This painting, Moss Girls, comes from my lifelong love for the forest. I grew up in Finland, where 75% of the land is covered by trees. As a child, the forest was my playground, my craft store, my inspiration, and the safest place I knew.
The photos are from the most magical forest of my childhood: The King’s Well (Kuninkaanlähde). People used to throw coins into the deep, clear pond, and I believed every wish there came true.
Even now, I feel most myself in the forest. In society I often sense invisible rules I don’t fully understand, as if I’m doing something wrong – especially around other people. But in the wilderness, I’m free. I’m wind, I’m a leaf, I’m just a middle-sized ape being ALIVE.
At the age of 25, I walked 750 km to Santiago de Compostela through countryside, mountains, and enchanted forest paths. I loved it so much I considered quitting everything to walk around the world. But life pulled me back into the office, and the dream faded. Still, I often felt I had lost something essential—my forest pilgrim self.
On my last Saturday walk, I met a young man who had actually chosen that life. He cycles around the world, camps in forests, and has even crossed Finland from north to south in winter. Of course he had also cycled the Camino de Santiago.
We shared tea by his fire. His face was wild in a way I had seen only on the Camino – people whose senses sharpen from thousands of kilometers on foot, their bodies tuned to survival.
Looking at him, I realized I’m far too domesticated to live like that. It was lovely to come back home from the wet hike and curl up on the coach with a book. Oddly, it felt like a relief. Perhaps I hadn’t made a wrong choice back then.
The realisation also reminded me of a Tibetan lama who described meditation as “wandering in the forest of your mind.” I love the idea that beneath our rational thoughts lies a natural subconscious mind – a forest we can return to whenever modern life becomes too much.
I loved these paintings and what you wrote – we return to the forest and sea to LIVE again… I am struck by the first figure who almost has frog pad legs.. liminal space – and the children with the eyes that SEE