How to Make Your Art More Captivating
Captivating is a big word, but I like to explore it from many angles. In this blog post, I give you six tips with examples. The first two are more related to the process of creating art than to the result. I believe that if the process itself doesn’t captivate, it’s less likely that the final piece will! The last four tips are about finishing your art so that it will be compelling.
1) Captivating Supplies – Choose What Gets You Going!
Using too many art supplies can cause overwhelm and unnecessary distraction. I choose the supplies based on how many hours I want to work on the project.
- Under an hour: Black drawing pen and colored pencils. They are quick to grab and work on any paper.
- Few hours: Water-soluble media like watercolors or inks. They cover big areas quickly, but they also allow detailed work, especially when combined with colored pencils.
- Tens of hours: Acrylic or oil paints. The result lasts time and can include tens of layers.
The projects shown in this blog post have taken 2-4 hours. These are all created with water-soluble media but this time, not with watercolors or inks. Namely, while organizing my supplies, I found Faber-Castell Gelatos and Derwent Artbars from my stash. I bought them many years ago when I was obsessed with having all the mixed media artist’s stuff. I purchased this and that, tried everything for few times, and then got disappointed because they didn’t improve my art. My solution back then was to reduce the number of art supplies and learn more about the basics of visual communication. It worked much better than hoping for the miracle with the new supplies!
But now when I opened the boxes, I was looking at Fabel-Castell Gelatos and Derwent Artbars with the new perspective. They could be quick and handy for sketchbooks and art journals. Because both of them are water-soluble, they could watercolors and inks once in a while.
I have now used Derwent Artbars and Faber-Castell Gelatos for my big sketchbook. I use Artbars for detailed brushwork and Gelatos for big and blurry areas.It has been quick and fun. The downside is that the result is quite waxy and I don’t think it will endure time very well. Furthermore, I can’t cover the opposite page because the staining would ruin it. However, the old and neglected supplies have managed to inspire me, and I think it shows in my recent work as well. The image above shows how I started the piece that you can find at the beginning of this blog post.
2) Captivating Looseness – Start without Intention!
The second captivating thing is related to the process of creating as well. I like to start most of my pieces, whether they are small sketches, bigger art journal pages, or big paintings intuitively without accurate planning. Sometimes I have an image, a word or a style in mind. It inspires me to start, but as soon as I have sat down and made the first strokes, I try to let go of it and just enjoy creating freely from the imagination. In this short video, you see me working with Derwent Artbars and Faber-Castell Gelatos.
More videos: I have explained my adventurous creative process shortly in a mini-course called Loosed Up! It’s free for the subscribers of my weekly emails. If you haven’t a subscriber yet, subscribe here!
3) Captivating Story – Make Fantasy Portraits!
Artists often talk about communicating a story through art. Usually, referring to the story doesn’t mean so much what’s in the image, but how the image can deliver a handle to the viewer’s personal stories. One of the easiest ways to embark stories is to make a portrait that is relatable.
Even if you have started freely and intuitively, you can turn almost any blotch to a face, especially a side profile, by adding a color area that defines it. In my piece, I realized that with black, I could bring up two persons. I was intrigued by showing the connection between the two fantasy figures. To me, they express the two sides of me, when I am creating. One side is more feminine, full of emotion and ideas, and the other more masculine, trying to figure out how to put the ideas into subsequent steps. At best, these two sides work together and enter the same flow.
In the enlargement, you can see that the dark areas also include subtle details so that they are not monotone and so that they communicate the connection. The colors also play a role here. Blue expresses the connection that the two share together.
The story that you see in this piece doesn’t have to be the same than what I have told. For you, the image can bring a romantic moment to mind. Or it can take you to a fantasy movie. In the same way, the art that you make can have several meanings and when creating, focusing on the general message makes it more captivating. In this case, the message is the shared connection, and I have tried to adjust the details so that they all support this message.
4) Captivating Richness – Build a System!
