This wall based mosaic and ceramic sculpture hung at Adelaide Airport for many years before the new renovations it was one of 3 commissions that hung in the only cafe open at the airport.   Of course it was lots of fun to make and hopefully cheered people up after a long flight or made them smile before boarding!

THE ART OF A HEATWAVE

Eating and drinking alfresco is something I have always loved.  The name al fresco comes from the Italian language and means to eat outside at a fresh temperature, in the fresh air.   Being born in Sweden and having Europe on our doorstep it is something I grew up doing.  However here in Australia particularly in the summer, the air may not be what you call “fresh” well at least not the temperature (as I am writing this today our temperature here is soaring at 42 degrees Celsius) we are however lucky to have pretty unpolluted air in Australia, so perhaps the saying suits us in that regard.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

When we first immigrated to Australia many moons ago there were no outdoor eating places not that we could find anyway.  Luckily for us it is something that has slowly evolved as times gone by with more and more settlers from Europe and Asia arriving and now finally there are alfresco dining places all over Australia.  There used to be all sorts of council laws that forbade it, with scaremongering saying we would all be run over by cars, trucks and buses if there were tables and chairs on the footpath.  The thought that you could take a dog with you and sit outside was another law that took a long time to change.  At first there were only special dog friendly places where you were able to take your dog and sit outside with.  I don’t know what the hiccup was perhaps the old Councillors thought we would all get rabies or transfer the germs to the food or something?  Mmmm maybe that is another idea for a painting or sculpture.

THE ART OF WALKING THE DOG

For many years alfresco dining was a special treat as we lived on the farm in the country where the practice was slower to catch on.  These days we reside in a beach suburb and take daily walk with our dogs on the beaches close by, often with a little stop along the way for a coffee or milkshake.  I cannot tell you how lovely and atmospheric I find it.  I try to always take such delight in the small things in life – the ordinary things like a good cup of coffee, a beautiful view, a smile from a passerby, the happy wag of a dog’s tail.  Each of those things makes up the mosaic of a happy life.

THE ART OF POSITIVE THINKING

I hope you are having a happy life too, and are noticing all the elements around you with a view to the cup being half full, even when you finished the coffee.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Drew Deyoung;

“Of course I look at the glass half full.  The only time I would look at it half empty is when I think about how good the first half tasted”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting or maybe alfresco dining!

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.

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

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

THE ART OF TRAVEL

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

MORE IDEAS FOR ARTWORKS

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

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

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

(to be continued)

Here is another saying I like by Ernest Hemingway;

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

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie

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