Ice paintings by the Norwegian surrealist artist Henrik Aarrestad Uldalen

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Henrik Aarrestad Uldalen Is a self-taught artist from Norway, whose work is based on classical figurative painting, presented in a modern manner. Despite his realistic approach, he does not strive for photographic accuracy. Some of the heroes in the artist's paintings are floating in the air, others are given to their dreams, creating a mythical atmosphere around them.

- Tell us a little about yourself. I grew up in the small town of Asker in Norway near Oslo. I do not have any documents confirming my art education. I am a self-taught artist and I am proud of it.- How did your passion for creativity begin? What did your first work look like? I have always been interested in art, especially painting. It was back in school when I met a few guys who shared my interests. Together we experimented with types of painting, tried to work with various techniques, including oil, which I liked. I will not hide that my first works were frankly unsuccessful, but in any case, each subsequent one turned out better than the previous one.

- What inspires you?

All I have to do is just get up early in the morning and start working with renewed vigor. I realized that the only thing that motivates me is a fresh project on the easel. Waiting for inspiration while sitting by the canvas is a doomed plan.

- Describe your creative process. It all starts with a vague and abstract idea, often just an idea of color and atmosphere. Then I photograph the model whose image I want to transfer to the canvas. Sometimes I work with photography in Photoshop looking for the right composition. As a rule, my idea at this stage undergoes significant changes.

- What are the symbols in your works?

Most of the characters in my paintings are best friends. But there are also some people who are strangers in my art. I chose them because of certain qualities that I was looking for in the models. It is not too important for me to have a personal story with the model, as well as the viewers should not know the details of my life in order to enjoy my work.

- The characters of your paintings are surrounded by empty white space, or in complete darkness. What meaning are you trying to convey by creating such an atmosphere?

This series has many different meanings. It's called Emptiness, and I wanted to portray the metaphysical feelings of the characters that are lost in time and space. When creating a picture, I rely on my intuition, and this is exactly what I do best.

- Many of your works do not have a title. What is the reason for this?

It is very difficult for me to choose names for my paintings. The problem is that many of them are a continuation of the previous series. Thus, the same theme permeates several works. Besides, I don't like it when the naming gets in the way of the viewer's imagination and imposes a certain idea.

- What is the most difficult aspect of your job? The artist faces different challenges every day. I have a few that are difficult to figure out. For example, an attempt to bring something new through their creativity, as well as technical problems. I hope everything changes one day.- Which artist inspires you? William Bouguereau, John Singer Sargent, Alphonse Mucha, Ilya Repin, as well as our contemporaries: Antonio Lopez Garcia, Gottfried Helnwein, Alex Kanevsky, Jenny Saville, Daniel Sprick, Jeremy Geddes and Odd Nedrum. The list could go on for a few more pages, so I'd better stop.

- Art, like life, is a continuous process of evolution and change. How do you envision your work in the following years?

This is a very good question and a difficult one at the same time. Two years ago, I would never have guessed what awaits me today. I would like to travel back in time and watch my work from start to finish. I am only sure that I will continue the idea with people in limbo. - What words / phrases best describe your art? It's hard to say, I have been choosing individual elements from different types of painting over the years, trying to create something new. Most often I hear phrases like "magic art", "surrealism" and so on. I would like to leave this question for art critics.

In each of the paintings by the talented Norwegian artist Christer Karlstad, you can see a slight whiff of death and nostalgia. He freely participates in myths, symbols and archetypes, allowing viewers to be transported into a new fairy-tale world.