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David Karlsen

@vonkarlsen.bsky.social

2K followers 1.5K following 7K posts

Prose writer and poet. BA (Hons) Humanities, Literature. Non-binary. Interests: The Arts, Natural History, Geology. Vegan. Francophile. X 🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇪🇺 ©️David Karlsen [All poetry, prose and photographs] Paintings, etc. belong to the artist I repost. NO CHAT!

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · Jan 3

Warning: I absolutely hate being tagged! And, I always report and block people send me lewd or offensive material! Everyone I've reported so far have had their accounts suspended. I always protect myself and people who trust and follow me. Unless I know you don't send me DMs as you'd be blocked. X

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 15m

Kiss

it was here Flavia knew
so long ago it seemed
that Anais had held her arms
kissed her so hard that she
had a bruise on her mouth
three days later returning
to Italy it was still there
and there was a wish
inside her whole frame
for was it several weeks?
Flavia wanted it to remain
#poetry

Reposted by David Karlsen

Michael @mdstamper.bsky.social · 1d

“The Green Sari” by Irma Stern (South African) – Oil on canvas / 1936 – Irma Stern Museum (Cape Town, South Africa) #WomenInArt #WomanArtist #IrmaStern #WomensArt #WomenPaintingWomen #WomenArtists #SouthAfricanArt #SouthAfricanArtist #BlueskyArt #OilPainting #FemaleArtist #art #artText #artwork

Painted in 1936, this portrait reflects artist Irma Stern’s fascination with the diverse communities of South Africa and her commitment to character over costume. Critics often note her “dignified” portrayals; here, the calm face, lowered eyes, and reed-filled setting suggest poise rather than spectacle. The jewelry and fine sari imply a sitter of some standing, likely from the Indian community established in Natal by the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Stern’s impasto scraped and laid on in quick, directional marks keeps the surface alive, especially in the sari’s creamy folds and the reeds’ vertical energy.

A woman appears against tall, pale-green reeds, her head tilted slightly left, gaze lowered and thoughtful. Her medium-brown skin is modeled with thick, lively strokes. Her eyelids are heavy, almond-shaped, with dark lashes and a soft highlight along the brow. A deep-green sari blouse and a creamy pallu drapes diagonally across her chest, edged with a fine green line. A single red stud earring catches the light while at her neck hangs a pendant with a rosy stone in a gold setting. Her black hair is pulled back into a low knot. The background is a field of vertical, grass-like strokes, echoing the sari’s green and framing her quiet, dignified presence.

Stern once wrote that travel and encounter “opened new doors of color”; even at home, she sought subjects whose presence sparked that chromatic charge. Exhibited as “An Indian Woman” at the Irma Stern Museum in 2020 and later titled “The Green Sari,” the work carries a layered history (it earlier appeared at auction as “Malay Lady in Green”), but Stern’s intent holds steady: to honor a modern woman with individuality and grace. As her reputation grew, Stern balanced local portraits with journeys abroad, refining a palette of greens, yellows, and warm earth tones that became signature in her mature style.

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1h

I hope your weather is not bad during the typhoon season Yuko and Mishka. We're glad you're both getting some sunshine. Weather here can be unpredictable in Autumn but of course we don't have typhoons; although we get more storms with higher winds than we used to have; due to climate change. 💫📚🙏🤗

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 6h

Certainly works well for me too! Get rid of baby wannabe dictator trump! 👍💙

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 6h

leaves were slowly turning into dying butterflies drifting
would eventually
feed roots that had
fed their summer
Kazu saw each day
like a bird waiting
to fly south
she recalled that first winter's wind scream wrapped faces
snow covered streets
she woke cheek warm
against Anaïs's back
#poetry

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 7h

What a beautiful bird Kura! 🫶🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🕊️🙏☕🙋

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 8h

How beautiful! 🫶🌹

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 8h

X🐾🐈💜

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 8h

CanI join? My name is Belle and I live in Wales with David Karlsen X 🐾🐾🐈💜

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 8h

And dear Mishka is enjoying the good weather! Hello Yuko my friend, love to you both. I send you both my best thoughts and Belle does too. X🐾🐈💜💫📚☕🌻🙏🫶🌹🌹

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 18h

Made me smile Jack. X 💫🧴

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 18h

I think baby trump and Co. have brains made of dollar bills; they think they can't be matched, anyone got a box?

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 18h

The very relaxed cat you are sweetheart. Our cat is asleep next to us too! X 🐾🐈💜

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 18h

Yes, you certainly do beautiful kitty! X 🐾🐈💙

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 18h

You'll have something delicious because you're a sweetheart cat! X 🐾🐈💙

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 19h

X🐾🐈💙😊

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 19h

Ode to Walking Boots

Oh, you have served
a thousand miles or more
I have no count but you
have laid your very lives
at my feet
given all to my direction
to terrain unscrupulous
mud-filled or rocky
well trodden ways all
you now sit in silent
old age, so worthy
of a well-earned pension
#poetry

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

X 🐾🐾💜

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

You know I really do think trump copied that awful comic look from mussolini, (never give capital letters to dictators or idiots)! I think the Nobel Committee should give a prize for idiocy, trump would have a roomful of them! 🤣

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

If baby trump had been given the Nobel Peace Prize it would have been a big joke! And, the Nobel Peace Prize would have devalued itself completely; but the Nobel Committee never award the Prize to dictators or idiots!

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

X 🐾🐈‍⬛💜

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

Oh yes, they love being nasty to women! I hope these masked bastards get what's coming to them: a good term in jail with women jailers in really large numbers!

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

👋😊☕🍀

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

Guten Morgen Szuszanna und der Welt auch. X 💫🕊️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇨🇭🙋☕

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

The grey dawn
comes into being
from a wraith
of disguised images;
all those ghosts
of morbid thought
lose terrorising power;
such is fear, a strangling
nonexistent cloak
built in the lonely hours
when we can't turn
for reassurance.
How can this liar
sleep
in truth's broad daylight?
#poetry