has art and jewellery and Eliane also writes articles for different publications as well as the internet.  Here is a link to her on Pinterest.

ART MEETING IN PARIS

Last year whilst my husband and I were travelling in Europe Eliane arranged a lovely dinner at a fabulous Parisian restaurant in Butte aux Cailles which is a most interesting part of Paris.  We were joined by my lovely friend Jacques Dubois who is the man responsible for organizing the Art Naif Festival in Katowice, Poland each year.  Elaine and I now refer to Jak as Mr Tornado (LOL with Love and Affection of course) as that is just what he is.  Jak is so full of enthusiasm and fun that he can hardly sit still and is the most stimulating of conversationalists.  Whilst Jak had not felt totally comfortable whilst writing English he had absolutely no trouble in making himself understood whilst talking and if there was a word here or there that we didn’t get, Jak would simply get up and do a  Marcel Marceau  impersonation.  I was therefore not surprised to find out that Jak in an earlier life had been a celebrated actor but these days he is a very astute business man with a great love of art.

So it goes without saying that we had the most wonderful night and dinner was followed by a stroll through this interesting part of Paris till we found a little cafe to have another drink and some coffees before finally saying goodbye.

EUROPEAN ART REPRESENTATIVES

It was really wonderful to meet my European art representatives and now firm friends in real life, just goes to show how the internet connects people and makes things happen.

ART EXHIBITION IN SYDNEY

So now to somewhere closer to home, well we are still talking 1300 kilometers from home in Sydney.  My other exhibition that opened this week was in Sydney at the Callan Park Gallery at Sydney University.  This one is called Naive art of Australia and features several other naive artists as well.

The exhibition has been curated by Nerida Olson who is passionate about art and is the Public Relations and Marketing Manager at Sydney College of the Arts, Division of Architecture and Creative Arts.

CALLAN PARK GALLERY

I was asked to exhibit at their Sydney gallery last year as well but at that time due to time constraint it wasn’t possible.  This show runs until the 2^nd of May, so I hope a lot of you Sydneysiders make your way there and have a look.

In this gloom and doom word, let us Naive artists put a smile on your face and get lost in our little rays of sunshine.

Here is a quote by Howard Ikemoto that I think fits well here which reminds us that we are all artistic – every one of us.

EVERYONE ARE ARTISTIC

“When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work.  I told her I worked at the college – that my job was to teach people how to draw.  She stared at me, incredulous, and said, “You mean they forget?”

Till next time,

Love Marie xxxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’sPAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale orWALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Today’s art blog was going to be about something entirely different but then when I turned on my computer and checked the emails I got sent “50 Life Lessons” by Regina Brett by a friend.  Well actually it was called 45 life lessons in the email and also said to be written by a 90 year old whereas the real author is only 56 however the contents and the life lessons that were brought up so resonated with me that I did want to share them with you.

ACRYLIC PAINTING

I though this acrylic on board  cat painting would go well here as it is called “Celebrate our nine lives”.   Underneath this artwork are “THE 50 LIFE LESSONS “and afterwards I will tell you a bit more about the wonderful author/columnist/journalist Regina Brett.

THE ART OF LIFE

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.                                                                                                                                  

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.                                                                                                                                  

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now                                                                                                                        

42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift..

MORE ART BLOGS WITH QUOTES TO LIVE BY

If you want to read some more uplifting quotes by a variety of different authors have a look at these art blogs 136 Quote and Unquote in Art and 148 Art and my Favourite Quotations

THE ART OF THE AUTHOR

Regina Brett was born 31^st of May 1956 and is a journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist and writes for the Plain Dealer which is a daily newspaper in Ohio.  To date she has also written two books “God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little detours”  as well as “Be the Miracle: 50 Lessons for making the impossible possible” which was published in 2012.  She has been nominated for umpteen awards and also won several outright for her writing.

THE ART OF LIFE

Regina says her lessons in life comes from being a single parent for the first 18 years, struggling to find the right partner and battling breast cancer at 41 years of age.  Put that together with healing the bruises from a bumpy childhood and also what she has learned from her readers during her time as a journalist.  She says she is thrilled to be growing old – having battled breast cancer especially, however it is slightly amusing that she is said to be 90!

She says that she is happy for her life lessons to be forwarded on as long as her name is kept on them of course.

So I leave you then with Regina Brett’s quote;

“Growing old beats the alternative – dying young”

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.

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

ACRYLIC PAINTING

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

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

ANOTHER PAINTING INSPIRATION

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

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

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

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

THE ART OF TRAVEL

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

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

THE ART OF A GREAT COOK

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

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

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

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

Till next time happy Painting and Sculpting and travelling to you all!

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

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

So another year is just about to have passed us by and a new one is on it’s way.  How did it all happen so fast, where did the year go?  There never seem to be enough days of the week or hours in a day does it?  So much to do and so little time!

Each day, as a lot of you know, I use a different quote that I find either funny or inspiring and post it on my Facebook page Naive Art by Marie Jonsson-Harrison together with an image of a painting or sculpture and a link to my art blog to my artist website.  This week among others, I used this quote;

“Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.” by Janice Maeditere  and one of the comments I got back was “ That should happen every day and not just at Christmas…. too much emphasis is put on being good and kind at this time of year but it only is one or two days out of 365… what about the rest of the year?” from one of my FB friends.   Which I thought was a point well made and a good place to start another art blog about New Year’s Resolutions.

