Paintings

Forest of Meaning series

These paintings are from a body of work titled Forest of Meaning, consisting of 21 artwork: 7 acrylic paintings, 7 collages and 7 illustrations contemplating the value of nature. The paintings use wood material such as branches and bark collected from areas where trees have been felled, as a way to pay homage to the forests.

Ink Impressions series

From This Pain Something Good Will Grow

Some paintings refuse to be defined according to perfectionistic notions of even lines and shapes, and I have to let them be as rough as they are. So called imperfections are a part of the whole, when the main goal is to express raw emotions and mental struggles. This painting is an example of that struggle, of striving for clarity in the midst of sorrow and pain. It is a reminder to see the other side of the pain: the beautiful growth happening deep within, through the struggles of life.

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Painting Videos

Ode to the Horned Ones

This painting started out with the idea of creating something resembling a hunter's trophy, but without needing to kill an animal for it. This is the result: a tribute to the trees and the horned creatures, who wear natural crowns of their own. During the time when I created this painting I sometimes dreamed of sharp horns or branches were helping me claw my way out of a cocoon so that I could enter the world in a more raw, vulnerable and truthful. In this way, this painting has a very dear place in my heart on a personal level. It reminds me of those horned beings that were helping me onwards on my journey to become a more self-aware human being.

© Minnamari Helmisaari