rekindled spirit

this, his first painting is hanging in the dining room.  he says that he will never sell it and has tried to replicate it with no success countless times for many that have been interested.

in austria we stayed at the home of artist koni bereiter that he shares with his glamourous wife yolanda.  they are both so kind, warm, and friendly that we sincerely felt welcome in their home. 

every morning koni served breakfast and would give us the weather report for the day. soon after yolanda would come in and they both (having raised three kids there), would give us suggestions for what to do for the day. each day we took their advice and at the end of each day when we arrived, we told them how great and wonderful their suggestion was and how much fun we had.  and it’s true, we had a fantastic time. we climbed every mountain that accomodated our kinderwagen and took cable cars up when it was not possible.

here are some photos of our wonderful vacation in the beautiful valley of montafon located in the amazing alps of austria.

i brought home with me the wild flowers piece on the far left side of the wall. his studio was right across the hall from the dining room. each morning i would peek inside to see what progress he had made on his current project. his paintings are hung all over their house. we were the only guests staying their the first three days so they let me wander throughout the entire house to see all of his wonderful work.

this is their house. our balcony was the very top one on the right. the workout room, tanning room, finnish and infared saunas are one the first level which actually is the keller or basement. on the first level is their living quarters, guest dinning room, and where his atelier are located. on second level are rooms for rent and the third and top are tiny vacation apartments. 

a fantastic five star chef, his first love is cooking. he told me of the first day that he picked up a paint brush just to play because he had seen his father paint his entire life and how surprised he was that it came so naturally to him and how he loved it so much, and even more surprised that other people loved his work too!

 

we had no idea when we made our reservations that we would be staying at a painter’s house but it was so wonderful to meet him and his lovely wife yolanda. this is the view and his depiction of their village of gaschurn from their home. he does not want to sell it either but promised he would recreate it for me to pick up next summer.

 

this painting along with four others, hung in our bedroom.  he told me that he prefers oil paint instead of acrylic- no one has ever said that to me before! i personally believe oil paint is more challenging but i loved to hear him say it with conviction. 

 

the door way to the dining room from his studio

table where inscence and a candle  burn continuously even when he is not painting

 

the main wall in our bedroom had gorgeous cherry wood paneling to the ceiling.

 

this is a view from the other side and the very practical nook. the door to the second bedroom is on left side.

the sun checking out the kitchenette which was equipped with everything i needed and more

the room for our babies was like a walk-in-closet. the bed fit in from wall to wall so there was no fear that they would fall out of the bed. our only concern was that they had never slept in the same room together let alone the same bed! but….

much to our surprise and delight, the slept sweetly and soundly together every night.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 8:45 pm and is filed under art+handmade.