Monthly image: Against four winds by Laura Solkio
– Besides giving vent to my thoughts, I resurrect my own inner world with art and describe things I simply find fascinating and beautiful. I’m influenced, for example, by nature, mythologies and supernaturalism, and I favour earthy dark colours, Laura Solkio writes.
Laura Solkio: Against four winds, oil painting on canvas, 100 x 140 cm, 2019
Making art has always been an important way for me to describe and ventilate feelings and thoughts. My old drawing notebooks are like diaries, of which emotional states, both joys and sorrows, can be seen. Besides giving vent to my thoughts, I resurrect my own inner world with art and describe things I simply find fascinating and beautiful. I’m influenced, for example, by nature, mythologies and supernaturalism, and I favour earthy dark colours.
I tend to be a perfectionist and my way of working is slow. Each painting starts with careful sketching. I sketch with a pencil on a paper in the traditional way and sometimes I make several sketches to receive the outcome I want. After that, I scan the final pencil sketch and with the computer’s image processing software I plan the colours. The finished sketch I then move on the canvas with a grid enlargement. After this starts the actual painting process, which is always a roller coaster on its own, but at its best, gives a pleasant smooth ride, which can sink me in a long and relaxing flow state. Small accurate details are typical of my style, and therefore completing one work can take even several weeks.
After this starts the actual painting process, which is always a roller coaster on its own, but at its best, gives a pleasant smooth ride, which can sink me in a long and relaxing flow state.
Regarding my final project, the planning process took significantly more time than the actual painting. The idea for my triptych came from Scandinavian mythology, which I have gradually acquainted myself with more and more during my years at the art school. My triptych allegorizes psychic feelings with the help of a few animal figures of Scandinavian mythology. The middle work of the triptych, and also the biggest one, “Against four winds”, reflects setbacks: sometimes it may feel like you were punched by antlers.
Laura Solkio (b. 1996, Lahti) graduated as a Bachelor of Culture and Arts from SAMK’s Kankaanpää Art School in June 2019. She lives and works in Tampere.
email: laura.solkio(a)hotmail.com
instagram: @lusciniaart
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