This is a new painting that I’ve titled, “Old Glory 1776”. Today, July 4th, seems like an apt occasion for its unveiling. It’s painted it with acrylic on canvas and it’s 90cm x 117cm in size. Oh, for those of you that don’t get what “1776” is, that’s when the US of A achieved its independence from England.

As tumultuous as they were, I spent the most formative years of my first 15 living in the US. So ingrained are my sentiments about the America I left behind in 1978, that even though I’ve lived considerably more time in Sweden than I have in the country where I was born, I still feel more American than Swedish. That said, I’m definitely not a flag-waving, gun-totting 🔫, MAGA cap-wearing, conspiracy-promoting American. No way, José. But I still think the US is a uniquely interesting country and I love visiting family and friends when I’m there. Navigating the political divide is becoming increasingly challenging, though. 😂

A long, long time ago, I heard a radio interview with Joni Mitchell that made a tremendous impression on me. Joni has always been so much more than a brilliant singer-songwriter to me. Her painting, poetry, and sensible opinions on almost any given subject have sealed her stature as one of my lifetime’s most inspiring “influencers”.

In the interview, Joni Mitchell voiced how she believed that national borders were the root cause of modern-day tribalism and as an extension of such geopolitical rigidity, we inevitably continue to engage in violent conflicts and horrific wars. Often under the pretext of religion when it’s really about the “mula”. I remember thinking how the idea of not having any defined countries (or, borders) at all was kinda mind-bending. I still think it’s an interesting concept.

To a degree, the idea has long since been implemented via Europe’s Schengen Agreement where member citizens can (somewhat theoretically) travel freely, without passports.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!