Esa Nieminen

Esa has been a full-time artist for over 50 years. Over the years, he has exhibited his artwork in numerous art exhibits. He began to participate in Toronto and other southern Ontario art shows.

In the eighties, he and his family moved to Northern Ontario, Lake Temiskaming area to be closer to nature and built a house and an art gallery, where he exhibited and sold his artwork. The art gallery was busy, due to so many tourists that used to visit the area in those years.

Esa is the author of 4 books in the series "Esa's Art Designs" and his paintings and designs have been published in many art-related magazines in North America. Esa enjoys teaching, and he teaches at special events, conventions and painting guilds. Esa's styles and techniques are versatile and his artwork covers a wide spectrum of subjects from contemporary art to land and seascapes.

Esa lives in the pretty lake-side town of Port Colborne, where he has his attached in-home studio, where you can see his latest artwork. A few times a year he conducts Creative Painting Workshops in his studio, a perfect place to paint with the natural light filtering through the ceiling skylights. The goal is to teach the students to expand their painting range and capabilities in the process of creating art.

“Painting daily is important to me, trying to master my skills, and learning new approaches. There is always a painting in progress.

I try to have an overall plan of what I am going to paint. In the beginning, I might have some idea of what I will paint, but at the end, the painting might be totally different from what I had in mind when I started. I like to experiment with different kinds of painting surfaces, such as metal, slate or quartz, besides canvas. At times, I create textured, raised effects on a painting. I apply thick paint with rough brushstrokes, creating an interesting, dynamic texture on a painting. I used to paint with oils and watercolours, but for many years now, my preferred painting medium has been acrylic. Currently, I am creating my art on metal canvas and on metal sculptor panels.”