THE COLOR BLUE

kjell-nupen

Photos: Kristin Bae Mysen

I have always loved the color blue. To me it reduces stress and creates a sense of calmness. Maybe because it is an “earthly” color that I associate with bright blue cloudless sky and the endless ocean view. But not any blue.  My two favorites shades are the deep blue hue called International Klein Blue first mixed by the French artist Yves Klein (1928 – 1962), and Nupen blue invented by the Norwegian contemporary artist Kjell Nupen (1955 – 2014).

To me blue also is a sacred color, a color of serenity, contemplation and prayer. The artist Kjell Nupen must have felt the same way when he made the stained glass in the beautiful Ansgar chapel and in the church of Søm, both located outside Kristiansand in the southern part of Norway. I went there the other day in order to take pictures (above), and the sunlight pouring through the glass was transformed into pure magic. The British newspaper The Guardian describes Kjell Nupen’s art as having a lyrical approach to nature, and I do agree. Read the whole article about the artist here !

Before I released my meditative book Blue horses in the garden of God / Blå hester i Guds hage (Norwegian only), the designer and I strived for a long time to find the perfect combination of blue shades for the horses. Luckily I ended up being very happy with the cover. The book is now out in third edition, and if you haven’t got hold of a copy yet, you might order it from here, and read about it here.

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