Explore by Drawing!
This blog post is illustrated by students of the 4-week online workshop Inspirational Drawing. All the illustrations shown here are created at the class by these wonderful artists: Dianne Guerin, Ellen Schulz, Terri Elverum, Joan Gaetz, Alison Schockner, Cheryl Rayner, Carol Dickson, Debbie Kreischer, Virginia Clinton, Rosemary Bosse, Mary Joyce Weening, Donna Peake, Joyce Brown, Nancy Kvorka, Judy Shea and Janet Joehlin.
I have often thought about the contradiction between maintaining who I am and being open to what I can become. My friend said that when you know somebody for a long time, you can look through life circumstances and see the person that’s behind all those. And still, while situations change, we change too.
By creative drawing, we can find out where we are swimming and how deep we can go.
We can take personality tests but sometimes the best way to find out what kind of fish we are is to take a pen and start drawing.
By drawing, we can explore how we see ourselves in our surroundings.
We can pick ideas from new places and cultures.
And we can explore what’s going on inside our minds.
When we illustrate what we seem to be and how we see the world, new combinations start to grow and inspire us.
Our art journals become our inspiration books.
If we just use thinking, we can endlessly question our creativity and ability to find new solutions. But when we get into the habit of creative drawing, it will be evident that we are creative people regardless of circumstances.
When we draw out our new thoughts and ideas, we become more aware of who we are and what our style is.
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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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Art Journaling with Colored Pencils
My latest art journal page started with new colored pencils and rambling thoughts of the latest news from Helsinki: the architecture competition of Guggenheim Museum has ended and now there’s a big debate whether the city of Helsinki should finance the museum or not. I did not mean to include the winner building on the page, but you know how it goes: once you think something, it will appear! See the black element on the right!
Cretacolor Aqua Monolith Watercolor Pencils
Last Monday I went to the biggest art supply store in Helsinki to buy some paper and see if they had any Cretacolor Aqua Monolith Watercolor Pencils. I had bought one pencil about a year ago just to see how it works. After many months, I noticed the growing use of that pencil. So now I was thinking to buy a couple more. It turned out that they did not sell the pencils individually anymore, so I bought the smallest set of 12.
As you can see from the picture, these pencils are nothing like ordinary colored pencils! They are not wooden at all; they only have a thin lacquer coating! For me, it took some time to get used to how they feel when holding them. But once I got over it and started treating them as any pencil, (pressing lightly and creating multiple thin layers), I noticed that they work great. These pencils are soft enough to make the coloring pleasurable but not too soft for detailed work.
It is fascinating that you can also use shavings if you add a little bit water to them!
My art journal page was made without water – these watercolor pencils work well that way too.
All of my colored pencils fit in two jars as I usually use them all at the same time, no matter what their brand or type is.
Adding Journaling to the Page
I was drawn to green tones even if I was thinking of the city view. There’s something magical when the tourists arrive Helsinki in the spring. They make shy and withdrawn Finnish people more friendly and helpful. When the hard winter is over, everybody is willing to make a fresh start.
While continuing the coloring of the page, I thought about cultural institutes and their events. Whether it is a city full of tourists or a concert hall full of audience, it feels alive and uplifting. It gives me energy and inspiration to create once I get back home. I felt drawn to the word “alive” and decided to add some words to the page too. By erasing some areas after coloring, I created areas for writing.
For me, being alive is a visual thing. When I am using my senses, I see images. When I draw the images, I feel alive.
Create an art journal page with colored pencils and words by answering:
What does make you feel alive?
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