Magical Cat and Its Many Lives in Art
This week, I present a new cross-stitch pattern based on my drawings, and ponder about my word for the year: “integrate.”
It’s finally time to release the cross-stitch pattern that you, my dear blog readers, voted for in April. The pattern is based on the cats drawn for the course Magical Inkdom.
Magical Inkdom is one of my most popular courses, so no wonder so many suggested choosing a cat for the cross-stitch design.
Magical Cat Cross Stitch Pattern
The pattern is called Magical Cat. It features a soft and cute cat with sparkling eyes. I like to decorate, so I did that for the cat too. I have taken inspiration from fabrics and jewelry. The color scheme is sweet and happy, and gray serves as a good background for all the pinks, greens, and yellows.
The pattern is now available for digital purchase in my little Etsy shop Needle and Peony. In addition, you need embroidery threads, suitable fabric for embroidery, and of course scissors and a needle. Information about thread colors is on the pattern page.
I have embroidered the design on 14ct aida fabric and it measures approximately 10 x 10 inches. You can embroider just the cat if you want a smaller model. And when it comes to cross stitches, choosing the higher density of the fabric makes the model smaller.
Integrate!
When taking photos of Magical Cat, I have been thinking about what I want to give to the world as an artist. My word this year has been “Integrate” and I have allowed myself to try all kinds of things as much as I could combine them with what I have created before.
I’ve created many different things, for example, motion art based on my paintings.
And my latest course Joyful Coloring combines watercolor pencils and modular thinking, where the picture is built piece by piece.
Now, when I look back on the year, not only “integrate,” but also additional words come to mind.
Repeating Themes
One is “design,” because I’ve been using things that I learned in the industrial design degree.
The second is “techniques” because I have learned a lot of new ways to create.
The third is maybe “confidence” because even though I’ve been in the discomfort zone many times, I’ve stubbornly convinced myself that I can do it all. That has led to new confidence – I can finish and publish all kinds of things and not just leave them as experiments. Finishing gives me a lot of satisfaction.
Purchase this painting from a Finnish online art store Taiko!
Maybe the fourth word is “joyful” because most of what I’ve done has brought me joy, even though it’s been hard work. I hope that the variety of projects that I have presented in this blog has brought joy to you too. My magical cat has had many lives indeed!
But today when I look at my results, I see them as scratching the surface in many directions. I want a new strategic word for next year. I haven’t decided on the word yet, but candidates are at least “elevate,” “expand” and “deepen.”
What do you think?
What to Create with Colored Pencils? – Watch the Video!
This week I have a short inspirational video for you. I wanted to make a video that I can share on Instagram, so this has different portions than my videos usually are. You can watch it bigger by pressing the last icon on the menubar below the video.
Most of these drawings are made with regular colored pencils (or crayons as some call them) and some with watercolor pencils. I love both.
Coloring Freely on Blank Paper – Simple Start!
I am an advocate for coloring freely – starting with blank paper, adding colors on top of each other, and getting excited about what comes up. This doesn’t have to be anything difficult. Here’s an old picture from 2015 that I still find inspiring. You can illustrate your journaling with freely colored boxes.
Children draw freely with colored pencils, but when they grow up and become “colored pencil artists” they need all kinds of references to get started. References are great for learning some techniques, but they don’t make anyone an artist. A big part of art is in our mind – how we open up and how we allow ourselves to break boundaries.
Growing Your Skills
My love for colored pencils is based on a promise that I have made for my inner child: I will color for you and help others to color for theirs. So even if I make oil paintings and media art too, colored pencils always have a special place in my heart.
So, welcome to my courses to improve your skills and expand your artistic thinking!
P.S. You can still sign up for Joyful Coloring!
Painting a Childhood Dream
A childhood dream came true when I finally made a painting with my favorite subject.
I’ve always wanted to paint mammalians, but reaching this point has taken a long time. The best must be protected before it comes out exactly as it is meant to be!
“Predators, Right?”
In July, I picked a brush, and said to myself: “Predators, right?”
As a child, my friends talked mostly about horses, but I was a lion girl. I drew a lot of lions and antelopes: predators and prey. I had learned from nature books that the world works that way.
When I went to school, my parents bought a black and white television. Back then, my favorite profession was lion tamer. I wanted to be the new Joy Adamson!
“Paint What You Want!”
It is easy for a child to draw what she wants, but an adult is more critical.
After seeing life and understanding all its complexity, prey and predator are no longer separate, but part of a whole.
And to get hold of the whole, we have to get in touch with our inner self and grow our skills.
Art is like a meadow that grows seed by seed.
Love and sunshine are needed!
I try to speak softly to myself when I paint. Like it would be a child who paints, not an adult. I hope this friendliness also comes through in my classes!
Your Childhood Dream?
Painting big and detailed takes not only friendly self-talk but also patience. That’s why I like to practice with smaller drawings.
Big or small – we are on this journey together!
What was your childhood dream? What subjects did you draw as a child?
Four Art Mediums – Four Projects in Progress
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.
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!
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.
I work slowly from one layer to another, letting the painting dry between the sessions. Here’s where I am now.
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.
Sadly, the photos are nowhere near the overall experience that can be watched with VR glasses.
There’s a lot of movement. but also interaction: a user can move around, open a flower, create new objects etc.
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.
More about the course next week. I hope you will join!