How Tiina Alanen Combines Realism and Abstraction in Her Paintings

In this interview, we have a Finnish artist, Tiina Alanen, on board, who shares her experiences and inspirations behind her vibrant paintings. Tiina’s art reflects her life’s light and hope, capturing both the beauty of nature and the depth of personal struggle. She reveals how her passion for art has been a source of healing and strength, especially following the tragic loss of her son in 2019. She also opens up about her creative process, the role of colour in her art, and how she overcomes periods of low inspiration. Tiina hopes to spread joy and comfort to others through her colourful and layered works.

Capturing the light – real and symbolic – is essential to my art. Creating art is my healing power and light. I want to share that strength, life’s light, and hope with others. I love combining realistic and abstract elements, colours, and layers in my paintings. I want them to be happy and full of hope and love. I studied graphic design in Finland and spent a year in Dublin, Ireland. After graduating, I worked in an advertising agency as a graphic designer, and later, I worked for my own company. Drawing, painting and photography have always been a part of my life, even on busy family days. A few years ago, I completed my studies in Visual Arts. I paint mainly with acrylic colours and also with watercolours. Many of my paintings are inspired by nature.

I live with my family in Finland and Northern Europe, and the lakes and forests surrounding us all four seasons inspire me greatly. They are so different from each other…from cold winter days with snow to the bright spring and the summer with the warmest wind and blooming flowers to the colourful autumn leaves. They are endless inspiration and healing power to me. There is another reason why I paint and create art. I have experienced moments when everything can change forever in the blink of an eye. In 2019, we lost one of our sons. He was 14 years old, full of life and joy, and with a happy twinkle in his eyes. And then suddenly, due to a car accident, he spent a week in intensive care at the hospital. There were days and nights when we prayed and hoped for the best, but at the end of the week in September, there was a day when an angel took him to Heaven. “Some bring so much light into the world that the light remains long after they are gone.” That is what I would like to bring with my art – light.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

We lost our son in 2019, and I was studying Visual Arts at that time. I was taking a graphics course during my studies, and I remember thinking at first, “What is the point of continuing anything?” Initially, it was hard to concentrate when my thoughts were always on what was happening to my son, but other students were sympathetic and encouraging. I found a little joy inside and like a whisper from my son “mum, you should go on, I’m fine.” He was a 14-year-old, cheerful boy with a happy twinkle in his eyes, and I was sure he would want us to be satisfied. So I continued my studies and I remember how immersing myself in making art was relaxing and empowering. Later on those studies we had an art history lesson and there was a Finnish women artist who lost her dad and her paintings became grey, black, brown..But for me, the loss of my son didn’t seem to make my paintings almost colorless; on the contrary, I love colors and have used them all the time.

In the beginning, I used a lot of blue and purple in my paintings. They are calm colours. Blue is the colour of harmony, reliability, and sympathy, so maybe that’s why it was chosen as the colour I used. But then colours became happier, like yellow, white, pink, red, etc.

My artistic style has developed in a slightly more abstract direction, I’ve started to paint larger paintings and learned to use new techniques such as combining different layers.

_{Tiina Alanen}

2. What inspired you to become an artist?

I have always loved art. When I was a child, our family went to various art exhibitions. I think I inherited my love for art, especially from my mother, and for crafts from both my mother and father. All the schools I went to were about making and experiencing art. At the moment, I mainly paint the canvas with acrylic colours. I love colours, the layered nature of paintings, and, in addition to nature subjects, an abstract expression that allows you to find a deeper meaning in a painting than just a quickly seen subject.

3. Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

I think today we need more hope around the world. I want to focus my actions and thoughts on hope and happy things; that’s why I usually choose something hopeful and happy as the subject of my paintings. It can be either positive about the subject or colours. It can be a memory or an atmosphere I try to capture in my painting. Lights and shadows, colours, different layers and compositions are the elements I use. Sometimes, my paintings are planned; sometimes, the painting springs more from the subconscious, and then the painting is not so consciously considered. For some, the loss of a loved one can affect, for example, the colours they use so that they disappear from the paintings and only grey and black are replaced.

Luckily it didn’t happen to me, I love colors, I noticed that after my son died I used a lot of blue and purple. Later I started using shades of yellow, white, green and red too. It also helped when I listened to beautiful classical music while painting. And sometimes, I read poems to get inspiration. I paint subjects from nature too. We live in Finland, where nature is green and clean in the summer, and the lakes surround our residence. The many flowers in my garden are also my inspiration. In winter everything is covered in a blanket of white snow, the first snowfall is still somehow a magical moment every year…It is as if everything can be started from the beginning, from a clean base..like you can draw or paint something new and unprecedented from a new canvas…

4. How do you handle creative blocks or periods of low inspiration?

You will see, feel, and learn more if you are open. Painting isn’t always easy. There are days I feel stuck with a painting but not stressed. I have found that I take my time and let the subconscious do the work in my heart and mind, and then I continue to paint. The artist should be open and vulnerable…if no one tells or shows their feelings, how can anyone relate or find comfort in themselves? For me it’s painting, for someone else it can be music, poems, crafts. Most of the time, I choose colours according to my intuition. Which suits the topic or feeling best at the time? Or maybe there’s a memory to which a certain colour or colours are connected, and I want to use them.

“Some bring so much light into the world that the light remains long after they are gone.” That is what I would like to bring with my art – light.

_{Tiina Alanen}

5. What do you hope people take away from experiencing your art?

When I immerse myself in painting, I forget time, place, hunger, fatigue… painting helps holistically. That’s precisely why it’s so great! That’s why I hope my paintings will also help the viewers experience at least a little of the same thing I have experienced while painting…that the same energy of joy and hope will be transferred to them. I want my art to comfort and bring the light. Because I believe in God and I will see my son in Heaven, I don’t feel desperate despite my longing. I know he is safe and has the same safety here. That security brings me hope and joy, which I want to convey to viewers with my paintings.

Tiina Alanen’s creative journey is a vivid narrative of healing and hope. Using colour and abstraction, she bridges the gap between personal grief and universal light. Her paintings reflect her experiences and serve as a beacon of comfort and inspiration for others. To learn more about Tiina, visit the links below.