Funny thing about Facebook you find both old and new friends from around the world, some are only acquaintances whilst other come to mean much more than that over time.

ACRYLIC PAINTINGS

Here is one of my acrylic on board paintings from the Zoo series of naive art (most of those sold in Japan), anyway as you can see the painting has been joined by what seems to be a little blue Cookie Monster.  Well you are half right – that is Triki En El Mundo (Triki in the World) and somehow or another he is a friend of mine on Facebook, well who can resist when a cookie monster comes calling and wants to be your friend!

HAPPY ART

So I must say I was very intrigued why this cookie monster had his own Facebook page and I was seeing his post through my news feed often.  He seemed to be linked to a lady by the name of Arual Laura who also would appear with Triki from time to time.  Their posts were mostly in Spanish so I couldn’t quite follow everything that was said but what I did understand was that both Triki and Arual were very fond of art and culture. They had the same idea about Facebook as me, which is to use it to try to make people happy and put a smile on someone’s face.

ART AND THE INTERNET

Both Arual and Triki was also very complimentary about my art and so one day after Triki commented on my paintings and said “Always fascinated by your Art” I replied and told him that I was very fascinated by Triki and wanted to know all about him.

So this is what Triki En El Mundo- The Cookie Monster said to me;

“To make a long story short I met the Doctor Arual Laura through Internet.  I was living in Victoria, Canada with our friend Rob Agnew. The Doctor was just divorced and was feeling sad and lonely.  Rob and her wife Sheila used to speak with her through video conference to try to cheer her up.   She loved cookie monster and Rob put me every day in front of the camera to make her smile.  She seemed to have a crush on me, so one day Rob put me inside a box and sent me to Spain as a Xmas present with a short note that said;

“You are blonde, beautiful and you are alone, so I have decided to come to Spain to sleep with you and to take care of you”

Rob died 3 years ago and the Doctor put a picture of me on her Facebook as homage to him.  Her friends began to speak with me; I seemed to be lot of fun, a new picture every day.  Finally the sponsors of Barça football team met me as I am a Barça great fan and took me with them to Wembley for the final of the Europe cup in 2011.

I became famous and opened my own Facebook.  Since then I am here, supporting art and culture, having fun and travelling with lot of different people… everyone seems to want to take me round the world, I am quite a lucky plush toy, I always travel free. “

ART BLOG

So now you understand why I had to write a blog about Triki and Arual it is such a sweet story.   I hope one day that Triki can come and visit me in Australia but for now I will have to be happy that he was able to “join” me in some photographs at least.  When I asked if I could write a blog about them Triki also told me that he lives a life like anybody else.  He has 5 brothers at home and even a son – he is a single father as his girlfriend ditched him and has many cousins all over the world.

ART AND TRAVEL

He likes to travel with anyone who will take him around and has been to Morocco, Poland, France, England, Turkey, Czech Republic, Cuba, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, India and seen most of Spain.

Triki is also invited to all sorts of events as you can see from his pictures, weddings, marathons, concerts, cinema, theater, art exhibitions and as mentioned to the Wembley Europe Cup final between Barca and Manchester United.

Here is two quotes I think fits well here;

“The Word is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”

by St. Augustine and also;

“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. ” by Mark Twain

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and just like Triki cheering people up!

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.

So as some of you may already know that read my artblog last week 180 ART AND THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS that I was just given a wonderful Danish Naive artbook called “Naivister i Danmark” written by Ole Lindboe and also incredibly 3 original paintings.  These amazing gifts were sent by the Danish art gallery owner Knud Grothe who runs the fabulously successful art gallery called GALERIE KNUD GROTHE in Charlottenlund, Copenhagen, Denmark.

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.

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).

NAIVE ARTISTS

Anyway the paintings I was so generously given are on stretched canvas and one on canvas board by 3 naif artists; Isis de Sequeira, Jan Thomas and Inge Selmer, all very different but equally wonderful.

