New Beginnings in Art-Making
Let’s think about new beginnings and give one to our art-making!
In recent months, I have felt that a new era has begun in my life. It has been surprising. I have thought that I am already too old for anything new – that the new beginnings in life have already been experienced, at least in terms of working life. But it just so happened that my work as an artist has a new beginning thanks to the grant for creating digital art.
At the same time, I have gained a new perspective on the past and my artistic development. Now, it feels that life with its changes is full of new beginnings, and art, too, is full of them! There are big beginnings and then smaller beginnings within them.
Valuing Randomness and Intuition
I developed the latest course Liberated Artist Revisited, because I wanted to relive the idea of the old course Liberated Artist. I wanted to relive that time in 2015 when a new beginning meant letting go of excessive control and surrendering to happy accidents and intuition. Because isn’t it the case that whenever a new era begins, we need faith in chance and intuition – so, the art of letting go!
At the current new beginning, I have been thinking about what I have to give up. Because, couldn’t you say that life with its changes is full of not only beginnings, but endings, and ask if the same applies to art? While making the course Liberated Artist Revisited, I listened to Paivi from 2015.
Younger Paivi was very prompt: Step A and Step B and so on. If I compare her and I, I am partly different and partly similar. I would do some things differently now but in many ways., I am still quite the same artist. The new course Liberated Artist Revisited is a dialogue between the old and the new. You could also say that I have changed as an instructor a bit. Nowadays, I want to open up your artistic thinking, not so much to exclude options.
Life is so grand that everything that once had a beginning, stays in our hearts for a long time, even if it has ended. It’s the same in art. I can smile at Päivi after more than eight years, but not ironically, but warmly. “It’s wonderful to create something new with you again,” I say to young Päivi, and it’s also wonderful to invite you all to a new course again!
Liberated Artist Revisited – Buy Now!
Liberated Artist Revisited is a limited edition – only available for purchase until the end of March 2024! >> Buy Now!
Life After Death – Commissioned Art
This week, I have a commissioned art piece to show you. I have fewer words than I normally do – not only because the project is confidential, but also because this project went beyond words in many ways.
Last fall, I got a commission for this oil painting. It was ordered by a man in memory of his recently deceased spouse. We brought elements of the wife’s life and references to what she liked into the painting. The painting is, therefore, a secret portrait, from which loved ones recognize familiar things, but which do not need to be explained to strangers, unless they want to.
Commissioned Art – Sketch First
I started with a digital sketch. Here you can see the sketch and the final painting side by side.
I painted the sketch freely in the ProCreate app. The sketch is more abstract than the finished work and is more about the impression than the details.
Painting Process
After the sketch was approved, I ordered the canvas. The size of this piece is 50 x 40 cm (about 19.5 x 15.5 inches). Here are the first blurry layers.
I worked several sessions and let the painting dry for 1-2 weeks between the sessions.
The sketch helped with the painting process so that I could save my energy on the details.
Final Treatments
When the painting was finished, I photographed it outdoors. The natural light is wonderful now when Finland has a lot of snow, but the shoot had to be done quickly.
I varnished the painting with Gamvar after the photoshoot.
I like to think that varnishing was like giving a special blessing to the painting.
Spiritual Meaning
This project made my work as an artist feel even more meaningful than before. I learned more about what kind of artist I am.
I thought: “What could be a better assignment than building a bridge between life and death?”
What do you think?
Writing About Art
This week is dedicated to writing about art. I tell how I write these blog posts, and why it’s beneficial to write about art.
See more pics of this piece in the Taiko online art store!
How I Write a Blog Post
I have been writing these blog posts for years directly in English, so, in a language foreign to me. I wanted to develop my language skills and it seemed like the best method, even if the expression was sometimes limited. This year, I started to write these stories in Finnish first. Once the Finnish text is done, I translate it into English. I edit the translation 2-4 times before the story is finished.
You might imagine that this is a slow road, but I have developed as a writer in such a way that it feels natural to push the story out first and then edit it. When editing, the subject becomes more clear and the images and texts work better together.
I love the interaction between two languages.
When I write in Finnish, I’m already thinking about English. In Finnish, passive constructions and long expressions are used a lot. I’ll try to be more concise right at the beginning. Words and expressions also differ. In Finnish, I can easily get a relaxed and even humorous tone, but I can’t translate it into English, and neither can machine translators. However, I don’t mourn the matter, I think that the union of two languages is like a marriage: both have to give way.
Joyce Carol Oates talks about having a journal separate from the stories and novels. The journal could be more honest and raw, and use a little different style than what ends in the publication. For me, the Finnish script is a bit like that – a stream of thoughts that gets refined with edits.