WALL BASED SCULPTURE

This wall based sculpture in handmade ceramic and mosaic called Champagne Charlie was bought from one of my exhibitions at Greenhill Gallery and hangs in the restaurant of a hotel in Adelaide.  The subject matter I thought had a good fit for New Years.

THE ART OF BEING GOOD

I am quite sure that I am not always “good” lol, being a touch naughty at times, however trying to be kind to everyone is something I always strive to be, of course even with the best of intentions that does not always hit the mark but hopefully most of the time perhaps.

The experts say that most of our well intended new year resolutions go out the window after about 14 days and if we want to make sure we stick to them to promise small things – make tiny changes which therefore are not too daunting to stick too and then use them as a base to add some more.  Really New Year’s resolutions are just good habits.

Here are some of mine, most of the things on this list I do already but it never hurts to reinforce them I figure.

AN ARTISTS NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

1. Pay it forward – be kind and do onto others and all that.
2. Eat healthily, and for me that means also sticking to my Vegetarian/gluten free diet, and try to read the labels of food a little more carefully to avoid falling off the band wagon.
3. When out partying make sure I drink one glass of water with every alcoholic drink, to help my liver and my head the next day.  Oh I know what some of you are saying – perhaps cut the wine out – but you got to have some vices right!!  As I have already cut out the Bad Men lol, I still got to have some fun!
4. Keep up the exercise an hour a day come rain or shine and don’t forget the arms Marie – you got to get some upper strength too – remember what the physio said – 127 Use it or Loose it in Art
5. Cut out the sugar, apparently sugar is responsible along with the sun for an increase in wrinkly skin, never mind the body’s overall health– so the sugar has got to go.  (have always had a low sugar diet but need to focus on that some more)
6. Stay close to family and friends, spend time together and tell them they are loved.
7. Try new things, keep up with technology, explore new horizons, keep interested, learn, move forward.
8. Travel and see the world – you only live once and are a long time dead, so do it now whilst you can.
9. Write down your paintings and art blog ideas in one book like you used too – makes things so much easier to find!

So this is my list, I would love to hear what your new year’s resolutions are?

GREAT QUOTES

Here is one I love by Edith Lovejoy Pierce;

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

I love to think that the next year is full of possibilities and opportunities – just there for us to go and find.  Another one is a quote on the topic of New Years Resolutions by a favorite of mine Mark Twain;

“Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath.  Today, we are a pious and exemplary community.  Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever.”

However I will leave you this time with a quote that has been attributed to Mark Twain as well (although there is some controversy over that) which is one of my favorites quotes;

“Twenty years from now you will be more

disappointed by the things

that you didn’t do than by the ones you did

do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away

from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and whatever else takes your fancy.

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.

So why this title; “Fifty shades of grey in Religion & Art”? Perhaps something to do with the painting of the cats and all the shades of grey they come in.  Well not exactly but as it is Christmas I thought this painting was a good fit even though it is not a religious artwork, which really is the topic of this art blog.

NAIVE ART BY MARIE JONSSON-HARRISON

You see I recently wrote a blog about Fifty Shades of Grey & Art about the book phenomenon and my thoughts on the matter and as I got hundreds of messages, comments and feedback on that I thought it was worthwhile to canvas the issue that was brought up time and time again.  Most of the comments were really positive and some 160 people shared the initial post from my Naive Art by Marie Jonsson-Harrison page on Facebook with over 1680 likes.

ART BLOG

The thing was that I had posted the blog with an artwork of mine made in ceramic and mosaic, a wall based sculpture depicting Adam and Eve and that caused some heated debate both from the Christian side as well as from the Muslims.

ADAM & EVE, CERAMIC & MOSAIC SCULPTURE

Some Christians thought it was an outrageous artwork and that Adam had a bottle in his hand was terrible.   That to me seemed a weird comment as I am sure both Adam and Eve had a drink, let’s get serious they would have gotten bored just eating those apples without making some apple wine or schnapps occasionally right?  The bible is all for alcohol anyway that is what every Christian church gives their followers on a Sunday morning, in the guise of the “blood of Jesus”.   That I had painted them a little bit plump which was for the most part approved of.

RELIGION AND ART

As far as the Muslim comments go, again for the most part the artwork was met with great comments and positive feedback however there were some that took offence and thought it was outrageous and anti Muslim!  So go figure if both Christians and Muslim think it is against their particular religion then I must have done something right I figure.

Which brings me to the question of religion and the fervor it stirs up in people, seems to me that all that matters is that their own point of view is right.  Why can’t everyone just believe in whatever religion that makes sense to them?  Whether that is Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindi, Budda or none and be an Atheist.  Why does it matter so much to some people what other faiths people believe in?

How do we even know for sure that there is a God?  I hope there is one; I do want to go to Heaven if there is such a thing.  I do believe in doing onto others and all that.  But in this evidence based world I just cannot say for sure what is true and what is fiction.  So until we get word from above as to who is running this show and what particular religion is right, let’s just try to live together and in harmony with each other.

