Restoring My Work After The Move

One of my Playdoh portraits before and after. Hopefully after some “surface work” it will soon look more like it did before.

Over a year ago, when we left NJ, we had a moving company pack up our house. For the most part it all went well, except for the packing of my art. The surface of my work is very delicate, and must be wrapped in fabric and not paper. Especially when moving all the way around the world, and therefore will be wrapped for a long time. And on top of that, moving to Guam would mean a dramatic change in temperature as well, which could also be an issue. So, I specifically instructed the movers to please use the provided fabric to cover the art, they all said “all right”, and I thought all was golden. Wrong! When we then in August unpacked all our house goods here on Guam, I realize that 98% of the work was wrapped in paper. I was so angry, frustrated, and really didn’t know if I would be able to save my work. It was mostly my portraits of our Boston Terrier Playdoh that were damaged. We then filed for the damages - and as you can imagine, working with the company, filling in forms, them getting back with us, them needing more proof, back and forth... It took most of a year, but it is now sorted and we accepted their offer. So, this week I have spent getting my old paintings back to normal. Something I have been both excited about and dreaded at the same time.

The surface of all my work is a layer of a varnish-like glue, and if not careful - and with the change in temperature - paper will stick to it. All the paintings had been covered in this thin mover’s paper, and I have tried to take it off, to the best of my abilities. I have spent a whole day going through each piece with a rag and very hot water to dissolve all the traces of paper. Some pieces, turned out not too bad, but others were severely destroyed deeply into the surface layer.

I am a little nervous to get started, but also excited; FINALLY I get to get the work back to normal. It has been frustrating to look at the destroyed pieces for so long, but we needed the settlement from the moving company before I could begin. I cross my fingers, and I will make an update about the final result...

The paintings are now all paper free, patched up here and there, and I am ready to start restoring the work. My biggest concern is being able to mix the exact, right colors. And whether I am able to get the nice, smooth surfaces back.

Working Away From Home

We just got back from Hawaii this weekend. For three weeks I hung around Honolulu, looking at people, art, traffic and Nature. I took my books and Ipod touch to the beach and just let time pass. I absolutely loved it, and now being back on Guam, I am full of good energy, hoping I can ride on the Hawaii happy wave for at least a while...

I brought my little sketchbook and noted anything I came across and wanted to remember. I have mentioned it before: I thrive on new environments, in new settings. That’s partly the reason each of my studios have had a special significance to me. And it is somewhat refreshing to leave my studio, books, paints, boxes of postcards, and books of magazine cuttings. Just having a notebook and being in a brand new place in the world. It is a way of leaving any (art) baggage at home and starting over. A clean mind sweep so to speak. Being back on Guam is surprisingly great. I am ready to begin again, to start over...

I always bring my little black moleskin notebook. You never know when an idea hit you, a piece of great music, or a book title you want to look up later. My book is a mess of loose notes and quick sketches.

Honolulu Academy Of Arts

Today I went on a little art expedition, all by myself. One I had been looking forward to: the Honolulu Academy of Arts. I took a taxi from the Hotel, although it wasn’t actually very far. I just wanted (at all cost) to avoid getting lost in the city! I didn’t know what to expect. You never do when all the Information you have is an Internet page and a place you have never even heard of.

I was simply looking forward to ART and to the experience. I did not get disappointed. It was an amazing place, and definitely worth a visit. The Gallery did not look that big from the outside, but I quickly found out that it was indeed huge. Many small rooms, and so many kinds of art: Egyptian, Italian Renaissance, Chinese, Islam - just to mention a few. and also modern Western Art - which is my favorite, I have to admit. In the collection were Warhol, Katz, O’Keefe. And also Dale Chihuly, to whom we probably got a bit overexposed while living in Tacoma, where he lives and works too. But it was nice and slightly nostalgic to see his work again. I enjoyed every moment, being surrounded by art, looking at it, taking it in. Sitting on the wood benches in the middle of a room with paintings on each wall, and smelling that special museum scent - of oil, thoughts, dust and varnish. Going through the many little courtyards, flipping through art books in the Museum Store, and eating a great lunch in the Museum Cafe. On a small scale I absolutely got that “MoMA feeing” which I have missed so many times since leaving NJ. So here I am, Tuesday night, writing on my laptop in the fancy Hilton Lobby. Feeling quite happy, enjoying my personal little (art) high and hoping it will last, at least for a while...

Local Hawaiian Art

I was lucky enough to get to go to Hawaii for a few weeks. It came about suddenly, and I am enjoying every moment of it. It is our first time here, and coming straight from Guam, we were expecting the climate to be the same. Wrong! Hawaii is much less humid, the breeze i

s comfortably cool, and NO insects! Very nice indeed. I am spending a lot of time just walking around, watching people, looking at stores, sitting on the beach, reading, listening to the waves and the breeze ...And of course I have visited a few local art galleries as well. I can’t help but stop and check it out - whether I like it or not, and whether I find it interesting or not. I am always curious. And not surprisingly I see a lot of Hawaiian land - and seascapes, flowers and hula girls. Guam is different, yet similar. The heritage naturally is different, yet the nature and flowers seem alike, to me, anyway. So in a lot of ways, the art here reminds me of the island I just left for a few week

s.

Thinking back - where I grew up on the Danish West Coast, it was the same thing: people painted what they were surrounded by. Most of my fellow artist were mainly inspired by the rugged Nature around the Northern Sea. The tall, freezing waves, the violent wind and the rough beaches. A differently beautiful landscape (-and about as opposite to this tropical setting as you can get). Every time I go home to visit, I see the same motifs and the same cool blue color schemes. And over time (perhaps because of not living there anymore) it has become quite nostalgic to me.

