An Art Work A Day

Sometimes being loved can be a bit suffocating and make one feel trapped. That is the theme for today's painting. 

As an artist as well as a person I think fear is my biggest enemy. Fear of what others might say or mean, fear of pain, fear of failure are all fears that has to be conquered over and over again.
 

 

30.1.2013 Scared to Dare - watercolor on paper 32x41cm $120 Free shipping worldwide

Love is important to us, totally vital for health and happiness, but sometimes it takes some searching to find it. That is today's theme for painting.

Last Friday I visited my grown daughter whose birthday is in two weeks. As usual the major present is a day we spend together shopping, eating out and maybe doing something special like this Friday when we saw the new movie Les Miserables. Anne Hathaway did a wonderful job as Fantine and she really looked and sounded genuinely dying http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6YwuqWFTbc . This is the best version of this song I have ever heard. What drives the character Fantine in the story is the love for her daughter Cosette. Today my painting is celebrating Mother-daughter love.

28.1.2013 Pink Bird Mum and Daughter Love- watercolour on paper A4 $100 Free shipping worldwide

Continuing my theme of Love outside of the majority view and playing around drawing for fun.

I was so happy yesterday when the painting Blue Love sold within the first hour after being posted. Let's hope someone falls for this one too :-)

Yesterday I explored the situation of being alone when everybody around seems to be part of couples. Today my focus withine the love theme is what I have chosen to call non mainstream love. People belonging to the LGBT community struggle a lot in many cultures or groups and may not be able to fully and openly enjoy celebrations of love like Valentine's Day with their chosen one. Their love might even be taby or even illegal. This is the basis for today's painting.

I dag har jeg tatt utgangspunkt i tanken om at mennesker som tilhører LHBTgruppen i mange kulturer og grupper ikke kan være deltakere i hovedsamfunnets gassing i kort og symboler knyttet til den store feiringen av kjærlighet på Valentine's Day. Kanskje er deres kjærlighet til og med tabu eller forbudt

I am a megareader and I read almost all kinds of litterature. However I must admit that I have not read any of the Shades of grey books and probably will not. A cosy chick lit book however on a dark and cold winter night in between grading student papers is a nice distraction. Pink Bird really daydream along with her romance books.

Jeg har i kveld arbeidet med en tekst inspirert av diskusjonene rundt intervjuet av Marte Krogh. Å få barn er nok en utfordring enten man har au pair, vaskehjelp og milliardærsamboer eller ikke.

I'm working this evening with a text inspired by discussions concerning the interview of Marte Krogh last week. Having children is probably quite a challenge whether you have an au pair, cleaner, personal trainer and billionaire boyfriend or not.

Everybody have heard about and knows that in schools we struggle with some students' behaviours, especially antisocial, disruptive or aggressive behaviour. This has got a lot of attention and numerous programs all over the world have been started which is a very good thing because usually these behaviours are ways of externalizing pain or screams for help.

In today's painting I wanted to focus on the totally opposite group - those that internalize their pain but who do not get as much help simply because they are not a big daily problem for the teachers, their costudents or the system. They just fade into the walls and become nearly invisible. These often becomes the forgotten sufferers - their abuse stories never discovered, their mental health too often deterioring way too much before anyone sees them. Or if we notice something being off, we have a tendency to postpone doing something simply because in today's overcrowded classrooms the acute and loud demands occupy us and we find ourselves having spent yet another day postponing finding time for these students. I am so happy for all social teachers and school nurses that help us also take care of these students.

Most of us know and use the expression "to see someone" in the meaning of seeing who we are, see how we feel and accept who we are and how we feel. In today's painting I focus on listening in a similar sense, more meaning listen to who I am, listen and understand how I feel - connect, not just hear what I say - the words and the open content also meet me as an individual. Few things are as difficult as opening up - few things as scary and few this as devastating as being met with a closed heart or harsh criticism. My abstract figures today hopefully illustrates some of this

9.1.2013 Listen please - acrylics on paper 24x32cm $100 Free shipping worldwide

Resently I have read some fantastic short stories focusing on different sosial challenges of life told in a wonderful down to earth manner which really touches the heartstrings of the reader. I very much hope this writer will be published in the future so that many will be able to enjoy the stories like I do.

I do admire people that do extraordinary things like mountain climbing or winning big championships, especially people that do these things despite disabilities or other major disadvantages.

BUT deep down I admire MORE, MUCH MORE many of the people you never see in any headlines, most who will never become famous or well known. People who sometimes struggle day by day getting up from bed after unsatisfactory sleep. People who day after day take care of others, who day after day encourages others, those that never will be thanked in any Oscar shows or Olympic games interviews. I also deeply admire all that struggle with social, emotional or mental challenges and still day by day, hour by hour keep fighting for a better life for themselves and their families. They are heroes.

These days the roads are very slippery and I find myself afraid due to fear of twisting my bad knee if I should loose my balance even only a bit. I sometimes find myself walking like a 90 year old lady, holding onto something if possible to prevent a possible imaginay disaster. Having had nearly a year with pain 24/7 and no ability for a natural walk for most of that time has left its marks.  Being so much better the last months I am terified of risking triggering the pain again.

Today I read about HSP Highly sensitive people after reading a link on facebook. For attributes and characteristics see http://www.sensitiveperson.com/attribts.htm . What I found interesting was to think about different ways people handle being sensitive. The questions asked in the Norwegian test are alot about how much all kinds of things including other people's mood influence them. As a philosopher my thoughts of course went in all directions. How will a hsp act in various situations? What will he or she be willing to do to avoid the stress of other people is bad moods? How do they handle competitions? I think they might let the other person win or at least hope that the other person wins if the other person is a very competitive  person that hates losing. I also imagined that a HSP person in general tries to think things through and chose the safe option. Therefore today I imagined a game of Noughts and Crosses and how playing it safe would look visually. Of course then it is no longer a game LOL but then again a HSP probably is not a game's kind of person.

6.1.2013 Safe actions - acrylics on paper A4 $100 Free shipping worldwide

5.1.2013 Focused on Translating - acrylics on paper A4As I explained in my post below I have spent all Saturday sitting hunched over the computer focusing on translating words. It has been a fantastic experience.

2013 Focused on Translating - acrylics on paper A4 $100 Free shipping

Today I have had the very enjoyable task of working with a Norwegian author of poems, Tarald Stein, helping him translate his two first books into English. They are amazing and I am so happy to know that also people outside of Norway will be able to enjoy his work hopefully in the future. The books are Frikar (2010) og Framandkar (2008) Framandkar earned him Blix-prisen 2008. Here is his author page http://framandkar.wordpress.com/about/ The front page is drawn by Marit Victoria Wulff Andreassen and is called “Morning glory”. (I will exchange the front page image below with one I will take myself of the book Tuesday.)