Usually, the longer we work with one piece, the more valuable it will become. Not only that we get more attached to it ourselves, or that it has a higher monetary value, but also that time brings the richness of the details. This is especially the case if you don’t try to get the piece finished in one sitting but let it captivate your mind between the sessions.
Many artists are afraid of “overworking,” but to my experience, “underworking” is more common. Also, only creating tiny pieces can be one form of underworking. See how a small art journal page, a modest scene, grew to a captivating system or a map when I continued the page!
When working with a detailed big picture, remember to leave some breathing space between crowded areas. Connected lines between the clusters make sure that your system is like a running machine with all the necessary pieces.
5) Captivating Clarity – Highlight a Direction!
Sometimes clarity can be more captivating than an overwhelming amount of details. My example is an orange that I drew one morning after a fruity breakfast.
I apologize for the low quality of the first image below. There you can see a shadow of me shooting the photo with my mobile phone. But actually, it brings up a good point about the clarity: when you are in doubt what to add, take a photo. It helps you to see your work with different eyes. You can zoom out to test if your image looks both clear and interesting when it’s small. You can also analyze, how your eye wanders around the work and where do you want to lead it. If your art looks like one big mess, adding a direction also brings more clarity.
With the orange, I wanted to express the forward-thinking attitude that I usually have in the early mornings. I wanted to add more importance to the single juicy drop that leaves the orange with the bouncing energy. The idea behind the illustration was not just express a fruit that explodes but how a source of energy can keep you moving forward. It’s similar to the idea of my community Bloom and Fly – to keep you inspired to create and remove creative blocks that prevent you from that!
6) Captivating Contrast – Use Two Different Styles!
The last tip is about contrast. However, this time I don’t bring up the contrast in color, value, or size, but in style! Now you might say: “Paivi, I have been searching for a personal visual voice for so long. Are you talking about mixing different styles to one piece?” I certainly am! Don’t be a one-trick pony but go to see all kinds of art and practice all sorts of styles! Your technical skills will grow, and you will get ground-breaking ideas. Showing the versatility can also make your art more captivating. See how I combined abstract with realism how it makes the images more captivating and thought-provoking.
With a realistic pansy, I was able to communicate the contradiction that we all get when we envy someone: “When a jewel wants to feel free and be a pansy … And when the pansy secretly wishes to live forever and be the jewel.”
By adding the realistic eye, I was able to express the difference between two different worlds – the inner and the outer world. Paul Klee has said it so brilliantly: One eye sees, the other feels.”
Set Your Goals and Start Creating!
My community Bloom and Fly is for all who want to start and keep on creating. You can get help and encouragement for any art project, and we also have monthly themes.
January’s theme is “Mixed Media Sketchbook as a Tool for Setting Your Goals.” You will get ideas on how to use a sketchbook or an art journal for creative goals. Rather than feeling restricted, you will feel energized by the possibilities behind the goals. An art journal can be a playbook that keeps you moving forward!
With January’s theme, you will also get easy jumpstarts for stepping into the world of art journaling without feeling the pressure to buy more supplies. The money spent on staying inspired and connected with like-minded artists can be more useful than adding extra supplies to your stash.
Make sure that 2018 is your year of art – Join Bloom and Fly!
Loving Vincent and Purchasing Oil Paints
Yesterday, I opened the door of a local art supply store and headed to a specific shelf. On my way to the store, when walking on the narrow streets in the center of Helsinki, I felt it. The feeling that I got a year ago when I opened a tube of Mussini oil paint for the first time. I was attending an art class about old masters painting techniques, and we used the best oil paints I could imagine. Not that I could imagine so much because I had never used oil paints before. But I didn’t expect to experience that strange feeling. It contained both appreciation and excitement. The appreciation of color, and the excitement to learn more from it.
