Raised in Norway, Rooted in the US Midwest: Odvar Klovrud, brushing up our landscape

Odvar Klovrud is a spirited active guy that bubbles with energy that most can hardly match. For about a decade now, Odvar channels his energy through his paintbrush to capture the landscapes of the Midwest, which we urban dwellers can only see vividly when we shut our eyes and relish where or when we grew up, or the last time we drove beyond the bubbles of an urban city in Wisconsin. Though Odvar has been a very creative being from his youth, he did not pick up painting until about eight years ago. He has come a long way so fast as great painter that relishes capturing on canvass the familiar scenery of the upper Midwest, and especially the naturally serene and rural Wisconsin environment. The first ever exhibition of Odvar’s work ran in the Atrium Galleria at the Meriter House, downtown Madison. On display were 25 pieces of his masterful work each framed in beautiful bronze and gold frames that begged to be carted home to adorn your wall and bring full circle your sense of a serene and beautiful time growing up in a lush rural setting that evokes innocence and contentment. Odvar’s paintings are mostly oil on canvas and linenwood. His masterful use of bold colors bring alive the objects of his work and reveal the passion that goes into giving character to seemingly ordinary familiar objects and abodes. Sometimes, he deploys muted strokes that date and emphasize the weatherized lure of the landscape and the focus of his attention. The interplay of his earth tones, greenery of the vegetation, the blueness of the lakes and the iridescence of the snow depictions in his work, capture the typical seasons that we cycle in a typical Wisconsin year. Several of the works on display were of familiar habitats and landmarks in Madison, homesteads in rural Wisconsin, public parks and a famous Barn in Wonewoc, Wisconsin. Among some of the titles of his works were Church, Early snow, House on Drake, Bridges on Vilas, Blue Evening, Path to Sea, I Like Orange, Long Shadows, Boats on Wingra, Barn Dance and several others. Barn Dance is ruggedly remarkable as he captured in oil on canvas the perennial venue of the hoedown hosted by Richard Kilmer and his spouse at their hobby farm in the town of Wonewoc, Juneau County, Wisconsin. Anyone who has been to the farm would not mistake in the painting, the imposing maroon colored ban with decked out polished hardwood dance floor, and a lone cowboy in full western gear strutting up the long hilly earthen drive way heading towards the Barn while a bunch of other cowboys and cowgirls in western outfit are crowded by its wide entrance doors exchanging pleasantry and filling up their dance cards. Odvar’s love and passion for his surroundings is admirable. His power of observation, attention to detail and meticulous interpretation of what he visually absorb is an asset for a man whose avocation is to bring into our homes and our lives through his paint brush such unforgettable memories that not only enrich us but helps root us to our core selves. Indeed, by his work, Odvar who was born in a small farm in Skreia, a village in the municipality of Oster Totem, Norway brings to bear the essential truth that at heart, all rural communities no matter where they are located share the same essence captured in nature. While Madison his home for the past several decades now does not have the massive ocean waters that lap Norway, it still has abundant number of lakes for a community its size that probably connects Odvar to a place and time he left long ago. Probably in preparation for a life and career in Madison, Odvar first moved to Copenhagen, Denmark where he obtained his degree at a Design School, and could only spend a few more years there before heading West to Madison at 27 as all ambitious young men are wont to do. For decades Odvar was engaged in a lot of creative careers in Madison before settling into retirement at 65 in 2000. Remarkably, that’s when he revived his childhood interest in painting and just eight years later; he is treating the Madison community and Wisconsin folks to great works that preserves our heritage as Wisconsinites. Ike