Born in Stockholm during the war - although we Swedes were living
like fat fenced geese - I got equipped with an optimistic mind, which
has been rather helpful in times of turbulence, when it is better to
know that the big wall-like wawe you have in front of you might help you
upwards, rather than fall over you... a fact that in most cases proves
to be true for people familiar to ocean-sailing. But waves are not
always helpful, as we do know...
Although always drawing and painting I never hesitated in my choice of
education and therefor, following the fot-steps of Gauguin, Kandinsky,
Matisse and Léger, started to study law. Honestly speaking interfoliated
with a lot of other non-academic studies of greater importance for the
future life, a fact that in my curriculum gives the impression that
these law-studies were not to be finished until every aspect in the
world of jura was properly penetrated. On the other hand an extremely
rapid journey to the same law-degree has in modern swedish history
proved to be fatal (Hammarskiöld and Palme), a fact that in those days
was only half as well known as now.
Well - after examination at the Law Faculty of the University of
Stockholm I worked some years at the lawyer's office of my father
followed by three years at the Swedish Employer's Organisation (SAF) -
at the same time my mind partly in drawing and painting, including
office-hours, a fact which caused a friendly debate with my boss, who
generously said that I fullfilled my work in an impecable way, though he
thought it might not be good for the discipline in the office with
someone painting oil-colours on canvas in the office-room. My opinion
that it was better everyone within normal limits made what they wanted,
for example the typewriter-girls calmly reading ladies-magazines in
stead of nervously hiding them under the chair, as long as they properly
handled their job, made my boss end the conference saying "Staffan, do
as you want, just remember to keep your door closed".
However, finally I realized that this was not my cup of anything, so
when by coincidence occured an old wooden ruin for sale in the
archipelago of Stockholm I did not hesitate to try to get it - and at
the same time almost unlimited space and time for my art-production.
My boss - avoiding problems - asked me to try to find a successor, which
was easy, as the work was considered to be a so called
"good-career-job". So two weeks after my first contact with this site (
Djuröbadens Pensionat ), an old summer-vacation-pension-house built in
1884 (the last remaining of the kind, which in the old days was very
common in the archipelago), I found myself suddenly living in a place
where no one cared about what I was doing - that was except the bank,
which after some weeks started to send reminders about delayed payments,
a fact that somewhat unespected threw me into a combined career of
/ artist / restaurateur / hotelier / interior-designer / plumber / carpenter / architect
/ wall-painter / lawyer / garbage-man / psycoanalyst / harbour-captain / anti-authorities-fighter
etc., etc.
33 years later, 2007, the buildings totally renovated and brought into
modern standards, I sold it and moved to Spain. The new owners, only
following the foot-steps of the Council of Stockholm of the 60's, having
no emotional feeling for the building or for taking care of a cultural
treasure, had it broken down in order to construct five large shoe-boxes
with some ten appartments. But due to the latest news (summer 2010)
these plans seem to have been recently changed, why now the place is for
sale again; without the main-building.
Had my pictures still been on the walls they would all have been
consumed by the Caterpillar - which would have saved me a practical
problem - but as they were not included in the deal, their future - as
every one´s - is unknown and for the time being not even the Sky knows
if, when, where or how they might be exposed, so please WELCOME to have a
look at the PICTURES and visit some
corners of the BUILDING or to look at the old beautiful wooden-boats in
our home-built HARBOUR.
May 2007 I moved down to the province of Malaga, where since then some painting,
scetching and other activities now and then are going on.
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