His father, a forester for Rääbise Manor [et], collected folk songs and sent them to Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald.
[3] The future artist started painting at the age six, following the example of his older cousin, who was a portrait painter.
Peet Aren, August Roosileht, Jaan Vahtra [et], Konrad Mägi, and others studied at the same school with him.
In 1930, Vihvelin moved into Piira Manor [et] and Carl Timoleon von Neff's studio.
In 1925, he created the compositions Ketsemani aed (The Garden of Gethsemane) and Colgata (Calvary) for the wing decorations of the altar painting of Saint Peter's Church in Tartu.