An Art Work A Day

http://www.artscow.com/gallery/book/frihet-k0zxytsvm3kq

These days we have watched in shock as first we saw the earth quake, then the tsunami, then the fires and now recently the explosions on the nuclear plants. I chose to focus on eyes while trying somehow to capture some of fear and shock all those poor persons in Japan has been and is going through by making abstract eyes the center of the painting.

Today my cold has kept me more inactive than I would have liked so I have been more of a onlooker than a doer.

Women, way too many of them live in the shadows around the world, hidden, weiled concretely or methaphorically, idiolized, romatizised, presented in pastels and pinks or hidden in black. Today my portrait of woman is done in the color that more than anything binds her - red.

The red of her monthly curse leading to seclusion in many cultures - due to her religious uncleanlyness durng these days, the first one leading to massive loss of freedom fo rthe young girl many places.

The red required on her wedding night or else . . . . The symbol of her and the whole of her family and clan's honor. No excuses accepted for the lack of it. No measures too hard to ensure and protect the shedding of this priceless blood.

The red of her blood as she is raped, beaten or killed not only by strangers, mad men, but also by her closest, her husband, father or brother. Here in Norway too often even unwillingly brought along when her depressed husband kills himself.

Today, on the International women's Day - this is why I chose to do a monochrome in red.