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On numerous occasions, I have been told I should paint abstract shapes and not be as concrete in what I produce as I usually am. So, I tried my hand at simply dabbing colours on a surface and this was the result. My 10-year old niece asked me what the painting stands for, and I told her I cannot think of a name for it, could she? She said it reminds her of smells - she could "see" a lot of smells in it! I though that was cute and decided to call it Smells. The idea of seeing smells in a painting is an appealing one. A friend of mine said of this painting that it reminds her of Autumn and falling leaves. Well, I guess the idea of abstract paintings is seeing what you like in them - or nothing at all. Right?

Abstract smells 		Algeria is a country I have never been to and had hardly even heard of until I met an Algerian man in 2004. Then I started hearing the dialect and seeing pictures and videos and meeting more people from there. This is simply a mental picture I have of the scenery there.

Mental picture of Algerian scenery 		<h1>A friend of mine, like many of my Moslem friends, prays five times a day. The call to prayer beckons to each one to put mundane matters aside and to remember that we are finite. </h1><h1>&nbsp;&nbsp;</h1><h1>The text in the middle is Arabic and says: &quot;Ya Rabb&quot;, which means: &quot;Oh, Lord&quot;. It is a phrase commonly used both by Arabic-speakers as well as speakers of any other language, and reflects everyone&acute;s wish that by some infinite power, things do not go wrong. </h1><h1>&nbsp;&nbsp;</h1><h1>The idea I wish to convey by this paintin is that prayer time is every moment, no matter who or what one prays to or for.</h1>

Prayer time
<h1>Soraya is Noureddine&acute;s daughter (see portrait of Noureddine). She turned 12 this year (2007) and is a Leo by horoscope, like her father. She has a very warm and tactile relationship with her father. They speak French with each other and use very endearing phrases. They hug, dance, laugh, joke and have serious conversations. </h1><p>&nbsp;</p><h1>The daughter confides in her father and he does not break the confidence or disappoint her. He wants her to be happy and carefree and she becomes teary-eyed if she sees sad. She told me she will love her father forever, so I was inspired to draw this painting, based on a photo I took of them together. This painting was drawn on the spur of the moment, but turned good enough to hang on the wall, as a reminder of the bond between daughter and father.</h1>

Soraya and her Dad 		The figure in the forefront is neither male nor female. It is focusing on accepting what the "elements" above dictate, be it the scorching heat of the sun, the rain that nourishes the soil and makes it fertile or thunder storms and lightning. In one extended arm with the palm turned towards the sky the figure receives a raindrop and a thunderbolt strikes into the other extened upturned palm. The sun heats the oversized bald head. There is scarce green growth around the crossed legs of the figure, and the promise of flowers that may sprout among the thistles. In the background, Mount Ararat, with its high and low tops (in Armenian: Masis) forms the scene, that gives gives the figure the willpower to accept Providence. The tiny rock monasteries are historical reference points. The figure´s heart throbs for its own origins and all of humanity. When I came from Armenia, the impressions of Mount Ararat always in the horizon and of the countless monasteries in all parts of the countries, stayed with me, and sometimes I still see them vividly. The story and history of the Armenian people is also etched in my mind. My resolve to accept what life has to offer stems from the fact that I must reconcile myself to the fact that I cannot always do what my heart desires nor be where I most long to be. So, I accept fate with outstretched arms. This painting is very large, and it hangs at present in my entrance.

Acceptance 		For the Armenians, the pomegrenate is a symolic fruit. In my painting, it symbolizes continuity and the seeds of life passing from one to the other. The woman is poised in front of a man, but receiving pomegrenate seeds from a man behind him, and she is lookin sideways at the palm of her hand, into which the seeds are being dropped, in order to check who she is receiving them from and whether to accept them. The intertwined toes are a stronger expression of closeness than intertwined hands. People usually hold hands to feel connected. This couple wants to stand apart by finding their own special way of exchanging warmth, so they cross toes with each other. The painting is hanging on my living room wall.

Amenian pomegrenate
In 2004 I met a man called Noureddine Kias and felt inspired to paint his portrait, which turned out like this. The portrait is called &quot;Avec Nour&quot;, because he is most fluent in French and because I felt I would get to experience a lot of things through this acquaintanceship, and I have.

A portrait of Noureddine 		<p>A drama between three Armenian people. (No colours except the three colours of the Armenian flag have been used in the painting). The three figures are connected through a common understanding. It is an understanding that has been established for good, no matter what the geographical location, distance or situation of these figures might ever be.</p><p>&nbsp;The text in Armenian says: &quot;Hoku Atshkere&quot;, which means Souls of the Eye.</p><p>The painting is hanging in my entrance above a wall mirror.</p>

Eyes of the Soul 		<p>After I returned from Armenia at the end of 2003, having left Finland in 1999, I found work as a psychiatric nurse and worked at different acute wards, mostly during 2004. This painting is my impression of a psychiatrist talking to the patient in the presence of the nurse.</p><p>The painting (which unlike the rest is only an A-4 size) is hanging in my kitchen above a work certificate which I am very proud of and which I received from one of the acute mental wards I worked at. </p><p>(The certificate is in the section containing my certificates and a copy of this painting has been given to a couple of wards I worked at).</p>

Traditional psychiatry

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