Three Brave Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Art
This week, I have questions about your art, and I will also share my answers as an example.
As an artist, you’re always asked: 1) where do you get your inspiration, 2) how is your art made, and 3) what does it represent or mean? But when you want to go deeper and find answers for yourself, answer my set of questions instead!
My questions about your art are not positive, but negative. They are braver, but also more grounded, and I think they can be more useful than the ordinary set. When you look at your art through what you don’t instead of do, it can be easier to see what’s truly closest to your heart. If you only dare to admit the truth…
Question #1 – What Subject Do You Always Return to (No Matter How Much You Resist It)
For some, it’s portraits; for others, landscapes. For me, it’s flowers. I actually feel a bit embarrassed about being a flower painter. A woman over fifty, painting flowers … you know the stereotype.
But I feel like my love for flowers and plants runs deeper than many artists. I have rare orchids, a flower garden, and I see flowers as pets with personalities.
But I also have to admit that I planned to create a drawing of a female figure for this blog post. It never got past the early stages; I just wasn’t inspired. Then I tried an abstract idea. I started several, but still nothing. I wasted at least four hours and filled the bin with my scribbles. Finally, I gave in and drew those flowers.
It was so much fun. I felt like I found myself again. “This is so superficial, Päivi!” a voice inside me said, while at the same time: “I love this world above the clouds, where flowers bloom, and everything shines.” So, I’m sorry to post flowers again!
Question #2 – What Do You Break in Your Creative Process?
Rather than convincing yourself how you follow the tradition and how you build the image, think about the cracks in your process. What should you do, but you really don’t? How does that affect your art?
There’s one stage I always try to avoid: sketching. Predictability just kills my motivation. That might be why I don’t draw people so often. When I was creating the course Doll World, I learned how to sketch human anatomy. It’s a very useful skill, but it didn’t stop me from avoiding it. It’s nice to know I can draw a person in any position, but at the end of the day, I’d rather be drawing flowers or ornaments.
For my oil paintings, I do some prep work by researching and writing down ideas. Sometimes I’ll doodle something small in my planner among the written notes.
But I do practice drawing a lot. Even the drawing for this post is kind of a study for my paintings.
However, I never recreate the same image. I want to break that predictability and leave room for those sudden “aha!” moments.
No sketching, no pencil/eraser thing – I’m a little embarrassed by this answer. I have so much respect for the old masters like Rubens and his peers; I think about them every day. I’m also constantly trying to improve my technical skills. But — and Rubens is probably rolling his eyes now — I try to do it without sketching!
Question #3 – What Do You Defy With Your Art?
The world is full of good things that inspire us and that we want to promote. Of course, we would like those things to add meaning to our art as well. But I believe that creativity can’t be forced. You can try to overlay meanings onto your art, but that will only obscure its essence and remove its clarity.
With my art, I’m not defying authority, climate change, social division, inequality, or war. There are many things I oppose as a person, but for some strange reason, they have nothing to do with my art. My art is about defying something as mundane as everyday life.
I respect those who capture the everyday, but that’s just not me. I’m not the kind of artist who sketches the houses in her neighborhood or portrays the ordinary lives of ordinary people. My art doesn’t come from the beauty of the everyday; for me, beauty begins where the everyday ends.
Now I should mention that I’m not a particularly “special” person myself, even though I’m a full-time artist. I work regularly and with discipline. In my free time, I mostly walk the dogs, take care of the plants, do crafts, and clean. I wear wool and cotton.
But when I’m making art, everyday life is far away. I admire the Baroque, rare collectibles, palaces, luxurious fabrics, and historical gowns. I’m a romantic, a nostalgist, and an avant-garde thinker—anything that rises above the mundane pulls me in like a magnet.
I suppose there’s something superficial and embarrassing in that, too. Isn’t luxury the indication of a materialistic mindset?
What’s Behind the Questions about Your Art?
Behind the awkwardly truthful answers, I see a kind of sacredness that inspires me immensely. It’s a connection to nature’s ultimate luxury, to my own intuition, and to a human-made beauty that lifts the spirit.
How would you answer these three questions about your art?
Can Playful Art Be Serious?
This week, I want to talk about my newly finished painting titled Fauna. This is one of my most peculiar pieces, filled with strange ideas. With this, I want to challenge us to ponder the question: Can playful art be serious?
Ideas Have a Mental Age
This painting combines many ideas. I tend to come up with all sorts of ideas quite easily, and I usually try to categorize them: some make it here to the blog, some become sketches in my planner, and others turn into courses. Only the most mature ones are usually included in the paintings.
