This is my contribution to the Unison Pastel series My 5 and Me edited by Stephen Fuller.

FIVE FIRSTS

The FIRST - Going social

Working in my garden studio. This is my Instagram account image. photo by Tuva Moen Holm

Instagram and my own website. It was my niece that introduced me to Instagram. She showed me the large art society that exists here and set up a page for me. She even went through my artwork and as she is a very good photographer took a lot of photos so that I had material for a nice beginning.

Writing short texts about my artwork in this format was also new to me and it took me some time to find my own voice. I decided early on that would be a part of the international community so I had to use english. This wasn’t a big challenge since I did my art training in England and lived in Sussex for 4 years. This instagram artist community is fantastic and has provided me with many opportunities over the years. I can warmly recommend setting up a professional page, you can always keep a more private page for your family and friends, as I do. It was via Instagram I found out that Unison collaborated with artists. It was a big day when I was included in their fabulous group of associated artists.

The next step up was designing my own website as I needed a place to present more of my artwork and introduce myself to a larger audience. I think all galleries and others I have collaborated with have visited my website to get a better impression of who I am and to get a better view of my work. This time I had to ask a nephew for help, and he created my first Squarespace website, since then I have changed it many times, but it all builds on the first introductory course I got.

Second FIRST - My first big sale

My first big sale went to a local art collector. This duo called Cascading Vivacity was my first major sale. They went to a local collector, and it was a blast. It felt fantastic to make such a large sale and get this kind of confirmation that I was on the right track. It solidified my decision to do this full time and gave me the courage to carry on and to trust my own creativity. And she kept coming back for more! At one point she even bought artworks for her kids. She has been such an important supporter of my work, both she and her kids have all come back for more!

Cascading Vivacity. 76 x 56 cm. Framed individually hung as a duo. Pastels on paper.

I worked with the Cascading vivacity series for a long time, bold colours statements characterised this series and it sold well. It even inspired my first really large pastel painting. It was made for an exhibition in Switzerland. I framed it here and shipped it! It cost a fortune and gave me interesting but sadly costly experiences on my way. I did learn a lot from this and when thinking back one of the most important lessons was that this is not an industry where you can be naive and just want to make nice things. It was a wake-up call for me. The contrast between me happily plodding about in my garden studio enjoying white sheets of paper and soft pastels making the artworks I love, suddenly crashed into a cynical world of money and commerce. The contrast couldn’t have been bigger. But this large artwork is still with me here, as a central piece in my home. It’s still very much a reminder to be careful but it’s also an enormous inspiration, this piece, like the two shown here, is full of vitality and energy, bearing witness of a strong drive.

Third FIRST - My first exhibition

*One of three artworks that made it all the way to Bologna and the one used at the poster and programme. ( Size 20 x 20 cm)*

When I received an e-mail from art curator Paula Trevisan inviting me to participate in her up-and-coming exhibition in Bologna, Italy I was sceptical, even if it looked like it was valid.

Instagram provides us with a fantastical collegial society; I used it to contact one of my friends and colleagues from Denmark. She had been on a similar event the year before, so I sent her a DM to ask about her experience, when she also recommended it I decided to give it a go.

After a long e-mail correspondence with Paula to clear up all details I decided to join Trevisan International and participate in the international group exhibition “The illusion of Reality”. Shipping my three artworks was a new experience and it certainly isn’t an easy task, but its doable and they arrived safely and in good time. I made the trip to Bologna with my sister, we enjoyed a few days with lots of fantastic food and walks around the beautiful city, it was an enjoyable way to spend the wait for the exhibition to open. This was in November 2019, the opening was packed with artists from around the world, a truly international bunch. In addition to the local crowd it was very nice to finally meet the lovely art curator Paola. She has been arranging art exhibitions for many years and has invited artists to art fairs both in Spain and France in addition to the exhibitions she organises in her home district.

A big bonus was that one of my three artworks made it to the poster and to the front page of the exhibition programme. The biggest surprise came as an award; I received “The Award of Excellence”and I’m still proud of it and it fills me with joy to think about the moment she handed it to me. Sending warm thoughts and a thanks to Paola for inviting me and for making it such a memorable event.

We had plans together but then covid happened and everything changed. North Italy was severely affected by covid and it has taken Paola years to come back on the art scene. But this year she arranged her Little Treasure exhibition again, and again she invited emerging artists from all parts of the world and filled the gallery with beautiful artworks by emerging artists. Perhaps we will join again for new events in the future.

I’m glad I made the trip and making it into a sisterly event added to the fun. After this I participated in two more eventful exhibitions abroad before the big lock down.

