Fine art body painting commission - "Our vow"

I've been waiting the chance to share this project with the world - a fine art body painting commissioned by a beautiful couple, Susanna and Mikko. This project was full of excitement, fun, emotions and life. I feel blessed to have been trusted to create a piece of art of the most special time in this couple's life.

Lupauksemme - Our vow
Artist: Riina Laine

​Here is Susanna's and Mikko's story. ​

Susanna:
Being pregnant is a gift and I wanted to capture that special time somehow, but an ordinary photo session just didn't feel right.  When I saw Riina's belly painting work it all started to fall into place. After talking about it with her, instead of the normal belly painting she suggested we could do something with both me and my husband. The thought of having Mikko and myself painted into a piece of art resonated with us. 

Mikko:
​We built our house three years ago and since then a high wall space in our living room has been empty and waiting for us to find a suitable image or artwork to hang on it. Our wedding photos didn't make the cut - apparently there was something weird or funny about my posing my wife says...! So when Susanna suggested we'd get body painted and get a unique photo of us on the wall, I couldn't really say no. Well, truthfully I was excited about the new experience and it sounded fun to do together.

Susanna:
The process of creating this piece was exciting. We spoke with Riina about our wishes and together we discussed the ideas, the size of the painting etc. However, we were happy to give Riina artistic freedom to design the painting, but it's wonderful how she chose the colours and style to fit our interior and I feel the painting reflects what we wanted.

Mikko:
​Being painted felt nice and relaxing, just very natural. The day was long and especially for Susanna as she was 7 months pregnant at the time. It was physically tiring but a great experience. After the initial meeting with Riina, we had the painting session, and of course we couldn't wait to see the end result. I think the hardest part of the whole process was the waiting of the final print!

Susanna:
When we opened the package and saw the final artwork, it was just... wow. It's perfect.  Of course it is different to have a piece of art created for us on the wall instead of just any photograph. It's more emotional, you can't really compare it to anything. This is meaningful to us.
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Our son Sulo is long awaited and desired. This artwork on our wall is a concrete reminder how nothing should be taken for granted, not pregnancy nor this little miracle of life. This piece is also about our love for each other, something we need to remember to value and take care of as well. It's our vow.

Making-of Our vow - how was it created?

The behind-the-scenes video is in Finnish for now, but you can click the button for the English subtitles. :)

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CREDITS
Thank you Susanna and Mikko for this wonderful commission! 
Thank you Pinja Bruun for the behind-the-scenes photos and videography.
 - Check out Pinja's beautiful work at www.pienipalaunelmaa.com!