THE ART OF THE CHRISTMAS WISH

My cousin Sonja sent me this picture from her time in Accra, Ghana.  It shows one of their favorite dancing spots where all sorts of people gather to have fun.  To the right is a Jew and to the left a Muslim, then there is two Atheists and behind are some Christians and they all had a great time together, that is the type of world I wish for.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas or Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone apart from the Chinese (which has their New Years a bit later).  I hope you are all able to spend some time with your loved ones, for that is really all that matters after all.

Here is a quote by the 14^th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, which I think fits pretty well here;

“The purpose of all major religious traditions is not to construct big temples on the outside, but to create temples of goodness and compassion inside, in our hearts.”

I think he has a fair point.

Till next time,

Happy painting, sculpting and spending family time to you all,

Love Marie xxxx

If you enjoyed this art & religion blog you may also like to see some of my religious paintings here are some links; 92 Art & walk across my swimming pool and 29. Religious Paintings

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.

Like millions of women across the globe I have been reading Fifty shades of Grey and just finished the first book in the trilogy (Fifty shades of Darker and Fifty shades of Freed).   I had actually had the book in my possession for about 3 months without reading it.  The reason was that I am much more of a biography type of girl and like to read what real people are doing and usually get a tad bored with fiction when I know it is not actually based on a true story.  I must admit I did read the first couple of chapters early on but found it boring and skipped through to some of the “good bits”.

However when I recently caught up with a girlfriend who is in her mid sixties, an ex librarian and very well read, who said that she actually enjoyed the book and was amazed at how the author could write the sex scenes with such fevor and variety, my interest was sparked again.  Furthermore she said her own daughter who is in her late 20’s read the 3 books over one weekend, which peaked my interest even more.

As you can see by this wall based sculpture “Adam and Eve” or the alternative title “Apple juice may be fine but I rather have some wine” (handmade ceramic and mosaic artwork) I always like exploring the theme of sexuality and you may also like to read these 14. Adam & Steve 2 Sculpture and 35. The First Adam and Steve Artwork

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

What is it with this book, Fifty Shades of Grey that crosses the generations and makes millions of women across the globe, yummy mummies, singles, married, rich, poor get all hot and heavy as they read about Christian Grey and Anastasia’s escapades?

Exploring this thought brought me back to thinking about the cavemen days, how did it work then? Did the caveman just drag the women by the hair into a bush or a cave and had his way with her.  Is there something in our DNA that still lingers on and makes us a “little” submissive?

I say a “little” submissive as the above scenario would be totally abhorrent if the caveman was a “sweaty one toothed Oaf” and the encounter was rape instead of a mutual attraction.

I think that is the key isn’t it, there has to be that spark of electricity that you can feel in the air when your eyes meet and sex is the foremost thing on your mind.

ARTISTIC LICENCE

Not that the couple in my Caveman acrylic on canvas board painting would have much privacy to get hot and heavy with all those children running around, but they must have found the time I figure!

It has been very interesting listening to the discussions around this book both in the media and also with friends.  One male friend who has not actually read the book is totally perplexed as he thinks all his perceptions of women and women’s lib has totally fallen by the wayside with the topic of S & M of Fifty shades of Grey.  However I was trying to tell him that after reading it I think he has totally missed the point – a point you only understand if you do read it.  For myself the thought of the Red room of Pain with some weird guy dressed like Hannibal Lecter would make me run for the hills (if I was able) and perhaps that is the idea some people that haven’t read the book think it is all about.   On the other hand if we are talking silk scarves or ties and there is trust and a strong mutual attraction, then that’s another thing, right? Personally I also really liked Anastasia’s feistiness and the clever use of words in their email banter.

THE ART OF CHOICE

Well E.L. James must have hit on a collective nerve.  Perhaps it is that in this day and age when we women for the most part are strong and independent.  We have the choices to live our lives the way that we want, have casual encounters, marry or not, travel the world, stay home with children or work.  Maybe even so, far down in our DNA we also have a need for the man to take charge.  Perhaps not all the time but there is something extremely sexual about giving over your control and not being in charge at least in the bedroom.   Also I think women enjoy the erotic mystery of the written word where as men are more visual creatures and like seeing (the old lights on lights off debate)the sexual act and are more turned on by pornography than women as a rule.

AGEING & THE ART OF SEX

Which brings me to a great article a girlfriend of mine Nadine Williams has written called “Brown’s long magazine life “Sex-cess” on her website, which is a must read.  Helen Gurley Brown recently died at the ripe old age of 90, she was a trail blazer and as Nadine says “her magazine mantra metamorphosed the sex lives of the modern woman.     The author of the 1962 best-seller Sex and the Single Girl reckoned if women weren’t sex objects, they were in trouble and while good girls went to heaven, bad girls got to go everywhere.”    I have always loved that quote as well as everything else that ever came out of Mae West’s mouth – another trail blazer for the modern woman.  If you fancy a read of my Art blog on Mae and see the Mae West painting here is a link 72. Mae West “Come up and see me some time” & Art

Anyway another thing that Helen Gurley Brown said;

“My own philosophy is if you’re not having sex, you’re finished.  It separates the girls from the old people”

And for what it is worth – I think she has a point, a good point!

