Hola Postcrossers! We hope you had a wonderful Easter! We found another interesting topic about postcards: Kaj Stenvall and his famous Duck.
Lots of Postcrossers have been emailing us about this amazing and creative Finnish painter and his wonderful masterpieces that frequently feature a duck in many settings and characterizations.
Stenvall’s paintings are now being used in postcards everywhere. So you either have seen some of these postcards lately but didn’t know who the painter was or you’re familiar with the painter but do not have any idea why he paints the way he does.
If you don’t know anything about this painter at all, read along because we’re sure you’ll find him and his paintings very interesting. Who knows, you’ll even want a postcard with his famous duck paintings.
It all started in 1989 when Stenvall made a few paintings featuring a duck that looks very similar to Walt Disney’s Donald Duck. However, his duck’s appearance has increasingly moved away from the Disney character’s guise through the years. The duck’s gender, age, and skin color have all shifted from one painting to another. The Duck has slowly become its own character.
According to Stenvall himself, the Duck is a symbol of humanity. Contrary to popular belief, the Duck isn’t Stenvall’s alter ego nor does it serve any purpose in delivering some kind of message from Stenvall. According to Stenvall’s official website,
It’s simply a jumping off point into the multidimensional world of Stenvall’s art, to draw the viewer deep inside his paintings and then, to step aside.
Isn’t that genius thinking?
What’s even better is that the duck makes viewers think about its purpose and imagine things that Stenvall himself wouldn’t even think about his own paintings.
Challenge yourself and your postcard recipients by sending them one of Stenvall’s paintings. Let’s see what stories you guys can come up with just by looking at the duck and its surroundings.
If you want to see more of Stenvall’s art, visit his website here.
We aren’t sure if these postcards are available online but we found a couple at this website: Art Unlimited.
If any of you have any idea where your fellow Postcrossers can get one online, please comment on this blog post and leave a link! Thanks a lot!
Till next time!
14 comments so far
I love Stenvall's art because it's a bit weird and unique!
i realy love his ducks - its a special humor - quite a bit morbide sometimes. =)
I love his artwork...yet the duck closly resembles Walt Disney's Donal duck. I have not received one yet...but in time.
I LOVE Kaj's ducks! I have a call out for them on my profile and so far have received 2!
I used to see these cards while working at the post office years before postcrossing and thought I'd love to get such treats in my mailbox. Now I am thrilled to have received many including 14 unwritten from one of my new Finnish postcrossing friends! Another perk of this awesome hobby!!!
I have Stenvall's postcards on my webshop (Postcard Garden). I sell also another countries even if shop is still only in Finnish. You can pay by PayPal, so payment isn't a problem where ever you live. And here's link to Stenvall's cards:
http://www.postcardgarden.com/wbs/shop/index.php?categoryID=172&category_slug=kaj-stenvall
I love these cards :D
I don't like them at all. And I am *not* a Disney's Donald Duck fan.
Stenvall is my favorite, I also have a couple of his paintings and also puzzles of 1000 pieces, framed as paintings :-) He has so many different styles in his paintings, eventhough you can always find the duck somewhere...it's the clue to this whole thing and that's what makes it interesting.
I find the cards funny and I like to receive them. But for me that is Donald Duck so I always expect to also see Daisy, Goofy or Mickey! :D
I always appreciate receiving a Kaj Stenvall card. (I have 2 so far) I really should mention that in my profile, eh? Yet another sub-collection begins!
It is a bit disturbing art for me as Kaj Sternvall´s Duck is nearly always alone…
I love Kaj Stenvall's duck art! I send ALWAYS Stenvall's cards, if somebody is collecting art cards! ;) I live in Finland so I have opportunity to buy these from shops!
I never received one but they look quite interesting...