No matter how we feel, who we are, or where

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Bryan Lyons
5 years ago
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Inspiring, colourful settings can raise our mood, help us reload our energy, stimulate our creativity, and open our

1 No matter how we feel, who we are, or where we come from, a playful splash of colour can brighten up our life. What we surround ourselves with becomes a part of us. Inspiring, colourful settings can raise our mood, help us reload our energy, stimulate our creativity, and open our minds to new, interesting things. This is what I strive for in my art. My perception is a vessel for the form it takes. 102 Will You Ever Be Great Again, x80cm, Oil on Canvas.

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Anna Afzelius-Alm Sigtuna, Sweden Website afzeliusalmart.com Social Media Facebook: /anna.afzeliusalm Instagram: @anna.afzelius.alm 104 Biography I was born in Minneapolis, USA, grew up in Germany and have lived in Switzerland, England, and China.

3 Anna Afzelius-Alm Sigtuna, Sweden Website afzeliusalmart.com Social Media Facebook: /anna.afzeliusalm 104 Biography I was born in Minneapolis, USA, grew up in Germany and have lived in Switzerland, England, and China. Now, I work and live in Sigtuna, Sweden. During the summer of 2015, I decided to follow my heart and paint full-time. Before that I had a professional career as Management Consultant. I hold a degree in Design from the Académie des Arts in Gothenburg. Exile Professor Shahab Mousavizadeh from the Tehran University of Arts was my mentor during my high school years in Germany. I also hold an MBA from the Gothenburg School of Economics and Law, an MSc in Informatics from Gothenburg IT- University and have studied Mandarin at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. When did you decide to become an artist? I first started out making tiny clay figures when I was about three years old. Since then I have painted on and off throughout the years, but I didn t dare take the step to making this my full-time job until last summer. How would you describe your style and what themes occur or reoccur in your work? My style is expressive with a lot of colour. I like to keep things loose and I love texture. That s why my preferred tool is the palette knife. In the beginning my paintings focused merely on the figurative, but lately I have been inspired by all kinds of different objects found within nature. I gravitate toward sheds, fields, and flowers, as well as experimenting with abstracting these motifs. During this spring I was inspired by the mysterious old barns in northern Sweden. Old abandoned buildings hold a long history and I have tried to capture that feeling in my paintings which allowed my work to take unexpected and intuitive paths. I always carry my mobile phone with me and take shots to remind me of different moments these pictures become the basis for my paintings. Where do you find inspiration? Do other artists influence your work? My work often originates from different moments that I have experienced or a feeling that I want to convey. To give you an example, the process and outcome of the recent presidential election inspired me to paint Will you ever be great again? Initially I felt shocked and hopeless with a strong sense of disbelief. But, I keep an open mind and I m sure that everything will turn out ok in the end. Of course, other artists influence and inspire my work. I love fantastic portraits of Kehinde Wiley and Chuck Close. I am inspired by the strong sense of abstraction and use of colour in works by Colin Pennock, Andreas Eriksson, and Astrid Sylwan. I also love the play of light and colour in the works of Paul Gauguin, Lars Lerin, Anders Zorn, and Carl Larsson. In which medium/media do you work? Mostly I interpret reality through large, textured oil paint sweeps. I apply the vivid colours with knife, pipe or directly with the tube to add structure. But, in general, I love to experiment, so when it feels right I use acrylics, watercolours, pastels, collage, pearls, etc., separately or as a mixed-media piece. Where do you create your work? I have my studio at home overlooking Mälaren, the great lake just outside Stockholm. It is close to the city but still with a distance that brings me tranquility. I love it. I can pop into the kitchen and make my coffee whenever I want to and take in the views. To me, it is important to be creative in the morning, with my mind fresh and good daylight. What has been your biggest art faux-pas? Once I tried to speed up the drying process of a couple of thick oil paintings by putting them in our sauna. That was not a good idea since I turned up the heat too much and then forgot to take them out. My husband found them and the paint had started to melt. I won t do that again, however the paintings did get yet another story to tell. Is there a piece you are most proud of? Why that particular piece? I m proud of the Leaning Shed since I recently received a merit diploma for it at my first curated exhibition at Sigtuna Museum and Art/Konsthall Märsta. I m also proud of my very first painting in Shanghai Korean Pavilion that I did after a 10-year break from painting. In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing the arts today? Well, I guess that depends on from which perspective you anticipate the question, the art-loving customer/ collector, the gallery, the curator, the art agent, or the hard-working painter. The common challenging denominator I see for all regarding the arts is globalization and digitalization. Everything has become more connected, interdependent, and vulnerable. At the same time opportunities and reach have never been greater. Globalization and digitalization open up a wider audience, new business models, and new ways of communicating and creating art, but competition also increases and you need to find ways to define yourself and stand out from the crowd. Are you involved in any upcoming shows? I have a company exhibition in January, a solo show in Stockholm in April, and one in Falsterbo, in the south of Sweden. For more information, you can visit my webpage ( Is there something you are currently working on that you can share with us? I m preparing one of my solo shows that I call Hello Spring! I m still at the conceptual stage of sketching out the story, but I do know that I want to convey a feeling of warmth, brightness, and fresh beginnings, especially since we Swedes are looking forward to spring after a long, cold, and dark winter. What song is your current obsession or what music do you listen to when you re creating your art? Hard question! Some of my favourite artists are Alicia Keys, Coldplay, Seinabo Sey, John Legend, Bruno Mars, Adele, Maroon 5, Beyoncé. While painting I always listen to some Spotify list. Mostly up-tempo like Today s top hits, Happy hits, but also quiet and comfortable, country music or classical. Of course, I love soul too. You could put the song Need Somebody to Love by Ady Suleiman on your playlist?

4 Feel the Storm, x40cm, Oil on Canvas Glorious Morning, x100cm, Oil on Canvas Leaning Shed, x80cm, Oil on Canvas 105 Intense Fall, x30cm, Oil on Canvas

5 Field of Dreams, x70cm, Oil on Canvas 106

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Intentional Painting Planner

Intentional Painting Planner 15 Questions to ask yourself BEFORE you start a painting Stimulate your thought process before you paint to: get past blank canvas block (paper, too) define your purpose, goal