Profile: Anitta Jonas
I paint because I am unable not to paint! With my paintings I want to express moods and emotions. I paint straight from the heart, using all the impressions from my daily life. I paint mostly abstract, but in recent years more and more characters and figures seem to sneak into my paintings. I seldom plan initially how I want the end result. When I have worked on a painting in my studio, at the end of the day I will take it into the living room. From time to time I let my eyes wander across the painting, and suddenly a pattern or a person emerges to tell me where I'm going.
I especially like to work with toned-down colours. I work with acrylic colours for the simple reason that they dry faster - a quality much appreciated by my impatient disposition. I start out with 2-3 colours and work mostly wet on wet. For the past year I have used a lot of charcoal, chalk and graphite in my paintings, and I love the effect it has. Sometimes I draw on the canvas first - other times I paint first. I use all sorts of tools in my art;
spatulas, brushes, sponges and water atomizers. I love the slightly rough look, and how the colours interact. Often I paint in series, but it also happens that I suddenly have an idea, unrelated to the series I am currently working on, which will not wait. Oh well..
What painting means to me? EVERYTHING! I could never live without it. Working in my studio is wonderful! I leave this world behind to enter into my own fantastic universe where I am quite simply happy : Completely lost in space and time, a sanctuary for my restless mind. I do not have to be in my studio to paint - I can paint anywhere. Give me a brush, some paint and a canvas, and I automatically slip away, entering into my own world where nothing disturbs me. The process of creation is wonderful, it is my PASSION - and equally great is the joy of touching others through my art. When I have sold a painting, and my clients write me that they are happy with it, I feel very privileged indeed.