I always sign off with Happy painting and sculpting, however this time I will also borrow from the movie with the music of the fabulous group ABBA called Mamma Mia and say Happy ….

Love Marie xxxx

Ps  I would really love to hear what your thoughts on the subject are so make a comment!

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

This painting is one commissioned several years ago by my cousin Leif who lives in Sweden.  The naive art scene is of his brother Dan & Johnny’s former house here in Australia and depicts us all enjoying a day together by the pool.  As I told you in my previous art blog 156. ART & FREQUENT FLYER POINTS (there is the link if you wanna recap) we are now on our European tour and have arrived in Gothenburg where we got picked up by my gentle giant cousin Leif, his partner Lena and daughter Emma.

My cousin Leif decided early on that he wanted to work with disabled children and there he met the lovely Lena, the love of his life and they set up house together.  They both have hearts of gold and worked tirelessly to give their all to make life better for the kids in that institution where they both worked.

Eventually they decided to start a family of their own and as fate would have it when Lena finally gave birth it was to a little girl Emma, cute as a button, but severely handicapped herself with both Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (which is water on the brain)and several other problems too and requiring a wheelchair.

At first glance you may feel compassion and perhaps pity for this very special family unit, and yes of course that was also our first reaction.  However never judge a book by it’s cover, wait instead till you have had a good read.

ARTISTIC LICENCE

You can see Emma on my artwork on the right by the pool, with my husband and I close by.  Artistic licence of course as no aeroplane will allow her to fly, so going from Sweden to Australia has so far been out of question for her, but Lena and Leif have made the trip each with another travel partner so that the other one is home with Emma.

Emma communicates manly through noises which only her parents could properly decipher and really we did at first think that was wishful thinking on their behalf.  Well what fools we turned out to be because after spending time with them we saw Emma really does understand and can make herself understood in most instances, not only that but she understands English too!

Lena, Leif and Emma live in a gorgeous house on the outskirts of Gothenburg, just perfect for the 3 of them but as a lot of European houses no spare bedrooms so perhaps a bit harder to have people come and stay.  However they insisted that we take over their bedroom whilst they slept on trundle beds in with Emma, such lovely hosts and they spoilt us rotten.

THE ART OF LOVE

So my other observation was what a HAPPY little family they were, their little household sparkled with joy and happiness and their lives revolved around each other – not in a martyr or sacrifice type of way but in a way that showed such joy and happiness you couldn’t help but feel good in their company.  Emma had an infectious laugh and they all giggled around the clock, she did of course get upset at times particularly if it was time to get out of the car as being a passenger was her favorite pastime, but even then upset, she was gorgeous and that mood soon passed.

In a way I envied them – now don’t get me wrong I am eternally grateful that my two children were born healthy and I wish and pray that they will always be so.  No what I mean is when Kai and Hillivi were little I wished that they would never grow up and leave us, just be our little darlings forever.

That is what Leif and Lena have got – they have their little girl still cute as a button even though now she is 37 years old,  sharing their lives together the three of them.   What more can you wish for in life then to be loved and to truly love in return!

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

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting to you.

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 have always loved travelling; I think the bug bit me even before I was born.  My grandmother ran away to sea at 15 and then she met my grandfather Anton and they both ran away with the circus.  Here are the art blog about that 20. Antonis Tivoli &  21. Life in a Circus Tent.   My father joined the merchant navy as a young man whilst my mother did a stint working in England as a young woman.  Born and bred in Sweden we did our fair share of travelling before we immigrated to Australia too.  I have then crossed the globe many times both for work as a model and artist and on family holidays.

THE ART OF PERSUASION

However this time when we had our European holiday all mapped out I did not want to go – and neither did hubby, go figure!  Our kids actually talked us into it, you know the old chestnuts “you only live once, and you will forever regret the things you didn’t do” etc.  And yes they were so right, who would have thought? LOL.  The kids took us to the airport; I think mainly to make sure we were on that 30 hour flight to Sweden!

30 hours I hear you say, yep when you use the frequent flyer points that’s what you get, lots of take offs and landings all around the world.  Luckily we soon got in the groove, I had yummy Indian vego meals booked and we saw some great movies and docos and just chilled.  We even thought of joining the Mile High club, lol, but decided the space was too cramped, ha ha.

UNION ART

When we got to London we wisely decided to forgo the waiting at the airport option and got a bus to Windsor Castle instead.   These painting details are from my artwork London 2012 that is also available as a Giclee print with Union Art .

LONDON2012  ARTWORK & MEETING THE QUEEN

Windsor was lots of fun, I had not been there before and we saw the changing of the guard which was quite spectacular and then poked about up and down the alley ways.  The queue to the actual castle was a bit long for our liking and the queen wasn’t even in residence that day so we gave that a miss.  I mean we would have made the effort if she was making us tea and cucumber sandwiches! (If I had checked the painting above I would have known she was really still stuck in a traffic jam).

Then back to the airport with all the rigmarole of check ins and security and the like.  I must look really suss as I always gets pulled aside for the extra screenings, not sure if they think I am a terrorist or a drug smuggler or whether they just want to fiddle with my stuff,  lol.

