TONE AANDERAA
I love this: “When the soul wishes to experience something she throws an image of the experience out before her and enters into her own image.”(Meister Eckhart)

“An air of dream and fairy tale, quiet and afterthought characterizes Tone Aanderaa's images. Birds, animals and flowers live in secret gardens. - There is an indefinable space between dream and reality, a world in itself. My images are like tableaux, that could also be fragments of a story, she says. We encounter imaginary landscapes, with castles, a lonely boat, a mysterious well, and a door or a trail into the unknown. " (Sissel Hamre Dagsland, Bergens Tidende)
"She has a humorous sting to her brushstroke, and fun on her agenda. Funny, colourful and illogical 'dreams' makes for images of both realistic and surrealistic character" (Reidar Storaas)

Tone Aanderaa was born in Bergen, Norway.
In 1983 she went to study in America – She returned six years later, with a BFA, and an MFA, from Pratt Institute, New York; - A most inspiring experience, she says.
After returning to Norway, she settled at her family place by the beautiful Hardanger fjord – where she lived and worked for more than twenty years; Painting, writing, collaborating (www.Tone-Aanderaa.com ).
Besides her personal artistic projects, an art school was established. And, in collaboration with all the artists in the region, 'Harding Puls' – a forum for 'Artists of All Expressions' – was established (www.hardingpuls.no).
Tone Aanderaa also writes; poetry and stories;
'Det store puslespillet' ('The Big Puzzle') - a Fantasy novel exploring the mysterious mythological era (with a special love of the the art historical point of view) was published 2004, Eide Forlag, Bergen, Norway.

- The last ten years I have also been working much in the digital media; In collaboration with animators, I have seen my paintings animated (Animation being my Second love:); Flash-animated on the web, and 'traditionally' on DVD and web; See especially: Secret Garden's website www.secretgarden.no
 Exploring the virtual world (SL) resulted in a large and (wonderfully) complex project, 'Art Sanctuary' – (in collaboration with Ignace Clarysse, IT expert and content-builder); My painted world was animated into a whole magical three-dimensional site, with exhibitions and events visited by people from all over the (real) world.

Since 2007 Tone Aanderaa found herself spending more and more time in Belgium;
A man, a dream, a landscape, and an old teen-age love (Magritte) all fell into place it seems;
She's now painting under this big wide open Belgian sky:)
In 2009 she initiated 'The Belgian -Norwegian Collaboration'; an exchange of 12 artists between Belgium and Norway - shown in 2 exhibitions; 'Tone Aanderaa Encounters....' Hardanger Folkemuseum, and 'Belgium Encounters Hardanger' - Hardanger Kulturgalleri. (see website: www.Tone-Aanderaa.com)

In 2009/10 two collections of poetry were published;
'PUST; Fugler puster annerledes' (BREATH; Birds Breathe Differently') and
'Poe-etiske voggesanger – Epistler fra et mørkt fastland' (Poe-Ethical Lullabies – Epistles From a Dark Mainland'), Art Sanctuary, Belgium.

Music has always played an important role in my life, this has also resulted in collaborations with musicians; (Ref. Secret Garden www.secretgarden.no
- Presently I am in the middle of an exciting new project with musician Nicky Bendix;
'Melancholy of an Odalisque' http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=102974387
The Crow' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7cYVCD_2fw
'Poe-Ethical Lullabies' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M84OivRgnxA
'Lullaby for the Troll' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi82oiARgG0
'The Old Rocking Horse' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py3839r22Xo
'A Whole World' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQduyBJqrm8

Sometimes I think:
 "Perhaps I am painting my own retina; Something to fall asleep with – and wake to; and I still believe in fairytales." ..Tone Aanderaa