There’s no end of things to paint in my home region! This work is part of my own “This is how I see Mikkeli” series, in which I try to capture familiar landscapes from my own point of view – with colour, light and atmosphere. You’ll find other oil paintings here that tell stories of familiar places, too.
In this painting I wanted to capture the old Otava mill, that sturdy building with its beautiful patina of age. But finding the perfect angle wasn’t exactly a Sunday stroll – it took some serious trudging across a damp autumn field. At times it felt as if my feet were sinking into the clay like an artist’s inspiration into everyday chores.
But that little slog paid off: in the foreground of the mill sat a thicket beautifully tinted with autumn colours, bringing warmth and softness to the work. Nature knows how to compose – and sometimes it demands that the artist play by its rules. The Otava mill painting is one of my first oil paintings that was starting to become what I myself wanted from my paintings.
