Max - the Blue Heeler!

This is my newest portrait - of Max, the Blue Heeler. It is my first painting since I got back to Guam (and actually my first blue heeler as well). I always really enjoy painting the pet portraits, and this one was no exception!

I am very pleased to say that the customers were very happy with it as well. (the portrait was commissioned for a Christmas present!)

Max is currently living on Guam with his family, he loves food, and his favorite toys are these blue racquet balls. So they had to be somehow incorporated. I love this photo, it was the perfect image to use for the portrait. I guess this guy is well know for his goofy expressions, so this is a typical Max-pression!:D

Back On Guam

My studio is currently on hold. Although I do still have everything ready for inspiration to hit...

My blog has been a bit quiet lately. After a very busy year in Denmark, I am now back in the tropics, back on Guam. In the past few weeks I've had a few loose ends on the Danish side to finish before returning. And since arriving here, we have done very little other than unpack. But now we are finally settled back in, in new surroundings. Very little (if anything) seems to have changed here on the rock this past year.

And it IS in fact very nice to be back!

We do live in another house (hence the new surroundings). So, my huge, light and stunning studio is no longer in existence. This house is a lot smaller, and with no real room for an actual work room. But that is okay in every way. As I have something else on my mind at the moment: I am pregnant, and that takes up a lot of my thoughts and mental energy. I am very excited about this new aspect of life...

I have kept my art supplies handy, and I am sure I will be working on various project, throughout the year. (- I do have a pet portrait to finish in time for Christmas) I will just work a little differently this time around. And this blog may change a little, take on a new form. And then again - maybe not. I'll have to see that happens in my work and in life...

Huxi & Chico's Portrait!

As my very last project before leaving Denmark, I have worked on this pet portrait of Huxi and Chico.

They are good friends of mine (as is their owner) and it was fun to make this portrait which became extra personal because I knew them all. And also because I was able to do the portrait in this vintage poster inspired style.

I have painted only a few boston terriers other than Playdoh, and it was interesting to do it again. Even though they look so alike in real life, painting them is different. You look out for the small details that make them who they are, and not JUST another boston terrier.

And pugs - what can I say - they are always both fun and challenging to paint.

I was nervous showing the finished work (I always am) but they liked it a lot, and I got this photo from where it now hangs in the living room, on the huge, main wall. It looks like Huxi is content with his portrait as well.

Inspiration And New Ways...

Right: the finished painting.

Below: my painting in various stages

When I packed up my bags for a week at the art school on the island, I really had no clue as to what to expect. I was very excited, and googled the paintings made by Maria, the teacher of the course. Her work was very intriguing, and I was curious to see that I’d take away with me. I brought along my usual materials, and prepared a few canvases - just in case. But in the back of my mind, I was hoping to be inspired in a new direction. And I did.

For me, this week became a week

of thoughts. Of considerations, ideas and motifs. I spent the first day studying art books in the library. Going for walks in the stunning surroundings, while I though of my “art situation”. What did I want to say and express? Which stories did I want to tell? I had some really good talks with Maria. It was interesting to learn more about her work process, as well as hear her ideas as to what direction my work possibly could/might take.

I feel that everywhere I’ve lived, has added something new into my paintings. My year in Denmark has been a very busy and interesting one, showing work and making new work as well. I thought it would be great at this point, just before going back to Guam, to bring something new and concrete with me. Things to consider in the tropics, where I am really not expecting to make much work this time around. So Maria and I talked a lot about ideas and twists in visual storytelling. What makes a painting interesting and intriguing? Maria showed me her sketch books which were full of simple and often slightly bizarre ink drawings. From these coincidentally arose sketches, she’d (after filling out a whole book) pick out a few, and base a whole series of work from them. But first she would arrange a photo session to recreate the images with real people, often friends that would pose for the photos. I was inspired by this work method, although I probably would never work this way specifically. But learning how other people collect ideas, I find very interesting and inspiring.

On our second day, Maria brought me and another fellow artist to the “red school”. A building that house another group of (very young) students. She’d already asked them if we could take some photos of them, and luckily they were a good sport.

Four girls helped us out, and we spent a good half an hour taking photos, have them pose in various ways, played with light/ shadows and angles. Basically just playing around with different ideas.

