Zorro's Portrait

By the beginning of the year, I talked to the Danish Dog Magazine “Vi Med Hund” about doing a competition online where the winner would get a personal portrait of their dog. The questions you had to answer correctly was what breed my dog, Playdoh is. (he is a boston terrier with attitude!)

Well, The woman who won, asked me to do a portrait of her sweet and beautiful labrador Zorro, and this is how the portrait turned out. I used old ads in the background, ads for dog food, treats & shampoo from american magazines from the 1950’s. The background color is supposed to give a sense of old, disintegrating newspaper, and I like the way the color complemented the black dog.

Back in December (long before I started this blog) I wrote a column for the same magazine (Vi Med Hund) a short story about our Playdoh’s experiences at his doggy daycare around Christmas time... Shenanigans....

The Event

Well - Friday was the night, the first evening of the Metuchen JuneBug ArtFest. I spent the day getting the last few things ready, and by the afternoon the refreshments were on the table and business cards on display. A few days before I was informed that News 12 NJ wanted to do a “portrait” of Metuchen (as part of the On The Road segment) and also wanted to talk to some of the artists, and so I was invited.

By 5:10, I went downtown with a painting under each arm - excited and a bit nervous - and we all lined up, resting the artwork on a bench and up the bank wall. We introduced ourselves and afterward the news anchor asked a few individual questions to some of the artists... And she asked me a questions I absolutely could not answer! Something like “did the public support this event” which (as this was the first night) I had absolutely no idea about! So my very intelligent responds was “...Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...” Luckily, Linda LaStella stood next to me, and was quick to say “well, we will know from tonight, won’t we?!” Cheers Linda!

I felt a bit dazed & confused after this incident, but found it really funny, and actually laughed most of the way home - where my husband had watched the part on TV (as it was live - even better!) and he found it quite funny too, but felt a little bad... The event began and was a good time, people stopped by, I got some good contacts and interesting comments on my work. This Friday I am on again - without live TV this time, which is probably a good thing!

JuneBug Art Fest

Metuchen, NJ is hosting the JuneBug ArtFest event this year on the four Fridays of June. It will cover many different art forms, and these four days will have a ton of creative & fun events...

I am also going to take part; on the two first Fridays, my home (and studio) will be open for the public. I am currently working on transforming the condo into a “gallery”. My work will be on display and for sale, refreshments will be available, and you can have a look into my (small) studio where the work is created and the ideas are floating... I am looking forward to it, making lists of things to (still) do, getting ideas for ways of making it work, and looking at the details... so many little things, and here we are, a week before the first day of Open House!

All right, back to it, time to get the paintings ready for hanging and make the price list...

Yes?!

It has been a while... I have been busy with lots of different things, and have been away from my paintings for a few weeks. I missed it terrible, and it felt so good to be back in the studio and finish up the five small, square women portraits I was working on. I made a post when I began this one particular painting, and this is how it ended up. Once again the picture decided for itself and I had to make a few changes for it to work.

Coming up with the titles is fun, almost like a game. - Often I know the title of a painting before I even start it, because I am following a certain idea, but these small pieces had no names before they were done. This one I titled Yes?! I feel quite certain that’s what she’s thinking, expressing, saying...

Women in old ads

The beginning of a ‘vintage’ portrait. The blue makes the skin color deeper and more interesting.

Recently I was looking through a stack of old (and basement smelly) LIFE magazines from the 1950s. I have always enjoyed looking through magazines from this time period, I like the esthetics of the time - and what his me on this day, was all the advertisement pictures of women, some photos and some drawings. What they all had in common (except of course from haircuts and the kinds of dresses) was that they all showed some strong (and at times odd) emotion on their faces. Some were looking at you in an overly coy or shy posture, others were extremely excited - obviously happy to show their husbands - as these came tired home from work - how they had just saved a significant amount of money by buying a certain brand of ham.

Some (quite a few) had big surprised eyes and a round red mouth, clearly taken by surprise by something. I have to say I loved these pictures!

I cut out some of them to use for later use, and I am recently working on a series of small square portraits, inspired by the women in the old ads. They all measure 8” x 8”, and are half collage and half acrylic. These sizes was what I had in store at the time - and I actually like the small intimate images.

When I paint a portrait or just a human figure, I always start on a light blue background. The blue is nicer to work on than a white foundation, but it also makes the faces deeper, the blue can be sensed through the skin color.

I will make a new post with the finished piece.

Vintage Wallpaper

For a while now, I have experimented with vintage wallpaper. I absolutely love it; the texture, the patterns, the smell of forgotten paper in a basement for decades... Sounds bad, but it seems to add to the authenticity, at least for me!

The patterns are often crazy to say the least - big, bold & (from a modern standpoint) violently intrusive. The idea of an entire room covered in these patterns, sounds like a severe nightmare, but in small doses, cut up and mixed, I think these wall coverings are absolutely stunning.

I am always looking for sample books, and seem to find them in the strangest places. I recently got this little cute one (in the picture) from 1951, with an elegant house wife, deciding between two pink (tasteful!) choices, with the help of two christmas pixies(?)

I love it!

And today I received a thick, huge sample book with true, colorful & very believable 70’s super patterns... I could not wait to open it - I did - and saw, felt, heard & smelled the 1970s.

I look forward to incorporate it all in my work in the future. And hope to continuously find more wallpaper treasures...

Sometimes the Painting Decides

Usually when I begin a painting, I know exactly how it is going to turn out. I always (subconsciously) plan ahead - sometimes I have to make a few subtle changes along the way for practical reasons, but for the most part I know what it will end up looking like...

Not so with this painting, “The Impersonators”. I started with a completely different idea in my head, but suddenly these two Amy Winehouse wannabes appeared on my canvas. It was odd, but also interesting. I had just got her albums and was listen to her music a lot at the time, so perhaps that’s where they came from. What I had seen in my mind was a double portrait with two girls in pink & pearls... Hmmm, apparently that wasn’t going to happen!

I guess I like to know where I am going - to be in control - but this was a very good & very unexpected surprise.

To Start A Blog

A snapshot from my studio. A small room with french doors, green walls & bamboo floor. I love my studio, it is almost like a cave...



Well, I have thought of starting a blog for quite some time. I am often asked about my work process, how ideas arrive and how long it takes for me to finish a painting. I am sure I will cover those things in the future, in different ways and contexts.

Often a strange incident, a word, an unbelievable anecdote or a photo is the beginning to an idea. I am hoping for this blog to work as a way to document the process, both to myself as well as to anyone interested in my work...

As I was thinking of a headline for this blog, it hit me that the main key words for my work all starts with a P. Very Strange: Paint, Patterns, Pets & Poetry. (...and as some of you will know, my lovely boston terrier is called Playdoh!)

All right, this was a beginning. I look forward to return.

Happy Easter everyone.