KREATÖREN - MAGDALENA TYBONI

Room for creativity

Magdalena Tyboni found her way back to Skellefteå, and revived her passion for painting in oil and watercolor.

After ten years in Skåne, Magdalena Tyboni and her husband Kim were homesick. In 2012, futuristic battery factories and green transition had not yet transformed Skellefteå into Sweden's growth center; instead, it was the proximity to family and relatives - and not least house dreams - that attracted the Tyboni family to move 130 miles north again.

- "It all happened on impulse. We lived in an apartment in Helsingborg and bought the house on Moröbacke - sight unseen. But it was the right decision, twelve years later we still live in that house.

The return also revived inspiration and the desire to paint. First with illustrations in gray scale, which today has turned into deep paintings in oil and watercolor. The paintings, which often have dreamy motifs from the coastal landscape of northern Västerbotten, are sold through her own interior design shop Mono Store in central Skellefteå, where Magdalena also has her studio.

- "I rented a small space to sell posters, which led to me buying more and more other products. Today, Mono Store sells interior design and art, gives tips and advice and tries to offer something unique.

Where do you find inspiration for your own paintings?

- It can come from anything. I take a lot of photos and save everything on my phone, sketch and write it down. My interest in art and my interest in interior design go hand in hand, and one rubs off on the other. Above all, life with my children is a great inspiration, many of my motifs are based on the surrounding nature and my daughters.

"The dream is to paint every day of the week"

Isn't it difficult to part with paintings with such personal motifs?

- It can be, but you just have to learn to let go - I can't have 20 paintings lying around in storage because I can't get rid of them.

"The dream is to paint every day of the week" Do you have any training in art?

- I attended high school in art and then art college at Solvik, but otherwise I am self-taught. It's about testing yourself, and finding the techniques and expressions you like. For me, it landed in oil paint, although I also like to work with acrylic and watercolor.

What is it you like about oil paint?

- The smell, the fact that you can pause and let the work rest and return to it when new thoughts and ideas have emerged. It was when I found oil paint that my artistry took off and I could really bring out the vision.

Are you able to spend the time you want on art?

- Running a shop requires a lot of time. But there are always days when it's a little quieter when I can sit in the studio next to the shop, and I'm closed one day a week that I can focus fully on creating. The dream is to be able to paint every day of the week.

FACTS: Magdalena Tyboni
Age: 44 years
Lives: Moröbacke
Does: Artist and runs the interior design shop Mono Store.

Text: Jonas Pekkari

Photo: Tilda Olofsgård