Peony and Parakeet

Fly to Your Inner World and Color the Emotion

Fantasy

Painting a Mystery

This week is about painting a mystery and entering another world through art-making. My paintings are in an art journal and made with a loose touch.

A mystery interior. Acrylic painting on an art journal.


It All Started from a Withering Bouquet

“The Midsummer bouquet has withered. I have to throw it in the trash,” I said. “But the setting is just like those old masters’ paintings,” my husband replied unexpectedly. And so I remembered this once again.

Withering Midsummer Bouquet. A photo by Päivi Eerola, Finland.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was
and there still is a world that you can get to from anywhere.

At first, it’s dark, but you can hear a woman reading a letter to someone.

Woman Reading and a Man Seated at a Table" at the exhibition of the H'Art Museum in Amsterdam. The painting is by Frans van Mieris from 1676.

You hear a clock ticking backwards, generating more time.

Mantel clock from the Rijksmuseum.

Then you know that it’s time to take a brush in your hand.

Painting freely on an art journal.

Squeeze the handle firmly and hear the trees moaning as their trunks slowly sink to the ground.

Landscape painting from J.L. Runeberg's home.

First, it feels silly to paint because there’s nothing to see.

Painting freely on an art journal.

But the darkness gradually disappears, and you realize that you are not alone.

Painting freely on an art journal in acrylic.

Those strange creatures are all familiar to each other and, in a strange way, to you too.

Using acrylic paints and painting freely on an art journal.

In this world, everything has been mixed up.

A mystery scenery. Acrylic painting on an art journal.

You are the wind that shook the flower, and in blowing the petals back, you lost your soul to it.

Abstract peony photo.

You are the chair for which the imagination built a room to rest.

A mystery interior. Acrylic painting on an art journal.
Click here to see a bigger photo of the finished spread!

In this world, everything is unfinished. But if you are willing to hear and feel instead of only seeing what’s expected, everything is ready enough.

Creating freely on an art journal. Dylusions Creative Journal Square.
Click here to see a bigger photo of the finished spread!

Painting a Mystery – Background Story

The idea of this blog post came from that short conversation with my husband. Then I had to take a photo of the bouquet and make it in the style of old masters.

After that, I remembered taking a photo of a painting called “Woman Reading and a Man Seated at a Table” at the exhibition of the H’Art Museum in Amsterdam. The painting is by Frans van Mieris from 1676.

While browsing my image archive, I was drawn by another photo, taken in the same trip to Amsterdam. It was a decorative mantel clock from 1782 in the Rijksmuseum.

The clock took my thoughts to a more recent visit in Porvoo, Finland, where my husband and I went to see Johan Ludvig Runeberg‘s home. The lovely interior was from the 1860s, and there was a big painting that I really liked. I took a photo, but haven’t succeeded in finding out who painted it.

After gathering the photos, I picked up my art journal (Dylusions Creative Journal Square) and started painting. I didn’t copy the photos, but let them soak in freely. I was just inspired by the atmosphere they evoked in me.

Hopefully this blog post inspires you to paint freely without strict plans and definitions. Painting a mystery is both fun and addicting – I am already eager to create more!

Art Journal as a Storybook

This week, we are looking at an art journal as a storybook, full of fairy tales that are not borrowed but our own.

A storybook page in an art journal. Whimsical art journal pages that illustrate personal stories.

With this video, I want to inspire you to create whimsical art journal pages that illustrate personal stories. In these pages, mundane things become more fantastical, and there’s no pressure to draw realistic sceneries, real persons, and such.

I say in the video: “As a child, I drew lions without thinking if they were realistic enough. I loved lions, so I drew them, it was that simple. When I cherish the inner child, I don’t expect realistic perfection, neither do I try to control the story.”

Creating a page in your storybook journal can be a creative adventure that gets you hooked on creating.

Art Journal as a Storybook – Watch the video!

In the video, I use watercolors, colored pencils, and fel-tip pens and create a spread in my Dylusions Creative Journal. I start with creating the central heart on a separate paper ( Fabriano Accademia drawing paper, thickness 200 gsm/94 lbs), and then pick one of my boxes of joy to find more hand-drawn collage pieces.

I don’t start with the background, but glue the pieces first, and then combine them by coloring. This vice-versa collage process is fun because we can make odd images work together by drawing and also make them to tell a story.

I also like to start with a simple shape and work from a small detail to a bigger picture. I think this way of creating is exciting and adventurous, and it’s always a joy to see what comes up.

