Is your child being bullied at school? Childhood bullying is unfortunately a widespread problem and faced by many of today’s youth.  According to the Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study, 27% of students from year’s four to nine were bullied frequently, every few weeks or more during every term. The bullying that is endemic in schools most often takes the form of offensive teasing and being the victim of lies designed to damage reputation.

Previous generations could find a safe haven in their home but young people in the 21^st century have the added threat of cyberbullying so if they choose to use social media to chat with their friends they are also at risk of ‘trolling’. The same researchers found that people who bullied others at school would also bully online – although less common than face to face bullying, 14% of students experienced cyberbullying and 7% experienced both.  The most frequently used mediums to bully someone online are MSN Messenger, social networking sites, texting and email.

Usually the bully and their intended target know each other and may even describe each other as ‘friends’.

The person on the receiving end of the negative treatment may end up feeling anxious or depressed as a result as well as being isolated and lonely. There are also physical side-effects of bullying, like upset stomach, disturbed sleep and increased susceptibility to infection. This is because the child is pumping out extra cortisol, a stress hormone that raises blood pressure and pulse while suppressing the immune system.

If your child has become the victim of bullying, if their grades are slipping, they are skipping school or you think their mood is low, art therapy is a way you can help them release those negative tensions and start to feel good about themselves again.

What is Art Therapy

Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses art as a method of expression so that a person can communicate how they feel through painting and drawing. The approach is based upon psychoanalysis – a technique by which a person accesses his deepest held impulses and instincts and acknowledges them even if they are considered unacceptable. Repressed emotions can manifest into psychological problems so recognizing underlying feelings in important in maintaining good mental health and balance. Art therapy could be described as a symbolic language, that is, experiences that are too complicated or frightening to describe in words can be described more easily through the use of pictures. Just as Freud – the father of psychoanalysis – was able to interpret a patient’s true feelings and motivations through dream symbolism, the same can be done through picture symbolism.

Art can bring out the hidden desire for revenge against the bully or help the artist’s self-esteem by giving him an outlet to bring colorful creations to life.

Art therapy is often used for children who are victims of child abuse; physical, sexual, emotional or verbal and who may be suffering from mood disorders, attachment disorders and behavioral problems. As victims of bullying are also subject to emotional and verbal abuse – and sometimes physical abuse – this makes art therapy an ideal form of therapy for them too.

Art allows traumatic memories to be communicated on paper or other media and is particularly useful in children who find it difficult to talk about what has happened to them. Nurturing their creativity and expressing themselves through art can encourage some children to verbalize their experiences when they previously didn’t.

Is Art Therapy Effective?

Art therapy is an effective strategy for preventing anxiety caused by bullying and can be used as a way to explore self-empowerment methods. Edith Cowan University reported on a 10 year old girl who was psychologically affected by bullying and had started to skip school because she was worried she would experience more bullying. She was given six, directed art therapy sessions with one follow up session to encourage her to express her fears and worries about being bullied. She also saw a child psychologist before and after the art therapy intervention to get a measure of her emotional state pre and post treatment. After she had completed the course, she reduced the number of times she skipped school, had a greater opinion of herself and improved relationships with her family members, according to her own estimation and the opinion of her mother, the school principal and the child psychologist.

Art therapy can also be utilised by a child who is displaying bullying behaviour as an outlet for expressing negative emotions in a safe way instead of expressing them by intimidating others. This approach is increasingly being used by schools to prevent bullying from occurring in the first place.

References:

Art Therapy, Children and Interpersonal Violence, Psychology Today, accessed December 20, 2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201310/art-therapy-children-and-interpersonal-violence

Bullying and Cyberbullying Facts, Queensland Government, accessed December 20, 2015, https://www.qld.gov.au/disability/children-young-people/bullying/facts.html#common

Physical Effects of Bullying, Kwik Med, accessed December 20, 2015, http://www.kwikmed.org/physical-effects-of-bullying/

Matthews, F. (1998). A Case Study : A Short Term Art Therapy Intervention For A Child Victim To Bullying, accessed December 20, 2015, http://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1449

Forest, Melanie (2006), Children who Bully: A School Based Intervention Using Cognitive Behavioural Art Therapy, Concordia University, accessed December 20, 2015, http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/8960/

Lyndal Bond et al, Does Bullying Cause Emotional Problems? A Prospective Study of Young Teenagers, BMJ 2001;323:480, accessed December 20, 2015, http://www.bmj.com/content/323/7311/480.short

It doesn’t take long for the year to roll around and before you know it is Christmas again!  This year as we often do we are going to see the spectacle Carols by Candle light in Elder Park, Adelaide.  It always inspires the creative process and I am sure many artists feel the same way.

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT

These days we celebrate Carols by Candlelight all over Australia in all the capital cities and smaller country towns and they are held on many different dates all throughout December.   This time my husband and I together with our daughter and her boyfriend are planning to attend.  It is great that this tradition has now spread around the world and people gather usually outdoors in parks and sing carols in choirs and usually accompanied by musicians.  Lots of wonderful artists both very famous and up and coming stars do the rounds of the different shows and they are compared for the most part by Radio and Television personalities here in Australia anyway.  The audience of course sing along and everyone has a candle or two which they hold up and sway from side to side with the music at times, a very atmospheric sight just glorious!

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

As a family together with my mum and dad we started going to the open concert after our son Kai was born and soon joined by the little miss Hillivi and we have only missed a few along the way.  In times gone by we used to arrive early in the afternoon to stake our claim on a spot close to the stage put down a picnic blanket with a basket full of delicious goodies and lovely wine.  It was always a few hours wait before the show began at sunset and we would take turns to stake our claim on the blanket whilst some of us would head up to the city to shop and walk about.  These days we arrive a little later but it is still something we look forward to very much.  However there was one year that nearly turned us off for life when the weather suddenly changed and turned so nasty we thought we would freeze to death.  We still talk about how the coldness that night was equal to shopping down Canal Street in New York at Christmas time, well nearly anyway!  This time the weather is supposed to be nice and warm so lets hope that is the case.

CERAMIC AND MOSAIC

It was this time last year that my art blog and painting featured the acrylic painting of Swedish Lucia which was used for Project mapping on the Swedish Embassy in Poland see this story 205 Projection Mapping & Art in Animation This week however the artwork is a wall based sculpture and made from handmade ceramic and mosaic and features a sing-a-long family around the piano, with some recognizable artists artwork on the walls! (If you look close, you will find Picasso and Miro among others)

Here is a quote I think fits well by Carol Nelson;

“Christmas is a time when you get homesick — even when you’re home. “

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and Happy Holidays 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.

I was really thrilled to be asked if the image of one of my Public Sculptures could be used on the new “One Card” system (interconnecting library card for borrowers).  The SA public library “one card” network is connecting the systems of more than 130 public libraries across South Australia to let you borrow and return items wherever you go, using your current library card.  Users can borrow items including books, DVDs, CDs, magazines and children’s picture books with it.  They are also able to use an online reservation booking system or call in at any participating library across the state to pick up or drop of books.

PUBLIC SCULPTURE

The image used for the Balaklava Library is this book stack water feature sculpture that I was commissioned to do for the library (mid-north in South Australia), a few years ago.   I had of course lots of fun designing this sculpture and as I love both the water and books, so it was no stretch.   It is made from hebel and handmade ceramic and mosaic and took hours and hours to complete.   There are ceramic little fish in the water pond as well.  We left the decision of what books should be included to the local population and conducted a survey through the local paper, schools and library to find out the names of the most popular books and authors to be included in the artwork.

