Growing as an Artist Archives - Page 2 of 44

Four Art Mediums – Four Projects in Progress

Posted on August 8, 2024August 8, 2024Posted in Abstracts, Animals, Big Projects, Crafts, Digital, Flowers & PlantsTagged canvas, embroidery floss, oil paints, software, watercolor pencils8 Comments

Many Mediums – Many Versions of Style

I am not overly excited about the word “focus.” I have one artistic vision, but I don’t limit art mediums much. I think my style is evident in whatever I do. This year I have allowed myself to stretch even further than before, and embrace the challenges that different art mediums bring to me.

Cross Stitching – A Cat in Progress

Do you remember this cat from the course Magical Inkdom? In April, I asked what drawing should be my next cross-stitch design, and you voted for the cat.

A cat drawing for the course Magical Inkdom. By Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

I have now made a design based on the drawing. To make sure that there are no errors in the chart, I have been stitching it myself first, going through every detail. The stitched piece is nearly finished as you can see in the picture!

Cross Stitch cat design by Paivi Eerola.

While stitching, I came up with the idea of including different colored versions of the cat to the final instructions. Maybe a black cat at least. What do you think?

I hope to get the chart for sale before December. This is a project I have been working on in the evenings.

Oil Painting – A Big Painting in Progress

My main medium – oils – were on a break for a few months so it was really nice to get a new painting started in July.

Paivi Eerola and her oil painting in progress.

I work slowly from one layer to another, letting the painting dry between the sessions. Here’s where I am now.

Paivi Eerola and her painting in progress.

In the photo above, I am wearing a patchwork skirt sewed from the fabrics that I designed many years ago. The motifs are based on my drawings and knits.

I have still quite a lot of work to do with the painting. I hope to get it finished in October.

Digital Art – A Virtual Artwork in Progress

Transferring my painting style to digital three-dimensional modelshas been a year-long project. Watch this video to see what I made last spring for the project. The project is now coming to an end in September. I still have some things to adjust and add, but most of the things have been done.

A snapshot from Unity game engine scene view- creating an artwork for virtual reality. By Paivi Eerola.

Sadly, the photos are nowhere near the overall experience that can be watched with VR glasses.

Using VR glasses to experience digital art in 3D.

There’s a lot of movement. but also interaction: a user can move around, open a flower, create new objects etc.

Virtual reality artwork in progress. Using digital 3D modeling for creating art. By Paivi Eerola. — Click for a bigger photo!

Still images are not the same as seeing everything in moving 3D, but at least you get a glimpse of the atmosphere. I will make a separate video in September where I will share more of this project.

Watercolor Pencils – A New Course in Progress!

I am super-excited to announce that a new course will begin in September 16, and the registration will open next week! The course is called Joyful Coloring, and it’s about using watercolor pencils for colorful happy art.

Sneak peek to the course Joyful Coloring.

More about the course next week. I hope you will join!

Motion Art – Ornamental Land

Posted on June 14, 2024June 14, 2024Posted in Big Projects, Digital, Flowers & Plants, VideosTagged software16 Comments

This week, I have a short video artwork that has motion and sound. It’s been made as a part of the big project that I am working on. I have received a grant for it from The Finnish Cultural Foundation.

This is my first video artwork that also has audio. I recorded bird sounds and other natural sounds earlier in the spring and composed the soundscape from those recordings.

The 3D shapes are modeled in the 3D modeling program called Blender, and I have programmed the movement in C# programming language. Everything except the audio was put together in the Unity game engine. I added the soundscape in the video editing program called DaVinci Resolve. These are all pretty complicated tools, and it has taken time to learn them. If you are interested in the process, watch my video: “From Painting to Digital 3D Art” where I tell about the first half of the grant project.

Motion Art – Working with New Media

The big project is called “Unknown Land,” and I call this video artwork “Ornamenttien maa” which is “Land of Ornaments” or “Ornamental Land” in English. It has been a challenge to transfer my drawing and painting style to a new media, but I think I am getting closer and closer. What do you think? Does it look like my work?

Creating movement and sound has been new to me, and I will also add interaction to the final piece.

Digital artist Paivi Eerola creates motion art.

Even if I have spent a lot of time on my computer called Turandot (named after my favorite composer Giancomo Puccini‘s opera), I am not leaving painting and drawing. You will see my digital artworks from time to time, but there will be a lot of other content too. For an artist, working with one medium can help with other. My main inspiration always starts from drawing what ever I create.

