Screaming, jumping and waving from my little swedish island out to you!
How hard can it be to just start? Every artist knows that dreadful moment (minute, hour) when you lift the brush and the blank canvas screams at you. With time, you get better, ignore the screaming, and dive into the canvas. Yeah, that’s pretty much how it is with this blank page – just with a little less practice.
I’m Angelika, or Ann – sometimes one, sometimes the other, both true – and I’ve been living on Öland for 15 years, right at the top of the Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. We moved from the upcoming metropol Berlin to ”den Arsch der Welt” ( it means „in the back of beyond“ but much nicer said ), back then with three of us plus a dog and a rabbit, but now the youngest child has also left. We bought an old farmhouse, renovated it, and opened a café and a kitestore – all within 5 months. We weren’t sure back then if we’d make it, if we could stay, because if you can’t fend for yourself here in Sweden, you’re quickly out. But here we are, still standing, deeply rooted in our farm, and we haven’t regretted a single day. Earlier this year, I closed the store – not because it wasn’t doing well, but because I FINALLY want to do art full-time. Well, maybe not full-time… but 8 months isn’t bad either.
I’ve been painting, drawing, and crafting since I was a child, and somehow never stopped. None of my three children shared my enthusiasm, though I really would have liked to spend my mom-time being creative with them. Instead, I became a lackluster companion for soccer games, horseback riding tournaments, and bike rides. I always knew: once my kids were gone and I fulfilled my duty, it would finally be my turn. And that time is now.
No, I’m not talking about flower still lifes in oil or self-thrown vases. No, I’m not either talking about painting classes at Lake Garda to bring home a stack of landscape watercolors to set up over my sofa. Yes, I know it sounds like it: middle-aged woman finds self-fulfillment in her new hobby after the kids have left the nest. PREJUDICE! I hate prejudices. It’s worst when I discover that I have one myself. That’s how my prejudices series came about:
In 2017, I saw a picture of a good-looking man in a magazine and read the article. To my great surprise, he was a perfume creator. Why did that surprise me? Did I have an idea of what a perfume creator looks like if I believe he wouldn’t look like THIS? I then looked around, researched which people I know give a false impression solely based on their appearance, in contrast to what they’ve accomplished in life. I painted these portraits and – as they say in Germany when you prejudge someone – „put them in a drawer.“ Literally, I framed the pictures in printer’s drawers. So far, there are 5 portraits, one of which has been sold:
1. Ben Gorhamn – a Swedish perfume creator with whom the series began
2. „Amazing Grace“ Hopper – an American rear admiral and inventor of the Cobol programming language (which I even learned a long time ago)
3. Peter Marino – American architect and interior designer for luxury brands
4. Hanna Karlsson – dairy farmer on Öland
5. Beate Uhse – first German aerobatics pilot. Later, she created the world’s first sex empire „Beate Uhse“
And me? So I don’t paint flower still lifes, but increasingly socially critical art. Yes, every now and then I paint a few cute watercolors, just for the joy of it and because they sell well. If you want to know exactly what I do, feel free to check out my portfolio at https://konst.se/angelikaannkammerer and comment if you like something or have a question.
In my Substack newsletters, I’ll write about my social-critical ambitions, ideas for new artworks, my everyday life on the island, the summer season in our 2D café, and much more. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to incorporate the answers. The beginning has been made anyway… and with a little practice, I’m sure I’ll also get into the – oh so strained – artist FLOW here too.
With a smile, Ann