Je pense, donc je suis

JE PEINS, DONC JE VIS

 More archipelago paintings

NOVEMBER 2020

 Paintings after 4 japanese “waka” poems

(100x120 cm)

1. perhaps it will be, that today’s troubles one day, will be sweet memories. What I used to call sorrows, I now remeber with joy.

2. beneath a summer sky, invisible waves moving, on a tranquil sea. So peaceful - Still I worry, suddenly it may perish.

3. a heartless farewell, as the early morning moon, entered the room. since that depressing moment, daybreaks fill my heart with pain.

4. does it worry me? the storm ripping flowers like snow, from the cherry tree. when it is i who suffers, from the snow of age in my hair.

2021 - 2022 BIRD PAINTINGS

"To me, birds are living poetry. Their beauty is matched only by their mastery of the three-dimensional realm—a freedom of movement that earthbound beings can only dream of. As the ultimate ambassadors of liberty, they navigate the heavens in search of warmer horizons, proving that existence can be rewritten simply by taking wing. It is this boundless spirit and grace that drives my lifelong desire to capture them; indeed, they sometimes find their way onto my canvas almost without my noticing."

1 + 2; Yellowed legged gull (100x50cm)+(70x100m). 3; North Atlantic Gannet (70x100cm). 4; Great Lappland owl (Strix Lapponica) (100x120cm)

5. Herons (90x120cm) 6: snowy owl (90x120cm) 7: eagle owl (90x120cm)

APRIL 2021

Natalie Maneerat 120 x 100 cm, acrylics. Worked on this painting in periods Nov. 20 - April.21

(100 x 100 cm)

For every step I take,

One less will remain,

Leaves already aumn red.

As water flows from the hills,

Until the ocean it fills.

(100 x 120 cm)

My son has cancer,

so what can I do, but to give him my hand,

and fill it with love and care, and the hope I have,

I share

(80 x 100 cm)

My big brother - my hero

ABSURD PAINTINGS 2022-2023

"When inspiration ran dry, I pivoted to a new strategy: abandoning anticipation. I mentally reset, approaching the blank canvas with no predetermined idea. Instead, I start with a single colour and let instinct take over, adding whatever arises in my mind. The result is a spontaneous, honest, and unfiltered expression that oftens surprises me and I periodically return to this method. I work within a set of personal rules designed to foster a surreal, poetic tone. My process requires combining vibrant color palettes with both abstract textures and realistic imagery and additionally including one or more birds.

The final compositions are intentionally absurd and ambiguous, prioritizing emotional resonance over literal narrative."

(100 x 100 cm)

Cher fils, qu’as-tu fait ?

My dear son, what have you done?

(90 x 120 cm)

D'où vient le salut?

From where does salvation come?

(90 x 120 cm)

Regarde geppetto, regarde! Une hirondelle

Look Gepetto, look! A swallow.

ACRYLICS 90 x 120 cm

MICKEY EST TRES CONTENT

Mickey is very thrilled

(90 x 120 cm)

“companions” en danger

“Companions in danger

acrylics 90 x 1200 cm started as an Improvised painting but…

whoopper swan

Haiku poem by Kobayashi Issa, ca. 1800

This world, grief and pain,

the cherry tree is blooming

even so.

Acrylics (120 x 90 cm

BEARDED REEDLINGS

dreams (are for the living) - MOEMOEA (no te feia ora)

"I was inspired by Gauguin’s painting Manao Tupapau (Spirit of the Dead Watching), a work that has fascinated me since my youth—hence the Tahitian title. In my version, the spirits of death from the original have been replaced by a cardinal bird, a symbol of angels of love watching over us."

is it all pointless?

The hand of death may move the wood,

And claim the King where once he stood,

The board is cleared, the shadows fall,

Yet, life returns to wake us all. 

Antonius Block: “No man can live faced with death knowing everythings nothingness”. Death: “Most people reflect neither on death nor nothingness”.

"Inspired by the lasting impact of Bergman's The Seventh Seal on my teenage self, this painting explores the existential struggle between light and darkness, life and death. I felt compelled to paint my own interpretation, a more hopeful version that reflects my evolved understanding of mortality. I place myself in the role of the crusader Antonius Block, facing a faceless Death. The Eurasian Goldfinch—representing life and resurrection—shares the scene with a hidden Bergman and his 'daemons' in the rocks, while Yukio Mishima's death poem,barely visible, haunts the dark clouds.

Acrylics 100 x 100 cm

WOMAN WITH PURPLE HAT AND GOLDEN EARRING

I was commissioned to make this portrait in the style of Vermer’s “Girl with a pearl earring” but with artistic freedom and another model, my wife.

the fire station behind my house

I started this painting in the autumn a few years ago but left for a warmer place to spend the winter. When I returned I discovered that a scaffolding had already been erected and renovation work had begun. Luckily i found some photos from the previous year with the worn windows and damaged plaster. Since birds often enter into all my paintings, the two magpies that I often see there were included.

Acrylics 100x100 cm An improvised painting

Longue comme le queue du faisan….

As does the pheasant,

when the day ends also I

will go to my rest.

