No 64. To paint or not to ..

Pictures and paintings usually have names, so I thought, maybe "Maybe?" could be a name to this one? But as it happened it got another name. Mixed media - water colour, gouache, metal, about 45x46 cms.)

It suddenly crossed my mind, that labyrinths as a subject matter is quite an interesting one. I am not the only one who feels like being in a labyrinth without finding the very point or the exit. Take buraucracy for example. Anyone who has tried to apply for a new passport knows what I'm thinking of. My in-law tried to renew her passport the other week, but her application was rejected because she was - smiling! True! She was. But who wouldn't being in the labyrinth of modern buraucracy of Western society?

No 63. This is not a Labyrinth

is what I call this little water colour I made the other day.

Well, is it or is it not? That is the question.

62. Sometimes inspiration just isn't there, sometimes it comes all of a sudden. Strange, isn't it? Just like in real life. This little piece came into being when I heard someone singing - Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye ... that wellknown nursery rhyme, you know.

61. Many an artist stress the importance of light. And so it is, of utmost importance, of course. Who e.g. would like to paint in a dark coal cellar? On the other hand the light by the sea is very sharp indeed, especially if one is used to indoor life of the city. So in this picture, a detail of a water colour from last week - I call it Cool Waters - the light is very bright. The thin blueish strokes is from a colour called Smalt or Dumont's Blue. That helps, I think, to create a feeling of texture and depth.

60. South of the picturesque little town Eksjö in the province Småland there is a manor called Kvarnarp, well known from the charming song about its mayor, Lorentz Munthe, who used to ride on his old horse from Kvarnarp into town, in Swedish "borgmästar Munthe, red på sin brunte...". Somewhat of the atmosphere around this 19th century Swedish mansion is still there, I think, in this water colour, which I painted some years ago in a very traditional style. Click on the image and have a look at the entrance to the house and you will see a lady dressed in white - my great grandmother, Hedda Rothlieb - inviting you to her home.

59. Jesus Christ! This is a fairly small picture (mixed media) which I made some time ago. For some odd reason I haven't shown it before, so this is a sort of world premier! Some people say that the Bible and the holy gospel doesn't inspire artists nowadays, but thats not true. As long as people are interested in one another the relation to God will always be of utmost importance. Marc Chagall, Georges Roualt, Willem De Kooning and Gauguin are some artists which came to my mind in respect to this. The Swedish artist Jörgen Hammar is another one. His interpretations from the Bible are really worth seeing.

58. Lets start the new year with some fresh fruits. Fresh? Well, I painted this watercolour quite some time ago, but they still still look afresh though, I gather. That's a quality that water colours have: the impression of freshness in colours can be preserved over quite a long time!

57. A Happy New Year to you all! Gott nytt år, gott folk!