THINK LESS DO MORE

Did you think of anything this time to promise yourself for this year? I'm not sure wether or not I believe in new year resolutions, I'd rather make goals. My goal this year is to think less and do more. That might sound like a stupid thing to do, to think less, but god knows that for the indecisive, the perfectionists, the philosophers, the what if's and many others that might be a blessing from the heavens.

If you're not familiar with the KISS-principle it stands for:

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID

The KISS-principle is one that allows you to take a step back and say "ah yes, I could build the next wonder of the world, but is it really necessary (and even possible within the frames of this project!) What is the core, the heart of all this?" And then go back to it. Strip it down. Take the shortcuts. Less is more. Being happy with something you've done and rest in the feeling of knowing that it is good.

As I write this my first short 3d film is being rendered, if my habit of striving for perfection would have ruled I'm not sure it would ever be done. Now I am not talking down to myself saying that the result is bad, rather that someone can get lost in the tweak and adjust of tiny details until the end of time. AND THAT'S NOT SATISFYING NOW IS IT?

Listen my friends. The best ideas are not the ones that are perfect in mind, but the ones that we actually render to life. This is something I know a lot of us need to be reminded of, especially when ambitions are high, ideas many and we actually have a few limits... like you gotta eat, sleep and stuff (And celebrate your victories!) It's all a balancing act. We may fall, but we learn and eventually we will get better, not only focussing on staying on top of everything but also to the point where we can let go and jump around, getting curious and still knowing where we're going. Woho!

Got a bit of aquarelle feelin' going on for the holidays. Here's one of the pieces I did.

So keep your eyes open for my short film. It should be up within the nearest days. In the mean time I wish you a joyful balancing act. May the flow be with you.

Emelie

One of my latest experiments. "Emelie" 

a more modern interpretation of the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty.

At the bottom of this post my thoughts behind it are revealed.

 

 "Emelie"  - 3d collage and paint mix. 

Detail of the painting. The evil stepmother.

Detail. Sleeping beauty awakens.

STORY

What's different between the classic story and my piece:

In the old story the princess was saved by a prince and true loves kiss. Here this is NOT the case. She founds the strength within herserlf to wake up to  reality and realize that the external world is not always the issue.  We all have an evil stepmother within us -  The attention demanding, self-demining voice inside that can control you by putting up limits, chasing empty beauty and just dreaming away instead of living the life you are meant for. This is about stepping out of expectations of what we learned as little children and see that the evil stepmother, the princess and the knight in the shining armour are ONE. They're all different battles of the mind and we can decide who we want to be by what we let motivate our hearts and minds.

MATERIALS

The base: 

Started off with a grey and a dusty pink acrylic base. Thick layers are good for when you have a lot of the same color because it gets more depth and texture. Then I added on some black nail polish (you can paint with almost anything!) Because I am one of those recycle everything kinda gal but have to walk for a bit to get to the recycling station I decided to glue on some of the things that wouldn't go in the regular garbage bin. Which was pink silk paper, broken sunshade bows, the nailpolish brush and bottle and also a few pieces of a smashed wine glass. 

The collage: 

I picked pieces that looked like flowing fabric and had a lot of motion going on. All of them in the dusty side of the color spectre. Putting the pieces together is like a puzzle with endless possibilites. I don't glue until I get the "right" feel to it. As a finishing touch brushstrokes and clolor splashes were added for blending in the cut-outs and for sharper contrast.

Note:

SOLD! If you like it check out my other artwork OR send me a request.

Lovify: FASOM

My second Lovify portrait.  This one of a painter who goes by the name FASOM.

The anchor tattoo

When I first saw them I didn't understand. The rough doll with hollow eyes, an anchor tattoo and mouth stitched together. I couldn't see any deeper meaning behind it... until I had a conversation with the artist behind it – Sebastian Orhevacki Månsson.

It was a sunny summer saturday when he opened up a beer and his mind. 

The youngster days had been tough for him, surrounded by drugs and violence. With the sailor that was his best friend's dad and his own dad in jail as role models things were bound to get troublesome. At a young age he adapted a destructive lifestyle and started getting into fights. ”I really felt like a king” he said about those years, ”but I was on the wrong side of the finish line.”

The limp arms

At 9^th grade Sebastian decided to change things around, so he started dressing ”decent” and then went to study business and administration. To prove a point to his hippie mom he set out to get the good life with the job, the money, the car and all. He started drinking alot. Sebastian was jumping between different part time jobs and constant partying (in the style of Ozzy Osbourne in the 70s) never knowing ”What happened? where am I? How did I get here? Who is this?” One day when he was unusually sober his head just started spinning and it all came tumbling down. 

The hollow eyes

He woke up on the floor. Shattered glass, cold sweat and a heart going BADABADABADABADABAM (thank you Joey Jordison of Slipknot for demonstrating this on drums). This was his first panic attack and it was the door into a dark path of horrible nightmares, therapy and prescribed medication that he didn't take. He had such bad dreams he didn't dare to rest because he feared for his life. So after losing 15 kg of his body weight and many nights of sleep he had a vision. It was clear.

A zipper across the face

He had felt like a puppet with a zipper mouth, slaving away for the companies, the society and all the roles one was expected to play. but now all the falling apart started falling together. Into a piece - which became his first painting.

This was some time ago and he's been an active voice for young artists in Växjö ever since. Together we did a live painting collaboration and art exhibition at Växjö Kulturbazaar last fall. If you want to see more of his artworks I suggest you vivit his FASOM page.

No more nights and no more days

You can also see him as the chaotic main character in Lanterna Magica Film's "No more nights and no more days" (original title: Ingen natt och ingen dag). The opening will be 28th of March at Palladium in Växjö. Although if you wish to see it I must advise you to book your ticket soon. A little birdie told me they're almost sold out!

Lookin' sharp

The cardsharps is a painting done in the end of the 15th century by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (commonly known as Caravaggio). Unfortunately one of the card players couldn't make it today which means they had to find a replacement and... well, here I am, showing off my fancy pirate hat and game skills.

 

The thing about Caravaggio is he likes to sneak himself into his paintings, so I wanted to kind of do the same thing. Found one of his sneak selfies (this one from the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew), took a photo of myself and disappeared into photoshop for a while. Put Caravaggio as a reflection in the mirror eye patch, had to do some face job (the guy behind me got a whole new eye) and my sleeves are a bit more frilly than usual.
Notice how I'm elbowing the man in the middle... is it because I know they're not playing fair game or because of where his eyes are at?

Unusual coffee break

 

"KONSTPAUS I KAFFET"

I thought I didn't have a lot of paints... but I was wrong because anything can be paint.
This time I used soy sauce, red wine, hot chocolate, coffee and tea. Not the usual coffee break.

 

 

Ett blogginlägg kommer sällan ensamt!

I'm currently very involved in the Teater Respekt production based on a comedy play by Dario Fo called "Gli imbianchini non hanno ricordi" (House painters have no memories). Besides making some graphic works like the poster and flyers I'm also acting in this play and even been in charge of  the costumes. 

Begynnelsen - the beginning

First acrylic painting I've done in a while. Went bananas and used a tooth brush and some other random tools.