THE ART OF BORROWING BOOKS

The launch of the ‘one card’ was held last Friday and I was invited up to Balaklava as special guest together with many other dignitaries.  It was both a festive and informative event and I was really touched by the very warm welcome I received.  Balaklava was my home town for 18 years and it really feels like home to me!  (My heartfelt special thanks goes to Lyn Marshman, Kevyna Gardner, Helen Barr, Trish Langdon and Julie Brice and everyone else involved as well, Thank you all

These photos were taken by the Editor of the Plains Producer Les Pearson and were first published in their paper.

SCULPTURE GARDEN

There is also a mural on the wall at the entrance of the library as well as the water feature book sculpture which is set in a little garden and was created in memory of Des Ross in recognition of his service to the local area as well as Australia.  Des was both the President of the Local Government Association as well as the Australian Local Government Assoc., and a board room in Canberra is named “The Des Ross Room” in his honour.

Here is a quote by Charles Medawar that I think fits perfectly here;

“Librarians are almost always very helpful and often almost absurdly knowledgeable.  Their skills are probably very underestimated and largely underemployed”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and also borrowing books!

Love Marie xxx

If you would like to see some art blogs about other Public Sculptures here are some links;109 Stories behind the Wall and121 Volunteers our Backbone and  128 Sculpture and Women

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.

Still life painting is an old type of art that was here even before the development of modern day technological systems such as photography. This is an art that involves drawing an image as it appears in life. It involves several hours of sitting because the artist wants to get a good view of the object he is drawing throughout the session. Many such paintings are costly because of the effort that goes into producing the pieces. Still life paintings always have the painter’s personal touch because different people will see different things in the same object.

A Painting of the Same Object Might Look Different Depending On the Artist

Because different artists look at things differently, it is important to note that although the obvious features on a still life painting may be the same, the finer details will mostly vary depending on the way the artist in question looks at the object. The size of the painting is a major point of departure when looking at works of different artists. When an object is done in real life size, the images may be slightly similar even though it is never easy to get accurate measurements considering that the artist has to look at the object and draw using his or her free hand. This only means that paintings of the same still life object by different artists will vary in size.

NAIVE ART

This particular painting is one I did rather early on in my art career just after I had been discovered by Elders Fine Art Gallery.  Jim Elder commissioned me to paint it for their invitations and had asked me to paint a beautiful vista!  Lol in those days I was befuddled by that request as I had no idea what a vista was, but I soon got up to speed with the language of art and loved getting immersed in the view and the flamingos.

Things That Determine the Value of a Good Still Life Painting

Besides the object in question, there are many other things that determine the value of a painting. The kind of paint used is one major factor. There are mainly two kinds of paints that many artists use. Water based paints and oil based paints. Water based paints are natural paints mixed with water. This however makes them difficult to maintain over longer periods of time especially if the painting is not framed using protective material. A simple spill of water on the painting could completely damage the painting. Oil paintings on the other hand are more durable because they are not easy to wash of. This means that they can survive longer especially if kept in protected environments. This is the reason most of the greatest still life paintings were done using oil paints.

The Purpose of a Painting Also Adds Value to the Piece

Artists make paintings for various reasons. A piece of still life painting often resonates with a certain group of people depending on the message that it sends. People have used paintings to promote campaigns, pass information, create awareness and in other instances to express their inner feelings. All these purposes have a major impact on the painting. Considering that art is always about passion, it takes a passionate feeling from the artist to capture the mood in the still life object in question. That is why some paintings turn out so memorable and emotional than others. Some of the most famous paintings in still life are those that have so much emotional sentiments. The sentiments that such paintings evoke, also contribute to making them more valuable and costly.

How to Sell Still Life Paintings

There are many art galleries that exhibit still life paintings. When one needs to buy a piece from such galleries, there are important things to consider. Many will look at the size of the painting and its originality. Every art lover wants to have an original piece that they can take pride in owning. The material used to frame the painting can also influence the cost of a piece and should always be considered.

So I wish all of you art lovers out there a wonderful time viewing all the different types of art and really enjoying the experience, us artists would like to think it adds value to your lives.

Here is a quote by Henry Ward  Beecher, that I think fits perfectly well here:

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.

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

This photo was taken for ARTnBED and features my painting “The True Colors of Hindley Street” which was chosen for the launch of the ARTnBED in New York.  It also features us – mother and daughter together modelling and that was lots of fun to do.  It is something my daughter Hillivi and I have done a few times now and for me that is a real privilege.

THE ART OF MODELLING

We just did a fashion parade together at the Burnside Village shopping centre for the Womens and Children’s Hospital Foundation, for Mothers Day.  To combine models with their children for this occasion was an idea from my good friend Christina Angus the Event Manager and then helped along by Tanya Powel Model Agency and a lot of hard work and coordination by  Elisabeth and Adam from Mostly Kids Model Agency.

Christina had for years suggested I hit the catwalk again as had a couple of my model agencies over the years but I have just been way to busy and the timing was never right.  However the chance of working with babygirl was the sweetener to the deal so finally it all came about.  A lot of you know about my former career and background as Australian Model of the Year, but if you want to read more here are some Modelling Stories

TREND IN OLDER MODELS

The trend in older models coming back to work is really thanks to the baby boomer generation who wants to see themselves represented, which has sparked the new trend of using older models.  I think that is fair enough really, as a girl of 14 just does not look the same in the clothes as someone more mature.

The other benefit of hitting the catwalk was catching up with my past model friends all gorgeous and lovely girls who time has been very kind to, and I look forward to seeing them all soon again.

ART AND PAINTINGS

The upshot of this is that I have joined Hillivi back on Tanya Powel Model Agency’s books after years away, lol, strange how life goes in swings and roundabouts!  I am only available for the occasional job though as my art and painting comes first.  Working with my daughter has the added bonus that we take over the role of stylist from each other too and oversee each other’s photo shoots.  Thought I would share some shots I did the other day for the model website which was lots of fun with Hillivi and the wonderful photography of Greg Schwark. This all is wonderful inspiration for me for future artwork and more naive art images to come.

ART AND MORE

Last week was a whirlwind of modelling assignments and art as we had to fit in my painting and Hillivi’s nursing as well as photo shoots for the paper, interviews, fittings, rehearsals and parades.

MISS UNIVERSE

On top of all that Hillivi had been chosen as one of the 18 South Australian finalists in the Miss Universe competition so she had a whole day of judging and rehearsals to fit in as well.  Apparently Hillivi missed out with the narrowest of margins on the chance to represent South Australia in the National competition but I really hope she decides to give it another go next year.  A prouder mother than me would be hard to find, lol but Hillivi is as gorgeous on the inside as the outside and I am a very lucky mum!

Hillivi is wearing a  gorgeous dress very kindly provided by Bridal on Pultney.

Here is another quote that I think fits perfectly well here by George Burns;

“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY 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.

This week was going to be the one where we finally got to see the Rolling Stones live! Ever since I remember I have loved the Stones, the bad boys of “sex, drugs and rocking roll”.  Well that is before they finally grew up a couple of years ago and decided to kick the bad habits and got healthy.  This  painting was one I did for one of my Japanese art exhibitions in Nagoya and sold to a keen Rolling Stones fan.  The distinctive Rolling Stones big lips logo was designed by John Pasche, was introduced in 1971 and as my naive art exhibition was primarily Cats and Dogs for this show I added some cats to the homage.

ADELAIDE STONES CONCERT

The tickets for the Adelaide concert sold out in minutes and it was just through pure luck that we got some by trawling through the ticket site where only single seats were available.  One seat here and one seat there however we were not to be outdone and had 2 computers set up where we opened page after page looking for 2 tickets in the same area.  And when you are looking at some 50.000 seats in areas numbered from 100 – 500 and then alphabetic rows that is not an easy task.

