Battlefield Survivor

(Mixed media. water colours, gouache, acrylics. 36 x 25 cm)

In love, like in any war, you have to pay the prize. She would wear the scars forever but was happy just to have survived.

For Inspire Me Thursday - Warrior and Illustration Friday - Cracked.

Inspired by the song "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar:

We are young
heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love is a battlefield
We are strong
no one can tell us we're wrong
Searching our hearts for so long
both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield
(Full lyrics here)

Kom hem

(Mixed media. Collage, acrylics, gouache. 36 x 25 cm. English title: Come Home)
1000 kr

(The photo is a wee bit lighter than the original. Taking pix of paintings sucks.)

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Family".
Something I have very mixed feelings about, to say the least. Esp. about mothers in general and my own mother in particular. She died almost 20 years ago, and still it's a raw mixture of feelings inside me, even if I have learned to live with it and without her.

And what is family, anyway? What is home? Oh, don't even get me started...

i never was the fantasy
of what you want
wanted me to be
don't judge me so harsh little girl
so you got a playboy mommy
/.../ don't judge me so harsh little girl
you got a playboy mommy, come home
so when you tell them soldiers my name
you'll cross that bridge all on your own
little girl, they'll do you no harm
'cause they know your playboy mommy
i'll be home
i'll be home
to take you in my arms
(Tori Amos, "Playboy Mommy", Choirgirl Hotel, 1997. Full lyrics here)

Den saknade pusselbiten

(Mixed media. Acrylics, water colours, collage. 30 x 30 cm. English title: The Missing Piece)
1500 kr

I raise a glass
Make a toast
A toast in your honor
I hear you laugh
and beg me not to dance
cause on your right standing by
is Mr. Bojangles
With a toast he's telling me it's time
to raise a glass
Make a toast
A toast in your honor
(Tori Amos, "Toast", The Beekeeper, 2005. Full lyrics here)

In memory of my mom, my gran and my auntie B. I will always miss and love you guys.

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead"

Rock Queen of Hearts

(Mixed media. Water colours, acrylics, ink. 31 x 41 cm)
800 kr
Såld!

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Papercut":
... draw inspiration from papercutting, the art of cutting paper designs
Not sure I did this "correctly" :) but hey it's my interpretation and I did cut out figures ;)

Originally, this was supposed to be much more light and fun, but then the queen stepped in and took over completely, having all the fun herself, as queens tend to do - and keep in mind, this is a rock queen :)

What About My Words?

(Mixed media. Acrylics, water colours, collage. 23 x 31 cm)
700 kr

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Storyteller".

This prompt had me thinking about women and our histories, the difficulties to tell those stories in our own words, since there has always been and always seem to be Someone Else to tell them - or ignore them. Also inspired by the Dixie Chicks documentary "Shut Up and Sing"

Witch Terrorist

(Gouache. 24 x 32 cm)
600 kr

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Purple and Orange".
Tori Amos' song "The Power of Orange Knickers" (The Beekeeper, 2005) immediately came to my mind.

Purple:
Royalty, wealth.
And to me - creativity.
the power of listening to what
you don't want me to know

Orange:
A symbol for energy and fire.
And to me - the strength of women, my belief in that a woman can do anything that she sets her mind on. A strength that is and has always been considered dangerous...
can somebody tell me now who is this terrorist

This is a tribute to my beloved, dearly missed auntie B (1936-2005) - I knew your fights, I knew your strength. I know that you'll always be by my side.

Full lyrics for "The Power of Orange Knickers" here

glöm mig inte

(Ink. 55 x 46 cm)
Inramad. 43000 kr

OBS! Något varmare i tonen än vad som här framgår.

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Doors".
OK, a metaphorical door :) she came out of nowhere to meet me.

Modern Nike

(Blandteknik. Gouache, tusch. 24 x 32 cm)
600 kr

For Inspire Me Thursday:
This week, we were encouraged to share things that inspire us. Well, what inspires me mostly is fashion ads, and the way women are symbolised in those pictures. The inspiration of this painting is a pic of one of Sweden's most prominent athletics, Therese Alshammar.

I found it to be very beautiful and inspiring, yet a bit sad...

Sleeps with Butterflies

(Mixed media. Water colours, ink. 24 x 32 cm.)
2700 kr
Såld!

You say the word
you know I will find you
Or if you need some time
I don't mind
I don't hold on
to the tail of your kite
I'm not like the girls that you've known
But I believe I'm worth coming home to
Kiss away night
This girl only sleeps with Butterflies
with Butterflies
so go on and fly then, boy
(My Sister, Tori Amos, "Sleep with Butterflies", The Beekeeper, 2005. Full lyrics)

Sort of a birthday (March 14) self portrait :) With special thanks to Marcie for feeding me the chocolate chip cookies and the wine - I hope you know that you saved my day ;)

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Inkblots". Not sure that I followed the directions, but hey! artistic license... ;)

your ghost

(Mixed media. Gouache, water colours, collage. 24 x 32 cm)
500 kr

I try not to move
it's just your ghost passing through
(Tori Amos, "Putting the Damage on", Boys for Pele, 1996. Full lyrics)

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Illusion".

Min drottning

(Water colours. 24 x 32 cm. English title: My Queen)

she's a beauty queen
my sweet bean bag in the street
take it
down out to the laundry scene
don't know why she's in my head
can't figure what it is
but I lie again
(Tori Amos, "Beauty Queen", Boys for Pele, 1994)

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Faces".

Glömd i is

(Mixed media. Gouache and water colours. 24 x 32 cm. English title: Hidden in ice)
500 kr

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Ice".

mystery, thy name is woman

(Mixed media. Water colours, gouache. 24 x 32 cm.)
400 kr

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Hats".

I got this idea when I was watching (for the umptenth time) the wonderful movie Edward Scissorhands. (That Johnny, you gotta love him. ;))

Even after spending so many hours with her, I have no idea who she is and what she wants to tell me. But she is beautiful, I love her, and I am proud that she chose to come to me.

Please treat her with the respect that she deserves.

to let go

(Mixed media. Water colours, acrylic ink, gouach. 31 x 41 cm)
500 kr

when you see me
fly away without you
shadow on the things you know
feathers fall around you
and show you the way to go
it's over, it's over
(Neil Young, "Birds", After the Goldrush, 1970. Full lyrics.)

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Birds"
and
Illustration Friday - "Open"

Friends, sisters blanket girls

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Intimacy".

I decided to go digital, for once. Not that I know much about how to enhance pictures digitally, mind you - but I wanted to have some fun. And I did. :)

The original is a photo of me and my best friend, Jennie. (I am the shorter one.) I love her so much.

so they went years and years
like sisters blanket girls
always there through that and this
there's nothing we cannot ever fix i said
(Tori Amos, "Bells for Her", Under the Pink, 1994. Full lyrics)

Trapped

(Mixed media. Gouache and collage. 24 x 32 cm)
400 kr

you're just an empty cage girl
if you kill the bird
(Tori Amos, "Crucify", Little Earthquakes, 1992. Full lyrics)

For Inspire Me Thursday - "Square".
I love this song, and I have always wanted to use it as an inspiration for a painting. I don't know why, but for some reason the word "square" put together with these lines, which came to my mind immediately when I read about this week's challenge, was what (finally) started off my imagination.

OK, so I might have interpreted "square" loosely, but hey, artistic license and all that! :)