We took a ton of pictures that we brought back to our studio and looked over. Out of all these countless photos, only one really caught my attention. I cropped it, so only two of the girls were to be in the painting.

So later on, still on day two, I slowly started my painting, and this same piece was to keep me busy beyond the week. I went trough a lot of considerations during the process, tried various practical ways (suggested by Maria) to get the drawing onto the canvas, and all the time keep the details within the “frame of the photo”. I worked on the first portrait, and it was really coming along well. But the second one gave me all kinds of problems, I don’t know HOW many times I started over. It was never good, and since I was very happy with the first portrait, this was really frustrating. I talked to Maria, and we discussed my idea: to repeat the first portrait on the second person. That is what I decided to do. But, before I got to this point, the week was over, time to say good bye to everybody and pack up our things...

When I came home, the half finished painting were untouched for a while. I placed it in a spot where I would see it often, and suddenly I was ready to continue to work on it.

I like it now it's done. I feel it is different than my other work, yet I can totally see myself in it. But I don’t know if the break was a good thing. I think I would have worked better, had I finished it at one time. By the time I worked to finish the piece, I was getting ready to return to Guam, and had a lot on my mind. I guess I didn’t feel entirely a 100% into it, during the last part. A bit of a shame, but that was just the circumstances.

I did take a lot away from the course. Maria gave me tools and ideas to how I can continue my work, while also thinking of things to do, to move it in a new direction. Sometimes a push from an outsider is desperately needed. I’ve often found myself stuck in my own painting world, not being able to find a way out and look at it objectively. I think this is a very typical artist issue!

Below: the photo I worked from.

Juried Show - Kunstforeningen Limfjorden

Kunstforeningen Limfjorden (The Art Fund Limfjorden) hosts a jured art exhibition every fall in Struer, only a short drive from my hometown of Lemvig.

I had work admitted back in 1998, 2001 and 2008.

This year I decided applied again, since I am in the area, and I was lucky enough to get one painting admitted in the show:)

The private view was this past Saturday, Oct. 8th. The exhibition is open until November 6th. Here's a few photos from the opening.

For more information:

http://www.limfjorden.com/efteraar.htm

A week of cake, memories, art and thoughts...

I took this picture last week. It looks identical to one I took in 1994!

Well, I am back from an extraordinary week at my old art school. In so many ways, it was what I expected, but then just a bit better. (I am thinking it could have gone both ways: It may as well have been a disappointment.) It was certainly a trip down memory lane, but at the same time, I brought back a lot of new, useful (and yet a bit confusing) mind material.

I was surprised how much there, is still the same. There are a few more houses, and a few extensions are build on to the school. The old printmaking room has changed into a Mac-filled graphics- and movie room... But the atmosphere, the pure sense of the place is EXACTLY the same as it was back then, 17 years ago. I couldn't help being happily, pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed my experience in this personal time machine. It was very sweet to see the old staff members, and be back on the island, with it’s sense of innocence, romance and good, old days. Tea and cake, brought to the various studios in little wood trolleys... Loved it!

Now, as back then, the school has a very contemporary and modern approach to art. It is essential to the place, and such a contrast to the beautiful nature and surroundings. It hit me now, as it did back then.

But also... on top of enjoying and taking in the place, I took a lot home with me as well. The course truly made me stop and think, and consider new ways and methods. I wasn’t sure how to prepare for the week, and (as somewhat expected) I didn’t need any of my preparation, I ended up working very differently to how I normally do. As I’d hoped, the teacher was great. Very good at understanding where I came from, and good at giving me some ideas on how to grow, and move on from there. I didn’t finish my painting during the entire week. Which I took as a sign of something moving, happening. I am still working on it, and I am hoping to return later to this blog, with the painting and the journey of it. (And believe me, it has been a journey!)

Great teacher, sweet fellow students, wonderful food, fantastic weather and new knowledge. What’s not to love?!

Going Back In Time

One of my photos of the school from back in 1994.

Today and yesterday I have been packing. Yesterday mainly mentally, today in a more practical sense. Tomorrow I am leaving for a week, for a class on an art school in the south of Denmark. More specifically, on the small island of Ærø. The course is on portraiture and figure painting, and I am curious to know what I will bring home from this week.

