Artist interview: Laura Gröndahl

Laura Gröndahl has graduated initially as a clothing designer, and she has worked as a pattern designer, focusing on fabric prints. Her work has been included in Nanso’s, Vimma’s, and H&M’s textiles. Painting is a passion for Gröndahl, and she has been successful in pairing up designing and painting.

– I am a designer for my education, and I have always known that I will do something creative professionally. I studied clothing design, and I worked as a designer for few years. But at the same time, I have always dreamed of painting, and now I have succeeded in combining my passions: painting and designing.

Gröndahl experiments with different styles because she gets tired of things relatively quickly. The sources of her inspiration and the main themes of her work come mostly from nature.

– I have boldly tried out different styles, since I don’t want to work only with one style. I get bored of things pretty fast, and because of that I try out new things often. I love intense colors and bold usage of them. My background as a fabric print designer shows in many of my works because my illustrations and paintings are print-like. One of my main themes is plants, they are my neverending source of inspiration.

Gröndahl mainly works with her emotions on the frontline.

– I am pretty intuitive, and I mirror my actions to feelings. Even though I am an educated designer, I don’t really plan my work ahead much: I’d rather let the process take me.

The open call for artists at Keran Hallit came at a perfect time for Gröndahl, for she had started to get interested in painting a large wall.

– I had dreamed of getting a chance to implement my work on a large wall, and the open call for Keran hallit came out conveniently. I had previously made a few murals, but in much smaller size, so this project’s scale was inspiring!

Gröndahl’s inspiration for the artwork at Keran Hallit were plants, and she exploited the whole wall for her work.

– Lately, I’ve been doing a series “Flowers and plants,” which the Keran Hallit piece is a part of. My work there is recognizable, and I’ve evolved in the past few years. The artwork [at Keran Hallit] “Blue plants” is a print-like piece, and I wanted to fill the wall appointed to me thoroughly.

Painting on a large wall was everything Gröndahl had hoped for, even though the scale felt frightening at first.

– It was amazing! It was a fulfillment of a dream, and now I am hoping to get working on even larger walls. At first, the size seemed scary to me, but once I started working, the wall got smaller, and making the painting was magnificent!

Gröndahl didn’t face many challenges, mostly a bit of nervousness.

– Honestly, I freaked out when I first saw the lifter that I was supposed to use. But after a good introduction, using it was not a problem, and it was actually fun. During windy moments being up there made me a little nervous, but my passion for painting was stronger than my nervousness.

Gröndahl talks about painting at Keran Hallit in a positive way, and mentions that her interest in painting murals has risen.

– This is so great! The mural bug has bitten me good, and now I am dreaming of future mural projects. It is also great to see my work be part of a magnificent mural concentration consisting of works by so many talented artists.

The reception of her work has especially warmed Gröndahl’s heart.

– Thank you all who have shared pictures of my work on social media. It’s so wonderful to see that people have found it, every single picture warms my heart!