Fourth FIRST - My first commissioned work

The daughter of my first and ever so wonderful art collector came back for more. She and her husband decided to ask for a commissioned work. They wanted a central piece to their living room and asked for a large piece with bold colours. This was a really interesting way to work. They had looked at several artworks before they decided that they would like me to use a small artwork approximately 20 x 30 cm as inspiration for this large piece approximately 170 x 140 cm.

I chose the boldest reds and a brightest blues to make the presence of the mountains felt. The liveable areas down by the fjords are made with softer colours. This artwork is inspired by a landscape and has landscape elements, but it’s kept abstract and used colour as my main focus.

This is a fabulation over a theme I called Along the fjords. That summer I had travelled along the West coast of Norway and enjoyed remote roads over mountains, through national parks, driving down into steep valleys and out the fjords by ferries. The way out to the sea was breathtaking and I could feel the freedom when we finally arrived by the ocean and could look out towards the wide horizon. Then we kept on the outermost roads all along the coast on our way back home. It was a marvellous trip and it provided me with an abundance of inspiration for my artwork.

When traveling this way, stopping over on old farms and small hotels for accommodation you get lots of glimpses into different ways of living, a strong feeling of what was and lots of tales to go with it. So with a broad collection of stories to take home, I had enough inspiration for a whole series of artworks.

Starting with sketches, small and quick drawings capturing different moods. Incorporating tales of hard lives, and how it was to live in the shadows of majestic mountains. Where, houses were built on green hills in the steep mountainsides and paths winding down to the narrow fjord. The fjords provided food and were often the main road; The only way to school for the kids and the only way to hospitals and shops. Many of these places could only provide for a small family and a small number of livestock. The mountains provided hunting and there were fish in the fjord. Today these places are only used for summer guests, but they represent a totally different time. We visited in the summer holidays, but I can but imagine how the wind and cold will affect these lonely places in the dark winter months.

Fifth FIRST - my first solo exhibition

*This is Follow the Wind. (Size 102 x 65 cm unframed)*

This story comes in two parts. My first solo exhibition was at VIK in Eidfjord but since it isn’t strictly an art gallery but a cafe, a restaurant, a bakery, a micro-brewery and boarding house I also include my first solo exhibition at a gallery. This is because there’s a really good story behind this exhibition at Vik. A tale of chance meetings and then meeting some absolutely fabulous people. This is a place I come back to year after year with new artworks for sale. This area in Hardanger has so many fantastic sights to see, there are magnificent waterfalls, glaciers and deep fjords. Eidfjord is a small city down by the fjord and is the gateway to phenomenal nature parks. Next time you visit you have to try out the fabulous food and drinks they serve and hopefully enjoy my artworks as well.

*This is BRE (Glacier) from my exhibition Temperature in Sandnes Kunstforening 2023. (Size 153 x 102 cm unframed)*

Nature was my main theme and I used a bit more than a year to get it all ready. I do enjoy these larger formats.

This is from the exhibition programme;

“I am inspired by untouched nature and landscapes without traces of human activity. The mountains that surround us put life in perspective. In these landscapes, it is easy to let the hustle and bustle of everyday life slip into the background and become insignificant. Generations have stood here before us and taken in the same panorama as we do today. Pristine nature is increasingly destroyed and reduced. Will the generations after us be able to stand and feel the same timelessness?

The word temperature can, on the one hand, describe colours, music and moods. As a phenomenon, it influences and characterises the landscape through the variations of the seasons. On the other hand, the word temperature has become synonymous with the climate crisis. A crisis that will inevitably shape and change nature and the climate in the years to come.

My desire is to convey the beauty, vulnerability and timelessness of these old landscapes that affect me so strongly. I want to convey my respect and love for nature, and to contrast our fleeting existence with what has been, as well as to give us awareness of what we are in danger of losing. The title TEMPERATURE brings in a darker backdrop and is intended to be a contrast to the timeless beauty. The images are created from memories, and the colours fill the composition with the experiences that time has abstracted. The flashbacks are presented on paper as lyrics and poetry.”

I do love poetry and I often go to poets to find words to express moods and emotions or to get helpful metaphors on life and insights into the human physique.

This is one of my all time favourite poems, it was included in the exhibition programme as it served as a source of inspirations when I worked on the exhibition.

Ode to Nature

“She brings forth ever new forms

what is there never was

what was never will return

all is new and yet forever old”

G.C. Tobler

This is my “Five Firsts, I do hope they have brought you inspiration in your own pastel work and can serve as an inspirational glimpse into my world. You are very welcome to comment or visit me on social media, please let me know that you have read this piece and we can start our chat from there.

I’m looking forward to my next first.