ART & THE OLYMPICS

Also if you would like to read about how the London2012 painting came about have a look at this art blog 147 Art and the Olympics.

We finally arrived in Sweden a little worse for wear (a spruce up in the airport loos just don’t cut it does it?) luckily we were met by my wonderful cousin Leif and his family who overlooks this fact.  Leif is one of those truly beautiful souls, gentle and kind and caring man in a 6 feet 4 body, a gentle giant.

So here is a quote I like about nice guys by an unknown author.

“It is not true that nice guys finish last. Nice guys are winners before the game even starts.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to all of you or just enjoy the view!

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

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

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

PAINTING INSPIRATIONS

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

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

ART & THE LOVE OF ITALY

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

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

ARTFORM IN A GROUP

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

INSPIRATIONS FOR ARTWORKS TO COME

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

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

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

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

(Franklin P. Jones)

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

(Author Unknown)

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting!

Love Marie xxx

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

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

(c)

]]> https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/155-the-art-of-packing-light/feed/ 3 https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/151-the-art-of-not-sweating-the-small-stuff/ https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/151-the-art-of-not-sweating-the-small-stuff/#comments Sun, 09 Sep 2012 15:24:25 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=3710 ART AND FEELING GOOD

All of us sweat the small stuff from time to time but really we shouldn’t, however that’s easier said than done.  So what about making a list of the things that make you happy, the things you either love to do or think about.

I have created such a list here, in no particular order mind you!  I would love to hear what makes you happy too so let me know?

This acrylic on board painting is my family and friends in Bali for my birthday surprise party that hubby had organized, which is certainly an experience that made me very happy!

But you know the things in life that causes the most happiness are mostly things that are free or at least does not cost too much.

MY HAPPINESS LIST

Time spent with my Swedish cousins

Skipping (even if you are over forty and your husband thinks it is unbecoming for a grown woman)

Puppy breath

The smell of horses

The smell of freshly cut grass

The colour and smell of flowers

Watching the sunset

Hugging someone you Love

Dinner and drinks with good friends

Being in Love

The smell of sundried sheets on the bed

A hot shower

A glass of Red Wine

Childhood memories

Fresh Flowers

Sparkling Red

Cuddling with my dogs

Tail wagging when you come home

A cuddle with my 28 year old Galah

Rain on the Roof

Hearing “Mummy I Love You” – at any age

Painting

Creating in any medium

Reading a good book

Walking on the Beach

And Just walking anytime – anywhere

Swedish Daim chocolates

Dutch extra salted liquorice

My Dads phone calls

My mother’s sense of humour

My husband’s cooking and knowing he loves me still after all these years!

Exploring a new city

Train rides

Favourite songs on the radio

Giggling and not being able to stop

Laughing so hard your face hurts

Loving someone and knowing they love you

Knowing somebody misses you

The smell of the ocean

A summer’s breeze

The view from our house

Twittering birds

Green, green grass

All the colours of nature

A favourite quotation

Seeing a good piece of art

Creating a good piece of art

Naive artists – all artists

When my paintings find a “good” home

Being offered a new artistic venture

Remembering my kids as little children

Seeing my children growing up and becoming delightful adults

Memories of my loving Grandparents

Getting a massage

Paying it forward

A gift of handmade biscuits, cakes & Rocky road

First coffee of the day

Breakfast in bed

A shoulder to lean on

Shopping with my daughter

My son tracking our travels & checking we arrive safely

My daughters planned “Mother & Daughter” surprises

A good movie

A night at the theatre

Listening to children giggle

Phone calls from my kids

Family holidays

Having an open fire

The smell of a wood oven

The smell of bread baking

Sleeping with our dogs in the bed!!

Buying a gift for someone you love

Giving a present

A drink in a Bali hut by the pool

Being busy with lots of projects on!

Meeting people who collect my paintings or read my art blogs

A cup of Belgian Hot Chocolate

My son teaching me something new

Dancing ALL night

Swimming on a hot day or night time swims

So now I hope you will go and make your own list too!  Here is a quote I like by Richard Carlson

“Learning to stop sweating the small stuff involves deciding what things to engage in and what things to ignore. From a certain perspective, life can be described as a series of mistakes, one right after another with a little space in between.”

And this one;

“Choose to be kind over being right and you’ll be right everytime.”

So till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx

Here is another way to make you feel good that have made a huge difference in our lives; 153 The Art of Saturday Night

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.

Next stop on our cruising adventure was Lifou, and if you have just joined me and want to recap on how this P&O holiday actually started here are some links for you to read of our adventures so far and see the paintings and artworks in these travel and art blogs “LEAVING SYDNEY HARBOR” and  “CRUISING ON THE PACIFIC JEWEL” and “ART,LEONARDO DA VINCI AND THE ISLE OF PINES”.