Well as luck would have it finally we struck gold well figuratively speaking and managed to get 2 seats immediately in front of each other, so we can technically still hold hands lol

WALL BASED ARTWORK

We also purchased at a fundraising dinner the framed Rolling Stones vinyl record and photograph plaque set to commemorate the concert in Adelaide.  Underneath that hangs my grandparents poster for their tivoli and if you want to find out more about that here are a couple of  art blogs; 20. Antonis Tivoli Art and 21. Life in a Circus Tent

Well that was until the sad news of Mick Jagger’s girlfriend fashion designer L’Wren Scott which has put the concert on hold for now.  As disappointed as we are I am sure everyone understands and empathizes with Mick, such devastating news for anyone to deal with.  We are hopeful that the Rolling Stones will announce another date later in the year.

CUTTING EDGE

The Stones formed in England in 1962 and were noted for their long hair and a blues feel to their rock and roll also an air of cutting edge and rebelliousness than that other famous and fabulous band of the same era -The Beatles.

HALL OF FAME

They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and are on everyone’s list of the Greatest Artists of All Time with estimated album sales of more than 250 million dollars.  The Rolling Stones celebrated their 50^th anniversary in 2012 and last year embarked on a series of concerts in the UK.

BEST STONES SONGS

Whilst I think every one of the stones songs are great my personal favorites are the following; Miss you, Beast of Burden, Can’t get no satisfaction, If you start me up, Emotional rescue, Waiting on a friend, Let’s spend the night together and You can’t always get what you want.

So here is a quote by the Rolling Stones I think fits perfectly here;

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.”

Till next time happy painting, sculpting and listening to music.

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.

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.

For an artist Adelaide in South Australia is a wonderful place to live, it is a buzzing metropolis for the arts with various festivals and exhibitions and excitement.   We just manage to get over Christmas and then it starts again with the Adelaide Fringe which is the largest annual arts festival in the Southern Hemisphere.  It’s on for 24 days and nights and starts in the middle of February and spills into March – March itself is known as mad March as we then also get the WOMAD ADELAIDE which is a world music festival and also the a tad more highbrow Adelaide Festival where you can catch a performance like The Ring Cycle by Wagner.  Added to the mayhem of March is also Symphony under the Stars and the annual Clipsal 500 which sees the racing car drivers from all over the world descend on little old Adelaide to go round and round and round.  Mind you they arrive hot on the heels of the Tour Down Under which saw all the bikers fresh from Tour de France, who always seem to have to slog their way up impossible hills in 40 degrees of burning sun, their reward is to be celebrated and join in to all the festivities the city has to offer and that is plenty.

This photo was taken at the SALA award night by talented Adelaide photographer Julie Camilleri from Captured in Time Photography.

THE ADVERTISER BUSINESS SA CONTEMPORARY ART PRIZE

This sculpture is called “The Last Catch” and a little unusual for me as normally I am always doing colourful ARTwork, but sometimes it is nice to surprise the audience a little.  It was selected as one of the finalist in The Advertiser Business SA Contemporary Art Prize for the most outstanding work in any medium in another of the famous Adelaide Festivals called SALA which stands for South Australian Living Artists – so it is for those among us that are not dead yet! LOL and if you want to find out more about that Festival here is a link:

FRINGE FESTIVAL

In any case one of my personal favourite is the Fringe Festival, it is a little more grungy, less high brown and more edgy with performances from artists of all kinds from all over the world.  It usually features over 4,000 artists with more than 900 events that are staged in pop-up venues lanes, unused buildings, warehouses, parks, restaurants, theatres, hotels, art galleries and cafes.  What is on offer is EVERYTHING, you name it is there!

ART FORMS GALORE

Adelaide Fringe starts of with a free street parade and opening nights celebrations and parties and then you can choose from all sorts of contemporary work in all the art forms such as circus and physical theatre, dance, film, theatre, puppetry, music, visual art and design, cabaret and of course comedy.  I have previously told you about “The Old Fellow” Rod Gregory:  and now let me tell you about the young fellow Jon Bennett.  He is actually the son of our children’s school teacher Mr Bennett (as he was known to them) they both had Ray as a teacher in primary school and a sweeter are more caring teacher is hard to find.  Ray and his wife Mary are lovely people, very religious and always care for the underdogs and take in foster children and try to make a difference.  But as things happen in life things don’t always go according to plan and that is where Jon Bennett comes in – he is a master of storytelling and has you spellbound with his recollections of his life during the bad times and the good, all whilst having you doubled over in laughter.

COMEDY WITH A HEART

So below is my take on seeing his show the other night and if you get a chance to catch his show when he turns up in your part of the world I highly recommend it.

“Home grown comedian with HEART”

I was busting with pride the other night attending the packed out performance of comedian Jon Bennett son of local couple Ray and Mary Bennett of Pinery.  The show was called Fire in the Meth Lab and yes for some of us who know the history of that event it does sound very controversial and if you are easily offended it is best not to attend.  However for everyone else I really urge you to go as Jon has an incredible knack of taking you on a journey laughing most of the way but also tearing up which usually does not go hand in hand with comedy.  Jon whilst being small in stature has an incredible stage presence which has taken him across the world performing in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, LA, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton as well as touring all around Australia Apart from having had a wonderful night what I took home from his performance was the fact that Jon loves his family very much and I hope they are very proud of him, they certainly should be.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Mary Hirsch;

“Humor is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and laughing.

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.

Each year before the Christmas season starts outsider artist Stefan Maguran as project manager organizes an outsider festival, it is and always has been a love affair of Stefan and his wife to which they have had to make sacrifices along the way to keep it going.  They believe it has been very worthwhile and plan to keep the show up and running for the next five years.

PAINTING PORTRAITS

This portrait painting was painted by Stefan himself and he surprised me with this as a gift when I came to drop of my paintings for this year’s show.  Wow what a lucky girl I am, such a generous thing to do and so much fun for me to have.  I was genuinely touched and felt very special, Thank you so much Stefan, you made my day, that’s for sure.  I really like the composition with my mosaics in the background with all the hearts and also with the text; far och mor, which in Swedish means Father and Mother (whom both are much loved by me)  Stefan also expressed an idea for a further portrait of me, something special he had in mind, so I will keep you posted on that.

FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY ART SHOW

Anyway this year is very special as it is the 5^th year anniversary show and it is free to participants and the public with artist from far and wide, this year the USA, France and Argentina are represented as well as the Australian contingent.

OUTSIDERS ART FESTIVAL

Stefan says;” From the onset the name Outsider Festival has caused controversy, as it is a name mostly used by Insiders to describe a certain type of work, rather than to describe people from the outside of the establishment. It has been named a low-key event by people getting tens of thousands of dollars from the public purse to organize similar events on a larger scale and with strict entry rules that are non-existent here. The festival has been marred by strange events such as one artist being asked by a well known gallerist ( no longer operating, sadly) to pull out on the first Saturday after the opening, another artist being threatened if he took part by one of his mentors.”

ART CRITICS

So as you can hear this festival it is not without it’s critics, which is another reason I LIKE to take part.  I like the idea that anyone who wants to can take part and the fact that Stefan puts the show on for the love of art.   I like the interesting artists and artwork on show and the library location makes it accessible to people who may not otherwise go to an art gallery.

I don’t strictly fit into the category of an outsider artist neither by the art critics’ categorization nor by Stefan’s either as for the most part the artists are unrepresented by a gallery as in my case that is clearly not the case.