I guess it is a natural thing for your surroundings to rub off in your work to a certain extend. I have found that myself, even though all my environments have been extremely different. I think I pick up something from each place, and carry it with me in my work from place to place.

Snapshots from a local art gallery booth in Honolulu

Wallpaper From a Scary Decade

As you probably already know, my work is a mixture of collage and acrylic on canvas. The wallpaper (collage) came into my work while we lived in Tacoma, WA. It happened quite coincidently, as I came across a couple of large wallpaper books in a vintage store downtown Tacoma. They were cheep, only $10 and $15, and I couldn’t pass it up. Kevin and I each brought one back to our apartment in the Stadium District. This spontaneous purchase would steer my work in a brand new direction. These, my two first books were (from what I can gather from the information on them) from the 1950’s. Maybe it was the pattern style, maybe it was Tacoma’s general 1950‘s atmosphere - don’t know?! But my work slowly but surely took a turn for thevintage. Since then I am always on the lookout for great sample books, from all decades. And I have been lucky to find a few great ones.

The idea of wallpaper, or general wall coverings gives me the chills. I remember the children’s rooms of my childhood, the brown/orange kitchens and green bathrooms. But in a new light, in small doses I like it. Love it even! When it comes to big bold patterns, it is definitely a case of Less is More. I find myself especially attracted to big flower/nature patterns - like the ones above. Not quite so vintage anymore. Maybe it is the feeling of tropical, island living. Palm trees, turquoise water and a warm breeze...

Art Movies

I love movies about artists and their lives! At least some of them! Over time I have build up a small library of these type movies. I like them for very different reasons...

My absolute favorite is FRIDA, about Frida Kahlo. I think the creativity that went into this movie is mind blowing, and I think Selma Hayek is very believable as the artist. The explosion of colors and the beautiful scenes in this movie are overwhelming and so esthetically pleasing. (And then I do love Frida’s work as well!)

Another favorite of mine is POLLOCK, about Jackson Pollock. I think Ed Harris is great as the main character, and so is Marcia Gay Harden, as the artist’s wife. I am not a huge fan of Pollock’s work, but the movie tells a truly fascination story about an artist and a very troubled man.

The movie CARRINGTON about the British artist Dora Carrington is also among my favorites. She is part of the Bloomsbury Group, and both the bohemian sense of this group and the time period are told very well through this movie, I think. I have more, but these are just a few...

One movie I have, but that I am not crazy about is MODIGLIANI. I very much like the artist Modigliani, but I just don’t think Andy Garzia is the right choice for the character. I keep being taken out of the movie, it doesn’t come together for me. Perhaps that’s just me?!

Now that I sit here on Guam, fairly isolated from art, museums and galleries, I enjoy to watch one of these movies once in a while. The stories are from different times, from different places in the world, and depict very different artist’s visions and lives.

Canvas As A Playground

As mentioned before on my blog, I was given a very large canvas a couple of years ago, as a gift. At first I felt very intimidated, as it was far larger than any work I had done in the past. At the same time, I was extremely exited to get started. My first attempt didn’t work out well, and the canvas stood in my studio for a long time, quietly waiting for me to try again. I’ve had many ideas, but none of them have made it all the way from my mind to the canvas. Until this week, when I tried again. I don’t know it is is due to the size, and the unfamiliar feeling of this huge format - but I felt inspired to play with the surface, experiment with color schemes, shapes and expressions that are entirely new to me. I work a little at a time, then look at it, trying to take it in, and then change elements or continue a few days later. As I am writing this, the canvas is on my easel, patiently waiting for me, as I am playing and hopefully find out something new about myself and the way I work. Generally, I am attracted to (and inspired by) abstract work, but I am such a structured person that I find it hard to be spontaneous and not plan out every little detail before even starting. But this time I am determined I do it differently, and I am trying SOOO hard, not force the my ideas and pre-thought visual plans onto the canvas...

Art Prints

Recently I have started making a few prints of my work, matted and framed. It is not something I have ever even thought of doing before, but Filamore Alcon at the Guam Gallery of Art mainly sells prints, and he suggested I should look into it. It is still a project and a thought in the making, but I like the idea. Especially since I was able to get great quality prints made - it has GOT to be good quality. So far a few prints are available in the Guam Gallery of Art, but in the near future they should also be available at the Gift Shop at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Ideas In Transit

I always, always carry a little black moleskin book with me. Just in case an idea suddenly jumps into my head, I want to be able to capture it there and then, or chances are it disappears into thin air. In this book I have a long list of ideas for titles, motives and color combinations. Many have been in there for years, just quietly brewing, some I use the minute they enter my head. But I like to have this little personal “library”. Sometimes I can’t remember then, where or why, and then they obviously get erased from the list. Others I like instantly, but don’t instantly have a plan for, and I am just waiting for the right moment and the right painting.

A few years ago, we were painting our (then) brand new condo in NJ, and we took a lot of trips to Home Depot. I collected a bunch of color cards and brochures in the painting department. And this was one of them, on the left. I just LOVED the color combination, kept it, knowing that eventually I would need it. And I did - just a few weeks ago, here on Guam, the color scheme fitted perfectly into this painting...

Island Time

My husband and I went to the Infusion Cafe recently, and came across the new issue of Island Time, a quarterly magazine about life on Guam - sport, entertaining and dining.

I flipped through it, while enjoying my tea and looking out on Tumon Bay. It had an ad montage over a few pages, presenting foods at different restaurants. On page 32 my eyes fell on the ad for “Sugar and Spice”, the great restaurant I currently show my work - and the picture was obviously taken after I hung my art on the wall. Pretty fun to have my work (kind of) featured in a Guam tourist magazine...