Acrylic Paint on 50cm x 60 cm (~19.5in x 23.5in) wooden panel. Spring 2018. Tallinn, Estonia.
This is one of the first pieces I completed in Estonia that I was truly proud of. Although I traveled here at the end of 2016, I had been spending a year improving myself artistically and professionally. The paintings I completed during my early years in Estonia brought me to this point. My heart was racing after this one, knowing that I reached a new standard of quality.
I thought this would be a great painting to share with you first!
My objective for this painting was to create a sense of overwhelming nature. To show the perspective between nature and humankind. We often see ourselves at the forefront, which may be the case but nature has been around for quite some time ;) I set a warm scene with the yellow and red sky which fades out into a warm dark night. The farmhouse and windmill are pushed into the darkness and seem to do their best to reach out from it. Having the large tree and glowing fireflies in the foreground seem to pull them back down.
What do you feel when you see this painting? Does a particular interpretation come to mind?
You can see the influences from my travels through Estonia in this painting, but the subject matter is still largely American. At the time I painting Firefly Windmill in spring of 2018, we had just finished with the long Estonian winter. In the summer of 2017 I went on a road trip through the countryside of Estonia and Latvia. I was camping in the forests of southern Estonia and on the beaches along the coast.
There are two subjects that stick out in this painting - the fireflies, and the windmill. Fireflies have been a part of my childhood, although we called them Lightning Bugs :D They do not have them here in Estonia, but they do have glow worms! I was able to see one while in the forest.
Estonia also has a rich windmill history. I decided to paint a modern metal windmill to mimic the shape of the sun in Firefly Windmill. However, Estonia has a lot of old windmills dotting the countryside. They are designed as a wooden box with a long wooden pole attached at the bottom so the windmill can be lifted up and pivoted around the base depending on the wind direction.
I have included some links in case you want to read more about Estonia!
☮♥RSM.
Estonian Glow Worms: https://www.looduskalender.ee/vana/en/node/10563.html
Estonian Windmills: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_windmills_in_Estonia
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