It was not that I would have been new to color. I had been painting with acrylic paints for a long time. When I was a teenager, I got them from my parents who thought that it was a perfect solution to me. No worrying about toxic painting fluids and still being able to paint with ease. The acrylic paints have developed a lot since that time, since the eighties. They have worked perfectly for my needs. I have found a good brand too. I really like Golden acrylics.
But now I was standing in the front of a vast collection of Mussini oil paint tubes. I picked the color chart and went through my choices one more time. For a whole year, I had been going through this in my mind: raw umber, zinc white, titanium white, yellow ochre and so on. It had been a mantra that changed a little bit every month. The paints are expensive, and I had to pick the colors carefully. One tube can cost more than 70 euros.
Plan for the Hand and Mind
After trying out the paints for the first time, I went to live in denial. Yes, I had painted the class pieces with oils because they were provided by the class. But the odorless and water-soluble acrylics felt much more suitable for me. After a while, my attitude changed a bit. I let myself dream about the oil paints. I visited the art supply store, touched the clean and shiny tubes, imagined getting just a bit of paint on a palette and make it last for as long as possible.
But dreaming and reality are surprisingly close. It’s difficult just to dream and not to do anything. So I made a plan that felt more like extortion. I had to get my floral painting class finished. I had to get several acrylic paintings finished. I had to figure out where and how I would store the paints. I had to get more information about the oil paints and the painting liquids.
I still had some finishing touches to do for my paintings in progress, but other than that I had followed the plan. So I started picking the tubes: raw umber, zinc white, titanium white, yellow ochre and so on. After selecting the colors, I went for the liquids: poppy oil, turpentine, and glossy dammar varnish.
When I left the store, my mind summarized the past year. Learning the old masters’ techniques had been essential for growing my technical skills. My art had become less imaginative, and more conventional.
I had a turning point in 2016 when I felt that my imagination and my hand didn’t function so well together anymore. My imagination wanted to proceed to new territories, but my hand couldn’t follow. But now when my hand is wiser, I can also challenge my mind more freely. Purchasing the oil paints were a reward for the persistence that I have had for the last twelve months. However, it wasn’t the only reward. I was also going to see the new movie Loving Vincent.
Loving Vincent – The Movie
The movie theatre was about 10 minutes walk away from the art supply store. When I arrived, there were several queues for the tickets. I joined one. While I was waiting for my turn, a young man suddenly came to me and asked: “Do you want a free ticket? I have two, and my friend wasn’t able to come.” I happily accepted it and thanked the man. “Is this a sign?”, I asked myself. “Is this the final sign that I should do this – go forward, open the tubes, start painting my newest, odd ideas?” I don’t believe in destiny so much, but at that moment, it felt like Vincent van Gogh was talking to me: “Do that, paint those ideas, just like I painted mine.”
I found the movie very emotional. Every time, I saw a familiar painting coming to live, tears came to my eyes. I realized that this movie had to be published now, not earlier. Vincent’s art has become so well-known during the past decades that it unifies us. Art that was odd for masses of the 19th century is understood by every one living the 21st century. It has become so familiar that it’s sometimes difficult to appreciate it. And still, we need to feel the togetherness that Vincent’s paintings can offer. They are like icons that make us stronger together.
Looking back helps us to move forward. As artists, we are all Vincent’s descendants. No matter how we paint, what technique we use, we know about modern art because of Vincent. We know more than the people of the 19th century, and that enables us to explore art to all kinds of directions.
Loving Vincent – Art from the Students
I want to celebrate Vincent by showing beautiful pieces made by my students. They are made from my class Selfie Fantasy that shows an adaptation of Vincent’s technique.
Christie Juhasz:
Terry Whyte:
Denise Dineen:
Gina Meadows:
Patricia Furey:
Stephanie Carney:
Have you seen the movie? What did you think about it?