This school has a very special meaning to me, as I went there on a long course back in 1994. I haven't been back there since. I can't help thinking of the place as it was back then, in the mid nineties. I know perfectly well that it has changed, it must have - it's been 17 years... But I feel I remember every little nook of the place, the sense of the rooms, the views and the surrounding nature. I was really young then, I was a different person to the one I am right now. So I am excited to find out how the place will feel now. And then, naturally, I am really excited about this course, on many levels. To meet the teacher, the new people and the old staff from back then (yep, I've been told the kitchen ladies and the secretary are still the same good, old people:)

What exactly I am hoping and expecting to take home with me is hard to say. Actually, I really don't know. I am mainly seeking general and broad inspiration and fresh mental air. And then I hope to get a few tips, new ideas and ways. If I am lucky, perhaps my work can be moved in some way, and aimed in slightly new direction. I've packed all my paints in a (fairly heavy) suitcase, and have brought a few brand new canvases in a bag. It is hard to come prepared when you don't now what to expect. But I've tried to come as prepared as possible. I sense that the course will be quite individual, and that suits me perfectly.

Ærø is (to put it mildly) a bit out of the way: train, bus, ferry, hours... Not quite as bad as going to Guam, but it feels like it on a tiny level, sitting here the day before. Travel fever and high expectations.

Link to the school's website:

http://www.kunstaeroe.dk/

Well... once again - a pet portrait! Actually even two of them. This is Sveske and Vanilla, my first two cairn terriers. And mother and daughter as well.

Their owner gave me some ideas as to what she'd like, and this is the result. I always really enjoy the part of talking to the owner and gather all the information about the pet - all the little goofy anecdotes. Those are what make me able to paint a personal portrait, which (hopefully) fit both the owner and the animal.

In these paintings, I particularly like the fact that one is a head shot, and the other full figure.

I used rawhide in the background of Sveske’s portrait ( a big hit with her!) and on Vanillas portrait, I used images of the actual sandal that she loves to chew.

I was very excited to send them of to the owner, who was very pleased with the result:)

3 x pugs

Looking at my blog, I see that my last three posts have been about dog portraits.I suppose for me, it really HAS been the summer of the pet portrait. I still have a couple of blank canvases in my studio, meant for yet another portrait.

This is a triple pug portrait I just finished. And like Kosha's portrait, I used vintage wall paper for the background. In this painting, I think the wall paper in brown nuances was just perfect, next to the light, beige dogs.

Underneath is the photo I worked from:

Winston's Portrait

My newest portrait - this is Winston, a beautiful boxer. The painting is for a birthday present, and will very soon be shipped to Utah, where winston lives with his family.

Kosha's Portrait

Today, a man named Colin in WA, is being given this portrait of his dog Kosha, a husky/ yellow lab mix.

I worked on the portrait during the month of May, sent it of, and I got an email from his sister (who initially commissioned the portrait) that it had arrived safely. Such a relief. It always feels a little sketchy, mailing paintings around the world.

It will be a birthday present from his extended family, and I just absolutely cross my fingers that Colin likes it, and feel that he truly sees his dog in it.
He lost Kosha recently, and was (of course!) absolutely heartbroken. I guess that is where my role can be a delicate one, as you want to (-and have to-) portray the essence of the pet. I am always a bit anxious when I am showing the portrait to pet owners. They are the ones who know the dog or cat, and the most important thing is that they recognize their pet in it. Usually I work with the customer during the process, but in different ways. Some give me complete freedom to follow my idea, where as others prefer to have more to say in the choice of color, background, etc.

It has been a little while since I worked on a pet portrait, but as always, I have enjoyed the process. What is slightly different about this portrait, is that I used wall paper in the background. A technique I normally reserve for my other work, the collage paintings. But I do like the way it turned out, and expect to keep experimenting with colors, patterns and texture in the future.

Happy Birthday Colin!

Back from Barcelona

A cup of tea in a little cafe in Barcelona.

I’ve just returned home after 17 days in barcelona. It was vacation, and I was meeting my husband there. It has been two great weeks, in every way.

