Jane Kivistö is a finish artist based in Pori, Finland.
She considers herself a pastelist, but also likes to use other mediums.
So that we may know a bit more about her, Jane kindly granted an interview to The Art Inquirer.
TAI - Jane, thank you for granting this interview.
Tell us about the place where you live.
JK -I was born and raised in Inkoo, a seaside municipality on the south coast of Finland. It's a rather small (popul. 5500) and quiet place surrounded by the beautiful seashore nature. Nowadays I live in Pori, another seaside town on the west coast. Being close to nature is really important to me even today and I guess I have passed that on to my two children: some of our ways to relax is fishing, hiking and camping. I always carry a camera with me, you never know where the perfect scenery is.
In highschool I had art as an optional subject as well as in college, that was two extra hours of art on a week but that was all. I don`t have any art-related master degrees. At the moment I`m studying social pedagogy at Satakunta University of Applied Scienses and will graduate in this fall. Hopefully :D
TAI - From what age did you start to enjoy drawing and painting ?
JK - I remember I've always loved drawing, arts and crafts. I use to write little plays and perform them, yet the most important part of the whole process was building the set for the play. The plays weren`t that good, but I think I had some talent for the staging :) I was ten. So I guess at that point I realized that I'll always do something related to crayons :)
TAI - Did you keep on painting since then or were there any intermissions ?
JK - Yes I did keep on drawing and crafting. My father painted with oil colours but I didn't like to paint until I was 12. Before that, for some reason, I thought painting was something adults do. In college I found pastels and painted for a while but took a brake when I got two children. The brake lasted about five years.
TAI - When did you decide to take a more serious approach toward art ?
JK - Well, it was at that magical age of 12. I took an art class, it was oil painting and I just loved it. I loved the smell of the turpentine and the softness of the brushes and the whole world of painting. It was love from the very beginning. I wanted to learn everything. I really took it seriously. But the serious approaching lasted about an year :) After that it hasn't been serious, just pure joy :D I don't paint for living, I think I live for painting. And am very happy if someone likes my work and wants to buy a piece.
TAI - Have you attended any workshops ? If so, how did they influenced your skills and your approach ?
JK - Nope, or maybe a few a couple of hours lasting mini-workshops. But the idea was more like working together, not learning art. But the class that I took when I was 12, it of course had a great influence. Because of taking hardly any classes I consider myself as a self-taught artist.
TAI - How did you come up with the choice of your mediums ?
JK - It was in college I found pastels. When painting with them I kinda saw that I can paint! My technique was weird but I enjoyed doing it, I even got a few commissions. It was learning through experimenting and I`m on that road even today.
TAI - Tell us about your techniques.
JK - I’m a pastelist but like to paint in oils and acrylics too. I don't have any firm techniques or ways to paint, it depends on the subject. I like to try different and new things, like painting on different textures. Now I've been painting on staves which are from an old wooden tub. I like it a lot because I can still feel the history in them, I've left the staves partly unpainted so the texture is in the open.
JK - Food and people. Maybe nature too, animals and other little things like branches, nests, leaves. I like to paint old cottages too, fences and so on. Why? I like to see the life as it is, without any pretending, those genuine little things surrounding us.
TAI - Your website in writen in finnish.Haven't you felt the need to have an english version ?
JK - Yes I have. But since Finland is bilingual (Finnish/Swedish) I consider to have a Swedish version instead. But I haven`t decided it yet. Maybe both.
TAI - What projects do you have in hand for the near future ?
JK - I'll have four or five shows more this year, on July (one or two solos), August (solo), September (group) and October (group). That means a lot of work, alot of paint and brushes, pastel sticks and great time!
The works of Jane have been exhibited in two solo exhibitions and three group ones.
Her art is featured in private collections in Finland.
Visit her website to see her works.
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