ISLAND INSPIRES AN ARTIST

Lifou is the largest island in the archipelago of Loyalty Islands.  The population is just over 10,000 people who speak French and Kanak dialects and the currency is French Pacific Franc.  It is a beautiful Island with long stretches of white sandy beaches, limestone caves, grottos and cliffs and small coves.  They say time passes more slowly than in other places and are measured by the tides, sunrises and sunsets rather than by clocks.  Not that we could enjoy that part as coming off the cruise you have strict instructions – the last tender back to the boat leaves at 4 o’clock and if you miss that you’re buggered! LOL

However we did have a gorgeous time even so, firstly we took the 25 minute walk through a little forest to the Lady of Lourdes church built by the Catholic missionaries in 1898.  Beautiful white exterior stands out against the green forest with stunning views all around, could even see the cruise ship too.

ACRYLIC PAINTING

This acrylic on canvas board painting shows the underwater experience to come, many of my paintings and sculptures yes all artworks often have a water theme.

THE ART OF STAYING ALIVE

Then we went and had a look at the snorkelling reef which we later returned to before taking another exploring walk heading to the Secret Grotto.  That was really interesting navigating through the rain forest down steep steps (felt like a scene from Tomb Raider) and into a dark dark grotto, where all of a sudden we saw a movement and were met by the white of someone’s eyes.  Turns out it was a gorgeous local man with a speech impediment apart from the obvious language barrier, however he told us all we needed to know with grunts and sign language.  Lucky he was there and had a torch or we would no doubt plunge to our deaths in a crystal clear 10 meter deep pool which was just inside the entrance of this black cave!

Our next death defying adventure was when we went on a tour to the township of We, it is a sleepy town in the bay de Chateaubriand on the east coast and is the main center of Lifou well apparently the whole of the Loyalty Islands.

The brochure boasts “try some of the local cuisine in one of the town’s restaurants or cafe.”   However all that we could find was a take away shop and a supermarket, and we were now on a guided tour mind you so our guide should have known!  We ended up buying some chips and sat on the beach and took a walk instead.

The one hour car ride was more than scary as the female driver was overtaking everything in sight one minute and then kept falling asleep and having to hang her head out the window to stay awake the next.

She delivered us back in one piece where we tried a bit of Kava (not a big hit, lol) and then headed over to the snorkelling place.  We all love snorkelling however there was a little dampener put on this thought after we heard about the “Shark attack in Lifou” which Hillivi then Googled and yes sure enough in the very place where we were going for a swim a French nurse was taken in 2007 by a Great White whilst snorkelling with a friend.

THE ART OF A SHARK-SPOTTER

Still the water was welcoming and the tide and reef provided some good protection so swimming seemed not too dangerous and I was took the post as “Chief Shark Spotter”.

So here is a quote I think fits well here by Ovid;

“Chance is always powerful, let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish”.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and maybe snorkeling 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.

Have you been wondering why your favorite artist, whether it is visual art, singer, band, writer, photographer or whatever page you have already LIKED is not showing up in your HOME page anymore.

Well the reason is simple since facebook was listed on the stock exchange and did rather worse than expected they are now pulling out the big guns in how to turn a profit.

Artists are passionate people and what could be more passionate than getting married so I thought this acrylic on canvas board was a good fit for this art blog.  This naive painting “BALLOON WEDDING” is also available as Giclee Prints.

ARTIST FAN PAGE

If an ARTIST has a FAN page, facebook are requiring them to pay to have their status updates read by all their subscribers.  This is even though you have already “Liked” the page thus indicating that you would like to see their updates through your homepage regularly.  Instead the content we are currently posting goes through less than 10% of the news-feeds.  We used be able to post updates as messages but that function has been removed as has suggest pages to friends.

ARTISTS PAGES

However there is a way around this.  Go to your favorite Artists pages and hover over the button on the page where it says “LIKE” or “LIKED” and then make sure you are check marked to “show in news feed”.  This will not cost you anything nor the artist and you won’t miss updates from your favorite pages.

This week I have had several messages saying that none of my posts are coming through to my fans and friends as the same thing is also happening on our own profile pages.   With 3700 fans on my Naive Art by Marie Jonsson-Harrison and a further 2300 subscribers and over 5000 friends on my personal page (never mind 12000 followers all told on social media) I thought this strange to0.  It seems as Facebook is up to the same trick with our friends pages and trying to make you pay either by having a post highlighted, superliked,  announced or  promoted so that your friends will see it.

SUBSCRIBED TO ARTISTS OR PEOPLE IN GENERAL

So there is a way around this too.  Firstly go to the profile page of the person whose content you would like to see in your HOME page and then make sure you have subscribed to their post.   This is of course if they are not already one of your friends and are happy to have people subscribe to their content.  At the same time hover on the subscribed button and tick “all updates” and make sure the events are ticked as well such as status updates, photos, music & video.

FRIENDS NOT JUST ARTISTS

Finally the same thing is happening to you and your friends own profile pages.  At the moment Facebook is not putting your friends updates on your home page unless you have specifically asked for it.  So make sure you go to your friends profile pages and hover over the “FRIENDS” button and the dropdown list will come up – there make sure that “show in Newsfeed” is ticked.

What I find sad is that artists all create work because they have a passion; they want to make you FEEL.  Some artists like I would like to make you smile, brighten your day; make you forget your troubles for a little while, make you feel good about being alive and perhaps also make you think about something that you hadn’t thought of before.  Whether it is in regard to human condition the plight of animals, environmental or just a funny situation.

So come on EVERYBODY and support your favourite ARTISTS and brighten everybody’s day.

