ALL ABOUT ART: april 2016

This is how a brain aneurysm look like.

The day after the great tsunami, the 27th of December 2004, our then eleven year old son

had a brain aneurysm that burst. I think of it as a great wave of blood that swept through his brain.

It was a subarachnoid hemorrhage which is fatal if not treated immediately.

The aneurysm

oil on canvas

2011

(The image processing software I use can´t handle the subtle colors I used for this

image. The colors don´t match the original.)

Anyhow, I will tell you the story of the dramatic events that took place over ten years ago, giving you one page at the time. Above you see the title page: Blodvåg (Blood wave ). Since this little side project probably will take several weeks I will tell you here and now: our beloved son

survived the calamity.

He is alive.

Axel, a survivor.

This artist has depicted another bodily organ bursting:

Ivar Arosenius

Self portrait with bleeding heart, 1903

Graphite and water color

Ivar Arosenius

The Princess with toys, 1908

Tempera on canvas

I found this invitation to a party that I was hosting. It is undated but

I guess it is from the early, early eighties. I am not sure what image I was trying to present. This is one of the very few self portraits (sic) I have done.

36 years later I look somewhat like this. This is not much of a portrait but

at least I do not look like a character in a story book anymore.

To conclude today´s session I will present to you another French illustrator, this time a woman by the name Charlotte Gastaut.

Charlotte Gastaut

The Magic Flute

Words by Pierre Coran

Raben&Sjögren, 2015

Charlotte Gastaut

The Little Mermaid

Words by H.C. Andersen

Raben&Sjögren, 2014

Charlotte Gastaut

The Little Mermaid

Words by H.C. Andersen

Raben&Sjögren, 2014

Charlotte Gastaut

Fannys fantastiska resa

Rabén&Sjögren, 2010

Charlotte Gastaut

Fannys fantastiska resa

Rabén&Sjögren, 2010

Charlotte Gastaut

Fannys fantastiska resa

Rabén&Sjögren, 2010

József Rippl-Rónai

Woman with Flower, 1891

Pastel on paper applied to canvas

OK, one more thing. I really appreciated all of you who shared your thoughts on and experiences

with angels. Thank you!

Last week I went to a portrait painting class at Folkuniversitetet. This is the studio where I first met my art teacher Farigh Ghaderi in 2013.This is where my art journey got a flying start after being dormant for several years.

First I made a sketch of Ylva (seen below) and then Lasse showed up. Lasse was also the model back in 2013 when I painted my first portrait.

Ylva, the model

Ylva (2 hrs)

pencil on brown paper

Lasse 2016 (3 hrs)

Pencil on brown paper

Lasse, 2013

oil on canvas

Katrin

pencil on brown paper

In a previous post I told you about a book project that I am working on. For the last couple of

weeks I have been been exploring different art mediums and rereading some of my favorite story books. I am looking for the right way to address the subject matter. What kind of illustrations will best portray the heartfelt feelings of Maria when she is talking about her autistic son?

While doing this research I found some books illustrated by Ilon Wikland in my book shelf.

Everybody who has read Astrid Lindgren´s books about Alla vi barn i Bullerbyn (The Children of Bullerby Village/Noisy Village) , Saltkråkan (Seacrow Island), Mio min Mio (Mio, my Son), Karlsson på taket, Ronja Rövardotter (Ronia, the Robber´s Daughter) recognizes the cute and atmospheric illustrations by Ilon Wikland.