So it’s the week of Easter and this year my Easter surprise was that my website crashed for 4 days!!  Apologies are in order to those of you who tried to unsuccessfully access it, nice to know that it was due to a lot of traffic, so thank you.

EASTER AND ANIMATION

Anyway the story this week is of course about Easter and this will be our third one here by the sea, time flies when you are having fun.  The animated painting is of course a scene from my background as a Swede and the Swedish Easter painting is animated and set to music by my friend Susan Flashman.  I can sense the confusion on your faces as to what witches has to do with Easter so here is the story about that.

COMMISSIONED PAINTINGS

We Swedes are weird, you know in a nice way, and it wasn’t until we immigrated to Australia that I realized that fact.     I was originally commissioned to paint a Easter painting by my American gallery a few years ago.  The owner like me is Swedish and I had free reign to paint whatever I choose as long as it was to do with Easter.

Notice something strange about it, what’s with all the witches on broomsticks I hear you say?  Well that’s perfectly normal – no little cute bunnies for us Swedes, no we have witches flying around and flying off to Blakulla (the Blue Mountain) to meet the man downstairs, you know who I mean!  I think the animation and the naive painting really suits Halloween too.

THE ART OF EASTER

When I was little in Sweden we would dress up as Easter witches, raid mums or grandma’s wardrobe for long skirts.  We wore colorful head scarves and painted our cheeks red, and then we would go from house to house in our neighborhood and knock on every door and be given lollies and sometimes fruit.  Much like the Americans do for Halloween.

PAINTING BOILED EGGS

We would also spend a day painting boiled eggs which would later be eaten during the Easter celebration together with a smorgasbord feast.  We would go and pick small branches and twigs of willow and birch (the ones with lots of soft little fury buds, so cute!) and then we would decorate it with feathers and small witches on broomsticks and other decorations much like a little Christmas tree.  Every Swedish household would have a vase of these on the table.

ORIGINAL PAINTING

The original painting was framed with the Easter eggs on the side.  Yes we would receive an Easter egg too but not one made from chocolate, instead it was made from cardboard with bright pictures on it or from plastic and usually filled to the brim with lollies and chocolates.

But of course mine was a bit different, always being the eccentric (oh yes I do admit that).  So what do you think mine was filled with, something really yummy, that I could not usually eat as much of as I would like of course….a jar of peanut butter that’s what.  Weird kid, weird Swedish kid!

This quote by Matt Lauer made me laugh today:

“Researchers have discovered that chocolate produces some of the same reactions in the brain as marijuana. The researchers also discovered other similarities between the two but can’t remember what they are.”

Hope you are enjoying your chocolates!

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xxx

If you enjoyed this one you may also like another art blog on  Swedish customs 113 Art & Swedish Traditions, Another weird one

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.

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.

We Swedes are weird, you know in a nice way, and it wasn’t until we immigrated to Australia that I realized that fact.  Well if you don’t believe me take a look at the painting below.  That’s an Easter painting that I was commissioned to do by my American gallery a few years ago.  The owner like me is Swedish and I had free reign to paint whatever I choose as long as it was to do with Easter.  Notice something strange about it, what’s with all the witches on broomsticks I hear you say????  Well that’s perfectly normal, no little cute bunnies for us Swedes, no we have witches flying around and flying off to Blakulla (the Blue Mountain) to meet the man downstairs!

As a child we would dress up as Easter witches, raided mums or grandma’s wardrobe for long skirts wore colourful head scarves and painted our cheeks red, and then we would go from house to house in our neighbourhood and knock on the doors and be given lollies and sometimes fruit.  Much like the Americans does for Halloween.

PAINTING EGGS

We would also spend a day painting boiled eggs which would later be eaten for the Easter celebration together with a smorgasbord feast.  We would go and pick small branches and twigs of willow and birch (the ones with lots of soft little fury buds, so cute!) and then we would decorate it with feathers and small witches on broomsticks and other decorations much like a little Christmas tree.

Here is the painting framed and now you can see the eggs on the side.  Yes we would receive an Easter egg to but not one made from chocolate, instead it was made from cardboard with bright pictures on it or from plastic and usually filled to the brim with lollies and chocolates.

But of course mine was a bit different, always being the eccentric (oh yes I do admit that).  So what do you think mine was filled with, something really yummy, that I could not usually eat as much of as I would like of course….a jar of peanut butter that’s what.  Weird kid, weird Swedish kid.lol

If you fancy seeing this painting animated with all the witches flying around use this link on Youtube Art and Music with Marie

Here is a true fact from the book “The mammoth book of useless information”

Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine, the same chemical that your brain produces when you fall in love.

So eat up good folks and also happy painting and sculpting everyone!

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.