Long as the pheasant cock’s tail

will the hours of my night be.

Hiemaru, ca. 700 ad.

october 7th

Acrylics 100 x 100 cm

For whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye. ZECH 2:8

"Dedicated to the victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack—Israelis and foreign workers alike. This painting was created in response to the profound evil and hatred witnessed on that day."

POP ART PAINTINGS

Comment on POP art 1.

"What started as an improvised painting naturally evolved into a piece of Pop Art. I incorporated elements from various iconic artists, including my own take on Campbell’s Tomato Soup—complete with an obligatory bird. While the quote belongs to Dalí, its sentiment resonates deeply with my own process. Satisfied with the result, I decided to make two more paintings in the Pop Art genre on the theme of romantic love and friendship.

* Roy Lichtenstein, Christopher Wool, Robert Indiana, Edward Ruscha, KAW, Jeff Koon, Mark Rothko, keith haring.

Acrylics 90 x 120 cm

COMMENT ON POPART 2: EROS

ACRYLICS 90 x 120 cm

COMMENTS ON POP ART 3: FILIA

QUOTES BY ALBERT CAMUS AND SHAKESPEARE COMIC STRIP BY CHARLES M. SCHULZ

וַיָּשֶׁר ה' הִשְׁמֵךְ עָלָיו אֶת-עֲוֻנָּנוּ כֻּלָּנוּ

And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

acrylics 100 x 100 cm

I will be what I will be

אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה

The crucifiction of Christ with a Sefirot.

Acrylic 100 x 100 cm Poem by Japanese poet Yosa Buson, 1716-84

IKIRU, To live

“A limited time

Contemplating my life

In autumn darkness”

"What began as an improvisation quickly evolved into a painting of a stork—a symbol of birth—prompting reflections on a life that is, while limited in time, filled with moments that feel eternal. Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru, (To live), is a favorite film of mine, particularly the iconic swing scene, which absolutely had to be included. Inspired by Buson’s haiku poem regarding the volatility of life, I was reminded of a line from another film,The Bucket List, describing the retrospective view of one's existence: 'Like smoke through a keyhole.'"

acrylic 100 x 100 cm Painting after a haiku poem by kobayashi issa

“Pure simplicity

marks the arrival of spring

like the morning fog”

Acrykics 100 x 100 cm Haiku poem by Issa written after his daughter died from smallpox:

“This world of dewdrops

this fleeting world of dewdrops

and yet… and yet”

ACRYLICS 100 X 120 CM PAINTING AFTER A WAKA POEM BY KUMANOYAMA

清かなる 夏の空より 寄する波 凪わたれども 消なむとぞ思ふ :

Clear blue summer sky,

Over waves that move unseen,

Deep in silent breath,.

But then I fear that the light,

Will sink in shades of death.

Acrylics 100 x 100 cm painting after a Waka poem by Kumanoyama

散るは声 秋の思いは 深けれど 遠き日に還る 光ありけり

Past the drifting leaves,

Though the autumn heart runs deep,

Yet there is a light,

Returning once again,

To days woken from their sleep

Acrylics, graphite, coal. 100x100 cm.

MISHIMA

For over a year, capturing Yukio Mishima in a portrait remained a dormant ambition, its conceptual execution proving elusive. 

During my studies in Tokyo, I immersed myself in his oeuvre and shared the contemporary expectation that he would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature—a distinction that ultimately eluded him, arguably due to his reactionary politics. 

Mishima’s 1970 ritual suicide by seppuku profoundly unsettled both the Japanese public and me. Only after further reading, biographical study, and a review of archival interviews did a cohesive vision materialize.

The resulting work integrates key textual elements from his final moments: his death poem (jisei), found where he died, and his parting note, rendered as it was discovered upon his desk. Mishima as a boy and his possessive grandmother are also depicted. The Eurasian goldfinch symbolizes resurrection and eternal life, accompanied by the musical stave of Bach’s "Komm, süsser Tod."

Acrylics. 100x100 cm painting after a poem by Kaga no Chiyo

“The cranes are playing,

flying high, up to the clouds,

The year’s first day”

“A clear winter night,

so many stars, and beyond…..

The eternity”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

GENESIS

"For many years, I have been fascinated by the origins of the universe and life. This interest was deepened through my acquaintance with a former MIT professor of nuclear physics who also held a PhD in Earth and Space Sciences, G, Schroeder. 

Inspired by this—along with my ongoing studies of the Talmud and Kabbalah—I created four paintings depicting the first five verses of Genesis, specifically focusing on Day One. "The dove represents the creative and supportive spirit, the hand is the ability to form what is already created, the eagle is the symbol of is God's active, protective watchfulnes watching over the creation that when at the end of the "day" it confirms that it was good.

Genesis 1:1-2. With wisdom God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

THE SEPARATE PARTS OF THE TETRAPTYCH

Genesis 1:3-4. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:5 “And there was evening (chaos), and there was morning (order), day one.”

Duality in Bionantism

portRait of Björn Ranelid, author

“My stories are migratory birds in search of a warm place

and I will not give up until they find a home in your heart”

Photos