Selling Watercolor Paintings as Gifts

Posted on June 6, 2024June 6, 2024Posted in Finishing, Going Beyond the Conventional, Processing Ideas, Sales and MarketingTagged watercolor paper, watercolors2 Comments

This week, I talk about making and selling watercolor paintings as gifts. At the same time, we celebrate the playfulness of watercolors.

"Kultaa huuhtoneet" - "Gold Panners", a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola. Size: A3. Abstract flowers in watercolor. Selling watercolor paintings as gifts. — “Kultaa huuhtoneet” – “Gold Panners”, watercolor, size: A3
See more and bigger pics at Taiko (online art store)

I love gift shops. My dream for a long time has been that, in addition to large oil paintings, I could sell smaller pieces as gifts. Recently, this has come true. I have sold many of my watercolor paintings not only directly but also via the Taiko online art store and the Gumbostrand Konst & Form gallery.

Art as Gifts vs. Art for Homes

An art buyer never buys art just for need. The work must appeal to the buyer on a deep level. Still, large paintings are chosen more according to the interior, and smaller ones are purchased as gifts. Sometimes a small painting is a gift to the buyer himself, often to someone else.

Packing a watercolor painting. Selling and making watercolor paintings as gifts. — I usually sell my watercolor art without a frame, especially if I mail it directly.

As a professional artist, I am more known for oil paintings, but I have dreamt that also my watercolor pieces would be in demand. I love to paint them and the idea of a perfect gift inspires me. However, it has taken time to grow my vision of how they should look.

Because I have grown many of my general painting skills with watercolors, my watercolor paintings have quite a similar style to my oil paintings. But with watercolors, I step in a slightly more illustrative direction. I want my watercolor art not to be too abstract, but approachable and atmospheric. See a collection of my recent watercolor paintings here!

Flower Art But With a Playful Attitude

My watercolor pieces usually have flowers. However, I don’t paint just static and spiritless flower arrangements. I see flowers as adventurous human or animal figures and get playful with them. On the one hand, the flowers are like dolls and teddy bears, and on the other hand, they are imperfectly perfect, feeling natural and real.

Starting a watercolor painting. The first layers.

When the playfulness really kicks in, painting is fun.

Negative painting in progress. Watercolor techniques. — I often use the technique called negative painting, to bring up the flowers.

I love to discover plants in the middle of random watercolor spots. I have also a course called Freely Grown about this kind of process.

Taking Several Sessions to Grow the Idea

Usually, the first layers of the painting are fast and only take an hour or two. But that’s when the painting is just a regular flower painting, not a special piece that has a special appeal. Within a couple of hours, there’s not much time to grow the idea further or adjust the details.

I usually paint in several sessions where the first one or two lay the foundation and produce the basic painting, and where the next sessions (usually 2 to 4) grow the story and produce the finished look.

Using a narrow brush when working with details. Creating watercolor art.

For example, for this painting, I took walks to see flowers and to add some more to the painting. But after a while, that felt too traditional and then decided on the gold mining theme.

Bringing up older layers in watercolor. Watercolor techniques.

The further I go, the smaller the brush strokes become.

Working with a Progress Photo

I find it helpful to take a photo of the unfinished piece, and then use it as a reference. The small-sized picture makes it easier for me to spot the areas that still need adjusting.

Using a progress photo to point out the parts that need adjusting. Making and selling watercolor art as gifts.

Looking at the photo also helps with distancing myself from the actual piece. I can ask: Do I love this? Would I buy this? When selling watercolor paintings as gifts, never underestimate the quality, always try a little higher.

Color over Color

Pigments are very different from each other. Some colors require many layers, and others can be used very thickly. Most artist-quality yellows have good coverage and work well for the finishing touches.

Painting layers in watercolor. By Paivi Eerola, Finland.

I have recently used smooth (hot press) watercolor paper because it’s best for tiny details.

Gentle Breakthroughs

I want to break boundaries with all my art, but in watercolor, I try to do it more gently than usual. In this painting, the flowers have caught Hokusai’s great wave from Japan and taken it to Lapland to pan for gold. And so it happened that the gold and the flowers started a decorative baroque party and everything small became surprisingly big and grand. Despite all this, this is a flower painting where the viewer can relax and enjoy the joyful atmosphere.

But whatever the story is, I try to express it so that it can evoke different memories and associations in different people. Somehow, the painting must make a gentle breakthrough in the eyes of the viewer – find a soft spot where the immersion can begin.

See more pics of “Kultaa huuhtoneet – Gold Panners” at the Taiko art store!

Freely Grown – Paint Watercolor Flowers with Me!

