HAPPY HOUSES ON HAPPY CLOUDS
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT ON SWEDISH ARTIST PER NYLEN
I am a painter, photographer and digital artist in my fifties. I live in a small town called Alingsås in the south west of Sweden. I like a good cup of espresso and love music. For many years I have been painting houses on clouds in endless variations, and that has been my hallmark. Nowadays I have focused on abstract art with digital tools. Music is an important part of my creative process, in my workshop i listen to Steely Dan, Yellow Jackets, Chaka Khan, Earth wind and Fire, 70’s and 80’s, Dirty loops, Jacob Collier and Ole Börud are all favorites.
After playing in a pop band in the eighties, I got tired of it and wanted to move on. I discovered art, and industrial design. My brother and I began designing drumsticks! Nowadays I mostly work in my studio and paint with acrylic colours. I love the feeling of making people happy through my art. Art is everything, I mean what would life be without film, music, theatres, photos or paintings? We just need it.
Tell us about your greatest inspirations or influences, please.
It can be visiting an exhibition or listening to some good music that I like.
Klee, Mondrian, Chagall, Vermeer and Hopper are artists that make me want to paint more.
How are the current trends in technology and innovation affecting your work?
There are two major new things going on. AI making ”astonishing” art and NFTs that is hard to get a grip of. You can tell an AI to paint according to your input, but you still need a human telling it what to “paint”. I have seen some really nice pieces, but, to be honest, I think that people still want an original in oil or watercolour on their walls. Do you want a print on your wall made by an AI? Maybe if you are the first in your neighbourhood. :-)
I have made NFT myself just to try and test what happens. I think that it is the same with the rest of the art market, you need to already have a name to get noticed and to be able to sell, take Damien Hirst as an example. In the beginning, the bored monkeys were sold for a lot of money, but I think they are like collecting cards, not art you want to enjoy. The hard part to understand with NFT is the digital contract/ownership you buy, the painting, video or what ever it can have their own life on the internet at the same time that someone has the NFT rights. You buy a path to a block chain, but the physical/original art can be somewhere else. At least that is what I have understood about it. It’s hard to get a grip of.
Maybe our grandchildren with Meta and a VR headset or augmented reality will like and understand the new ways to approach art.
Tell us about your creative process.
Well, I am lucky to have my style or motifs quite clear. Houses on clouds. The hard part is to decide new angles, color themes or what title to give them. I tend to be painting in the afternoon and late evening, that’s when my creativity starts. But of course you want to change what you do, so I have started to make abstract art, very inspired by Mond rian and Hirst. I also try new mediums. The latest work I used an oil chalk pencil. It’s a very different way to paint to what I am used to, with acrylic colors.
What does wellbeing mean to you?
Well-being can be many things for me. Having a good job, a nice family or a super nice hobby. I am more into everyday wellbeing, enjoying the small things around me. Being with good friends, having a nice cup of coffee and eating well is enough for me.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I take a lot of pictures, you can see some at @photosbypernylen. As I was into music growing up, I play the piano and have some small piano pieces on Spotify, the artist’s name is Flarken (the name of a small village up in the north of Sweden).
