KIRSIKOTI / I am Eeva Anneli Tanskanen, born in Joensuu, full-time artist.

Kirsikoti in Lieksa is a community of artists with mental disabilities. Working with professional artists for years is bearing fruit and the results delight the viewer. One of the artists whose works are exhibited in Kiasma in August is Eeva Tanskanen.

You have studied painting with Ahti Isomäki. What has Ahti taught? Free subjects and drawing portraits, face to face.
Is Ahti a good teacher? Yes, he’s such an easy-going character. He’s always in a good mood. Happy and beautiful.
Does he give good advice? Yes. In colour schemes.
What do you think about when you paint? I only think that it will be finished quickly. Sometimes it takes a long time, if I really get into it. You begin one day, and the next day you add more colour and dress up the figure.
Do you start by sketching? Yes, I sketch. And then I add colour. It takes two or three days. I paint with acrylics.
And you paint people? Yes, portraits. And then there is that bug.
What are some of the other things you like? Landscapes. And birds.
What kind of a place is Kirsikoti? It is an old school, big.
Do you have a good studio? Yes, we’ve got a really good studio. And easels, pastels, brushes. At the same time, it is home to us, a place where we paint and do all kinds of things. A community.
Is it a good place to live? Yes and no, depends on how you take it (laughs).
What is nice about it? Free subjects.
And what is not? There’s a few things. It’s no use thinking about them.
What else do you do in Kirsikoti? Clean up and cook, do laundry. Practical things.
Are there other artistic things you are interested in? Sex! I’d like to paint nude people.
Have you? Not yet.
Are you going to? Yes.
Do you need a model when you paint? Yes, I need a model.
Do you think that your mental disability has an effect on the kind of pictures you paint? To some extent. If the colours are really bright, you go mad. Really. Colours have an effect.
How come you dare use bright colours then? Of course I dare. Faint heart never won fair lady.
Do you feel that you control those colours when you paint? Well, if they are ready-mixed. Then you can control them. Medium green is my colour. And blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, brown, white.
Are those the important colours for you? Yes, they are. If you begin to paint a person, you need beige in the face. You just need it.
Why? Aren’t people created sort of pale. Usually pale or orange.
When you paint a person, do you look closely at him or her? Yes, I see the person as a whole. And as a shape. I immediately start drawing. I learned to draw as a child.
Is it easy? Yes, like this (shows), face and hair, shoulders, hips, like that. Sketching is easy, its just comes like that.
How about colours, do they come just like that too? You have to think about them.
Do you think this trip to Helsinki will have an impact on your paintings? I am an urban painter. I can paint urban environments, porches, and other stuff. Lieksa is a rural environment.
So you come here to Helsinki to seek inspiration in the city? That’s right.

Kaija Kaitavuori
Educational curator, Kiasma