Imagine Through Art – Buy 5 inspiring mini-courses! (including the Vincent-inspired one)
Paint Brush Holders and Artful Woodworking
This blog post is dedicated to my skillful husband. He has always supported me as an artist. The support he has given to me hasn’t only been mental but practical as well. He has made countless of wooden items that I have needed for my art, using hand tools mostly. These projects often begin so that I carelessly draw something on paper and ask him to follow the drawing. My sketches inspire him to ask more questions, create prototypes, and when I see the final piece, it’s much more detailed and beautiful than I ever could imagine.
Paint Brush Holders
One of my favorite wooden treasures is the paint brush holder that can hold most of my brushes. It is designed so that I can put it on the shelf and then take it out when needed. I love seeing the brushes in one glance and storing them so that the bristles won’t pend. My original idea was just a simple wooden block with holes but my husband designed and finished the holder so that it’s like a valuable antique piece!
Because the vertical position ruins wet brushes, I always dry the brushes first. That gave me the idea of having a separate holder for wet brushes. “Something simple,” I said again. But my husband came with a better version. This beautiful paint brush holder can hold a lot of brushes in different sizes, and I love how practical the decorative holes are as well. The other side of the holder is slightly taller so that the brushes point downwards. It makes sure that the water won’t travel to the handle.
The Best Easel
We had an extra upright support of a shelving unit, and I wanted a new easel that would fit with the rest of the furniture in my studio. By adding one more leg and a holder for a painting, my husband turned the support into an adjustable easel!
Light-Weighted Storage Box
My husband has made many storage boxes for the art supplies, and this is the newest one. It’s made from paulownia tree that comes from Asia, and it’s very light-weighted. I wanted this box look heavy but feel light, and my husband found the solution!
Perfectionist’s Wastepaper Basket
Much heavier but one of my ultimate favorites is the wastepaper basket made from oak. I think it’s luxurious and it makes me smile every time I see it. There’s some humor in living an imperfect life, creating imperfect art in the imperfect world – and having a perfect wastepaper basket!
My Husband’s Journey as a Woodworker
When we were living in our previous home, there was no room for woodworking. About five years ago, we moved to our current house that has more space. That enabled my husband to start the hobby he had dreamed for a long time. Namely, for years he had watched woodworking videos from Youtube. While I was dreaming about the life as an artist, my husband sat on his computer and watched skillful woodworkers drill and plane. Based on the sounds of our small living room, it was like some serious wood projects were going on all the time.
Then, finally when he got his space, he was able to join the gang – get a collection of hand tools and make something beautiful that he can be proud. He thought that his skills would grow in a very short time – that he had learned the most of the necessary lessons by watching the videos. But as you may guess, it wasn’t that easy. He got disappointed. He drew a hole in a wrong place, he chose wood that wasn’t perfect for the project, he made errors when calculating the proportions, and he was surprised by the visual skills that the woodworking required. It was not only that his technical skills were lacking. His ability to balance his designs and to generate ideas for unique pieces were lacking too.
But I encouraged him to continue, and he did. Every project grew his skills. After a couple of years, he made a small table that shows how far he has come. It’s inspired by Japan and the early 20th century. It’s made from oak and finished with shellac.
At the beginning of the hobby, my husband wanted to learn to carve. So the very first project of his was a wooden leaf. He started the carving, but it felt too difficult, so he gave up. After finishing the table, he remembered the unfinished project and completed it without struggles.
Even if this post was not directly about painting and drawing, I think that we all can relate to my husband’s journey. Creating art is never as easy in practice than in our dreams. But the happiness that it can bring is priceless. You just need to start and keep on creating!
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Painting with Imagination – Watch the Video!
This week, I have made a special video for you! On the video, I paint with watercolors and talk about getting attention and growing imagination. They both are important for any artist. Honestly, it was quite exciting to talk and paint under two cameras, and I was afraid that I would just make a mess when I had so many things going on at the same time. But I tried to make the video so that it would feel like you would be visiting my studio and paint with me there. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Painting with Imagination – Watch the Video!
Floral Fantasies in 3 Styles Begins Oct 16!
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