Freely Grown - online art course about painting watercolor flowers without references.

In the course Freely Grown, I walk you through my watercolor painting process. Because the finishing touches with a small brush are the most challenging, we take the easier route and do them with colored pencils. In Freely Grown, you paint flowers freely without reference photos and create a unique painting from the given techniques and guidelines. >> Buy here!

Getting More into Drawing and Coloring

Posted on May 9, 2024May 9, 2024Posted in Abstracts, Flowers & Plants, Portraits & Faces, Visual Voice / StyleTagged colored pencils14 Comments

This week, I share a method that is helpful when you want to get more into drawing and find your style. It is called “topic-spirit-story-abstract.” With this method, art can open to you step by step!

Venus slipper orchid. An illustration by Paivi Eerola, Finland.

For me, everyday life experiences, illustrations, creative writing, and abstract art are all connected. If I take something away, the chain breaks and my expression stiffens. Most of my creative work follows this “topic-spirit-story-abstract” method. I don’t always have to draw a spirit, but recently I’ve spent time in such abstract dimensions when creating computer art that I have wanted to play with the spirits with colored pencils.

Start with Template!

When you want to practice the method, start by making a template! Divide the paper so that you have a part for the spirit and another part for more abstract coloring. You can just draw a line or be more creative and make a circle for the most figurative part, and several other divisions for more abstract ideas.

Topic-Spirit-Story-Abstract method for getting more into drawing and coloring. By Paivi Eerola.

Do some intuitive coloring with a light touch as a warmup before proceeding.

Method: Topic-Spirit-Story-Abstract

After the warmup, find a simple topic that you want to explore.

Think about your recent experiences and find something small and concrete there.

In the example, my topic was a recent visit to a garden center. My husband bought me a beautiful venus slipper orchid there.

Second, imagine a spirit that symbolizes the topic.

Use your imagination – anything contains a spirit!

Drawing a spirit for a flower. Using imagination with colored pencils.

In the example, I was thinking about the venus slipper and how mysterious and exotic it looks for a Finn.

Third, let the spirit tell a larger story.

What other associations come to your mind when you think about the spirit? Think about literature, music, food, movies, places – what comes to your mind that enlarges the original topic. What is the world that the spirit can open?

Getting more into drawing and coloring. Illustration in progress.

In the example, I started thinking about the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland and Asian culture: sushi and rice bowls. I also had just browsed Kaffe Fassett‘s quilting books and thought about the richness that can be achieved with colors and simple shapes. I slowly enlarged the mixed yet curated world that I was able to reach through the spirit.

Fourth, explore more the abstract side of the discoveries through the story.

Play with the basic shapes and make decorative borders, ribbons, and patterns.

Getting more into drawing and coloring: combining organic and geometric shapes.

I find it easier to draw abstract motifs, ornaments, and patterns after finding the spirit than if I start from a blank paper.

Optional: Write the Story!

After making the image, I like to put stories to words. This helps me to get even more into drawing and makes my work as an artist more meaningful.

Venus Slipper Orchid, the spirit of a plant, illustration by Paivi Eerola.

Art is like a venus slipper. It’s like a plant in the back corner of a garden center. Those who only look at traditional roses won’t even notice it. But whoever dares to bend over the shy plant and curiously fit her mind to the shoe, becomes a master in a game where basic shapes break everything and then build a new whole. This way, the beauty of art is limitless, and not only on the surface.

Here’s another example that I made last week. Here, the center is reserved for the quote from the story, and the spirit and the motifs are in the frame.

Art is a spirit in a pencil. Quote and illustration by Paivi Eerola.

Art is a spirit in a pencil. A single pencil is nothing. It doesn’t cost much, takes up very little space, and you don’t even notice it if it’s at the bottom of your bag. But still, a pencil can connect us to art. When I was a child, I played with pencils while my big sister was coloring. Every pencil had a personality and while I was watching my sister draw, my herbs grow, and my teddy bear rest, I had no idea that those little moments would dictate my future. Art back then was only a spirit in a pencil. When art is a spirit in a pencil, we say yes to a journey that takes us closer to who we are. We say yes to expression that has no limits. This freedom is why I want to support creating.

Getting More Into Drawing Frames and Borders

Decorative art is a bridge between illustration and abstract expression.

Reality consists of both organic and geometric shapes. The question is: how can you bring both of these worlds into your art and use them in a creative way?

Making an illustration. Space for a quote.

I hope you find all this inspiring and helpful to get more into drawing and coloring.

Color the Emotion

Category: Growing as an Artist