Amsterdam-based painter and printmaker Maarit Hänninen has a penchant for creating finely detailed artwork, both in her realistic custom portraits and her linocut block prints.
Maarit confesses that she draws much of her inspiration from her cultural roots in the northernmost reaches of Finland, which can be seen in her delightfully intricate compositions of birds, flowers, and nature.
Magpie and Winter Roses (seen just below) is one of the the few mixed-media watercolour pieces she displays on her website—and it’s absolutely stunning.
I love the carefully-designed composition, with it’s solid black outlines and distinctly-colored sections, as well as the way it references both the winter and the ongoing cycle of the seasons.
Birds are a constant in Maarit’s art, as this next print will also attest. Done in reverse, the white outlines create a negative image, making a highly-stylized emblem of a bird with wings outstretched, carrying a stone in its beak.
Symbols and meanings seem to infuse all of Maarit’s block prints, as though the plates she’s creating are meant for stories yet to be told. This last print, entitled Silk, is yet another stunning example of that creative printmaking at its finest.
I absolutely love the colors, the high contrast, and the amazing flow of this print. Even the shape of the hand, as it reaches up into the cloud-filled sky (and is wrapped up in clouds and sunlight itself) feels light and full of movement.
If you’d like to see more of Maarit Hänninen’s incredible artwork, please don’t wait. Visit her website today at maarithanninen.com.
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