ARTIST ISIS DE SEQUEIRA

Isis originally heralds from Brazil but these days live in Denmark and this particular work is a very detailed miniature beach scene with a lovely green ocean with people enjoying the sun and surf called Danish Bacon (which I imagine is tongue in cheek for smoking or cooking your body in the sun).  It is reminiscent of the days I have spent by the Australian beach and no doubt has been influenced by the travelling that Isis has done as well.

ARTIST JAN THOMAS

Jan’s distinctive artwork is called Nyhavn which is the 17^th-century waterfront canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Nyhavn was actually constructed by King Christian V and dug by Swedish war prisoners from the Danish-Swedish War in 1658-1660.  In those days it was notorious for beer, sailors and prostitution but these days is brightly lined by coloured 17^th and early 18^th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants.  Jan has captured the ambiance of this district with a family out for a Sunday stroll, a fish monger, tattoo parlor, a prostitute waiting for business, musicians and much more.

ARTIST INGE SELMER

The third painting I received was by Inge Semler who says that when she paints she disappears into her own little world and it is never too late to get oneself a happy childhood.  This gorgeous work sees a bride in all her finery furiously pedaling her bike through the green countryside to get to the church on time with her veil blowing behind her in the wind.  The title is “The Groom awaits” which suits the painting down to a T.

THE ART OF GIVING

Again thank you very much Knud for your generous gifts which is giving me so much pleasure every day.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Terri Guillemets;

“Good fortune shies away from gloom.  Keep your spirits up.  Good things will come to you and you will come to good things”

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.

Some days you are just so glad to be alive and overwhelmed by the random kindness act of strangers that you are totally lost for words.  I had one of those days yesterday and it revolves around a Danish man Knud Grothe who owns and runs one of the finest galleries in Denmark.

I have shared with you in another artblog that I have recently had an art exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark and you may be forgiven to think that it was  GALERIE KNUD GROTHE I was exhibiting with, but no it was another gallery and if you fancy you can read about that here;   177 ART EXHIBITIONS IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK & SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

NAIVE 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 BOOK

Anyway I or I should say my art came to the attention of Knud who sent me a lovely email which was very complimentary of my art.  He also then sent me this fantastic book about naive artists in Denmark called “Naivister i Danmark” which was so incredibly generous.  This is a big heavy coffee table book, 164 pages of glossy wonderful Danish artists by Ole Lindboe.  Comprising of some 35 Danish naive artists and also has an introduction of naive art featuring several more from yesteryears.  Obviously I am such a fan of naive art which I also collect myself so therefore I have seen and read most of the books on the subject and I must say this book is one of the best I have ever seen.  Danish naive art has totally blown me away, normally I would pick out 3 -4 artists in a collection as my favourites but this is an impossibility here as they, everyone of these artists have something so inspiring and fresh to offer, it is a delight to the senses.

THREE ORIGINAL PAINTINGS

Now if the story ended here that would be quite something all by itself – but I am afraid there is more…  Yesterday there was a knock on the door and a courier with another parcel from Denmark.   This time this most incredible generous man Knud Grothe had sent me 3 original paintings for my art collection.  I must say I was utterly SPEECHLESS when I unwrapped the parcel, can you imagine, it is not Christmas and not my birthday and this most warmhearted of men sent me a gift, just because!

In next week’s art blog I will share these wonderful paintings with you.  The 3 artists are Jan Thomas, Inge Selmer and Isis de Sequeira and all 3 artworks are a joy to behold.

PAINTINGS IN THE STUDIO

So what does one say when you receive an amazing gift like this, just because – well I had no words for a very long time.  Instead I took the 3 paintings into my studio and have them sitting next to me as I work.  I am not ready to part with them even temporarily by hanging them up on the wall.  No I just want them by my side so I can “drink” in their colours and joy and pleasure they are giving me every second of the day.  Both from the visual aesthetics of the 3 wonderful artworks that the artists have painted but also to think that such a kind, generous and very thoughtful act of kindness is even possible in this day and age.

