“Childhood memory” – Back to the first real love

This painting is a memory of the Norwegian artist Monica Cecilie Nilsen with a beautiful old cold-blooded trotter. When she was very young, this horse lived on the slope close to her house: he was her first real love.

Monica was about 9 when she first met Kåre Jackson (the horse) and soon she received permission to visit him whenever she wanted. Over time, with the supervision of a friend, she even rode him in the paddock. He was the kindest horse ever: he let everyone sit on his back and stroke him.

At that time, in the late 70's and early 80's, she even rode it without protection and helmet. But it looks like there was no need: he was the best horse in the world and so sweet to all children.

Together with Monica they have gone through many adventures but unfortunately, growing up, he no longer did well for racing. And these kinds of horses are not among the lucky few who have the retirement they deserve after many years of service; everyone knows what happens to them.

Monica still remembers very well the day the owner told her that Kåre Jackson was going to be sold. She was so sorry and together with her best friend she started saving money hoping to buy it.

Obviously, it was not possible. At that time Monica's parents could not afford to have a horse.

So, one day the artist saw him go away and that was a great loss and a very significant moment of her life.

A loss she has never forgotten. He showed her that horses are the most extraordinary creature in the world. They made her a better child.

For many years Monica has had a lot of tenderness towards Kåre Jackson. Often the horse was alone both in the stable and in the paddock with no other horse in a dreary residential area.

In this painting, what is immediately evident is the beautiful color tone used by the artist. It is a pink, youthful light, which reflects the tenderness of the moment when the little girl finally embraced her greatest love. As if the world, finally, was a better and a little less gray place.

As the artist explains in the description of her relationship with Kåre Jackson, despite his great loneliness (due to how it was held by the owners) he was a magnificent horse and he always brought joy and life seemed a little lighter.

And this painting is a celebration of this horse’s inner beauty, of his big heart and of how everything would smile again as soon as Monica came back to cuddle him.  Kåre Jackson is calm, happy to give all his love to the little girl and suddenly two hearts become a soul.

Monica Cecilie Nilsen lives in Langesund, a small coastal town in southern Norway. Here is where she has her studio and where her artistic journey started in summer of 2019.

After being gifted with a day-class in acrylic painting she never let go of the brush again. Committed to try all kinds of mediums and work on her skills every day, repeatedly horses were her subjects.

Sharing her art on Instagram, in September 2020 she was invited to be a part of Paard Verzameld Collective, a group of equine-artist from all over the world. That boosted her energy and confident in herself as an artist, and soon she started getting request about her art and started selling in Norway and abroad.

In April 2022 she had her first solo exhibition “American Mustangs – stories from the wild” - a big project she had been working on for more than a year. The exhibition was a celebration of the wild horses of America but was also showing their fate of today. Following wild horse photographers and rescuers closely and studying Mustang history gave substance to the exhibition. Most of the 50+ horses in the paintings exhibited had their own story, because all horses matter.

In May the painting “Free and proud I” was accepted at “Telemarksutstillingen 2022”, a contemporary art exhibition arranged by Skien Art Association. Her first selected piece will travel the county of Telemark to be exhibited in 5 different cities from June 11 until end of December 2022.

 
Monica Cecilie Nilsen, 1971, Norvegia

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“Childhood memory”, Acrylic and charcoal on paper, 20 x 29 cm.

Mixed media artist, usually painting on paper or canvas. Among other It has been used acrylic, ink, charcoal, pastel, pencil, chalk, wax pastels, hard-pastels, watercolor and oil. Monica Cecilie Nilsen is a member of the  Paard Verzameld Collective.

Through an international collaboration between Paard Verzameld and the Horse Museum Foundation, the painting will be exhibited during the Pratoni del Vivaro World Championships in September 2022.