Hearts and Stories – Sign Up Now!

Let’s turn your art journal into a storybook and make the most out of simple shapes!

Hearts and Stories online art course

Hearts and Stories will begin on March 17, 2025. >> Sign Up Now!

Choosing the Word for 2025

Have you ever chosen the word for the new year and then happily forgotten it? Me too!
But last year, I had a word that stuck in my mind. It was “Integrate”. My word for 2025 is “Release”.

Word for 2025, illustration by Paivi Eerola, Finland

Here’s what I have learned about choosing the word!

Too Much Emotion, Too Little Impact

Some words appeal more to emotion, some to reason. Most often, I have chosen a word that has an emotional appeal. For example, “Imagination”, “Depth” or Play. There are plenty of these kinds of soft words, here are some common ones: “Joy”, “Courage”, “Inspire”, “Create”, “Focus”, “Nurture.”

These soft words that make your imagination run wild may seem like good choices, but they have this downside: when you’re busy working, your head is full of rational words. Emotional words don’t come to mind at that moment. This way, the practical connection to the word is missing.

My word for 2024 – “Integrate” – was a rather uninspiring word at first, but it became more and more inspiring over the course of the year. The idea was that even though I was doing a variety of art – drawing, painting and programming digital motion art – I could look for connections between different art forms so that I didn’t have to reinvent everything. I could also value more what I had created in previous years. This union of old and new worked out nicely, and with the word, I began to see my artistic career as a whole and not just an attempt to improve my artistry piece by piece.

The best thing about the word was that it didn’t describe the actual result but solved how to get there. So when I encountered problems, “Integrate” often offered at least a partial solution. That way the word came to mind repeatedly and helped me in situations when my inspiration was at its lowest.

Word That Changes Your Life

I think the best words are those that initiate change for the better. I have often chosen a word that is already familiar and doesn’t make me change anything. This year, my first candidate was “Elevate.” It sounded too soft, so I found a similar rational word “Upgrade.” But since I always try to improve my actions and the level of my art in general, I rejected “Upgrade” and chose “Release” instead.

To me, “Release” means letting go of what I’ve been holding in my heart and letting it come out. I want to give myself permission to be naive, naughty, brutal, overly cute, everything and anything, and start to blindly believe in my artistic vision. Release also means publishing what I’ve done openly and regularly and working with that in mind. Letting go and publishing is a bittersweet combination that really challenges me.

Release also means that I can let go of things if they hinder rather than help the cause.

Drawing the Word for 2025

Writing about the word is good, but I also wanted to process the word by drawing.

First sketched lines and some coloring - creating an illustration by moving from one idea to another.

By drawing, you always find new dimensions. Even the hardest words become softer and create emotional connection.

Sketching with a pencil. Drawing without a big plan. Illustration of the word for 2025 in progress.

One thing leads to another. I love this way of drawing where the result remains a surprise for a long time.

Coloring a pencil sketch. Working with colored pencils and felt-tip pens.

I combined colored pencils and markers here. I like the soft impression of colored pencils, but I used felt-tip pens in the highlights to intensify the colors.

Using colored pencils and felt tip pens for creating art. Illustration in progress.

When the drawing was half-finished I compared it to the little pieces I had drawn during the Christmas holiday.

Drawing in progress. Comparing the unfinished piece with the finished ones. By Paivi Eerola.

The colors still needs to be strengthened and details adjusted.

Finding the Connection with the Word

Even though this drawing isn’t very big, about letter size, there are a lot of details. I took many breaks and it took me about 3 days to finish the drawing. For the illustration that combines the right and the left brain, it’s important to find the connection between all the details and understand how they express the word.

Illustration in progress. Colored pencil art.

This drawing depicts my childhood in the 70s with plastic animals and daydreaming. The drawing feels revealing to me, although its style is playful.

Finishing a colored pencil illustration with felt-tip pens.

Even if the picture feels a bit private, I want to share it with you: release, you know!

Drawing your word for 2025, illustration by Paivi Eerola, Finland

What’s your word for 2025?
Are you going to draw it?

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.

What to create with colored pencils? Art journaling with colored pencils - a simple idea.

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.

Fairy looks at a dew drop. Colored pencil art by Paivi Eerola, Finland.

So, welcome to my courses to improve your skills and expand your artistic thinking!

P.S. You can still sign up for Joyful Coloring!

>> Sign Up Here!

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