The Journey Into Imagiarium - How It All Began

When I graduated with a Master of Arts degree, I believed for a long time that abstract art would be my way of expressing myself. I painted and created black-and-white charcoal drawings, exploring form and atmosphere without any representational imagery.

Then the pandemic arrived — and at the same time, something unexpected happened.

At Christmas in 2020, I decided to paint a portrait of my husband Petri and myself as a gift. In the painting, our faces were covered with masks, capturing a specific moment in time. The work was modern, yet highly realistic and detailed.

While painting it, I realized something surprising: I could actually do this too — meticulous, highly detailed representational work. That realization stayed with me, quietly growing in the background, and little by little my abstract expression began to fade into the distance.

The next step toward Imagiarium was equally inspired by coincidence.

One day, Petri commented that the velociraptors in Jurassic Park reminded him of our cat Ibis. The idea stayed in my mind, and soon I began imagining a series where our cats, Ibis and Alli, would merge with different animals based on their personalities.

I imagined things like a velociraptor's body with Ibis's head, or a marine iguana lounging on a rock with Alli's unmistakable expression.

I planned the series for a long time, but eventually abandoned it. I was afraid people would find the idea too strange or off-putting — that it might not connect with anyone.

Instead, I started creating digital drawings of Ibis and Alli on my computer. In those drawings, the cats were exactly as they truly are: grooming themselves, playing, scratching — not posing elegantly, but simply living their own cat lives.

At first, I thought I would turn these drawings into a painted cat series. But then, in 2023, a completely new source of inspiration entered my life: AI.

AI immediately fascinated me. I began experimenting with image generators, searching for ways to combine my own creativity with new technology.

Slowly, the idea of Imagiarium began to take shape: an imaginative portrait gallery where cats, frogs, and rubber ducks would come to life wearing unusual headpieces and standing in richly detailed environments.

Looking back now, I realize that the roots of Imagiarium reach much deeper than my discovery of AI. They already existed in Christmas 2020 — and even further back, in my student years in 2012.

Back then, one of my professors encouraged us to create something new — something that had never been done before. That advice has stayed with me ever since, quietly guiding everything I do.

Perhaps that is why I now follow my own path. I paint almost photorealistic animal portraits at a time when many artists favor looser and more abstract forms of expression.

And perhaps it is also a kind of countercurrent choice that I simply want my work to bring joy — to create warmth, smiles, curiosity, and wonder in the viewer.

For me, Imagiarium is a place where different eras and worlds meet: the tradition of portrait galleries, childhood memories, and the possibilities of new technology.

It is a collaboration between imagination and emotion — a small magical world where everyone is welcome.