Wow, it's the end of April and I guess everyone has given up on me....I am still here and still painting/cooking/exploring. This winter has been long and cold, but the temperature is doing what it usually does in April-fooling the heck out of us. One week, fooled into thinking that summer came early-then the next....snowing and blowing and cold as a polar ice storm. Crap. We spent a long Easter in the mountains getting what we thought was the last of the skiing season in, only to find that it's still snowing and ski season is going to last far into the summer. Actually, the glaciers are going to open for summer skiing May 1st, and the winter ski resorts are just closing down now.
Makes for alot of good painting in the studio without feeling guilty for not basking in the sunshine.
The paintings are more abstract these days, with the feeling of spring breaking through, as usual for this time of year. The odd flower painting forces itself through, although it's not so recognizable as a flower. (Take my word for it!) Now I have started a series of paintings using my childhood home in Sayre as inspiration. It's not obvious, but the forms and colors and emotions are all associations from Pitney St. The sketches are loose, and only suggest shapes that are a jumping off point for what actually works once the painting takes off. I am pleased with the first two paintings, and this coming week I will continue down this inspirational road. I have purchased new canvas, and will be stretching up 5-6 new blank canvases in the week ahead. I am optimistic and feel like a kid on his way to school for the first time. It's frustrating and hard, but challenging and rewarding, so I hang in there for the ride, knowing that I will succeed in the end.

Oh, the end of February and the winter in Bergen has been unbelievable this year. Temperatures have kept below freezing, the snow that has fallen has stayed, and piled up, layer upon layer. The skies have mostly been clear and blue and the sun has shone at every opportunity. Not since 1918 have we had a winter like this! (statistics say so.) In just under a month, we will screw our clocks ahead one hour, and then I will feel the usual surge of enthusiasm to make the most of that extra hour! I have been in the studio nearly every day since the beginning of January, and the work is coming along. This year's exhibit is in August, so I must have about 10-12 new paintings; just plain need as many as possible to be able to pick and choose what represents my best work this year. I have decided to paint a larger format (1 meter x 1.20) with a few smaller sizes, but will concentrate on the 1 meter area to experiment on. I get alittle claustrophobic working small, but I see that there is a period coming when I will go down in size and stay there awhile to accumulate some proficiency there. I have begun painting my interpretation of landscapes... choosing some gorgeous photos and turning them into my own creations. Rather, they start out as forms and colors that interest me, and from that point on, the direction changes according to whim. So far, so good. Stay tuned.

Ahhhhhh, a new year and the freedom to dream big. Christmas is all consuming, and I always wonder where it all went when Jan. 1st rolls around. We have had a quiet Christmas gathering here in the mountains of Norway, at Geilo. The snow is almost 3 ft. deep, it's -15 C outside most days (colder at night), and we have enjoyed this time together. This is one of the few times each year that I get my boys both under one roof for an extended length of time. They enjoy each other's company, and I get to remember what it's like to forget myself and practically run on autopilot to get the Christmas experience to come off somewhat entact. No wonder I haven't even thought much about my studio, and how lonely it must be feeling....abandoned since around the 10th of December! How nice it would be to have a room that I could have some basic equipment in up here and enjoy the process of painting "in my spare time"!! Well, now that the busiest holiday of the year is over, I COULD have the time, if I insist on it...which is really the only way to get it! Here are a few pictures from Christmas 2009, and I wish all of you a very successful and inventive new year, with lots of health and happiness.

Ahhhhh, Thanksgiving over, and the lull before the storm has set in. For some reason or other I woke up this morning thinking that....wow, now there's nothing on the agenda for a long time except painting and more painting. Then reality crept in and I realized that if I want to relax about Christmas, I had better get a few things done and out of the way a.s.a.p. At least we have a family internal agreement that we are allowed 1 present each and THAT'S IT! It's those Christmas cards that are gnawing at the back of my brain...oh well, Anyway, have been making headway on some paintings that I have been halfway into, but set aside a few months ago. Also, I have two rather large canvases that I have splashed (literally) paint all over, and am searching for direction with. Monday it's dive-in time. I have 11 paintings hanging in a hair salon here in Bergen, owned by a good friend of mine. It would be wonderful to get some more exposure for them, rather than them sitting in my studio, so I am investigating many more avenues for getting them out there. Will be having my yearly exhibit at Lille Atelier in August, 2010. It feels good to have that decided, cause I work best with an exhibit on the horizon. The days are short, and getting shorter by the hour, but it's less than 1 month til the winter solstice now. I see that some of my neighbors have put up outdoor Christmas lights already, so I guess that means that I can't ignore it any longer. Going to bed....maybe I'll dream of Barbados.......

