In today's Kristinehamnsposten you can read about the exhibition and see pictures of some of the artwork. 55 artists turned in 150 pieces of art all together. Since it was a juried exhibition, 39 artists and 72 artworks were selected to participate. It means 16 artist didn't get the change to show their work . When I turned in my paintings I thought the overall standard was very high on the paintings and sculptures (it must have been a tough job for the jury). I liked what I saw there more than what was shown at Värmland's höstsalong for example (a juried exhibition for the whole province).

With this in mind I am very happy to have gotten a spot. I always try to bear in mind though, that art is to a great extent a matter of  taste and trends. Sometimes it goes well, other times we get turned down. Should we give up when we meet an obstacle? No, not as long as you have a conviction and love what you are doing. Then you can always look back on your journey knowing that you wouldn't have dedicated you time doing anything else. 

I became a member of Kristinehamns Konstförening last year and then you get invitations to all the art shows at their gallery. 

The only difference this time is that I am participating. Vernissage on Saturday, wop wop!

Why didn't they have this exposition when I visited the Picasso museum in Barcelona last year? Contemporary artists have made their own versions of some of Picasso's most famous artwork. Hyped Banksy amonst others.

With some luck I will be able to go to BCN in summer time (hopefully June). I don't know if you remember but I had plans going there some weeks ago. Unfortunately other things came in the way for the main person I was going to visit. At least I have the London trip to look forward to in a couple of weeks time :) 

I got a call from the gallery today and I am happy to say that they chose two of my paintings for the exposition. I should have asked how they made the selection though. Dont get me wrong, I am very glad to be able to participate at all, but it would be nice to get some feedback :)

The expo starts the 3rd of May and lasts until the 18th and is arranged by Kristinehamns Konstförening.

Yesterday I picked up some paintings from the framing store, and I am so happy with the work they've done. A good frame can really lift the appearance of the whole painting. I also decided to put my latest painting to the side for a while, and I took a last minute decision about which paintings to turn in for judging. So today, I went to the gallery and turned them in. The artist who will do the judging will start already tomorrow and then they will begin to call everyone to let them know if their paintings have been accepted or not. I must say that there was so much good and interesting art at the drop off place.  I hope there is space to showcase as much as possible!  

One of the paintings I turned in is unframed and to be able to hang it I had to put a wire on the back, just like this on the picture. A couple of staples on each side and voilà! 

The queen of performance art. I've read about her in several papers, most recently in Konstguiden and I just had to google videos of her to see for myself. Here comes two of her most hyped performances. 

"Artist is present" takes place at MoMa where she sits on a chair and let the audience sit down in front of her one at a time and then they look at each other. There was a huge line waiting to get the opportunity, and seeing this short video clip I can now see why. Her gaze is so present and penetrating. It almost looks like she's not human. In Konstguiden you can read about what she thought of the whole experience too, very interesting! 

Then we have "Rythm 0", where Marina has placed a number of objects in front of her, some for pleasure, others for pain. Then the audience can use the objects to do whatever they want with her. Someone cut her and drank her blood...She must be so damn good that people don't take her for a person anymore but a true work of art. It is so creepy and intriguing it gives me goose bumps. 

"Don't let bad execution steal attention from the message of the painting." (My own saying)

Uuuff, this might have too many flaws. I hope people who see the whole painting can appreciate the storytelling rather than the execution. I've really stared myself blind on it. What it would really need is some weeks in the closet, but there is no time for that kind of luxury.

Words of truth. According to the norm you should never tell if you are not 100% happy with what you've created. Maybe I should just shut up and smile instead ;)

Painting is like putting on makeup or adding an Instagram filter. You can make highlights, contrasts, change colors and cover less favorable parts. It can be very funny, but also a little dangerous. At least when you're not playing around anymore trying to find cool effects, but chasing that damn perfection! I am painting sand right now. I am realizing this painting aint going to be anything near perfect, or more importantly - not near my normal standards or what I know I am capable of.  I wont be able to make all the alterations it would need and I am trying to deal with it. If not even Dali thought he was able to reach perfection, I shouldn't either. I always try to have that in mind!

Instagram filter - Valencia.

Today I have turned in five paintings for framing. Four of them will travel with me to London in May, and the fifth I would like to have framed before the end of next week. There’s only one dilemma, it’s Easter – which means lots of holidays - and there is only one person in the city who works professionally with framing. Worst-case scenario I have to try to make a frame myself. It might sound easy, but the more I think of it the more complicated it seems to be. I would like this particular frame to cover a small part of the painting (only a couple of millimeters), but the whole process of cutting the frame gets so much more complicated.

Anyways, the frame I chose for the paintings was a thin silver frame with minimal red stripes in it. I think it will look great both with red, blue and greyish tones. 

Another kind of frame I love is the one above. There is a gab between the frame and the painting, thus they will "never touch". This kind of frame doesn't work too well with the paintings I have right now though. You have to have really nice edges to be able to frame a painting like this. The painting above is made on wood which makes it easier. (The photo above is retouched if you wonder why it looks blurry)

Earlier this week, a person who doesn't know me said that he could read my eyes (like you can read one's hands).  

By looking at my eyes he could tell that I have a very lively imagination and extreme opinions. I guess it is true (on the other hand, if he had listed qualities like "nice", "adventurous", "analytical" or any other adjective that would probably fit too). Overall I am very fascinated by eyes. I love to draw and paint them and as I have mentioned before, when I met people I look if I can see a trace of their "soul" in their eyes. 

This guy also claimed that the pattern changes by the years. For example, if you have had a stressful year, it will show. This on the other hand sounds very interesting and believable to me. 

I have painted like a maniac today but I have no photos to share. Hope to inspire you with this little story though -at least "eye reading" was new to me.