OUTSIDER ART

So what is Outsider Art I hear you say?  Well it is a little bit hard to define and it depends upon who you are talking with.  However the general conscientious is that the work is out of the mainstream so to speak.  The artists are usually self taught and follow no rules and paint for themselves and because they have to, want to and cannot stop.  Their work does not conform to the fashion of the day and the techniques can be unconventional.  Another word for Outsider art is Art Brut which means art in a “raw” state, uncooked so to speak.

ART BRUT

I have seen it mentioned that there is a distinction between “art  brut” and Naive art, and that is that the Naive artist remain within the mainstream of painting proper, and they do this because they hope for public recognition.  However I cannot agree with that all, I have seen many artists work that straddle the two worlds and morph into one.

NAIVE ART

From an Naive artist perspective if anything is a point of difference between the two genres it would be that the Outsider art shows often a more troubled soul with work in the muted tones perhaps a bit more confronting and darker.  Whereas the Naive artist’s artworks in general depict a colorful and happy world.

Artists taking part this year:

Stefan Maguran, Marie Jonsson-Harrison, Jungle Phillips, Claudio Braier – Argentina, Jeff Roland – France, Edward Kingsbury III – USA, Mike Retter, George Pivas, Jeanette Nash, Frederique Albou, Liz Parkinson, Sunyata, John Douglas.

This show will be open from this week until 10^th December at the The West Torrens Auditorium

1 Brooker Terrace Hilton, opening hours as follows; Mon-Tue & Fri 10am – 6 pm, Wed 8am – 6 pm, Thu 10 am – 8 pm Sat 10 am – 4 pm Sun 1pm – 4 pm

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Alan Sherman;

“A “Normal” person is the sort of person that might be designed by a committee.  You know, “Each person puts in a pretty color and it comes out gray.”

So come along and see the show and perhaps I will see you there,

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 SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I just love being an artist, you never know from one day to another what may come your way.  This week I just found out that I had won first prize in 2 categories at the American Art Awards in LA.  The first award was for Naive Art where I entered “The true colors of Hindley Street” which has also been made into duvets for ARTnBED.  If you want to see the announcement on the HIGHLIGHT HOLLYWOOD website here is the link with the lovely article written by Tommy Lightfoot Garrett.  The second award was my painting “Noahs Ark” and that won first prize in the Religious section which was just announced today and can be seen on this link; AMERICAN ART AWARDS and both are available to purchase as limited edition GICLEE PRINTS on my website.

This image above is the one third of the actual painting, if you want to see the whole thing here is a link HINDLEY STREET COMPLETE

AMERICAN ART AWARDS

The American Art Awards is open to artists around the world and its President Thom Bierdz is a champion for all artists in all genres and takes great delight in introducing new artists to the American market.  The award is judged by 25 of the top art galleries in USA and here is the full list of the Top Galleries.

ALL ART GENERA

Thom is of course a very talented artist himself, self taught who enjoys all types of art whether its medium is oil, acrylic, photography, sculpture, pastel or any other form and the awards is open to all genres too; landscape, portrait, pop art, expressionism, realistic, outsider art, naive art, impressionism, erotic or whatever.  Thom himself cannot enter of course nor is he part of the judging panel, he leaves that up to the art galleries.  He did however send me a lovely message on Facebook and invited me to enter as he does with other artists whose work he comes across that he likes.  Although an invitation to enter is not necessary as it is open to all artists across the world.

ARTIST AND ACTOR

Thom Bierdz has had a very interesting career as both an artist and actor firstly starring in the Young and the Restless as Phillip Chancellor lll and also on Melrose Place.  Thom got a lot of publicity for coming out as the first gay actor in daytime television, although there seems to be a bit of controversy over that lately with Thom declaring that he is not gay after all but did that mainly as a publicity stunt, so at this stage this is still up in the air.  No doubt he is therefore breaking hearts on both sides of the ledger!  Thom has also added author to his achievements penning the candid memoir “Forgiving Troy” which he won both the Indie Excellence Book Award for Best Autobiography and the USA Book News National Best Book Awards in the Non-Fiction and True Crime categories.  He was also nominated for the Lambda Literary Award in 2008.

THE ART OF AN AUTHOR

“Forgiving Troy” subject matter sounds as it come straight out of the day-time soap operas Thom starred in but unfortunately this is the real story of his own journey to forgive and love his paranoid schizophrenic brother who killed their mother in 1989.  Troy is serving a life sentence in a Wisconsin prison.  As if this was not tragic enough Thom’s other brother then committed suicide leaving his older sister Kim as his only remaining sibling.

However Thom Bierdz continues to shine, winning acclaim and awards for his continued contributions to charity work for human rights, through his art, acting and writing.

So keeping Thoms struggle in mind here is a quote by Vivian Komori which I think fits all of us perfectly;

“Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb but how well you bounce”

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 SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

As I wrote in the art blog 190 Art and CHRISTMAS IN JULY recently I was so happy to receive another 2 parcels from the very generous man behind Galerie Knud Grothe from Copenhagen in Denmark.  An art gallery and whose artists I have written about several times now in; 180 ART AND THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS and 182 GIVING PAINTINGS AS GIFTS

I have now committed myself to an exhibition there at Easter next year and am really enjoying painting towards that.

Overwhelmed and excited about my new gifts I would like to share with you one of the books I received “Kolonihavemaleren – Walther Schaldemose og Maleriet” which is another fantastic art book by Ole Lindboe from ArtPage about Danish naïf artist Walther Schaldemose.

SCANDINAVIAN VISTAS IN NAIVE STYLE

I was very taken with Walters work, he paints a variety of subjects both indoor and outdoor motives circuses and beach scenes and often includes the little “Koloni stuger” (cottages) in a setting by the sea (hence the title of the book which translates to Colony Sea Painter) In Sweden these miniature cottages with one or two little rooms are set out like a tiny little town on small plots of land each with its own little garden and a communal park for social gatherings.  The city residents who live in apartments rent or buy these types of cottages as a place to get away during the summer months or weekends and potter in the garden and enjoy the seaside or the forest.

EROTIC NAIVE ART

What I do enjoy most about Walthers work though is that he combines these wonderful images with a touch of the erotic, as nearly every painting harbour one or two couples engaged in some hanky-panky of some kind or perhaps a female nude either sunbaking or artist and model, breast feeding, in the bath or on the toilet.  His designs are colorful and very rich in detail and with a hint of eroticism and humour – a real feast for the eyes.  As I too play around with the erotic in art his imagination appeals to me very much.

MINIATURE ARTWORKS

Walther was born in 1932 and trained as a stamp engraver where he picked up his attention to detail no doubt.  He often paints miniature works with the use of a microscope and uses brushes with only few hairs on them to get the very small details just right.  Another unusual way he draws inspiration for his artwork from is going around to second hand dealers looking for frames and then lets that determine what size painting he will paint.

PAINTING ON MASONITE

Walter paints on masonite and instead of starting with a gesso or white painted canvas he paints his black.  The images in his paintings that are black are therefore left untouched and peek out between the other colors and he also likes to paint in relief just like I do and uses a moulding compound usually glue to build his images up with.  So I bet his artworks are even more wonderful in real life when you can also see the texture of the paint.

GALERIE KNUD GROTHE

It seems to me that Denmark is currently in the forefront in Naive art with so many different and talented artists being produced there.  No doubt also helped by the support of the wonderful mainstream contemporary art gallery GALERIE KNUD GROTHE .  So yet again Thank you so much Knud for your lovely gifts and also for introducing me to so many wonderful artists whose work gives me delight and joie de vivre every day.

Here is a quote I think perhaps Walter has in mind when he paints by James Dent;

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken”

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.

