Musical paintings

Artist Gösta Engström next to one of his paintings at the gallery in Österhaninge, Galleri Kyrkskolan. He calls the works at the vernissage for Musical paintings. Gösta is still a very active artist and only 89 years old. Enjoyed coffee in the gallery garden with one of the usual suspects. Mid coffee another suspect called and wanted to know if anyone was up for some coffee so a few minutes later there was three coffee drinkers in the garden. Chatted away with three of the artists, one that we had met the previous day during the Seine Fishing at Gålö.

Maria Skaring

Met the artist Maria Skaring at the art gallery, Galleri Kyrkskolan in Österhaninge yesterday. She showed me some of her metal rod art, also known as "luffarkonst". Luffare was the old Swedish name for a hobo, or a vagabond. And this is an art form that was started by vagabonds back in the day. Maria asked me if I was interested in buying a piece. I had a look at her work and told her that I might buy a piece if it featured a bicycle or perhaps a camera, and she promised to create something like that, so I guess I will have to buy that piece on my next visit! But then again I promised Maria to email her the photos of her work, and the portraits I took of her, both inside the gallery, and outside, in the garden, for free. And I also explained a few things about photography, so that she will be able to shoot decent portraits and macro images of flowers with her Nikon. So given all that, maybe she should give me that sculpture as a thank you next time we meet!

Jonas Nobel

As I walked into the show room at the cultural centre in Handen yesterday, to look at the new exhibition by Jonas Nobel, the artist himself walked out with two friends. So I turned around and followed him to one of the outdoor sculptures, which are also part of his installation, and that's where I grabbed this portrait of Jonas. He talked a bit about his sculptures and the idea behind it which is Haninge's geological history. The objects in the showroom are office furniture and other items used around Haninge that have been covered in plastic film showing mineral structures from the island of Utö where lithium was discovered two centuries ago. Last photo shows one of three sculptures by along "Eskilsstråket". Haninge had a big laundry industry one century ago. This artwork is made from aluminium and rests on a base made from concrete it shows folded laundry. The exhibition is open for the next three months. If you speak the local lingo you can read more about the exhibition here.

Hot Wax Painting

When I visited the art gallery in Österhaninge one of the artists,Marianne Kopamees showed me her latest technique. Hot Wax Painting. Or Encaustic painting. Art with the help of a iron.

Anna Järvinen

The big name to play at the Haninge Day was Anna Järvinen. I remember her from the days when she was a member of the indieband Granada. Since then she has released three solo albums. It was a tough gig for Anna on Saturday. It was a bit chilly and it had started to rain when she took to the stage. After the gig when I walked up to the stage and asked her for a few portraits she told me that she had a had a toothache, so full credit to Anna for toughing it out.

Tess Mercedes

I first saw Tess at a summer festival in Brandbergen on Saturday when she was singing with a band called Doktor Krall. They play music from the 1950s and 1960s, and she joined them on stage for a few songs. Imagine my surprise the very next day when I noticed her walking towards a classic car meet in Handen. I stopped and told her that I had taken a few photos of her the day before. She recognised me and told me that she was singing with the same band at this event as well. An our or so later I spotted Tess talking to Rune Thorsell, a guy I have met at a number of events before. He owns a few very cool cars and motorcycles, and Tess now asked me if I could take some photos of her in front of his Ford Crown Victoria. As she posed a helicopter took off and the wind moved her dress around a bit, and that's when I took this photo that Tess now have decided to buy. I really like coincidences like this one.

The Chainsaw Artist

This is Åke Herrström. A chainsaw sculptor from Norrköping. He has worked in the forest for more than thirty years so he knows how to handle a chainsaw. I met him on Sunday at the Berga Agricultural College during the open-house weekend. He was invited by Studieförbundet vuxenskolan (adult education), and you can see on of their representatives in the slideshow. Åke made this beautiful eagle in no time at all, and it was impressive to see him in action. He showed me some of his earlier sculptures, including a one to one scale Harley Davidson, a work which took him one long summer to create. I asked him if he knew Lennart Jansson another chainsaw artist that I met three years ago and he told me that they had met a few times. To see more of Åke's sculptures check out the photos at his web site.

Art by Ana Gull

I visited a Christmas market today. Held in a greenhouse at Stavhäll in Tungelsta. Met a few people, took some photos, and enjoyed a cup of coffee. One of the artists selling her handicraft at the market was Ana Gull. She told me she was a bit American, as she had studied in the US. I kinda like her ugly,sexy Santa. Unfortunately I didn't have any cash on me, so I couldn't buy the Santa, or the Christmas candle figurine that costed 375 SEK. You can see more of Ana's art at her web site Art 4 Joy. A few more photos from the market tomorrow.

