paintings

This series of paintings has its beginning on the isle of Skarpö, near the coast of Sweden. My friend, who bought a house there, needed a painting of an old ship for the house, and none were to be found. So, I just had to start painting.

At first, it took a while to "unlearn" everything I'd been taught at the Academy. Yet, this new way of expression gradually became second nature. I discovered the sincerity of depicting things the way they look in my personal world. The more I painted, the more I enjoyed the feeling; working became easy and joyful.

The ship paintings were followed by views of the island, with its toy-like summer houses, its overgrown lilac hedges, and its inhabitants - the Bird Anton, the Green-eyed Girl, Mr. Frost and others.

All that happened between 1997 and 2000.

I make an appearance in the pictures myself under the name of Uncle Benno, who arrives from America with loads of gifts, as usual.

Some of the scenes have really happened; some are stories told by the bears. There's a whole family of them living in the house on Skarpö. Some bears accompany us on our travels (in fact, they come from different corners of the world themselves); while some stay and watch the house when everybody is away.

The bears in this picture are called Oskar and Alfred. I met them in America. Oskar travels a lot in my suitcase.