I have long been a fan of Richard Branson, I mean what is there not to like?  He is handsome, rich, and successful, cares about the environment and his family, extremely cool and seems like a genuinely nice guy.  That idea was strengthen in the late 90’s when I read his biography “Loosing my Virginity” which was an excellent read and one I thoroughly recommend.

BEFORE PAINTING

As I lived in London for a while during my modelling years I really identified with the lifestyle and the “goings on” in his life although our paths never crossed back then I still did have my fair share of the jetset life.  But seriously, what I think I admire most in him is the way that he has retained his unpretentiousness and seems still very humble and unaffected.

ARTWORK “SPOT THE VIRGIN”

Some years ago when we still lived on the farm I after rereading his book decided to paint an artwork called “Spot the Virgin” with lots of brides and of course one or two of Virgin’s airplanes.

PAINTING AIRPLANES

I am always dreaming when I paint, day dreaming that is and after I finished the painting I had this crazy idea – I would love to paint one of his planes in real life!  Very much an impossible dream no doubt, how do you come to the attention of Sir Richard Branson?

So I figured first step would be to give him one of my paintings as a gift.  That sounds pretty easy right?  Oh how wrong one could be.

PR PEOPLE AND THEIR SELF INTEREST

Unless you live in the same city or at least the same country, this is almost an impossible task.  There are so many minders in the way, PR companies, Personal Assistants, Secretaries, Security personnel and the like to try to stop you at every corner.

At one stage I had the painting all boxed up and ready to send to Necker Island but changed my mind at the last minute as I wanted to be sure it actually reached Richard himself.  Another time Mark from Giclee link who commissioned me to paint “London2012” was trying to arrange a meeting with Dicky Baby in London, but in the end that fell through too.

PAUL MAKIN AND TODAY TONIGHT

So in stepped my knight in shining armour; Paul Makin from the television program Today Tonight on Channel 7.  I mentioned my wish to him plus that I knew that Richard Branson was shortly coming to Adelaide and Paul said “Leave it with me”.

A week later Paul got back to me and had made the necessary arrangements, but even the best laid plans can go astray and after plan A,B, and C had fallen apart, we pretty much thought it was all over apart from waiting for the fat lady to sing.

However don’t underestimate an investigative reporter when there are plenty more letters in the alphabet and sure enough Paul overcame all the obstacles; a sway of minders and PR people including a PR girl with big claws that thought Richard Branson was her personal property.

MEETING DICKY BABY

We held our breaths with duck tape at the ready (you know in case we saw anyone starting to sing) and finally I got to meet Richard and gave him the painting all captured on camera by Paul.

I will reassure you girls he is just as yummy in real life as he is on TV and a really nice guy to boot.  He took all the time in the world to say hello and admire my artwork, chat and kiss!  Meanwhile his so called PR people were frothing at the mouth much to Paul’s and my amusement!

I really enjoyed the kisses and next time I see him I will have to take a leaf out of Bianca Wordleys Blogs book and smear my face with chocolate – maybe then he will linger even longer!

Here is a quote by Robert Burns that I think fits perfectly here;

“Love’s first snow-drop –  a virgin kiss.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting.

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.

215 ART and VIRGIN DREAMS

ART AND TELEVISION

So those of you who read my art blogs regularly know that I met Richard Branson last year when he was in Adelaide, South Australia for a couple of days. It was all organized by a reporter Paul Makin from Chanel 7 for their Today Tonight program and if you wish to recap on the crazy and very convoluted story of how we finally pulled that off here is a link 189 ART and Kissing RICHARD BRANSON

It is no secret that I have long admired Richard both for his entrepreneurships and also for the man that he is. Meeting him was great and the fact that he genuinely seemed to like my art made it all the better. However there is still a bit of unfinished business – I still want to paint one of Richard’s Virgin planes!

VIRGIN DREAMS

Dreams, we all have to have dreams don’t we, goals to work towards and ideas to inspire us? Dreaming, well daydreaming is an essential quality for an artist and one of my dreams is to one day paint a plane. Above you can see one of the ideas I have for a Virgin plane and I do have quite a few other ideas too of course. It would be something to see my artwork in mega size and flying in the sky that’s for sure, I just love to see art on airplanes.

PROJECT MAPPING

I guess the closest I have been to having my work in a large scale was late last year when my paintings were used for project mapping in Warsaw, Poland. Projection mapping or Video mapping also known as spatial augmented reality is when an image is enlarged to cover an entire building and then superimposed in a light show. In my case in Poland my artwork was also animated so it was a moving image. If you want to find out more about that and a bit of the history of Project mapping here is the artblog 205 Projection Mapping & Art in Animation

PUBLIC SCULPTURES

Well I guess also into the category of large scale would be the public sculptures that I have done over the years. The largest public sculpture of mine spans 44 meters across and is 3 meters high sitting as you enter the town of Balaklava in South Australia’s mid north. It was commissioned by the Wakefield Regional Council and took some 18 months to complete. Dale Gathercole and my husband were an integral part as were many many volunteers from the local community who all helped to make it happen.

THE CENTENARY OF FEDERATION GATEWAY

The idea is that the whole sculpture looks like a Federation house, complete with roof and a veranda. In the center are two six meter by three and a half meter walls, located at 22.2 degree angle to each other which are rendered to look like sandstone with red brick quoins on the corners and around the doors.

One wall represents 1901 and the other 2001. In the 1901 doorway we see the back of a life-size woman, made from hand-made ceramic tiles and mosaic, strutting through the door in all her finery, long dress, hat and umbrella in hand. Through the 2001 doorway, she emerges as the modern woman, complete with short skirt, sunglasses and a mobile phone. This reflects the changes that our society has undergone during the last 100 years.

If you would like to find out a little more about that here is the link 109 Stories behind the Wall – Public Sculpture

RICHARD BRANSON’S PHONE CALL

So why not dream big I say you never know what awaits around the corner, maybe one day I will get a call from Richard Branson saying “Hey Marie, I’m sending my private plane over to pick you up – we really have to discuss your idea of painting a plane for me!”

Here is a quote I think fits well here by H.F. Hedge;

“Dreaming is an act of pure imagination, attesting in all men a creative power, which if it were available in waking, would make every man a Dante or Shakespeare.”

Till next time happy painting or sculpting or daydreaming.

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 am so happy to finally be able to announce that my 3^rd set of duvet (quilt covers) for ARTnBED is finally on the market.  It is called Pottering at the Port and the original painting was bought by the Country Arts Trust of South Australia at an exhibition a while back.  Now the wonderful Lior Rapaport and his company ARTnBED have chosen it for their new collection.

Lior writes a blog on his ARTnBED website and this is what he wrote about initially finding my artworks;

NAIVE ART IS GOOD FOR YOU

“I have been interested in art ever since I lived in Paris.  I spent many winters’ weekends in its great museums carrying a 6 month baby when her mother needed some sleep.  It was then when I started to develop my own taste. Impressionism, contemporary and modern paintings were my favourites, I love colourful paintings that inspire and make you happy.

A while back I landed on MOMA’s FB page to see what’s new – and my eyes popped out!  I was enchanted with the colours, details, joy that filled every corner of a naive painting by artist Marie Jonsson-Harrison from Australia.  It was the first time I saw Naive art and I was hooked.

It appears that in the past Naive artists were outsiders, not in the mainstream and not taken seriously or considered professional.  Therefore most of them painted for themselves.  It was only about 100 years ago that Naive art was accepted as an artistic mode of art.

Take my word for it – there is no art as raw, honest and engaging as Naive Art!”