Here is a quote I like from the movie P.S. I Love You;

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you,

Love Marie xxxx

So I hope this information was useful to you, however if you want to read something a bit more amusing, here is a link; 6. San Francisco Art Blog

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Today I thought I would continue the story about our recent cruise – if you have just joined me for the first time perhaps you would like to recap in these travel & art blogs “LEAVING SYDNEY HARBOR” and  “CRUISING ON THE PACIFIC JEWEL” first.

THE ART OF EXPLORATION

We first had 2 full days spent exploring every inch of the ship and I mean that literally every corridor the 6 of us like a big snake, lol.  You see we are all into exercise, the kids having grown up with a mother who jumps around like a mad woman first thing in the morning!  Luckily for me it spread to them and their partners are also on the same wave length.  So shorts and shoes on and off we went, through every one of the corridors on the ship from 4th deck to the 14^th, we went up and down stairs dodging the vacuum cleaners and staff as we went.  It was real fun and we had the giggles as we all probably looked like lunatics and took turns in being the leader and deciding the way.  When weather permitted we also went up on the top deck and did our rounds up there in the fresh air too.

THE ART OF NOT MISSING ANY MEALS

Just as well we kept that regime up as we certainly were lining up for breakfast, lunch and dinner even when we weren’t even hungry, but who can resist!  Kai’s girlfriend Sam who was still battling a touch of nausea made us laugh as immediately she sat down she would order “chips for the table” and then proceed to scoff them down to cure the seasickness.  Lol I never saw the table get even one chip and the rest of us would have to fight to get one too!  Not that we went without food either we all had 3 course meals for the most part – oh we lived like kings!

THE ART OF THE CORAL SEA

Anyway during these 2 days out at sea we had crossed the Northern part of the Tasman Sea that merges into the Coral Sea heading towards New Caledonia.  We passed south of the Capel Bank and continued North East across the Lord Howe Plateau and into the Basin de Nouvelle-Caledonie.  In the early morning of Saturday we made landfall and passed through the Boulari Passage, a gap in the coral reefs protecting New Caledonia, through Woodin Canal before anchoring off the Isle of Pines.

GICLEE PRINTS

We had brekky of course and got our tickets for the tender (which is the little boats that can take 100 or so passengers at a time across to the main land).  We were all a bit excited and looking forward to this new experience the Isle of Pines.  No secret of how it got its name, it is teeming with tall native pines as far as the eye can see which to us seemed a bit unusual for what is a tropical environment.  These pines are called Araucaria conifer trees and Captain Cook was the first European to discover the island and named it the Isle of Pines back in 1774.  The painting above is of Captain Cooks first voyage down-under and was a private commission in the style of “If I could turn back time” which was made into limited edition Giclee prints.  The original acrylic on canvas painting was used for the invitation and posters for my 1993 first solo exhibition in Japan.

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

The population of Isle of Pines is approximately 2000 with French and Kanak dialects as the language and the currency was the French Pacific Franc.  The people we met were warm and welcoming and after a little look around at the handy crafts and stalls we decided to take a tour to the main village where we thought we could find a restaurant and also look in some shops.  Lol it should have been a clue to us the puzzled faces of the driver and tour leader when we told them that we just wanted to get dropped in the middle of the town and do our own thing.  Because when we finally reached the town after twenty minutes on the bus there was no “town” to speak of.  What we found was a closed post office, one town hall, one church and maybe 10 houses all in all.  That would have been fun to wonder around in for hours, haha.  Anyway the tour itself was interesting and we followed that up with another tour for a swim in a Natural Aquarium.  I have to admit I didn’t get into the water the weather was just a touch chilly for me but the others did.  Sam was the first to put on the goggles and flippers and swam out to the middle of the lagoons crystal clear waters to inspect the underwater life.  Then she came up with a flash and screamed, warning everyone there was a rock full of snakes.  The boys of course had to go and check this out and found it was only clams, as they were closed their mouths looked like wriggly black snakes.  Although I am on Sam side here, they sure looked like snakes to me to when I saw the photo!  I still have a vivid memory of my own encounter of a sea snake in this art blog “HAPPY HOUR”.

Here is a quote by Leonardo da Vinci on the subject that I think fits perfectly here;

“Marriage is like putting your hand into a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel.”

Till next time 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.

If you have just joined me now you may want to read the travel and art blog “Leaving Sydney Harbor” as this tale is the continuation.   My family and I are now on the Pacific Jewel  a P&O ship sailing from Sydney to New Caledonia and Vanuatu, stopping at Isle of Pines, Mystery Island, Lifou and Noumea.

We departed Darling Harbour and set sail under the iconic Harbour Bridge, passing the Opera house and Fort Denison before leaving the Heads in the evening twilight.  The entertainment onboard was rocking and the drinks flowing as we turned into a long North-Easterly course towards New Caledonia, initially passing Nobo’s Head and Port Stephens before leaving the mainland astern.

PAINTING INSPIRATIONS

Here is a acrylic painting on canvas that I recently painted dreaming of our cruising holiday.