The Relationship Between Images and Text
I used to enter the images into the post first and then write the texts directly between them. But these days I work in a word processor so that I only focus on the text. I can write more freely and the texts become more authentic and have more content. I can then fit the images between the text and add captions if needed.
Although I decide the topic of a blog post when I start writing it, most of the pictures exist before the text. I strive to always have new photos and I often plan the collection of images weeks in advance. Since this blog is about art and is aimed at visual people, I need lots of pictures. I want to inspire the reader to make art, so the pictures need also express the process, and not just finished works.
Writing Moves Art Forward
Nowadays, many have left blogging and moved to posting on Facebook or Instagram or uploading videos to YouTube. I too write regularly on my Facebook page and Instagram account. Every now and then I also make a video on YouTube.
But writing is magical. When you write a longer story, you don’t just write to others but to yourself too.
And I am not the only one who thinks that way. Last spring, I participated in an artist coaching program by the Finnish Art Agency, where the coach wanted us to write regularly about our art. She emphasized that working with words is important because visual artists often need to tell about their art.
Writing About Art is Almost Similar to Talking About Art
I believe that all who create art also want to talk about it. It’s just very difficult sometimes. Pictures go to the other side of the words and the ideas get mixed up.
Talking about your art can also feel like pompous boasting, even if the recipient would be interested. Long art stories can also bore the listener if she is not as deep in creating. The same applies to writing, you can feel pretentious or be afraid to bore someone, but when you write it’s easier to notice when you’re stuck and repeating yourself.
My art has not only developed by drawing and painting diligently. It evolves every time I write about it. It has developed by blog posts, manuscripts for classes, short video posts, and even description texts, where I have to briefly tell who I am or what inspired me to create a certain piece.
Writing brings out problems. You have to focus on what you really want to say and tell who you really are. There will be a temptation to find words that sound great but not say the truth. But if you can overcome the lure of meaningless words, creativity in you wakes up.
I have noticed that when I can put my wishes and ideas into words, they begin to appear in my paintings. Our creativity strives to fulfill our wishes if it can read them. So, that’s why I am writing about art weekly. Thank you for making me do that!
Do you write – or plan to write – about your art? Tell us more!
Romantic Watercolor Florals
This week is about red, pink, sugar, and cream – so, romantic watercolor florals!
I had a break from watercolor painting for a long time, but in the summer I started again.
Romantic Flowers and Chicklit
In summer, I had all kinds of complicated ideas for a new course, but my inner voice said:
- – What if we take out the watercolors and do something that hasn’t been done in a long time?
– Can I be a romantic?” my artist-me asked my educator-me.
– You can be as romantic as you want, as long as you work systematically and understandably, she said.
When the camera turned on, a short “Yippee!” went up inside me. Freely Grown was born, but watercolor painting didn’t stop there. I had been dreaming for a long time that I could do something lighter – like the writer Rachael Herron, who wanted to start her career with a profound book, but ended up writing a chick-lit novel. He noticed that chick lit is surprisingly challenging and realized that every genre of literature has its own difficulties.
Watercolor Flowers like Sweet Desserts
I’ve learned a lot of painting techniques with watercolors in the past and it can certainly be seen in my oil paintings. But in the summer I started to be interested in what I had learned while painting with oils and whether I could do vice versa – so, use it in watercolors.
Now I didn’t want to do anything hugely abstract, but sweet flowery paintings. The kind that, if they were food, would have a lot of sugar and whipped cream in them.
An artist should probably only do fine dining, but this has started to resonate with me and it has also been nice to notice that there is a demand for it.
Even now, I’m making a small series for a gallery.
Those Who Won Winter
This red-hued Talven voittaneet is the first for the series of four. The name would be translated into English as “Winners of Winter” but it is not quite the same. The Finnish version is closer to the expression “those who won winter.”
My favorite part of this painting is unexpectedly the bottom right. I often leave the edges pretty undefined, but here the bottom part plays a key role. It has melting ice from which the flowers rise.
Imagine flowers winning the winter with their warmth – isn’t it such a lovely thought! I have really enjoyed making these kinds of romantic watercolor florals.
Flowers and Gala
This week has been busy. I already received a grant from the city of Vantaa in the summer for my early autumn art exhibition, but it was celebrated only last Wednesday when the city organized a cultural gala.
It was nice to be surrounded by respected colleagues. In the picture, a councilor Lasse Norres representing the city congratulates the visual artists. Päivi Allonen and Satu Laurel also received a grant and are there on the stage with me. They have wonderful paintings and I highly respect them both.
Have I mentioned that I love flowers? I think if you’ve been following me for even a little while you know that!
Romantic Watercolor Florals
At the moment, my small studio is a flower painter’s heaven and the flowers have free access there, even if I don’t use them directly as models. The flowers of my inner world may resemble the flowers of the outer world, but they have their own romantic life.
Nice creative moments for your weekend!