Lior writes a great blog and with lots of interesting stories about his family, life, travels and of course art which you may enjoy to have a look at.

If you are interested to find out how this all eventuated when my first quilt (duvet) cover called Hindley Street was released here is a blog about that 140 ART n BED as well as a page on my website where I also wrote about it and now I will have to go and update it and add the 2 new designs there as well.

CHILDLIKE INNOCENT ART

When I paint and sculpt I enter into another world and imagine myself as part of the artwork perhaps that is what keeps me so happy and childlike, who knows?  Although my kids think sometimes I should act my age and hubbys always maintains its unbecoming for a 40+ woman to skip!  Lol but I don’t care I skip anyway – although I try not to do it in a crowded place, in case I get carted off and locked up!  Anyway when ARTnBED had decided to use my painting Pottering at the Port, Lior asked me to write a little “something” to put on his website about that and this was my thoughts;

“Sailing off from the Port to new adventures across the world and then returning to your loved ones waiting with open arms to embrace you.  This will be one of many wonderful dreams to be had when you sleep in “Pottering at the Port” by artist Marie Jonsson-Harrison.  Come on – come pottering around the port with us, perhaps have a snorkel or a drink at the local pub or just enjoy the buskers and the atmosphere.  Why not travel the seven seas in your dreams and wake up happy every morning without leaving your bedroom?”

So I leave you today with a quote from Lior Rapaport from ARTnBED who says;

“So with our duvet sets you can spend a day at the beach, a weekend in New York, enjoy the nightlife on Hindley Street and now… snorkel in bed.”

Till next time,

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.

Funny isn’t it this thing about being pigeonholed, fitting in under a banner or label.  Well I guess if truth shall be known I have never really fitted in anywhere with anything – always been a bit rebellious and found my own way.

DECORATIVE ART

So why should anything be different now with my Art – I have for the longest time been told that the way I paint was Naive and yes that label has fitted me pretty well – however as it has been pointed out to me many times the naive title conjures up a Nice and Pretty painting.  Yes some of my paintings and artwork are just that no doubt but often there is “more”.   The “more” for the most part, is that often there is a often a subtle message or should I say a commentary on the world I see around me, I poke fun at the world, just letting you the viewer know not to take yourselves so seriously.   Also just a gentle poke at myself at the same time not to sweat the small stuff which I have a habit of doing!

NAIVE ART

Some people also think that as an ex model I don’t fit the innocent naive label either, why my past profession should have any bearing on the way I paint I don’t understand.  Oh I do paint subject matters from my past but it’s not like we learned to paint in modelling school exactly!  The fact that one can remain innocent in the way I view the world and hope the world would be, is perhaps what saved me both as a street kid and later as an international model with the Australian Model of the year title many years ago.  In my world happiness reigns and everyone are “Happy as a pig in shit”! The title of one of my first paintings which I painted incidently because I was going through a crisis in my life and painting little pigs having fun made me forget my troubles for a little while.  Here is a link to that painting and the Art blog that goes with it; 33. Art & Dont worry be happy

SELF TAUGHT ARTIST

I am self taught artist and have never even taking an art class either unless you count my primary education,  where I was ridiculed by the teachers for not seeing perspective and not being able to draw and paint which lead to me not touching art materials again till my late 20’s.    Instead I left school at 14 when I ran away from home and never went back.  What I learned in those initial 8 months fending for myself made me street smart if nothing else.

OUTSIDER ARTISTS

So am I an Outsider Artist?  Again some so called experts say yes and some say no.  What seems to irk some people putting me into this category is the success I have enjoyed as an Artist.  As an Outsider artist you are not supposed to produce art to exhibit or for fame or monetary reward.

What these so called experts forget on this topic is that I painted for several years with a love and compulsion that I didn’t understand myself and I had no idea there was such a thing as Naive art or Outsider Art until it was eventually suggested by my father.  That was not mentioned for a long time as I just feverously painted every second I had spare, long before any thought of exhibitions or fame or fortune was even a glint on the horizon.

So what about the mental illness aspect – does an Outsider artist have to be mentally disturbed?  Well some ARE undoubtedly however you do find people in all professions dealing with mental illness and you don’t just classify someone who paints landscapes or photographic (realistic) portraits and has a mental illness as an Outsider artist, right?

CONTEMPORARY ARTIST

So what about the term; Contemporary artist, I have been classified as that as well.  But as usual the camps are divided by that too. Can a  contemporary artist paint colourful happy paintings for the main part and get her social commentary taken seriously, mustn’t they be all broody and deep with long explanations of what their art actually means.  Oh my, she hasn’t attended Art School either, fancy that – not a clone of an art teacher!  Now that is probably a touch mean of me to say and not entirely true as there ARE many wonderful art teachers out there I know, mentoring the pupils to be the best they can be without influencing them too much and taking away their individuality.   I just hope that the ones that thought I was terrible in school can see me now!

PASSION IN ART

To me Art shouldn’t be Rocket Science, Art should make you feel!  Feel something either for the subject matter for the artist or tweak some memory deep within.  Passion is good whether it is happy or sad, angry or give you the giggles, when you look at art and it stirs up a “feeling” any feeling then it’s good art in my opinion.  So perhaps the label I am most comfortable with is an Outsider Contemporary Naive Artist – yep perhaps that is the label for me!!!

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Henry Ward Beecher,

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”

Now I would like to invite you to a wonderful exhibition of so called Outsider Artists – some more so and some less so!  The show is on until the end of December.

ART EXHIBITION OPENING

Official opening

Sunday, 1

December

2:00 PM

The West Torrens

Auditorium

1, Brooker

Terrace, Hilton

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.

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.

When you are an artist who paints on a full time bases you occasionally feel that “THIS” is the best painting you have ever done and that is how I feel about this acrylic on canvas painting called “London2012”.

GICLEE PRINTS

It all started in March this year when I was approached by Mark McCormick from Giclee Link who commissioned the Olympics artwork.  Giclee Link is a young and new company founded on the principles of quality, transparency and fairness both in the way they treat their artists as well as the retailers they deal with.  Mark says “It’s our mindset that karma and the adage; what goes around comes around, will be in play”.

Mark and his partner Pam are committed professionals in the art and photography space and come from a background with Getty Images and The Art Group (UK largest publishers).

I have had tremendous support from Mark with links and images of all the buildings and preparations going on there in London, things that only the locals would have known about, which made it so much more fun for me.  I loved the collaboration and sense of humor that we shared!

FABERGE EGGS

For instance with the Royal Jubilee celebrations London was awash with Jubilee Eggs – which are a cross between Easter eggs and Faberge eggs.  In any case there was an Egg Hunt for the people of London and some took the hunt very seriously auditing their efforts on a mobile database.  There were apparently 209 eggs in total however some had been stolen and other damaged.

So that is why if you look closely on the painting you will see a Cat bugler running off with one egg and another thief in Soho with another as well as a big stash of stolen eggs in the apartment next to number 10 Downing Street.

THE ART OF AUSSIE HUMOR

Another bit of fun I had was with the controversy over the proposed basketball courts to be built in the Waltham Forest.   This area is a beautiful place where the locals treasure the natural habitat around the river and where you find the canal boats that are often pictured on postcards.  Leading up to the Olympics there was protesters there and some of them tried to stop the builders by blocking the path of their vans, so of course I had to paint that.  I actually had named the builders The Big Tosser Building Company – as us Aussies are always poking a bit of fun at the authorities and the fat cats, lol, however the Brits did not appreciate the joke so now they are just called Big Toms!