The Pacific Jewel has a capacity of 1915 passengers and 730 crew, it was built the same year my daughter was born 1991, and for you that loves facts and figures its length is 811ft/245 metres with a gross tonnage of 70,310 tons, draft 8.2 meters and the max speed is 20 knots.  Captained by Tony Draper from Scotland and the rest of the senior officers are from England, Italy, Zambia, USA, South Africa, France, India and Bulgaria, so a rich mixture of cultures from all over the world.

The Pacific Jewel can carry the equivalent of five fully laden 747 jumbo jets and is 50% bigger than the Titanic and the same size as the Cunards Queen Elizabeth with a two story show lounge that can seat 800 people.  So it is a big ship – a great ship to work on according to some of the crew who told us that they don’t have too far to go to work as compared to the Queen Mary ll where you need to get up and hour earlier just to be able to walk an hour to work each day!!  Hard to imagine isn’t it.

THE ART OF BEING GREEN

Anyway after we set sail and had a little rest we dressed for dinner which the silver service restaurant required, smart casual today.  Kai’s girlfriend Sam was putting on a brave face and joined us for dinner even though she was looking a little green around the gills – if that is possible for a beautiful Fijian woman!  Poor baby, it wasn’t long before she had to excuse herself and retired to her room with green apples and bread rolls for dinner as prescribed by the crew to ward off seasickness.

Next call would have been the on-board Doctors seasickness injections, luckily Sam found some tablets that seemed to keep it at bay as the injections were $120 a pop we later found out.  Too bad if you had a real bad case and needed a couple of shoots a day!

THE ART OF THE CHEF

The rest of us enjoyed our 3 course dinner and Hillivi and myself were in heaven – we are both Celiac (gluten intolerant) and vegetarian but that was no obstacle as a special menu was arranged and every need taken care of by our wonderful maître de Eroni Vvetibau (Fijian) and Chef Bupendra (India).  It is no wonder that people put on weight on cruises, the food is absolutely magnificent, a wide choice of dishes every night to choose from, everything that you could wish for from every part of the world too.  Oh Chef Bupendra I want to take you home!!

We were spoilt rotten by our waiters Rajesh Dzouza (Indian) and Nathan Legaspi  (Philippine) with our every need taken care of; they were funny as a fit too with all sorts of tricks!  I had no idea that so many things could be made out of serviettes – no idea at all!

THE ART OF THE DIET

There is no wonder that quite a few rather large people were on the cruise – I am not sure what came first though, if they came on the cruise because of their size and leisurely style of holiday or they put on the weight whilst on the cruise because of the wonderful food.   All I know for sure is that when you get home you have to diet for a while – oh how boring I hate diets!!

Here is a quote I like by Woody Allen on the subject;

When we lose twenty pounds… we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have!  We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you,

Love Marie xxx   (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Another Mothers Day is drawing close and I have to admit I do love them.  It is lovely to get those little treats and spend the day with the family.  This year baby girl is taking me out for the day, starting with lunch not sure what else is planned but later in the day we will go and visit both sets of Grandparents too, Happy Mother’s Day Mormor and Nana!.  To me it’s not so much the pressie giving etc that is important but to spend time together and let the mothers in your life know that they are loved.

THE ART OF BEING A MOTHER

For being a mother is the most fantastic gift but at the same time a guilt ridden curse.  It was hard enough when the kids were little but at least then I was the boss and could tuck them safely into their beds at night and keep the monsters from the door.  Now I need a Lear jet and an Uzi to be of any use.

This acrylic on canvas board painting is called” It’s too late to turn back now” which is a quote equally appropriate to both parachute jumping and motherhood!

THE ART OF KEEPING THEM SAFE

Kai our son is safely (LOL) living with us now but a year or two ago when he spent his gap year overseas  I was  driving him nuts with my various warnings of imminent danger.

Kai had been living and working at a hotel in Cheltenham and travelling around Europe on his days off so every car, bus or train accident and the like talked about on the news sent me scurrying to the phone to text and make sure he was oK.

Like Darth Vader against a terrorist bomb, that was me!  Suddenly the volcano erupted another thing to worry about, he already had his flight home with a Bangkok stopover cancelled for a week.  Let’s not forget there is also swine flu, Pick pockets, the Bangkok riots, sitting no further that 7 seats from an exit on the plane, drink spiking and gangs with knifes!

THE ART OF DRIVING THE KIDS NUTS

My mantra to myself was “Oh grow up girl and get a grip” I know I should, but my children are so precious, bad enough with baby girl here in Adelaide, I know I drive her crazy too.  Poor baby girl at 21 years old still has to text her mum after every car trip to say she is safe, never mind the fact that one could get ones eye poked out with a sharp stick (lol that was always my dad’s warning too, as soon as me or my brother did anything remotely dangerous).

The Swedes have a very good word for my behaviour and that is “Mesar” which is a bird in Sweden that is known as a little coward, wimpy, so that’s what an overprotective mother preaching excessive caution is called!

So Mums take a deep breath and enjoy your day, relax, permit yourself to get pampered and forget about the worries for one day.

Here is quote I think fits well her by Sophia Loren;

“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.”

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and stop worrying!

Love Marie  xxxxx

If you enjoyed this art blog you may also like this one; 86 A million miles an hour and little miss chuck up in Art

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

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