Mixed Media Seascapes – 5 Tips for Expressive Art
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Sometimes I regret creating my art on the journals. When I created these mixed media seascapes for the mini-course Stormy Scenery, I wanted to keep the journals open and visible for days just to get back with the process and look at all the colors. And when I saw what my students had created, I secretly wished the same – that not so many weren’t in journals but frames. I want to share some art made from the mini-course and share some tips for expressive seascapes.
1) Play with Colors!
When creating the waves, show how the water reflects the colors of its surroundings. When there’s a storm, there will be a lot that’s moving, and it will affect the colors too. You can show your current state of mind as the sea and bring out the variety of thoughts and feelings. See how Claudia Watkins has made a row of waves with various colors.
2) Create a Connection Between The Sky and The Sea!
If the sea represents you and the sky represents the outside world, how do they interact? Susan Rajkumar has expressed the connection in a brilliant way. It looks like the sea is willing to hug the sun and the overall feeling of the piece is warm and happy.
Sheila McGruer’s sun has left the sea, and it has caused an explosion of energy.
Sheila’s piece also has the softness which takes us to the next tip …
3) Express the Softness of Water
Cheryl Rayner shows the softness with both long strokes and splashes of water. With softness, you can practice gentleness towards yourself and others.
4) Show The Movement of The Waves
Enjoy the transformation that happens when you focus on creating art! Strokes and lines express the movement. Lorraine Cline’s green sea is captivating because it’s wonderfully dynamic!
Terttu Laitinen has the great eye of the storm.
5) Make The Scene Look 3-Dimensional!
In any scene and any mind, some things are closer, and some things are further away. Add more 3-dimensional look to make some elements more blurry and some sharper than others. Satu Kontuvuori has a striking focal point where sharp white waves are on the top of the blurry black eye of the storm.
Mackie d’Arge also has a clear focal point and lots of less defined splashes around it.
Internal Seascapes – Connect with Your Internal Energy!
The mixed media seascapes shown in this blog posts are made from the mini-course Stormy Scenery which was part of my Imagine Monthly Spring series last year. You can now purchase it individually too. When creating Stormy Scenery, I was inspired by the long chain of seascape painters, especially by J.M.W. Turner and Ivan Aivazovski. I also have a Pinterest board called Internal Seascapes where I have collected inspirational sea paintings.
But in Stormy Scenery, more than just to paint the sea, I coach you through the process of opening up and bringing out your expression. With the mini-course, you are not so much mimicking the sea outside but expressing the power inside. I believe that every artist has a unique power as well as every day has a unique energy.
Create Mixed Media Seascapes!
Use colored pencils, watercolors, and acrylic paints to create expressive mixed media art!
>> Click here to buy Stormy Scenery!
Messy Backgrounds – How to Create Art on Them?
Here’s my latest art journal spread called “Explorer’s Destination”, based on a messy painted background. The spread is a bit rugged looking in the photo as it’s made on my older Dylusions Creative Journal. The journal is getting really full and the spread is in the end of the book so it was a bit difficult to photograph.
I remember when this journal was brand new and I was afraid of ruining it. Now all those filled pages, some messier than others, make me happy! Am I the only one who loves journals that are worn and full, I wonder!
Messy Backgrounds – Do You Have Them Too?
My very unintentional mess was created by just using up extra paints left on a palette. I know that many of you have these kinds of pages or canvases that are more like messy backgrounds than finished paintings. They are supposed to be finished someday but don’t look very inspiring after some time has gone by.
So to help you make the most out of your messy backgrounds, I made a video about creating “Explorer’s Destination”. Hopefully, it will help you to turn some of your messy backgrounds into more expressive pieces.
Watch the Video
Imagine Monthly – Sign Up Now!
Create art journal pages with techniques that grow your skills! Sign up for my art journaling master class Imagine Monthly Fall 2016!
Let art journaling be the channel to grow your skills!
>> Sign up for Imagine Monthly Fall
Create Internal Seascapes!
This is my latest mini-course for Imagine Monthly. It’s last of the six mini-courses of the spring season. The theme, a stormy sea, is so expressive that I included a special mental coaching session for each step in the video.
Inspiration for Seascapes
My main inspiration for the course came from the two famous painters: Joseph Mallord William Turner and Ivan Aivazovsky, both masters of expressing storm and water. I also studied contemporary artists, one of which is from my home country, a Finnish painter Petri Ala-Maunus.
One of his masterpieces can be seen at Kiasma, which is a museum of contemporary art in Helsinki. Just went there a few weeks ago and will again, the main reason is just this gorgeous painting!
For me, Petri Ala-Maunus’s work is an internal landscape. It’s like a view to the inner world with valleys and mountains, seas and storms, ready to be explored and seen again and again. I would like to see a painting like this on the evening of a rough day and then again in the morning, to get my energy flowing.
So, aren’t powerful seascapes a perfect theme for creating art journal spreads? See my Pinterest board Internal Seascapes for more inspiration!
My Versions of Internal Seascapes
I made the first version before recording the process in the video. I am also talking about the details of this one on the mini-course.
The next one is the mixed media painting that I create in the course video. It has six steps, and it’s very easy to start! I also explain how to get connected with your emotions when creating the painting. The mindset changes, as the painting progresses. This way you will get the expressive and layered result in the end. The mini-course also gives a lot of guidance on how to finish your work.
Imagine Monthly – From Fine Art to Art Journaling
The community of Imagine Monthly has meant a lot to me this spring. A few years ago, I really missed talking about fine arts and how to apply them to art journaling and mixed media. It feels amazing that I have now found so many like-minded people through my classes. So this last mini-course of Imagine Monthly is partly my gift for the participants. I have put my truly best effort to make the best class possible. It also has a longer video, 45 minutes instead of the regular 30 minutes.
Create Internal Seascapes!
Imagine Monthly Spring is over, but you can buy it as a self-study class! >> Buy Imagine Monthly Spring Bundle
Stormy Scenery is also available as an individual mini-course! >> Buy Stormy Scenery
5 Steps to an Abstract Landscape
Let’s paint together! The idea for this painting came from nature. Have you noticed that when the sun shines after the rain, everything sparkles! It’s so beautiful!
Soil, the sun and rain – even if they are different from one another, they all work together to make plants prosper. In the painting, the soil is made with colored pencils, the sun with acrylic paints and the rain with watercolors. These art supplies are so basic but they also work so well together! Watch the video and create your own abstract landscape – “Soil, Sun and Rain”!
More instructions for watercolors: Buy Watercolor 101 for Intuitive Painting