Lotta Lassbo
Can you introduce yourself and tell us how your artistic journey began?
I am a Swedish artist and the person behind Humlans Art. Humla is the Swedish word for bumblebee, and it also happens to be the name of our home.
I have painted for as long as I can remember. As a child, I was fascinated by colour, animals and nature, and painting was simply something that made me happy.
For many years, painting was something I did alongside everything else in life. Then, after a period of exhaustion, I found my way back to creativity in a much deeper way. This became an important turning point in my life.
Today, art is a big part of my everyday life. I paint, exhibit my work and teach painting and Vedic Art courses. I love sharing the freedom and joy of creating with others.
For me, painting is not about being perfect. It is about being curious, daring to experiment and seeing where the painting wants to take you.
What ideas, experiences or emotions inspire your artwork?
Colour is probably my greatest source of inspiration. I love how colours can create a feeling before we even understand why.
Nature and animals are also constant sources of inspiration. I have a particular love for animals, especially elephants and the other animals I have encountered during my travels and safaris.
I am inspired by life itself too—by movement, change, joy, stillness and all the unexpected things that happen along the way.
Sometimes I begin with a photograph or an idea, but I rarely know exactly what the finished painting will look like. I enjoy that uncertainty and allow the painting to develop a life of its own.
How would you describe your creative process and the materials you use?
My creative process is intuitive, playful and quite physical.
I mainly work with acrylic paint and love building my paintings through layers of colour, texture and movement. I use brushes, palette knives, rollers and sometimes whatever happens to be within reach. I enjoy experimenting and seeing what happens when I add, remove or paint over something.
I often begin with something recognisable—an animal, a landscape or an idea—but then allow the painting to develop through colour and intuition.
Sometimes I have a clear plan, and sometimes I absolutely do not. Both are perfectly fine!
One of the most important things I have learned as an artist is to have the courage to let go of control.
Is there one artwork that is especially meaningful to you, and what is the story behind it?
One of my favourite recent elephant paintings is the artwork I submitted for this interview.
It began with a photograph I took during a safari. I have painted elephants many times over the years—from the front, from the side, in full figure, half figure and close-up.
This time, I became fascinated by the view from behind. There was something about the shape, movement and the way the elephant appeared to disappear into the landscape that made me want to paint it.
I do not usually want to simply reproduce a photograph. Instead, I use it as a starting point and allow colour, texture and intuition to take over. In this painting, the warm oranges and reds of the African landscape became just as important as the elephant itself.
And yes—I have now officially painted an elephant from every angle, including the back!
What are you currently working on, and what do you hope to explore in the future?
At the moment, I continue to explore animals, nature, colour and texture in my paintings. I am particularly interested in the moment when something recognisable begins to emerge from an expressive, almost abstract world of colour.
I am also exploring creativity in other ways through my painting courses and my book, Living Colorfully, in which I encourage people to have the courage to create and bring more colour into their lives.
Looking ahead, I would like to explore larger paintings, stronger contrasts and even greater freedom in my creative process.
I do not have a completely clear plan for where my art is going—and I actually like it that way.
There are still so many colours, animals, ideas and unexpected paths left to explore.