But let’s think about this word: mature.
Ideas have a mental age. Some ideas are like those of a five-year-old, while others contain ancient wisdom. For a long time, I have tried to ensure that my best ideas are “sensible adults”.
Fauna’s Ideas
Fauna started from an old idea: the Baroque style and historical ceiling murals. So I thought that the painting could feature flowers and have plenty of light blue. Here’s how it started:
But then I heard my inner child whisper that I should include an animal: “Fur is so wonderful to paint. Let’s include something like a ferret!” The adult me wondered, “Who would want a painting featuring a weasel?” But you know, some ideas are like tiny butterflies that appear and vanish in an instant, while others are like moose that take over your entire mind. And this was a “moose idea.” It wouldn’t leave me alone, so fine —let there be a weasel of some kind!
But what else could be included?
Words help when I am brainstorming. I read through various word lists and wait for the moment my intuition says “Bingo!” That’s how I found the word “hunaja” – honey. I thought about the intricate swirls of the Baroque style and the way honey drips, and I boldly added them to the painting.
Here I am painting the fur. I use not only short strokes, but also paint small patches with different tones. Layering is the key!
In the final version, the fur is softer and shorter, and lit by a rainbow. It took some time to decide whether the fur should be spiky or softer.
With the idea of painting honey, I found myself on a “mad path” where I stopped categorizing my ideas and challenged myself instead: could I create a painting that looks like a floral piece from a distance, but reveals a more playful character upon closer inspection? Could the animal theme lead toward animal figures—even toys? I wanted to achieve a purity of style that isn’t tied to a single era, but rather to my own way of dealing with shapes and lines.
Here you can see the beginning and the end side by side.
Playful Art – Drawing Animals
I have always loved animals and have drawn them a lot. Drawing with a pen is much easier than drawing with a brush.
Animal Inkdom and Magical Inkdom have been highlights of my course creation because, while making them, I decided to believe that everyone wants to draw animals. That mindset brought a lot of confidence and joy to the process, which also translates into the atmosphere of the courses.
I have had so much fun with all the animals drawn in those courses. My father used to draw with quite a similar technique, so I have continued on his path here.
The Playfulness is in the Details
Fauna is full of playful details. Many of them are quite subtle, barely noticeable. Here are some detail pics.
I see myself in this painting—all the versions of me at different ages, with ideas of all ages.
Even if Fauna was a challenge to create, it was also fun. I think I will create more of this kind of playful art.
Age of Ideas – Just Playing or Only Focusing on the Serious Side
This painting process made me reflect on how people who start making art often fixate on the “age” of their ideas. Some decide they are just having fun and playing. Others believe that skills—and thus art—can only be born through realism. But as artistic thinking and skills develop, there is an opportunity to combine the playful with the more serious. It is possible to be a child, an adult, and an elder all at once. Art doesn’t need to be narrowed down, because creating is a search not just for oneself, but for a broader understanding of humanity.
Fauna is a bit different from Halo – the painting that I showed last week.
See the blog post about creating this painting
See more pics and a video at Taiko Finnish Online Art Store
Which one do you like more – Halo or Fauna?
Semi-Abstract Floral Still Life: A Painting Inspired by Dutch Masters
This week, I want to show you a piece called Damask. It is a dark, semi-abstract floral painting. I often try to create lighter works because they sell faster, but if it were up to me, I would paint almost only dark pieces.
There is something valuable and very private about dark tones. The painting felt so private that I originally thought about just posting a photo of the finished work and keeping the process to myself. But the purpose of my blog is to inspire you to create. Seeing only the final result rarely inspires as much as seeing the imperfect beginning where everything started.
Inspired by Dutch Old Masters
My painting is about how ornaments can be traced back to nature, but it is also a tribute to 17th and 18th-century Dutch floral paintings. The concept – dark background, lots of details, beauty after beauty – doesn’t leave me alone – it is like a recurring fever.
>> See the blog post “Flower paintings at Rijksmuseum”
And there is only one cure: starting a new dark still life, without references, just by painting freely.
How to Start a Semi-Abstract Floral Painting
At first, I used a broad brush and painted simple shapes with different colors.
Then I decided what flower to enlarge and what to hide. Some flowers appeared, but then disappeared when the painting progressed. I like to think that some flowers are born just to give birth to other flowers.
Why Mastering Technique Is Never Enough
I have noticed technical progress in my work. As things get easier, I can set more challenging goals for myself. However, I don’t believe that art is just about mastering technique, or that painting flowers is only about using them as decoration.
