Global-Mariner

I had a very happy and lucky childhood with lots of art and inspiration around me.

My father could not do any form of art – could not even draw a matchstick-man without spoiling both the pencil and the paper, but he loved art, - and had several small books with paintings from wellknown artists, - like Degas, - van Gogh, - Picasso, - Gauguin, - Monet, - Tolouse-Lautrec, - Matisse – and you name it - - - - -

And as a small boy I marveled over those small pocket size books because they opened up a whole new World for me, - and when the other boys in my class knew the names of all the players on the national football team, - I knew all the famous and talented artists from my fathers small and very modest books which were a far cry from the art books I have in my library today, - with large format, good paper and good printing technique.

Also - my parents liked to use a couple of weeks on high school courses during my father’s vacations. It were courses about art, and although we children could not participate in the courses, we could come along on bus trips to art museums, and that was interesting because we could join and hear the art professors explain the works of the various artists on display - - -

My mother could make art. When young she made drawings of all the famous actors and actresses of her time - - -. They all looked exactly like her models, but it was not really art, because that flash in their eyes was not really there - and they did not look alive, - but somewhat “dead” and stiff.

But I could make drawings of everything, and one day in my teens – one of my uncles one day came with a big parcel for me! It contained a roll of artists canvas, several brushes and a number of various tubes of real artists oil paint as well as a frame on which I could suspend the canvas!

Then he ordered me: “Paint!” – - - - and paint I did - - - even sometimes at night - - - I did paint before that too, but not with REAL oil paint – and real artist’s canvas.

It happened when I was a school boy and every year the school used to do a play, with the school children as actors and actresses.

It was totally voluntarily if you wanted to join in the years show, and usually there were a lot more volunteers than parts in the plays, - so if you did not want to join it was perfectly fine, - and I did not want to join because why should I learn a long and maybe difficult part in order to make a fool of myself? I had better things to do - - -

But one day the teacher in charge of the years play approached me and said that they needed me! I said NO - - - - Why should I go when there are so many volunteers that would LOVE to join?????

However, - they did not need me for playing a part in the play! They had more than enough volunteers, but they needed me to paint the background decorations for the play - - -

Yes, - NO problem! I would love to do that, - and that actually was the start of my real artist career - - - The name of the play????? Oh yes – it was: “The Hotdog Mans Moon Rocket!” - - -

Now I will show some of the works of my favorite artists.  This one - of course - is by Vincent van Gogh!

In the beginning my relationship with van Gogh was a little bit strange, because I really did not see why he should be something special!  OK - he was good, - but not that good - so why was he so famous????

I did not get an answer to that question before I decided to copy one of his paintings!  Then maybe I would understand him better?

And indeed I got an answer, because as I copied his painting I became more and more aware of the fact, that he actually painted the AIR???????

Painting air?  But that is impossible, - right?

No, - it is not impossible when you are van Gogh - - - 

This is one of Bonnard's paintings - - -

Actually I was not so aware about this French artist before Kit Yu pointed him out and drew my attention to him - - -  He was one of her favorites, - and indeed - he became one of mine too - - -

Yes, - here is one of both Kit Yu's and mine absolute favorites - Edward Munch.

I was quite surprised that Kit Yu knew Edward Munch, - but she most certainly did!

For a some years ago the Munch museum in Oslo was re-organized - and new works of the master were put on display - - -

I read about that re-opening of the museum in my newspaper, and mentioned it to Kit Yu - - -

Then we just looked at each other for a while - and then - like from one mouth - we both said:  GO!!!!! - - - - and so we did! -

Two days later we we entered the museum and marvelled at this strange genius that could paint his feelings so well, that the "feeling" he got from the subject he painted - automatically was transferred to the spectator of the painting - - - WOW - - -

At the first exibition hall Kit Yu stood like nailed to the floor and looked at a painting for so long time - without moving - that I got the idea of maybe she had died in front of that Munch painting - but just kept standing without collapsing, like monks in the Far East can do when they die - - -

Slowly, slowly I moved over to her and touched her very gentle, - but she was certainly not dead!  "See, - see", she said with a very low, exiting voice, - and I answered - Yes, yes - I see - - -

What happened was of course that Kit Yu also had "seen", - but not only that!   Now she also understood!  She was simply communicating with Munch, - and in another World - - -

Here is one of Montague Dawson - one of my absolute favorite marine artists - - -

No explanation needed!  Look at that LIGHT!  This is just the "feeling" of the sea - - -

Gauguin is another artist that goes straight into my mind!

He was great before he completely changed and left everything behind - and mowed to the Pacific - and he was certainly GREAT after he ended up on his Pacific island and completely changed style - - -

I have read, that when he died on his island on the other side of the World, the local priest described him as an absolute horrible and bad person, - but he was a VERY gifted artist - - -  

Yes, - I do not know if he was a horrible and bad person, but as an artist he was up there among the best - - -

Here another one of my favorite marine artists - John Steel.

When I was a teenager, - I loved to built plastic kits of ships - which was a favorite passtimer of boys in the fifties/sixties - and maybe still is - - -

One plastic model maker - Revell - had a series of kits on which the box top was decorated with paintings by John Steel - - -

And this is the box top of the model of USS "Midway" - the first super carrier - and I built this model too - - -

And I absolutely loved those box tops!  Actually I wanted to learn marine painting, - and simply did so by copying the box top of one of Revells kits with a box top painting by John Steel - - -

So thank you to John Steel that inspired me so much, and made me a decent marine painter too - - -

PS:  John Steel is also not with us anymore - - - - RIP John - -

Here a painting of another fabulous marine artist - Turner - from England - - -

Some years ago the big art museum in Copenhagen had an exibition of Turner paintings, - and guess who were there????

Yes - correct - Kit Yu and I - and it was absolutely stunning to stand in front of Turners paintings - - -

He too could certainly convey the "feeling" he got from the sea straight into an old sailor like me - -

Finally a masterpiece of Paul Zesanne - a VERY gifted French painter - and a major favorite of both Kit Yu and myself - - -

Just look at this!  It simply does NOT get any better!

I have many, many more favorites, but cannot - of obvious reasons - show you them all - - -

Next page will be a page with my own paintings, - and followed by a page with Kit Yu's works - - -