Architect Pasi Widgren from the city of Lahti in eastern Finland draws large animal images in the snow using a simple shovel. His first "painting" was created on a frozen lake in the Lakipisto nature reserve in Lahti's vicinity, where the artist likes to cycle all year round. Widgren's impressive debut featured a giant owl. The picture was about 100 meters in diameter and its image quickly spread in the social media.
This year, Widgren just could not wait for the snow to cover the surface of the lake to start shoveling again. This time, his creation featured a realistic wolf portrait. According to Widgren, the "paintings" are "drawn" on the spot without any preliminary sketches, which is no mean feat.
By his own admission, Widgren's initial ambition was to portray a fox, but in the course of the shovel work, which took about one and a half hours to complete, the fox "evolved" into a wolf.
"I've been drawing and crafting various things all my life, and now I make a living as an architect in the design branch," Widgren told Finnish national broadcaster Yle.
As beautiful as Widgren's creations are, they are fragile and may be easily damaged by a thaw. Whereas the image is unlikely to vanish completely, it may become deformed. However, last year's masterpiece managed to survive for a surprisingly long time. Widgren hasn't ruled out the possibility of creating yet another sequel.
"We'll see. If the conditions are good, then why not. It's more of an impromptu affair," Widgren said.
