2009 began with great news for the Aapo Pukk Gallery

The Portrait Society of America (PSOA) awarded Aapo with three awards in the 2008 Members Showcase Competition. They are as follows:
2nd Place in the “Multi-Figure” category.

4th Place in the “Head and Shoulders” category.
An Honorable Mention Award in “Women” category.



Aapo was born on October 3, 1962 in Tartu, Estonia.

His mother Laine Pukk taught art at the Children’s Art School.

His father Aleksander Suuman (1927-2003) was a well-known poet and a painter.

From 1980–1986 Aapo studied Graphic fine art at the Tallinn Art Academy. After that he worked for the magazine “Times Pulse” as an art director.

In 1991 he started his freelance artist career, specializing in portraiture. 

Aapo has shown his works in more than 40 solo-exhibitions and participated in more than 30 group-exhibitions. He has portrayed His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Alexy II, President of the Republic of Estonia Arnold Rüütel, Chairman of the Parliament of Estonia Toomas Savi, former California Assembly member George Nakano, Sister Terrence Landinini for Providence Little Company of Mary Hospital and many others. 


Aapo’s paintings have been chosen to hang at the British Royal Society of Portrait Painter’s annual exhibitions in London. Also, his works have been selected to participate in a European exhibition “Europastello” in Italy and Russia.

The artist has won more than ten international awards. One of the highest was in 2007, when he was presented the First Honor Award from PSOA for a portrait of “Art Collector Matti Milius”.


At present Aapo lives and works with his family in Palos Verdes, California in the United States of America.
Aapo enjoys instruction and has taught passionate students. His skilled classes will lead the student into classical figurative art. Aapo has taught a three month portrait class at the Palos Verdes Art Center. In 2007 he painted a portrait as a demonstration for the PSOA California members at The California Art Institute.

Established in 1998, The Portrait Society of America is the largest international organization that is committed only to portrait art. There are over 4100 members worldwide. The purpose of the Portrait Society is to foster and enhance an understanding of the practice, techniques and applications of traditional fine art portraiture and figurative works. Aapo Pukk has been PSOA member since 1999.

Detailed below are the three award-winning paintings.

 "Camille, Tess and Emily"
. 2007 
Oil on canvas 29,5”x42,5” 



A seemingly easy yet difficult task: 3 sisters of different ages, personalities and different characters. A challenge to keep sitting still during the painting process, I decided to tell them one continuing scary-story. It was a story from my childhood called “Yellow Women”. Everything went well, the three beauties sat still, enthralled by the tale.