Veronika Padar

Could you tell us about your journey into art and what first inspired you to become an artist?

My connection with art began in childhood. I loved drawing and painting from an early age, and my artworks were exhibited in school art exhibitions. Creativity has always been a natural part of who I am.

As life unfolded, my focus shifted to family, higher education, and entrepreneurship. Although art remained close to my heart, it took a quieter place in my life for many years. About six years ago, I felt a strong desire to paint again. It was not something I planned—it was simply a feeling that it was the right time to return to art. Since then, I have been painting intuitively, allowing each artwork to develop naturally without following a predetermined sketch.

Today, painting is much more than a creative practice for me. It is a way of expressing emotions, exploring the invisible connection between people and nature, and sharing the inner world that words alone cannot always describe.

Nature, mysticism, and feminine energy are central to your practice. How did these themes become part of your artistic language?

Nature has always been an essential part of my life. I feel most at peace by the sea, in forests, or simply observing the changing seasons. These places are not only landscapes to me—they are sources of energy, silence, and inspiration.

Mysticism entered my artistic language through personal experiences that shaped the way I perceive the world. Since I was young, I have felt that there is more to life than what we can physically see. One particularly meaningful experience was encountering ball lightning when I was fourteen years old. Instead of fear, I felt a profound sense of calm and wonder. That moment deepened my connection with nature and its unseen forces, and ever since, thunderstorms have carried a special meaning for me. Feminine energy naturally became part of my work because many of my paintings explore intuition, resilience, transformation, and inner strength. The female figure is not only a person in my paintings—it represents the quiet power, wisdom, and emotional depth that I believe exists within every human being.

Veronika Padar | Between Two Worlds | 2024

Your work explores the invisible connection between the human soul and the natural world. How do you translate something so intangible into visual form?

For me, the invisible is often more powerful than what we can physically see. I believe that nature carries its own rhythm and energy, and as human beings, we are deeply connected to it—even if we do not always notice it.

When I begin a painting, I rarely have a fixed image in my mind. I allow intuition to guide me. The colours, textures, and forms gradually reveal themselves during the creative process. I never try to force the painting to become something specific. Instead, I listen to what it wants to become.

Many of my works begin with a feeling rather than an idea. As I paint, that feeling slowly transforms into symbols, movement, light, and texture. This is how I give visual form to emotions, intuition, and the invisible relationship between the human soul and nature.

I hope my paintings encourage people to slow down for a moment, to reconnect with themselves, and to remember that we are all part of something much greater than ourselves.

How does your Estonian background and the natural environment of Estonia influence your imagination and creative process?

Estonia has shaped me in many ways, both as a person and as an artist. I grew up surrounded by forests, the sea, and the quiet beauty of nature. Here, silence is never empty—it is full of life, movement, and stories waiting to be discovered.

I spend a great deal of time in nature, and it is there that I find balance, inspiration, and clarity. Walking along the coastline, listening to the wind in the pine trees, or simply observing the changing light often becomes the beginning of a new painting.

I believe the Estonian landscape teaches us to slow down and to notice the small details that are easily overlooked. This way of seeing has deeply influenced my creative process. Rather than copying nature, I try to capture the feeling it awakens within me.

Although my paintings are inspired by Estonia, I hope they speak a universal language. The emotions, connection with nature, and search for inner harmony belong to all of us, regardless of where we come from.

You work with acrylic paint, pouring techniques, yarn, texture, and other materials. What attracts you to mixed media, and how do you decide which materials to use in a particular work?

I enjoy the freedom that mixed media gives me. Every material has its own character and allows me to express emotions in a different way. For me, texture is just as important as colour because it adds another dimension to the artwork and invites the viewer to experience it beyond the visual image.

I never decide on the materials before I begin a painting. My creative process is intuitive, and each artwork gradually reveals what it needs. Sometimes the painting calls for flowing acrylics and soft transitions, while other times I feel the need to build texture with modelling paste or introduce yarn to create movement, connection, or symbolic elements.

I don’t use different materials simply to make a painting more decorative. Every texture, line, and layer has a purpose. They become part of the story the artwork is telling and help me express feelings that cannot always be communicated through paint alone.

Veronika Padar | Wings Of Becoming | 2025

Female figures appear as powerful symbolic presences in your paintings. Do you see them as individual characters, archetypes, self-portraits, or embodiments of a particular energy?

The women in my paintings are not portraits of specific people. They are symbolic figures that represent different aspects of the human spirit, emotions, and inner transformation.

Sometimes they reflect something deeply personal—my own experiences, thoughts, or emotions. At other times, they become universal symbols of intuition, resilience, wisdom, and the quiet strength that people discover within themselves during life’s challenges.

I believe that every viewer brings their own story to a painting. Rather than defining exactly who these women are, I prefer to leave space for interpretation. Someone may recognize themselves in them, while another person may see someone completely different.

For me, feminine energy is not limited to women. It represents intuition, compassion, creativity, and the ability to transform and grow. These are qualities that belong to all human beings, and through my paintings I hope to remind people of the strength that already exists within them.

What emotions or reflections would you like viewers to carry with them after encountering your paintings?

I hope my paintings encourage people to slow down and reconnect with themselves, even if only for a brief moment.

In today’s fast-paced world, we rarely give ourselves time to be still, to listen to our inner voice, or simply to observe the beauty that surrounds us. Through my work, I hope to create a quiet space where viewers can pause, breathe, and experience something beyond everyday life.

I do not expect everyone to interpret my paintings in the same way. In fact, I hope they won’t. Every person brings their own memories, emotions, and experiences, and that makes each encounter with a painting unique.

If someone walks away feeling a little more peaceful, inspired, or connected to nature—and perhaps also to themselves—then I feel that my artwork has fulfilled its purpose.

For me, art is not only something to look at. It is something to feel.