Artist Raili Jänese pays close attention to the small stuff. It might be a goose on the move, a rabbit in the yard, or a person lost in the rituals of coffee or cooking. The Estonian-born artist, now based in Kirkland, makes colorful acrylic works that turn everyday behavior—human and animal alike—into something funny and tender.

Working on canvas, wood, and paper, Jänese has built a practice around observation. Earlier work often focused on urban wildlife and the animals that live beside us without getting much notice. More recently, after the pandemic, her paintings have widened to include people too, and the strange little performance of being human. With bold color and graphic composition, she captures people eating pickles, sipping wine, riding public transportation, and going about their lives with amused affection.

Jänese has shown work across the region, including solo exhibitions at Happy Time Studio Gallery and Oxbow Montlake, and participated in the Seattle Art Fair. Her work has also appeared in public art projects in Bellevue, Kent, Kirkland, and Seattle, an extension of her interest in making art part of daily life rather than something kept at a distance.

Her solo exhibition, E.L.U, will be on view at Ryan James Fine Arts May 1-31. A Gallery Night is set for Friday, May 22, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Artist Raili Jänese at work in her Woodinville studio.

Photo courtesy of Raili Jänese

Hometown

Tallinn, Estonia.

Discipline

Acrylic painter.

Favorite spot in Seattle

Space Needle.

Describe your work in three words.

Vibrant. Observant. Playful.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?

I have always been creative and loved drawing since I was a kid, so the temptation to try being an artist was always there. Back in Estonia, where I was born, I chose a different career path and worked in the corporate world.

When I moved to the Seattle area and found myself between jobs, I decided to take some time to explore painting. I rented a studio in Wallingford for one month with the intention of creating a single series of works just for myself. That decision became the trigger for my artist career, because everything snowballed from there—in a good way. At one point, that one-month artwork series had grown far beyond what I originally imagined. I guess that was when I realized I wanted to be an artist.

Where do you find inspiration?

In daily life and simple moments. For me, everyday scenes—whether involving humans or other living creatures—are an endless source of inspiration. I take a lot of photos, often during family gatherings or during small, mundane moments when someone is doing something ordinary. If one of those images stays in my mind for too long, I know it’s time to translate it into a painting and hand it over to the audience. These moments usually carry a wider and deeper meaning for me, but once the work is finished, it’s up to the viewer to decide the story and emotions they see in it.

“00 Only,” 30”x40,” acrylic painting on canvas, 2026.

Image courtesy of Raili Jänese

What are you working on now?

I’m continuing my exploration of work centered around food and coffee. This winter challenged me with an injury that forced me to spend more time at home, so I looked for ways to keep creating. Being home naturally meant cooking, eating, and brewing a lot of coffee—which I love. Creating larger acrylic works on canvas wasn’t possible in a home environment, so all of that led to a drawing series called Sketches from the Culinary Heaven, where I explored human passion for food and why we crave what we crave. As a result of that period, now—after returning to my studio—I have freshly finished several larger-scale paintings on canvas, some of which will be shown in my solo exhibition at Ryan James Fine Arts this May.

I also have experimental coffee-themed works in progress, where I’m examining our collective love for coffee and coffee culture. For these pieces, I’m painting on used coffee filters to create a direct connection to the subject itself.

Tell us about your proudest moment as an artist.

My proudest moments as an artist often come from public projects. There’s something incredibly meaningful about creating work that becomes part of a neighborhood—art that anyone can encounter in their daily life. Hearing from people who have seen my mural and other public pieces, or who recognize my paintings in public access buildings (where art is not usually the first thing on people’s minds), gives me a huge amount of energy. It’s a reminder that art truly is for everyone.

From a personal growth perspective, there have also been milestones that make me proud. Realizing what my true artistic “handwriting” is—and seeing people recognize it—was a meaningful moment. And honestly, the small victories often matter just as much: when a composition comes out exactly the way I imagined it in my head, that feels just as rewarding as being part of a major project or collaboration. You have to honor the small wins as passionately as the big ones.

“I’ll get there,” 40”x30,” acrylic painting on canvas, 2025.

Image courtesy of Raili Jänese

Share one piece of advice you wish you knew when you were first starting out.

Painting is just one layer of the onion. An artist has to step into so many different roles on a daily basis. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but sometimes those other layers reveal themselves unexpectedly, and you just keep peeling—navigating this profession one layer at a time.

What do you still hope to accomplish?

A lot, hopefully. I started painting more actively in 2019-2020, so not very long ago. Those first years of exploring my artistic path felt a bit like being back in school—lots of work, constant learning, and daily victories and errors happening side by side.

Now, a few years later, I feel like a fresh graduate: I have a portfolio of work, some real-life experience, a few connections, and several exhibitions behind me. All of that has helped me feel more confident putting myself out there. I have spent a lot of hours working in the studio for that.

My current solo show E.L.U brings together a variety of my most inspired moments and allows me to share them with the audience. It feels like a meaningful milestone, and I hope for more such showings in the future.

I’d also like to continue collaborating with local businesses that are passionate about showing art in their spaces. The Seattle area is lucky to have many such venues that participate in Art Walks or host rotating exhibitions, and through these collaborations I’ve met truly special people behind those businesses.

If you weren’t making art, what would you be doing?

I worked in the corporate field for quite a long time before making the turn to become an artist, and I now finally understand how much I enjoy creating something with my own two hands. So if I weren’t painting, I imagine I would still be doing something creative. I’d love to work with natural materials like wood or leather—or, if it were a completely different field, I’d love to work in or for nature in some way.