Helena-Reet: “His Highness Mouse the First” beginning to take shape + GALLERY!

Helena-Reet Ennet

4 years ago

NordenBladet – Seven paintings from the series “His Highness Mouse the First” have been completed along with the blog posts on ElishevaShoshana.com website. Today I created three blog posts at a time about the paintings that were already completed but not yet added to the blog. Every time that I finalize a painting I also create a blog post, saying a few words about the painting and sharing some pictures about the painting process and the ultimate result, so that it would be good to see and remember for myself as well as others when time passes.

In spring this year I took part in a contest held by ERM (Estonian National Museum) and in September found out that our idea “Our Domestic Witch Kitchen” had won Estonian National Museum’s “Own Exhibition” idea contest and now we get to have and use our individual space in ERM participation hall (130m2!). The news of winning released a stream of inspiration in me and the first idea that sprang from that was “His Highness Mouse the First”. The initial idea was to create 12 fairytale style mouse paintings and build a little “child’s world” around it – to compile a fairy tale book for the youngest. In the working process the idea and the ambition have expanded – in place of 12 mouse-series paintings I fancy completing at least 36 paintings, I’ve thought perhaps a 12-illustration children’s book may turn out too “pale” and slim. Currently there are 7 portrait-type acrylic paintings (with measures 30X40cm) ready and in my mind I already have the fairy tale, too. Initially I signed my paintings and then again thought that I’d proceed by first scanning and uploading them and then only later sign the paintings, because I wouldn’t want the children’s book’s each and every illustration to have my name on it. On the first paintings it would be necessary after the scanning and uploading the painting to photoshop the name out.

In ERM there are currently several fairy-tales related cool exhibitions – for example “Siima Škop 100”, where one can see the legendary book illustrator and poster artist Siima Škop’s original drawings and the fairy-tale world exhibition created by artist-curator Katrin Sipelgas, named “Once upon a time…“. Being a great fairy-tale fan myself I have visited both exhibitions many times and I feel that “Our Domestic Witch Kitchen” is going to be a smooth continuation to the previous exhibitions – especially now that by the time of opening the exhibition there is a plan to launch the children’s book as well, along with my own illustrations to the book.

But here… tam tara ram tam tam tam tam tam tam ta… the seven first paintings!! 🙂