Behind the Scenes 2. The Story ot the "Milky Way" and an Art Show. Linnunradan laidalla.
- liisaviima
- Mar 23
- 4 min read
In the summer 2023 my daughter and I had found lovely Friesian merrie, BoBo in the Netherlands. That was in June, and in July she was transported to Finland. Before she came to stay with us, we brought her to be trained by a pro rider, Emma, for a month, as BoBo had only been with her babies before that. She is a Mother of four.
Love at first sight. Visiting BoBo and her baby in June, 2023 in the beautiful Siegerswoude.
The place she went was a riding center called "Hallahuhta". The Finnish word "halla" means frost and "huhta" means - in the woods - burn-beaten area to produce soil, to cultivate cereal for food. It was a method used here in Finland for ages, from Medieval till the 1900´s. Very heavy work.
The riding center is founded and run by a lovely family, and Emma is one of their daughters. We had known the family for a long time already, as they had trained one or our horses years earlier. We had become friends then, but recently only rarely kept touch, mostly via Facebook.
And during the years I also had started to post pictures of my paintings in Facebook.
A point, where the story really begins. Namely I got a sudden question from the lovely Lady of the house: "would you like to paint a piece for the riding hall wall?"
She had seen my postings.
I had to shake my head first, if I had heard correclty. Would I? Yes, I would!
Which kind of a piece? Painting? Where? When? Subject matter? Media? Material?
All of the questions we discussed, and the plan was: to paint during the next winter at Hallahuhta production hall, on a big wooden panel, to use outdoor house paint, to be placed in the riding arena wall to the opposite of the main door wall. To be ready before summer. The heavy use wooden panel (hight 2 m, width 1,5 m, depth 2 cm) and outdoor paints were chosen to endure outdoor circumstances even during our harsh cold winters. Hallahuhta uses the same materials when producing their magnificient show jumping equipment. I would get an own corner from the hall to do my work!
The subject matter: "No limits, but horses. Just show their greatness, nobleness and beauty!"
What an isntruction! What an honour - I would try my absolute best to deliver.
I had collected some pics from Hallahuhta, as well as pics of their horses.
I had found beautiful flowers, and a portrait of their stunning black stallion. as well as of their magnificient gelding. From these I started to visionalize my view.
One of the most important grounds to build on was this quote on the saddle room wall:
"Treat me with a gentle hand, as it is the only way. In streghts you can never win me"
The other basic elements were these:
And my other resrources: my hands (in addition to my eyes and brain), The Cat of The House, and excellent premises to paint in!
The work started fluently, and I used to drive to paint during the weekends. The distance was some 75 kms per direction, but it was allright. I worked long days, and enjoyed every moment. I was handled like a good friend and a family member: I can never forget the Easter dinner I was invited on, with the whole family. The courses were delicioius, and the companyt such warm hearted and lovely!
Finally I got ready somewhere in early April. I suggested a name for the painting: "Linnunradan laidalla", in Finnish. It means "by the Milky Way".
We decided to give an art show in May, to reveal and celebrate "Milky Way", and to invite some guests there. It was a wonderful idea, and it was a wonderful day! I brought some ten other paintings to show, too. We cleaned the riding arena, decorated it, covered itwith carpets, brought flowers all over, and reserved some snacks and bubbling wine for the guests. The weather was sunny and warm, like God had sent his angels down on earth to help us in every way, to make the day the best possible!
The manege at its best - beautiful, absolutely!
The Art Show Day at the end of May, 2024:
The lovely guests were gathering:
And then, to the revelation of "Milky Way".
It was an exciting moment. Me and the Lady of the House were taking off the curtains from the painting.
It was such a lovely moment! The guests were chatting, I was chatting. And then suddenly, a surprice! The Guest of Honour, "Kille" noticed the painting, in fact the black horse figure in it. He started to shout and jump, and Emma had to take him out side of the arena.!
She told me later, that Kille always notices the painting, still. That is nice, because it is proofing that Art has power!
Later, in August I went to check the piece. It was perfectly oukei. Anyways, I added one extra layer of boat lacque on the surface, just in case. As after autumn, our harsh winter would come, and "Milky Way" should stay calm and beautiful, like a horse, despite the circumstances.
I wish to thank Hallahuhta for this wonderful chance from the bottom of my Heart!
These memories will always be one of the High Lights of my Life.
May the painting give you as much of Happiness, Luck, Joy and Love as possible!
Life is so full of miracles: without Bobo, the starting point of this blog, "Milky Way" maybe never had happened?
That was the story behind the scnes, and in fact of the scenes.
Thank you for reading, Dear! Hopefully you enjoyed it!
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