The Charcoal Kiln

The process of turning wood into charcoal is very old. This autumn you can visit the charcoal kiln that the homestead society Gålö Gärsar has made. The kiln will burn for around two weeks. To keep it burning you need to make small holes for air to get in and also repair any part of the kiln that slips. When the charcoal is ready the burning is extinguished by water and the kiln is then opened up. During this lengthy process the wood colliers live nearby in a typical charcoal hut as the kiln must be manned 24/7. On my visit on Saturday the well known singer/songwriter Susanne Alfvengren was performing for the many visitors and after her first session I walked over for a portrait and a few quick words. Every kiln has a name. The 2008 version was named after the then youngest person to live at the Gålö peninsula, a baby girl called Emma (Borg). The 2010 kiln was named after Inga-Britt (Borg) who is the oldest person living at Gålö. And she is actually Emma's great grandmother! The Borg family are involved in pretty much anything that happens at Gålö. They run the Stegsholm Farm that I have showed you here before. For the hungry there was collier sausage and coal buns! The black and white painting was made by the local artist Johnny Svensson ( whom you met last summer), and it shows the kiln from 2008. To see all my Charcoal Kiln related photos check out the slideshow.

Memory Hole

I had a sneak preview at an upcoming art exhibition yesterday. This is Arvid Wretman and Jenny Palén. Their exhibition is called Memory Hole and it will open at the Haninge Cultural Centre on Friday. I was having coffee at the cafe and started talking to Åsa Mårtensson who is the Master of Arts at the centre. She told me about the exhibition and we walked into the showroom where Arvid and Jenny were busy working. I wasn't allowed to take any photos inside the showroom so I asked them if we could go outside for a quick portrait. Arvid and Jenny are students at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. The Memory Hole exhibition will run from this Friday until the 22th of August. If you visit on Friday you will also see a performance by Arvid and hear a musical performance by David Giese aka Joxaren. Later in the summer there will be an open workshop for students between seventh grade and ninth grade.

The Artist

This is Anneli Malm. She is an artist. She does handicrafts and paintings. And also a lot of angels that my friend Jim seemed to like, as some of the arty stuff he makes are a bit similar in style. I met Anneli at her new shop/showroom at Dahlgrensgården at Tyresta National Park. She showed me around and told me a little about her ideas. She's planning to sell handicraft on the first floor in the old building, and show some of her more expensive paintings up on the loft. The shop will be open mainly on weekends. Visiting kids will be able to make their own art. Anneli grew up at Farsta Strand and today she lives at Gubbängen (two Stockholm suburbs). She's managed to get a spot at Stortorget, the main square at the old town in Stockholm, and that's where you can find her every December. That really is a good place to sell your art, ask anyone who has ever visited Stockholm and they have probably been there.

Evelyn & Marco

I was taking some photos of a new mobile art room at Poseidon's Square when Marco came up to me. He wanted to know a bit about my camera. Marco is an artist from Handen. He has just made a photo book with some of his paintings. He is also a street artist, known as SKAB. His best friend is another street artist, known as KLAB, who has done a few cool stencils that I have photographed this year. The pretty girl next to Marco is his girlfriend Evelyn. She lives in Jordbro and is a secondary school student, studying Fashion and Trade in Farsta. She's hoping for a career as a fashion designer. And as you can guess by looking at Marco's eyes it was a very sunny day.

You can see another portrait of the couple at Tumblr.

The PussyCattyCat

This is Sandra. I met her in Handen. She had an appointment, but had time for a chat and a few portraits. Sandra is an artist who works with logo design and tattoo design. To make ends meet she also works as a personal assistant.If you want to see some of her art work check out PussyCattyCat at deviantART. If you are curious about the name, it's from a song by the Nazis from Mars. For another portrait of Sandra check out my tumblr site.

The Curators

The experimental art project at the cultural centre in Handen closed on Saturday.The final installation was the opening of a new mobile art centre, named Konsthall 323. The artists and curators are Frida Krohn and Ylva Trapp. Their showroom is a Mazda 323 from 1983. After the official opening ceremony, where the artists cut the blue tape, there was refreshments and a lot of photography. And then the first four visitors (plus a baby),entered the mobile art centre for the five minute experience. I was in the second group and sat in the back-seat where I listened to a taped conversation between the two artists, as they made their way to the cultural centre discussing the road ahead and commenting on what they saw during those five minutes. It was a different art experience, filled with humour. In the next few months the mobile showroom will travel across the country, but no one knows where it will turn up next. But to keep track on what might happen in the future you check out the projects website.