HAPPY ARTIST

Thank you so very much Knud you must have a very beautiful heart and I am indeed a very very lucky girl to be so blessed and have you as a friend from far away and I do hope to meet you in real life soon.

I am really really Grateful, Happy, Overjoyed, Elated, Delighted, Ecstatic, Jubilant, and Thankful and feel extremely spoiled.

So I think this quote by G.K. Chesterton fits well here and conveys a little of how I feel right now;

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder”

Till next time,

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.

I have just joined a gym today, finally after 20 or so years since last time.  Oh and before you get the wrong idea – I have still been keeping fit during that time.  You see we had been living on a farm in the country with the closest gym an hours’ drive away, so I had a treadmill at home in my art studio and could watch telly there whilst I walked.   I used to often do aerobics whilst watching the Good morning programs and go for a run outside (you had to keep the pace up as there were lots of flies in the Australian countryside) and then there were body pump and various fitness classes held in a hall in the local country town as well.  My son Kai and daughter Hillivi would often join in too and we also used to light candles and do yoga in the TV room in front of a roaring fireplace in winter.

ACRYLIC PAINTING

Whilst I was pregnant I had several videos that I used to follow as although we hadn’t moved to the farm yet we had bought a renovated church in the countryside to live in.  I did travel to the city and attended a couple of the keep fit classes for the expectant mum as this acrylic on canvas board painting shows.  That is me in the middle of the artwork in black and green gym gear and baby boy Kai with the balloon!

However this big Gym set up seems like a real luxury to me and lots of fun.  Strange really how things go as I had absolutely no thought about joining a gym again.  Years ago when I lived in Melbourne and Sydney and traveled the world whilst modelling I attended Gyms in every place I traveled to.

THE ART OF DOING WEIGHTS

These days hubby and I are great walkers and do 40 minutes minimum a day often joined by the kids and always joined by our two dogs Cheech and Vegas.  Although I have to admit people that see us often ask me ‘who is walking who’ when it comes to my Chihuahua – you see she refuses to walk for the first 10 or so minutes so I carry her to start.  Lol I figure that is a bit of weight training for me and she has such a cute little face and big brown eyes that I just cannot resist.

THE ART OF A BARGAIN

Anyway my daughter and I found this Deal on the internet where they offered 10 fitness classes for 10 dollars, what a steal we thought and promptly went and checked it out, with the intention of just doing the 10 classes and that would be that.  Well I guess these marketing guys know what they are doing because 2 lessons later and they have got us signed up for the foreseeable future.

THE ART OF THE HOT BOD

Well what can I say; the deal was too good to refuse and the classes so good and the body felt amazing after being pushed that little bit further than you generally do yourself no matter how motivated you are.  It also felt good to be in a structured environment with lots of people keeping fit and all sorts of exercise machines there to use and some hot bods to spur you on too!

THE ART OF PILATES AND LAUGHTER

Yesterday time slipped away from us when we remembered the class was on and hopped in the car to get to the Pilates class.  It is held in with the lights dimmed in a big room with soft atmospheric music and as we were beginners to this class we did a couple of wrong moves which made us giggle between ourselves.  Then all of a sudden my daughter is in absolute hysterics, really trying to contain her laughter in between trying to quietly tell me something.  Well I cannot for the life understand what she is trying to say but now she got me giggling too – both of us like two naughty school girls up the back of the class.  As it turns out she was laughing at me – of course – in my hurry to get ready for the class I had put my yoga top inside out with the tag hanging out at the back!  So much for looking Cool in front of all the buff and fit people, I guess you can take the girl out of the country but not the country out of the girl!   I have to look on the bright side least there are always more inspiration for new paintings.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Rita Rudner;

“The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together and said; If we’re going to charge $10 an hour, we can’t call it jumping up and down”.                                                                                                                                                  

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

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 enjoyed this health and art blog you may also be amused at my attempts at meditation; 97 Meditation are you serious & Art

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

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

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

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

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

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

THE ART OF KEEPING COOL

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

THE ART OF CELEBRATIONS

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

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

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

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

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

Love Marie xxx       (c)

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