Whimsical Estonian artist Navitrolla: The best paintings emerge on their own
Turning everyday walks and dreams into instantly recognizable fantastical worlds, artist Navitrolla lets his paintings unfold naturally on the canvas.
Navitrolla admitted he's not your archetypical old-school painter, hunting for motifs in a beret; instead, he's drawn to the principle of Japanese Zen painting. That means walking through nature and "simply recording everything on your biological hard drive."
Later in the studio, he sifts through those mental images to find what sticks. Some paintings take months; others, years.
When painting landscapes, he added, the sky is the most important element — it supports the scene.
Navitrolla said artists are deeply emotional, and believes they're connected to some kind of higher power.
"My uncle, who's an astrophysicist, once said that what physics and music cannot explain, artists can," he recalled.
"I see pictures whether I have a landscape in front of me or not," he continued. "Everyone's had dreams; you sleep and you see worlds — and landscapes."
The best time to paint, the artist explained, depends on what's going on in your life at the time. If daily obligations demand attention, inspiration will wait. But when free, the right time will strike "precisely when the spirit moves you. There's no rhyme or reason to it."
Discipline, he added, is also more important than inspiration. He recalled a famous Ukrainian boxer saying inspiration doesn't exist — only discipline. He applies the same principle to his work.
One of Navitrolla's practical tips for painting is to turn your piece upside down.
"It's a good way to shake yourself loose from something you can easily get stuck in," he explained. "You think you've made a pretty great piece, one that may even touch someone, but you still feel like something's missing. Then you flip the painting upside down — and you'll immediately realize you've still got more to do."
For Navitrolla, the best paintings just emerge on their own, without any set intentions, and "with a little help from above."
He acknowledged, however, that he would make a terrible art teacher, admitting that he's quick to get frustrated when people don't understand something.
At one exhibition, a visitor said it was all very interesting but asked what exactly he was depicting — and what his message was. Navitrolla, thinking they were joking, explained the works were landscapes — skies and clouds.
"They looked at [the paintings] for a bit longer and then said, 'Yeah, when you put it that way, I guess you're right,'" he recalled, laughing.
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Editor: Neit-Eerik Nestor, Aili Vahtla