Artists at the Gallery

I visited the art gallery in Österhaninge on Saturday, Galleri Kyrkskolan that is located next to the Medieval Church. They have a Easter Exhibition at the gallery over the weekend, so if you live in the area you can visit today or on Monday. To show you some of the artwork I made a collage with a few photos from the artist studios, and a 360 panorama from the show room. The people you see here are Seija Swanberg, and Marie-Anne Kronqvist. There's also two paintings from Karen Nordsø Lundberg, and a sculpture from the show room. As I was talking to Marie-Anne she wanted me to have a look at a painting made by her son. For some reason it was hidden under a blanket (second photo). I thought it looked a bit Daliesque. The obviously talented artist is called Leonard Riem-Vis. That sounded a bit familiar, and when I googled his name I found one of my own posts from a few years ago! After chatting with all the artists and looking at their art I had coffee and cake in the garden. I asked one of the artists Annie Forsberg to snap a photo of me to show you that it was a warm day, despite the snow on the ground. If you want to see more art stuff from Kyrkskolan check out my flickr collection from the last five Art Promenades.

Just another day on the motorway

Surprisingly all the politicians left the scene in a hurry when suddenly a bunch of nearly naked young men took to the same stage. Dressed in white underwear and with gigantic white balls on their heads their sudden appearance made most of the crowd a little uneasy, especially when they walked off the stage to mingle with the now somewhat nervously laughing crowd. The second photo shows Robot Man. His real name in Mikael. He was a big hit with the kids (and everyone else). He has attended the Cirkus Cirkör school and has been working as an artist for a few years. More info about the Robot Man on his website. On the last photo you see what can only be described as a very tall American. He spoke American English and walked around asking people for money. Must be some American tradition! All in all just another day on the motorway...

Tungelsta Day

This past Saturday saw the annual Tungelsta Day. I took a stroll with my camera, and one of the places I checked out was Handlaget that operates from the old station house. There is an ongoing art exhibition there. The artist is Elfie Larsson. She works with water colors. I had a chat with the artist and with her husband Rolf who turned out to be a keen photographer. If you would like to have a better look at the old station house check out this link. And for a zoomed out version I recommend clicking here.

A Man and his Art

This is Johnny Svensson. He is an artist and painter. I took this portrait last week at his studio. He lives in a former school building at Gålö. The school was built back in 1914 and belonged to the nearby Stegsholm farm. The school closed in 1968. Johnny has had a studio here behind the school since 1986. And he has lived here since 1997. He got his education from an art school in Stockholm at the Pernby School of Painting. He averages a couple of exhibitions every year, either at Dalarö here in Haninge, or at Fjäderholmarna in Stockholm. His watercolors often depicts local motives and I recognised quite a few familiar buildings, castles and even the S/V Ariel that I have shown you a photo of before. It was framed and hung on a wall, but Johnny kindly removed the glass and frame so that I could get a photo of his painting. After I had taken my photos we walked out into the garden where there were a few more paintings to look at. Finally we had a look inside the old class room that still has the traditional big windows. That room, which was very beautiful, is today the Svensson's living room. On my way out I noticed a painting of a naked woman (hard to miss I know). I didn't take a photo of it. It depicted an attractive young woman and Johnny informed me that it was a girlfriend from his youth.

Anders Reuterswärd

Several art galleries around Haninge were open during the Easter Weekend, and I visited the Kyrkskolan Gallery in Österhaninge. This is one of the artists, Anders Reuterswärd. He had his first showing back in 1967. He is represented at the Moderna Museet as the famous art collector Pontus Hultén bought one of his paintings at that first show. Anders often works with fractal (repeating), triangles, and also with the central perspective. During his long career he has also worked with photography and made Super 8 mm film. As I was treated with coffee and cake in the garden, Anders and some of the other artists told me about one movie in which his father, the world famous artist Oscar Reuterswärd stars as a burglar who breaks into a house, and then leaves, climbing out through a window with a big bag slung over his shoulder. We used suggestive music, and it really was a fun project despite the fact that Oscar wanted it made one way and I wanted to do it my way, Anders explained. Everyone round the table agreed, as they had all seen the movie. You may have seen some of the other artists work on my blog, as I have photographed the last four Art Promenades.

The Anders Lindgren Quartet

The Anders Lindgren Quartet performing in Västerhaninge on Saturday. From left to right. Gustav Rosén, saxophone. On drums Bengt Tideström. Vocals by Ulrika Goliats Fredriksson (more of her tomorrow). The hidden bass player is Hans Carldén. On guitar Anders Ohlsson. And on keyboard, the band leader himself, Anders Lindgren. The band played traditional Christmas songs at the shopping centre before and after the performance by the Swedish Lucia Emma Johansson.


Normally a quartet would be four people, but I count six musicians here, but the more the merrier so why not!