GICLEE LINK

The London2012 image has been made into Giclee Prints in a limited edition of 95 and is available through Giclee Link as the wholesale company who welcome Retail galleries, Interior and Furnishing Retailers, Multiple Retailers, Interior Designers and Online Retailers to stock their prints.

UNION ART

As well as Union Art who welcome everybody who are interested in art and specialises in limited and open editions prints, photography, sculpture and original works of art.

UNION ARTISTS

Union Art represents only the very finest contemporary, established and emerging artists in the business.  What impresses me very much about Union Art is that collectors and enthusiasts can browse their collection at any time through their website , however the added bonus is that they are available to offer help or answer any questions over the phone between the hours of 10am – 10pm 7 days a week!  They offer competitive prices together with efficient and friendly service so call them now! (London, UK, 08455441452) You may also like to visit Union Art on Facebook.

COMMISSIONED ARTWORK

I know a lot of artists do not like to do commissioned work, they feel that it is limiting and cramps their natural style.  I actually feel the opposite – it often makes me stretch myself and paint topics and themes which I may otherwise not have thought of.  Of course it is also nerve racking too, what if the client does not like the finished product and yes that is something that has happened to me too.  However all is not lost then either, in my experience as there is always someone else who will love that artwork.

RESEARCHING ARTWORKS

I really felt part of the Olympics whilst doing the research and hoped to include as many sports as possible, look closely and you will find; High Jump, Pole Vault, Running, Shot put, Discus, Javelin, Sailing, Synchronized Swimming,  Rowing, Swimming, Diving, Wind Surfing, Show Jumping, Beach Volley Ball, Basketball, Cycling, Gymnastics, Tennis, Soccer and Water Polo.  Then of course there is the concert in Hyde Park as well as the goings on in SoHo, the new model of the London Double Decker busses, the Prime Minister and his wife at number 10 as well as the Queen in a spot of bother and of course all the people from all the different races and cultures around the world.

Yep everyone is in London 2012!

So here is a quote I feel goes well here by Henry Ford;

“Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.”

Till next time happy painting,sculpting and partaking in sports 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.

Finally I can share with you my exciting news; my artwork is now available in a bedding range with ARTnBed which launched in New York this week and available throughout the USA.

ART FOUND ON THE WEB

It all started in October 2011 when I was approached by Mr Lior Rapaport an Israeli entrepreneur, who had found my artwork on the MOMA Facebook website (Museum of Modern Art NY) and from there looked at the rest of my artwork on my own artist website.

ARTnBED bought the copyright (bedding) for my acrylic painting ‘The True colours of Hindley Street” and I will also receive royalties for the items sold.

Although I have been approached with various ideas before, this time I had no hesitation as Mr Rapaports care and consideration both for me as an artist as well as for the product and what he wanted to achieve was second to none.

HIGH QUALITY ART

The utmost care has been taken in the design face with high resolution printing on sateen fabrics, 100% cotton which was chosen because it was best suited to printing the high resolution images in the highest quality possible and was also beautiful to sleep in.

The exciting quilt features all the one-time familiar icons of Hindley Street, Adelaide, Australia which is the place where everything happens, Action, Atmosphere and Nightlife –Jules Bar, Downtown Leisure Centre, Flash Coffee Gelateria and Jerusalem Restaurant in a splash of vibrant street life.  Crazy Horse nightclub is depicted alongside Goodwill Stores.  And the instantly recognisable eclectic imagery is jammed with a multi-cultural crowd of people.

The South Australian Tourist Commission’s David O’loughlin thought this was so much fun and came up with the slogan; “Thousands of Americans are sleeping in Hindley Street tonight!”

The whole ARTnBED concept springs from Lior Rapaport and his wife Sharons 4 year spell living in Paris where they enjoyed strolling the beautiful streets, exploring the incredible museums, sampling the rich cuisine and soaking up the sights and sounds.  They discovered that they shared a passion for the arts and started a art collection together and when they finally left Paris it was with a trunk full of memories, original paintings and two beautiful daughters.

When it came to setting up a more permanent home together they found a gap in the market – there were no original artwork on luxury bed linen. So they started a search to find exciting artists so they could convert their vibrancy and spirit from the walls and on to the beds and voila ARTnBED was born.

With much success in Israel it is now New Yorks turn with many more cities and countries to follow.  Our Art, Your bed so follow your heart, sleep in Art.

So here is a quote by Jean Paul Richter which I think fits well here;

“Art is indeed not the bread but the wine of life”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and maybe sleeping to you all,

Love Marie xxx

Here is my blog about the many crazy nights spent having fun in Hindley street called Girls Night Out.

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.

]]> https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/140-artnbed/feed/ 3 https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/117-henri-rousseau-naive-artist/ https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/117-henri-rousseau-naive-artist/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:34:32 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=3072 NAIF PAINTING

Ever since I started painting I have been a big fan of Henri Rousseau’s work. My father said that the art I was producing had something in common with the naifs and bought me a couple of art books; one on Grandma Moses and the other on Henri Rousseau.

HERO ARTIST

So Henri has been one of my heros for such a long time, so you can imagine my joy when I was invited by the organizers of the annual Henri Rousseau exhibition in France to participate. I jumped for joy! The curator is Jacques Dubois who also is involved in the Art Naif Festival in Katowice, Poland which I took part in last year. Jac is very heavily involved in promoting Naive art in Europe and throughout the world really and his wife Martha Dubois is a very well known and talented naive artist herself.

FRENCH EXHIBITION
This year the Henri Rousseau exhibition will take place in the Abbey of Montivilliers in Normandy opening on Saturday 21st January until 19th February with an auction of the paintings being held on 12th February at 3pm. The exhibition itself is open 7 days a week and it is not to be missed.
Henri Rousseau was called Le Douanier which translates to the customs (or customs officer)a name he got from his job as a tax collector on goods entering Paris. Henry married twice, first Clemence Boitard with whom he had six children and after she died he married Josephine Noury.
Henri also tried his hand at music and writing but it was painting that was his first love, which he started doing seriously in his early forties and by the time he was 49 he retired from his job to pursue the art on a full time basis. Rousseau was represented in the exhibitions of the Salon des Independants from 1886 onwards, and his pictures hung side by side with Matisse, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh and Picasso.

INVITED ARTISTS

This year 2012 there were 88 artists invited from around the world with 20 different countries represented among them France of course and Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Cuba, Belgium, Italy, Japan and “moi” from Australia just to name a few.
As this is an exhibition in homage of Henri, most artists are sticking to that theme and I had so much fun painting “You Rock, Henri Rousseau”. I wanted to do a contemporary celebration and incorporated elements of Henri’s art into it by putting in a detail of “The Dream of Yadwigha” (the naked lady lying on the couch).
The Dream of Yadwigha was the last painting that Henri painted before his death in 1910, in it the lady in question is laying on a red velvet sofa with a luxurious jungle behind her listening to the notes of a single magic flute. I of course painted a myriad of musicians and singers, artistic license and all that, LOL. If you look a little closer at my painting you will also see the influences of two other of Rousseau’s work in “The Sleeping Gipsy” which is the woman sharing the couch in the striped outfit.

