Put Thoughts and Feelings into Your Art
I am excited to start the fall season with a video blog post! I will create the mixed media painting above from start to finish and show the atmosphere of my creative space as authentically as I can. I will also talk about Inspirational Drawing, my online drawing workshop that will begin in September!
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Force Yourself to Experiment!
One day at the local library, I browsed the latest issue of International Artist magazine. I must confess that I had to force myself to do that as the magazine showcases a lot of traditional and realistic art, landscapes, and portraits. Especially in the recent ten years, I have been more interested in examining what is seen inside my head, reflected from outside world, than to illustrate the exact images of the outside world. But now and then I like to force myself to examine things that I don’t feel drawn. It makes me more open and allows me to pick ideas that are hidden behind processes that I am unlikely to obey.
So I gave myself a task: pick any photo and draw one element from it! After drawing and coloring the element I was allowed to fill the rest of the art journal page freely. So if I followed the boring routine, I was able to treat myself in the end.
Choosing the Photo
My husband has an aquarium, and I love it. Just recently he bought five new discus fish. I happened to take a photo once they were released to the tank. I thought that this image would be just perfect for the purpose. The more I art journal, the more I think of it as a diary. It’s mainly a diary of my inner world, but this fish is so beautiful that I could happily let it swim to my imaginary world as well.
Realistic Drawing – Sketching the Fish
I don’t usually use a pencil as I like every stroke to be visible. However, this time, I followed the artists from International Artist magazine: they all seem to use pencil or charcoal for sketching. I drew a simple sketch of the fish taking care of proportions more than the details.
Coloring the Fish
I followed the photo in color choices as well. I just made each of the color more vibrant. While coloring, I also added more details to the fish.
After the fish had been finished, I gave myself the freedom to doodle my heart out.
Finishing
Coloring the fish with colored pencils did not feel particularly inspirational. But when I began adding colors to the mess I had made around the fish, all the fun began! I was able to do anything – yes anything! I thought about water flowing and bubbling freely, and everything started to look more loose and alive, even the fish.
Lessons Learned
After finishing the page, I asked myself, could I create more pages this way: combine realistic drawing with more imaginary elements. Yes, I could. But I think that it would be more fun to create it all freely: drawing the central element first with extra care and then adding surrounding elements. Or pick elements from various photos and construct a scene that way or … All in all, I got few new ideas, and this was a good experiment!
However, I know now why I love drawing that is liberated from all the expectations. It is much more fun and exciting! I also believe that it is good for us to both see and process what we think and feel. It is so liberating to let it all come out on the paper.
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A Natural Approach to Creating Art
My latest art journal page is called “Withering Peonies.” What I love most about peonies is that they are always graceful and brave, whether they get ready for blooming or withering, whether it is late autumn or early spring. They are living in the middle of the continuous transformation, and it’s always enjoyable to watch them. They seem unique and individual; even every flower looks different from each other.
No Fixations, Just Painting and Doodling
When watching peonies, I think about the word “natural.” To be able to grow as artists, we need to learn to express ourselves naturally. Like peonies bend towards the light, we should bend towards our inner thoughts and feelings. So when I began to create the artwork, I did not think about anything particular, not even about peonies.
I started with acrylic paints and a palette knife creating thin spots of color using a restricted color palette. Then I changed to a drawing pen and let it move freely, without any fixated thought.
I believe that we suffocate our creativity when we have fixed images in our minds. We get disappointed if we cannot copy the images exactly on paper. But then, the fixed image is often imperfect, impossible to copy. It is more like a collection of visuals, a movie or an emotion that is not very detailed. If we fixate on that, we turn away from what is natural.
Moving forward is natural. It’s natural to let thoughts flow freely and add more colors and layers.
More Mixed Media
I used watercolors for some areas.
After watercolors, I worked with colored pencils.
A Theme Emerges
While coloring, I saw peonies emerging on the page and I remembered the peonies that were put in a vase to save them from the rain.
When peony flowers mature, they will lose their color. That gave me the idea to take some gesso and rub it on the surface of the piece. First with a palette knife but then with fingers, to soften parts of the edges.
Finally, I sharpened some details with a drawing pen and made some color areas clearer with colored pencils.
Journaling
Writing thoughts after creating an artwork feels natural too. Drawing or painting is not only a technical process, but it’s also a way to process thoughts.
The Natural Approach
Withering peonies can be a symbol of letting go. When you open yourself to art, something beautiful might disappear. But it is so exciting to see what else will appear – naturally!
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Why Keep a Sketchbook?
This is a photo collage of the art journal pages that I have made. My art journals are also my sketchbooks: some of their pages document new ideas instead of expressing my current thoughts and feelings. When I draw sketches, I often pick a subject that I want to explore more closely. This time, I wanted to examine landscape paintings and mid-century modern ceramics.
My sketchbook pages also contain text. If I find an inspiring article or book, I write down the most useful quotes. This time, I found an interesting article about landscape paintings in the latest “Taide” magazine. It is a Finnish art magazine that I regularly read when visiting a local library.
Carrying Sketchbook and Pencils
I always take my art journal with me, when going to the library. Usually, I pick a Moleskine Sketchbook, thin-tipped drawing pens and some colored pencils. Cretacolor Aqua Monolith pencils are excellent for traveling (see this post for more information).
Drawing Sketches from Paintings
I also found a book about a Swedish painter Peter Frie who specializes in simplified landscape paintings. Some of his paintings are constructed so that the landscape only fills a part of the canvas. I found this concept really interesting and applicable for art journal pages too.
When I draw sketches, I don’t copy the paintings accurately. I focus on the construction and the details that I find especially interesting. I also add explanations to them so that I can remember later why I included those bright spots or other details to the sketch.
Now you may ask: why wouldn’t I just take a photo or be even more practical, browse Pinterest and pin images? It’s what many do, and it’s much quicker than create hand-drawn and hand-colored sketches. I believe that when you draw, you will get deeper on the subject. You have to:
… decide what’s most important, and what can be left out
… find out the main structural elements and their relations
… recreate the image in your personal drawing style
And while doing all that you will learn new shapes, ways, and structures so that you can later use them more freely in your artwork.
Random Page Order Increases Inspiration
I create pages in random order to my art journals, and I just love how new pages go with the old ones. The drawing on the left is a new one, and an older page on the right looks like another version of the same location!
It is also interesting to create spreads that deal with two very different subjects: the page on the right is about landscapes and the page on the left shows sketches about motifs from mid-century modern ceramics.
I found the idea of dividing the page fascinating, so I created a new one with watercolors, adding ideas from the ceramics in their sections.
Then I created a couple of pages that combine the ideas from landscapes and ceramics.
When you see inspiring things but find it difficult to remember them later when creating, it is helpful to keep a sketchbook! To fully process inspiration, we need to use both our heads and hands!
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