How I Use AI in My Art – From Idea to Painting

Behind my paintings lies a deep interest in using AI as part of artistic work. Although I love working with my hands, I have always enjoyed digital tools and processes as well. New technology has fascinated me for a long time, and already in the mid-2010s, while studying fashion design at Aalto University, I became interested in 3D modeling — which at the time was still something quite new in fashion design.

When I first heard about AI being used to create images in 2023, I became immediately curious. I started wondering whether I could use it in my own creative process — in a way that would genuinely feel like my own. For me, it is important not to copy or repeat something that already exists, but to create something new.

Through experimentation, I gradually found my own way of using AI. Over time, I began focusing more and more on portraits — and eventually a world emerged where cats, frogs, and rubber ducks appear as the main characters in strange yet carefully constructed portraits.

Ideas come from everywhere: dreams, news, everyday observations, memories, and emotions. Everything I see, hear, or experience can become part of the process. I do not want my work to make political statements or tell one fixed story. Instead, I want to leave space for the viewer's own interpretation — every character can exist as its own individual, and every viewer can discover their own story within the image.

I also have certain personal rules within my process. My characters may wear accessories and elaborate headpieces, but they are not humans — I do not dress them in human clothing or place them in human-like poses. I want them to retain their own essence.

The reference image is created with the help of AI, but I always ask for it to appear photographic — never like a finished painting. I also never imitate or replicate the style of individual artists. Instead, I draw inspiration more broadly from artistic movements and visual traditions, while building the final work through my own hand and interpretation.

For me, AI is not a shortcut, but a tool. Creating the right reference image requires a great deal of experimentation and an understanding of how AI interprets language. Building prompts can sometimes feel like constructing a complex mathematical formula, where every word and its order matters.

Once the reference image is complete, I continue refining it through digital image editing before beginning the painting itself. Even this phase can take several hours.

The painting, however, remains the true core of the process. Completing a single work typically takes around 100 hours.

Although I use AI, my process is still slow, deliberate, and deeply rooted in craftsmanship. Being open about my working methods is important to me — especially because I know AI can provoke many different thoughts and reactions.

In the end, each artwork becomes a combination of idea, technology, craftsmanship — and above all, imagination.