HENRI ROUSSEAU ORIGINALS

In Henri’s original artwork a lion is standing over her as she lies dreaming under an ancient green sky in the solitude of the desert. Some say this is the lyrical prelude to Surrealism, with a mandolin and a jug which stands beside the sleeping figure, these objects would inhabit the dreams of the Surrealists and the space of the Cubists.
The third painting of Henri’s represented in my artwork is of Henri himself, from his self portrait painted in 1890 “I – Myself Portrait-Landscape”, he is holding a palette of paints and a brush and in the original painting he is standing on a road in front of a bridge, although he does look like he is standing in mid air, lol.
NO ART RULES

That is the naive charm, us naives are so lucky that we can just paint whatever we feel and see without having to worry about rules and other people’s perception of how things should look. As the whole idea of perspective is totally lost on me that is really lucky!!
Thank you Henri Rousseau – you gave me the freedom to be me, to paint in my own style and not to be embarrassed by the child in me. Instead my childishness it is something that I celebrate and hope that I will never grow up, or out off- but wake each day full of wonder and excitement.
So Henri I hope you approve of me painting you like a Rock Star, complete with women swooning at your feet and throwing their knickers at you. There is wild music supplied by a rock band and a brass band as well as the choir and Can Can girls dancing and pirouettes by ballerinas and of course no party is complete without balloons.

So here is a quote I like by another Henri – Henry Ward Beecher who said;
“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,
Love Marie xxxx

If you have enjoyed reading about this artist perhaps you may like to see this art blog too; 91 He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother, the Artist

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 “Christmas for the Elders family” was commissioned by Jim Elders from the Elders Fine Art Gallery in Adelaide, South Australia, a man I much admire and without whom I would not be enjoying this wonderful career as an Artist.

I have told you how I started painting in How it all began, which is something that I did every minute of the day (in-between looking after a new baby & going back to modelling) early morning, late into the evening, when baby Kai had his naps, and all weekend when hubby took over the child minding.

PAINTING OBSESSED

Friends and family was highly amused at my newfound love of painting and would come over to see the latest artwork.   They would giggle and laugh and I am sure in a lot of instances pat me on the head, shake their heads and think that at least I am amusing myself but it won’t amount to anything much, LOL.

JUNK ART SCULPTOR

Not that I thought it would either I just knew that I could not stop and if I wasn’t painting I thought about painting, dreamt about it or talked about it, like a woman obsessed.  My dad, who is an artist himself but generally more in the abstract area or as a junk art sculptor, would encourage me and buy me paints and materials.  After a while he said:” you know honey I think you are on to something – there is a genre in the art world called Naive Art and although it does not look anything like yours it seems to be in the same vein.”  So dad got me a few books and I started to dream that maybe one day I could become a “real artist”.

It took about 2 years for this penny to drop and I thought I should see if I could get representation from a gallery.  Now obviously as my father was already an artist with gallery backing and I had quite a public profile from being the Australian Model of the Year it probably would have been much easier to take advantage of that but I wanted to make it on my own arts merit.

CALLING ART GALLERIES

So armed with the Yellow Pages (Telephone Directory) I started calling galleries.  I started with the less known and worked my way up the list.  In the most polite of fashions I explained that I was a new artist and was wondering if at some stage I could either come in or send them an image of my work.  Without fail every single gallery I called said: “sorry we are not interested in seeing any new artists, or we are totally booked out”, and some of them were rather rude and abrupt.  At this stage there were only 2 Galleries left in South Australia (that I hadn’t called) and that was the two most famous ones 20 years ago;  BMG (Kim Bonython’s) and Elders Fine Art Gallery, and as luck would have it I called Elders first.

Jim Elder answered the phone himself and I couldn’t believe it when he said; “sure come on in!  I will warn you however that I very rarely take on any new artists but I always look”, and with that we made an appointment.

ART GALLERY APPOINTMENT

So on the allotted day I turn up, Jim is very busy getting a show up and hardly acknowledges me but points at where I should put my work along the walls on the floor.  I had 14 works with me so it took quite a while back and forth from the car and finally it’s all in and eventually Jim comes to take a look.

His face gave nothing away, he looked grumpy to me and sort of huffed and asked what the price on this and that one is?  I said that I had no idea at all what the prices were, so Jim said, well that painting I think would be 300 dollars, and this one 500 and the artwork with the flowers 950.  By this stage my eyes were round as saucers as I listen to this obviously quite mad man, lol.  But who was I to argue and when he then said he would buy, this one and that one and the other outright, counting up 10 of the artworks and taking in the other 4 on commission basis I nearly fainted.  I left Elders Fine Art Gallery that day with a cheque for nearly 7 thousand dollars, which with a young family and a mortgage made me skip to the car!

The paintings sold the following weekend in their Christmas show and I now had a new career painting full time and the rest of it is history as they say!

So thank you Jim and Helen Elders, you provided the most wonderful start to my career and I am forever in your debt.  It goes without saying, that if the Elders had not changed the gallery to an Auction house: Elders Fine Art & Auctioneers, I would still happily be on their books.

So here is a quote by George Allen,  I think fits very well in here with light of what everyone thought initially about my art career, lol.

“People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit.  Most men succeed because they are determined to.”

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 SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Look out the Outsiders Art Festival which opens next week in Adelaide.  This is an annual event organized by Stefan Maguran, who calls himself an underemployed artist and Project Manager.

This Giclee print “Expose yourself to Art” is one of my pieces which is included in this show.  The original artwork was done in handmade ceramic and mosaic.

THE OUTSIDERS FESTIVAL MUSEUM

The festival takes place at several venues across Adelaide and the driving force behind it all is of course Stefan who has worked tirelessly on this project for months.  According to his art website, the festival and The Outsiders Festival Museum is entirely sponsored by the Maguran family budget from his extremely patient, caring and understanding wife and her salary.

So on behalf of the 40 something artists involved we thank you!  The artists this year are from around the world with works from Spain, France, UK, USA, Taiwan, Turkey and of course Australia.

OUTSIDER ART

So what is Outsider Art I hear you say?  Well it is a little bit hard to define and it depends upon who you are talking with.  However the general conscientious is that the work is out of the mainstream so to speak.  The artists are usually self taught and follow no rules and paint for themselves and because they have to, want to and cannot stop.  Their work does not conform to the fashion of the day and the techniques can be unconventional.  Another word for Outsider art is Art Brut which means art in a “raw” state, uncooked so to speak.

ART BRUT

I have seen it mentioned that there is a distinction between “art  brut” and Naive art, and that is that the Naive artist remain within the mainstream of painting proper, and they do this because they hope for public recognition.  However I cannot agree with that all, I have seen many artists work that straddle the two worlds and morph into one.

NAIVE ART

From an Naive artist perspective if anything is a point of difference between the two genres it would be that the Outsider art shows often a more troubled soul with work in the muted tones perhaps a bit more confronting and darker.  Whereas the Naive artist’s artworks in general depict a colourful and happy world.

Perhaps what makes this Outsider Festival a little bit different is that the work is very diverse and manages to straddle several other genera of art as well.  If you would like to see some of the works without travelling all the way to South Australia have a look at this fabulous new publication edited by Stefan Maguran called the Outsiders Festival 2011.

For the rest of you here, do come and see for yourself as I am sure there will be something for all of you to enjoy.  For the first time this year the festival includes Outsiders Short Film Festival, with films from Australia, UK and Taiwan as well as a performance by Hot Tutti (part of the Tutti Ensemble).

DATES;

1-30 November 2011

Official opening;

2^nd November 2011

1.00 – 6.00pm

The West Torrens Auditorium

1 Brooker Terrace Hilton

Also individual exhibitions at the following Galleries;

Black Diamond Gallery

66 Commercial Rd

Port Adelaide,

Jungle Phillips Gallery

558 Marion Rd

Plympton Park,

Langdons

215 Sturt Rd

Adelaide,

Stefan Maguran Gallery

316 Anzac Highway

Plympton.

So here is a saying that amused me greatly from the Simpson and reminds me that as an artist you do have to have thick skin, lol.

“Your husband’s work is what we call “outsider art.” It could be by a mental patient, a hillbilly or a chimpanzee.”

Love

marie

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.