I love to travel, to sense a new place: the culture, the people. I enjoy feeling the pulse of the city. Barcelona is a cornucopia of art and culture, and I’ve tried to take in as much as possible. My moleskin book is full of new notes and thoughts, and we have visited little great places: galleries, bookstores, artsy clothing stores... I’ve collected postcards, pictures, business cards for multiple reasons: for possible later contact, because they were interesting or aesthetically pleasing.

I feel that I am taking small parts of Gaudi, Dali, Picasso home with me, as well as parts of the Barcelona atmosphere.

A little over a year ago I went to Honolulu. I wrote a blog about it, and I remember how much I truly NEEDED it. Needed city and culture, the lights and just simply watching people. Living on Guam for a longer period does that to you. In some ways I felt that I was getting up for air in Honolulu, so I could go back to guam, and continue my life there “under water”.

This time was very different. I didn’t feel cultural deprived, instead it was an great, added bonus. The main purpose was seeing my husband, after a long time apart. I loved every moment of it. And I would suggest a visit to Barcelona to anyone. It is a stunning city that has it all: art, beaches, mountains, history and amazing architecture. And so much more. Just do not go there expecting polite service and friendly locals. It is a cold city if you don’t speak Catalan or Spanish (which we do not!)

Naturally, there are some great people out there, we were lucky to meet a few, but they are few and far between. Or perhaps you just have to get to know them. I don’t know...

Back to reality, to work, and hanging a show - private view this coming Tuesday.

Today, Sunday June 5th., Lemvig Dyrskue (Lemvig County Fair) is happening. As part of the fair, Bovbjerg Fyr (Bovbjerg Lighthouse) has arranged an art auction.

(This is where I showed work back in February.)

They’ve asked artists who have previously had art shows there, to donate a piece of art for the auction. I have donated one of my small women studies, titled “Stockholm”.

Best of Luck to Bovbjerg Fyr - I hope they’ll manage to raise a lot of money - it is for a great cause.

Student Art Exhibition

We all felt it would be great to if the student’s pet portrait could be on display somewhere for a while, to get them out in the world! I was thinking that perhaps the local veterinary clinic may be interested - that would be a great and obvious choice. I gave them a call, and luckily they really liked the idea. So, we went there today, a couple of students, teachers and I, and hung the 12 paintings around the waiting room. Since I saw the paintings last, they had even framed them very nicely, and they looked great and colorful on the white walls.

So, this fine work will be on view at Dyrlægegruppen Vestjylland until the beginning of October.

My Improvised Studio

My improvised, borrowed and very stunning studio.

A while ago I was contacted by the local TV station (TV Midtvest), they asked to come visit me for an episode of their cultural series Nærbilleder. They wanted to look at my work, as well as the work of another painter, (Niels Steen Sørensen) who paints strong, masculine bulls, among other subjects. The focus was feminine/ masculine art.

I was very excited, but also a bit nervous about the whole thing. I had never been filmed before, and wasn’t sure how I would react. But obviously I said YES, anything else would have been crazy!

My situation is a bit strange: I am only in Denmark for a year, and so I don’t have the perfect work conditions. I have made it work, but it really was not suitable for TV. So I started to think a bit creatively. A couple of friends of mine live in a beautiful house in the country side. During Easter I was at an event at their house, they had just refinished an old garage. It had been turned into a nice white room, with a raw wood ceiling. It had huge windows, with a view of the water. Basically, it couldn’t be better!

I asked if I could borrow the room for the filming, they said yes - and thanks to them, their help and kindness, I had the best surroundings possible to present my work.

These are pictures from this beautiful space. My improvised studio. I have amazing friends, and feel very privileged.

To watch the show - please click this link:

http://www.tvmidtvest.dk/nettv/?id=6341

Back To Teaching

It has been a little while since I have been teaching art. In the past I’ve taught at a few art museums in Wasington state, and later on, I started teaching kids on my own, while we lived in New Jersey.

Now being back home, I was given the chance to teach an art course at Rom Skole, an old elementary school, now changed into a work and school center for mentally challenged and/or disabled adults of all ages. From the moment I stepped foot in the building, I liked the atmosphere. The rooms were light and open, and the communication very friendly. One of those places you just enjoy being at.