Good morning...being November already, I have to admit that I have been totally absentminded about adding to this blog....mostly because I have not been in the studio enough to warrant letting anyone know what's going on there. Jan and I have been traveling in the US the past month, and the SUN and warmth have charged me up for a while. Also, the people I have met on this past trip have been wonderful and inspiring (thanks, Falda) so I came back to Norway with renewed inspiration and enthusiasm for the work that I do...and it is WORK. I am alittle tired of the comments that I get when I tell people that I am at the studio or that painting is what I do....as though I'm there just "realizing myself", throwing paint around and having a ball. So much for acknowledging that years of school and showing up at the work place (atelier) qualify for calling what I (we) do as a real job. Artists who work hard and consistently show up and do the work needed for progression don't always have the marketing skills needed to "brag themselves" out to the rest of the world. And much of the world totally underestimates/neglects the side of their existence that needs visual/mental stimulation through the arts. Well, that won't stop our quest toward reaching for more than the eye can see, or trying to project our energy and insights outward, so that others can experience the power that the arts calls forth. The old adage that the pen is mightier than the sword, can be used for all of the art forms.... ignore the sensual side of yourself, and you close out some of the richest experiences you will have as a human being.

Good morning everyone. It's a new day-new opportunities, and I have decided to wonder (publicly) what I will paint for the coming months/years. The thing of it is,....when I examine what it is that I obsess over, or what it is that I come back to day in and day out on my little hamster wheel of life, it's three things. Sun....it's vital and energy-giving. Without it, I am a mess sooner or later. The summer months in Norway are just what the doctor ordered-nearly 24 hours of sun a day (when low pressure weather systems don't mess things up). Nr. 2, Food. Honestly, I have been buying cookbooks, and subsequently health literature.... dissecting and comparing and analysis of different doctors/food gurus/food celebrities/food blogs/food politics/medical publications on the effects of diet on health.....I am tired of it all. After all is said and done, why haven't we all just decided to eat SIMPLY. Instead of whipping up something which costs us time, money and mental energy, we could just eat a piece of fruit or a handful of steamed veggies, and drink water/tea or wine. We would be thin, have tons of energy, have tons of time for other creative endeavors which actually could leave a lasting impression after we're gone, or just allow us to persue pleasurable pastimes that define us in a way other than how we look/cook. When I think of all the MONEY, TIME and MENTAL ENERGY I have expended on feeding myself and my family, it is a mean statistic. We have been lead around by our tastebuds and cut the cable to our brains when it comes to food. I have so much food equipment, and have the coolest kitchen so that I can do almost anything with the simple ingredients that God gave us. I love being here (am writing this blog sitting at the kitchen table). Which brings me back to my original point today...what to paint...what subject I, myself, have opinions on and impressions that I want to communicate to others, without using words. Well, I know a thing or two about the above musings, and aside from the wrinkles that I also have been trying to keep at bay, I think I have a pretty good idea of where I will be taking my paint in the coming months.... this could be my best year ever.......

Beautiful weather in Scandinavia right now.  Alittle rain sometimes, but the temp. is so warm and the showers so short that it is just perfect. I am watching the sun heading towards the horizon, but that is still 1/2 hr. away---the sun sets around 10:30 pm. With the clouds we have had lately, the sunsets are just gorgeous. The sea is calm, kayakers surrounding our home as well as ducks and seagulls. Jan and I just got back from an "after dinner" bike ride into the city. The pleasure boat traffic is huge and the boats/ships are from every part of Europe. Occasionally we see an American sailboat, usually once a summer.  

My (0ur) summer exhibit at the Handangerfjord Hotell in Oeystese, (Norway) is up and running. We installed our work and had a little party on the back lawn, so now we just wait for the sales to start happening. We're 4 artists with different styles and processes, but compatible personalities, so the arrangement went off with smiles all around. The exhibit hangs until the 31st of September.