A couple of weeks ago I told you about when our oldest son Axel, then 11 years old,
had a brain hemorrhage. As a way to develop my imagery and visual expression I´m
making pictures that illustrate the entries me and my husband made in the journal we
kept while Axel was in the hospital. (A kind nurse in the intensive care unit
gave us a small, black notebook
and she encouraged us to write daily in it).
The illustrations will probably change in style but I hope that won´t
distract you. You can see part one here:
PART TWO
Artwork: Erica Stenkrona |
Our oldest son has been ill for two months and the doctors don´t know what´s wrong with him. On Christmas Eve he didn´t even leave his bed to see the Christmas tree and the only Christmas gift he wanted was to be well again. He has a headache and he´s nauseous so he can´t eat nearly anything at all. He´s sensitive to light and sound so we keep his room dark and quiet. On Boxing day I ask him how he is doing. He answers: "I feel God´s hand on my shoulder...or maybe it´s just the Tylenol working".
Tune in for part three next Friday!
First draft: Erica Stenkrona |
Last week I mentioned the affirmed correlation between creativity
and mental illness. One artist who presumably battled against mental illness
was the Danish artist and illustrator Ingrid Vang Nyman. She is famous for
her illustrations of Pippi Långstrump (Pippi Longstocking).
I appreciate her art much more now than I did as a child. Now I just
love her skew perspective, expressive characters and bright colors. Her eye
for detail is also admirable. Ingrid ended her life on December 13, 1959.
Ingrid Vang Nyman
(1916-1959)
Bookcover: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1947
Astrid Lindgren´s own illustration of Pippi Longstocking
on the first page of the original manuscript.
Efraim Långstrump in Sing with Pippi Longstocking
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945
It´s interesting to see how the illustration evolves from
the first draft to the finished printed picture.
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1947
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1947
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1947
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1948
Children in east and west
Lithograph: Ingrid Vang Nyman
red details hand-painted
Unpublished work: Ingrid Vang Nyman
Ink and gouache.
Unpublished work: Ingrid Vang Nyman
Ink and gouache.
Lithograph: Ingrid Vang Nyman
Look how meticulously she has depicted the convoluted mats and the tent!!
Gouache: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945
Tulegatan 7 (Ingrid´s home in Stockholm)
Gouache: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945
Tulegatan 7 (Ingrid´s home in Stockholm)
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1946
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1946
Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1951
Ingrid Vang Nyman with her son Peder (Pelle), 1940
Portrait of Peder (Pelle) Nyman, 1941
Oil on canvas.
Winner of the Monsters Giveaway:
Aubrie Mema, Albania
and
Gunnel Hedberg, Örebro