He painted Lappland. Andreas Alariesto recorded an unknown culture

To Finns, who are passionate about the Great Outdoors, Lappish culture epitomizes the ideal oneness of man and nature, and Andreas Alariesto is the official illustrator of that intimacy. His paintings not only reveal the unity, they actually help preserve it: One third of his post card royalties go to the World Wildlife Fund, Finland, to maintain the surroundings of hiking cottages in Lappland. That gesture alone is enough to win the hearts of Finland's countless nature lovers.

Alariesto grew up in the spare, rigorous environment of Finnish Lappland; he was born in the 900-year old village of Riesto, 130 miles north of the Arctic Circle. His father was a reindeer man and a farmer, and Alariesto worked with him until he was 12. ``We had some schooling, but it wasn't a regular school. It was just reading and writing. We had slates and chalk for practicing our writing - but I used mine for drawing!''

At age 15, Alariesto bought a camera and ``began photographing all those ways I knew would disappear.'' He became a multimedia conservationist who spent most of his free time painting, photographing, and clipping newspapers in an effort to carry parts of his past into his future. ``I have always been very interested in history and felt a great passion for storing knowledge and details,'' he explains. No one ever paid him for his spontaneous efforts to document Lappish culture. To put bread on his table, Andreas pursued other kinds of labor, from gold panning to road construction.

In the 1950s, Alariesto built a home for himself and his wife, Rikka, in a small Arctic town called Lokka. Some 10 years later the house caught fire, and his lifelong accumulation of paintings, photographs, and clippings, stored in the attic, were destroyed. Disappointed but undeterred, Alariesto started over - rebuilding his home and painting more vigorously than ever the countless Lappish scenes stored in his memory. One neighbor recalls, ``He painted constantly and wholeheartedly, singing all the while.'' Gradually he rebuilt his stock of cultural renderings.

His collection has captured the admiration of ethnohistorians.

``The value of Andreas's work is not only the paintings themselves, but the stories they carry,'' say Sari Ratenan, cultural researcher for the Lappia House Museum. ``He is quite accurate in his observations, and his paintings go very well with the facts we know of Lappish culture, such as his painting that shows how Lapps sleep in the tent.''

In addition, Alariesto has depicted cultural aspects unknown to researchers. For example, says Ms. Ratenan, ``he has painted a story that shows a reindeer herder taking blood from antlers. Andreas says that there were periods of the year when food was low and Lapps had to bleed the antlers for food. I haven't seen this before, but I will check it because it is in Andreas's painting.''

Alariesto says he paints ``to bring the past to new generations so they might discover that it is not something separate, but part of us.'' At a time when Lapps (who call themselves Sami) are increasingly anxious that their distinct culture not be absorbed by mass modernity, Alariesto's ability to revitalize their traditions is priceless.

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