“George Laakso Studio”
Acrylic 24x18”
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George mastered in aluminum casting & sculpted his art forms starting in 1955(died Circa 1980) shown here in his Virginia Beach, Va studio surrounded by his work for inspiration.
Laakso hand carved stone & wood, welded & pierced iron, loved to work in bronze & aluminum. He has been an inspiration of mine for his ability to see no limits. I have collected his aluminum artwork for over 15 years. His passion for his work has positively affected my mindset.
George Laakso was born in Finland, and he joined the Finnish Navy. While coming close to the USA he decided to jump ship & swam to Ellis Island, Circa 1950. He became a US citizen and continued with his art interest. He is self-taught & received numerous awards in Finland, Canada & the US throughout his career. He was very prolific artist and produced a lot work that was displayed at the Norfolk Museum of Arts & the Chrysler Museum. he received many awards and became friendly with Walter Chrysler the automotive heir.
He & his wife Ruthie had the first art studio in Virginia Beach & founded the huge Boardwalk Art show in the 1970’s that thrives today. She was also an artist and created very rich oil paintings.
Ironically I attended the first show & was in a sandcastle building contest as a kid with my sister in the 1970’s.
I painted this painting below as a tribute to George & as an inspiration to me.
George did welding, sculpting, casting & texture finishes. Some great examples of his work are the soldier on horse in cast aluminum and "Finnish Warrior" in lower photos. George carved his subjects to cast in styrofoam and then he made a mold. So he was doing lost wax casting of sorts. Each piece one of a kind as the styrofoam template would be destroyed in the process of creation.
The #acrylic painting I did as a tribute to George Laakso 24x18" canvass (photo below)
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Finnish mythology greatly influenced George and it appears throughout his work.
(left) Sun and Moon with flame
(lower right) Water color I obtained painted by George Laakso showing the Finnish #mythology "Kalevala" of the blacksmith that would create the Sun, Moon and Stars on an anvil, then place them in the sky with a tall ladder.
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George died of heart failure of a reported simple problem to remedy by 1990 but he needed it in 1970. His life was cut short, he created a large body of work that exist around Tidewater cities in Virginia today.
He created the grand 3 story pierced tubular chandelier at the Edgar Cayce Institute building in North Virginia Beach. ~~~~
Please enjoy his work.
Special thanks to Jan Diogivanni who brought me together with George Laakso’s work & spirit. #Virginiabeach #acrylic #sculptor #artist
(right) George Laakso in his studio working on a large sculpture surrounded by his many types of iron and aluminum castings.
(above) "Finnish Warrior" cast in #aluminum with a bronze scull cap.
(right) George welding iron art works
(Left) "Soldier on Horse" in cast #aluminum reminds me of Don Quixote & Salvador Dali
An oil painting of
George Laakso 24x30”
(right)
Large Carved Seagull
(left)
Iron work "Hommage to the Sea"
Iron bending & welding