During a few initial meetings, we decided that my project should be inspired from some of the work I do myself, and the pet portraits seemed like a good and logical choice. I went home to prepare the course, the project. My first day was actually my birthday, and we got off to a very good start. The project as a whole, took a month, working only two days pr. week.

I truly enjoyed every day there. I taught a small group of only eight students. Everybody worked well, and were really helpful and courteous. It was a real joy. I also sensed that they were quite proud of their work, which made me vary happy, and I had no doubt we’d chosen the right subject matter. We started out with dogs, cats and horses, and as we had a few canvases left over, and extra time, we widen the animal subject span, and were suddenly painting zebras, parrots and monkeys.

Here’s the collection of the final pieces, as well as a few “work in progress” photos:

Pictures from the Private View

Photos from the Private View this morning, in the Kammergalleriet.

A full gallery: people, art, wine, live music and the smell of spring flowers and oil paint...

Easter Art

It seems time has flown lately, and I just realized I forgot to mention the Easter Art Show in the "Kammergalleriet". This is the gallery in which I showed work back in January.

It is made up by a group of great (creative) people, who all volunteer to make it work.

I've been involved in the hanging of the show, as well as in designing the poster.

Today was hanging day, all went well, but it was a looong day! Private view is tomorrow, 11 am - wine, art and live music, very sweet indeed...

I am excited to be in two Easter shows this year. Not sure why, but it seems Denmark has a strong tradition for Easter Art Shows.

A wonderful tradition, I think, personally.

Click here to go the gallery's website

Kunstnernes Påskeudstilling

JUST the other day I got a very pleasant email: I was informed that I got a painting in the "Kunstnernes Påskeudstilling" a juried exhibition, taking place in Århus every Easter. A couple of weeks ago I took the train from Struer to Århus, with a box of my favorite paintings, not knowing what would come of it. Needless to say I am happy and excited that I will be in the show:) For more information, please visit:

http://www.kp-spring.dk/

Oh that website business...

Well - my new/old website is back, finally!

Since my hard disc crashed a few months back, I've had some technical (and rather frustrating) issues with my website, and at a certain point I choose to just forget all about it, and instead change my entire site into a simple blog! This very blog!

It actually worked okay, but I missed certain aspects of my old site. Mainly, I missed having a more collected site with CV, gallery, contact info - all under one roof.

I finally managed to work out the issue, and have spent the last few weeks rebuilding the site to where is (almost) was before. With a few (hopefully good) updates.

But - I do like this blog format, so collagepainter.blogspot.com will continuously be my blog page, as an addition to my main page.

Welcome to my new/old site: www.HeleneundDenBoer.com

Private View In Bovbjerg Lighthouse

Bovbjerg lighthouse, on the very edge of the North Sea

This past week I’ve been buried in preparations for my new art show at the "Bovbjerg Fyr" (Bovbjerg Lighthouse). I took my work down from the gallery on Sunday, and on Friday I hung it again, in this new location. I suppose I expected it to happen quickly and smoothly and with very little work, considering that everything was ready to hang! Hmmm... Nope, I found out (-as usual-) that everything takes much longer than planned. I was not ready until the last minute. A few of the paintings are repeats from the gallery show, but mainly, with new pieces.

As mentioned earlier in my blog, I got a little container of paintings home from Guam a few weeks ago. Not in time for my first show, but I had them for this one. Which worked out quite well: this way the show is not the same, it consists mainly of newer work. But even so: the new surroundings give the work a completely different feel. I am always amazed at how much a painting can change character, depending on where and how it hangs.

The Private View was on Sunday, quite a few people showed up, chatting, drinking wine and looking at art. A beautiful afternoon, only a stone’s throw from the North Sea. The Lighthouse is quite alone on the edge of the sea. Tall, proud and blood red, almost the color of a fire engine.

We went to hang the work on Friday, and I had a chance to meet some of the four other artists that I share the space with. The work between us is very different, and complement each other beautifully. The rooms are old, odd and charming: big and small, carpeted or with wood floor. Some walls are high, the ceilings crooked. A wise old house with a lot of personality, and a perfect frame for art and cultural events...

The poster: