Untitled 1, "critter"

ART STUDIES  |  OIL PAINTING

When your home’s walls feel empty, and you know that with your education you should be able to paint, but you’ve never created a public artwork, there comes a moment when your creativity demands to be tested. This painting emerged from just such a moment – the desire to challenge my skills and bring something personal to the wall.

Concept and Preparation

The inspiration for this piece came from my last name, “Hirvonen,” which in Finnish could be interpreted as “little moose.” This connection led me to illustrate a horned creature – not exactly a moose, but rather a kind of imaginative beast. By exploring images of various moose-like animals, I started to sketch this horned being, and gradually, the outline took shape.

Once the concept was clear, the next step was to check what art supplies I had on hand. From my collection, I found a set of half-used oil paints, and their available colors – especially the blues, turquoises, and browns – dictated the overall color palette.

The painting’s base was a pre-prepared 70×100 cm canvas, and the piece came to life on it in early 2017 in my studio.