When you start a new work, you create a space around you.
It is a private and special place.
While I was making this piece, I felt like I was in an old room. I could hear the wooden floor creak and the wind blowing behind the old window glass. And yet, I felt I was wealthy. I was far away in the past, but I didn’t feel homesick at all.
The longer I have made art, the clearer my vision has become. Intuitive work is not about copying an image from your mind. It is about your work and your imagination starting to share the same atmosphere.
Here you can see the painting in different stages. Some might please you more, but I was after the special place, remember.
Here’s the finished piece, ready to be photographed.
Your Intuition – Your Private Atmosphere
So, what matters is the atmosphere you want to build. This is why it doesn’t really matter if you paint flowers or faces. From this perspective, all art is abstract. It is not just about thinking of the composition as abstract —it is about the character of each detail and how it connects to your private place (that then opens up to the viewer, too).
Here are some detail pics of my semi-abstract floral painting called Damask.
Friends in Art
Art is a private experience. Through my online courses and videos, I am visiting your private space. I often imagine that we are visiting each other. When the lesson ends, we both return to our own worlds, feeling inspired. It is hard to grow—both technically and as an artist—if you always keep the door closed.
Welcome to my courses to improve your skills and your artistic thinking! If you need more inspiration, feel free to browse my blog archives by date, category, or supply. I have shared my journey here every week for over ten years.
Crazy about Ornaments!
I believe that in every artist’s journey, there are moments when you feel you’ve hit the core—or at least, you’re getting very close. For me, many of those moments have been about ornaments. I simply love drawing and painting decorative lines.
>> See more pics and a video at Taiko Online Art Store
This week, I share a recent watercolor painting that is full of ornaments and how I fell in love with ornaments in the first place.
Ornaments in Watercolor
This is how the watercolor painting started.
Ornamental shapes are much easier to draw than paint. In 2020, I made this watercolor painting.
I can now paint much more elegant shapes.
I have been after this skill for so long.
Ornaments – Are They Scary or Harmless?
An ornament is an animal. At first, it’s like a fox that is a bit too tame. You meet it on an evening walk and feel like shouting: “Don’t follow me, I’m not giving you a home!”
Then someone says, “It’s just an ornament, a harmless little decoration. It’s not a fox, it’s a bird.” And that’s when I realize I am dreaming about a magpie, picking only the oldest and most beautiful spoons from the pile.
But when I go to my imaginary pile of spoons, I see snakes. I can only catch the slowest and clumsiest one. My line was quite ugly for a long time, yet it has been my mascot for years. For just as long, I have been searching for the core of my expression.
In 2018 and 2019, my drawing skills took a jump, and I was able to incorporate more and more ornamental expression into my drawings. I participated in Inktober and built two drawing courses: Animal Inkdom and Magical Inkdom.
Looking Through The Lens
Lately, I’ve read many descriptions of artists—both by the artists themselves and by critics. It felt as if I were forcing myself to read tiny text through a small lens, all while swallowing an ornament-shaped lump in my throat.
I believe the most accurate descriptions of how art is born are linked to childhood. My love for ornaments comes from my own.
Our family wasn’t wealthy, but we were dreamers. We followed the lives of European royalty with admiration. The large yard of our old wooden house, with its meadows and little woods, turned into a queen’s castle in my mind. I imagined grand halls, furniture, and a magnificent atmosphere. Nature became my palace once I understood that a plant should be looked at as a structure, not just a decoration.
From a Clumsy Snake to Expression
In the process of making art, however, the ornament is not a child, but an old soul. When a line is still young, it has no idea of the wisdom and beauty it can eventually store within its curves.
I believe that anyone who has the patience to feed their “clumsy snake” will eventually be rewarded. This madness—this love for ornaments—begins to transform from simple decoration into pure expressive power.
Almost all of my drawing courses are about developing a living line that can then transform into an ornamental one. A great courses to start are the colored pencil courses, especially Mystical Minis.
Painting Ornaments
It has taken me a long time to paint more ornamentally. I have had to learn to imagine an ornament as a 3-dimensional structure rather than just a decoration.
Now that I can paint like I used to draw, I can add many things that I have missed from that era, for example, tassels.
I can now also include what I learned from decorative painting when creating the course Decodashery.
There is a sense of the medieval and the Baroque here, blended with the historical fantasy and folklore.
I have also worked in this ornamental style not only in watercolor, but also in oil, but I will share those projects later.
In the world of ornaments, every line has its own age. Is your line still a curious child, or is it beginning to store the wisdom of an ‘old soul’? Tell me about your process in the comments!