A Step by Step Archives - Peony and Parakeet

Intuitive Painting in 60 Colors of Arteza Gouache Set

Posted on September 19, 2019September 19, 2019Posted in A Step by Step, Color, VideosTagged gouache6 Comments

"Refresh", a gouache painting using all 60 colors of Arteza gouache paint set. By Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Paint with me! This week, I have a video tutorial of making an intuitive gouache painting with Arteza Gouache set.

Arteza gouache paints, Arteza water brushes, Arteza watercolor paper.

In addition to the gouache paints, I also use Arteza water brushes, Arteza watercolor paper (mine is A4 from Arteza’s UK store, but here’s the link to the similar paper in the US store), and Arteza Fineliner. These supplies are all donated to me by Arteza (US Store, UK store). You can get 10% off with coupon code peonyandparakeet1. This coupon is valid till Oct 25th, 2019.

Intuitive Gouache Painting – Watch the Video!

Gouache Comparison – Arteza vs. Schminke

Arteza’s gouache paints are very affordable compared to artist quality paints. I have few tubes of Schminke Horadam Gouache paints, and with the price of 60 colors of Arteza, you can only get a few tubes of Schminke!

But of course, there are differences too. Schminke, manufactured in Germany, has a higher pigment level than Arteza, manufactured in China. These tubes are both Burnt Sienna, but Arteza’s color is much more pastel and creamy.

Comparison of Arteza gouache and Schminke Horadam gouache paints.

Most of Arteza’s colors have names that are not pigment names. They describe the tone very well and sound tempting, like “Blush Pink.” But if you have used to dealing with pigments and their individual qualities in transparency and archival quality, it can feel frustrating. If pigments are individual spices, Arteza’s gouache paints like spice mixes – easy to use for beginners, but a bit joyless for professional cooks.

The differences between these paints are small, and it requires an eye for nuances and experience on pigments to notice them.

When painting, Arteza’s creamy paints are like family vehicles, easy to maneuver. Schminke’s gouache paints are more like sports cars, quick to react with water and more suitable for fine brushwork.

Traditional vs. Acryl Gouache – Reacting to Water

Some gouache paints are marked as acryl gouaches. It means that they are not opaque watercolors as gouaches normally are, but translucent acrylic paints. I had some Turner acryl gouaches (made in Japan), and you can see the difference below. Unfortunately, I didn’t have similar magenta tone, but the color doesn’t matter when testing how the dried layer reacts to water. Both Arteza gouache and Schminke Horadam bleed, Arteza a little more than Schminke. But acryl gouache doesn’t bleed at all!

Comparing traditional gouache to acryl gouache. Arteza, Schminke, Turner.

Bleeding is not necessarily a bad thing. Actually, I prefer paints that bleed because I often like to remove color in later stages.

A detail of Paivi Eerola's gouache painting. Painted with Arteza gouache paint in 60 colors.

Bleeding wasn’t any problem when making this painting either. I used both thin and thick paint quite effortlessly.

Finnish artist Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

I hope you enjoyed the video, and let’s keep creating!

Let’s share the passion of creating art!
Subscribe to my weekly emails | Welcome to my classes

Drawing Tutorial – Let’s Draw a Magical Crystal Ball

Posted on June 28, 2019June 28, 2019Posted in A Step by Step, Fantasy, Paper CollageTagged drawing pen, watercolors6 Comments

How to draw a magical crystal ball, a drawing tutorial by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

To celebrate my upcoming new class Magical Inkdom, I made a free tutorial about how to draw glass and create magical glowing effects. In the video, we will draw a crystal ball with a black ink pen and color the ball with watercolors. I hope you enjoy this little project and I hope to see you in Magical Inkdom too!

Magical Inkdom begins on July 8, 2019 – Sign up here!

Dolls in a Gallery – Paper Collage Step by Step!

Posted on February 24, 2019February 24, 2019Posted in A Step by Step, Animals, Paper CollageTagged colored pencils, decorated papers, drawing pen, gel medium, watercolors8 Comments

Paper dolls in a art gallery. Handmade paper collage by Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet. See the instructions for both the doll and the background!

Last week, I published a video about drawing a paper doll. Now when you have the dolls, what’s next? Let’s take them to an art gallery, and show them all the other art that you have created! Follow me step by step to create a fun paper collage!

1) Draw Lines to Define the Space

Take a ruler and divide the paper so that it has two walls and the floor.

Start with the horizontal line and make sure that there’s enough room for the dolls to wander around the space. Then draw a vertical line approximately one third from the edge, and finally a diagonal that completes the side wall.

2) Paint The Floor and The Walls

I used watercolors to paint the background, but you can use any medium. Because you will add art on the walls and carpets on the floor, the interior can look quite plain at this point. Empty galleries usually are pretty sad-looking but that’s going to change in the next step!

To make the gallery look more 3-dimensional, I used cooler colors on the back wall.

3) Decorate by Making a Paper Collage

Now the fun can begin. Turn your painting into a paper collage! Start by picking collage pieces to decorate the gallery. Hang art on the walls and make carpets on the floor. Go to your box of hand-decorated papers and use those! If you don’t have any, you can print some or cut images from magazines. But I think this project is the best if you can hang your art on the walls, and be the star of the gallery!

I also have a class called Collageland where I show how to make and use hand-decorated papers.

The back wall is the easiest to decorate because the papers can be rectangular there. But when cutting the pieces for the side wall, and the floor, make them inclined so that they follow the perspective.

To Glue or not to Glue?

I glued all the decorations with gel medium. If you make a pile of paintings and carpets, maybe some other furniture too, you may not want to attach them permanently so that you can change them. I didn’t glue my dolls in Step 5, but you can glue everything to complete the image.

4) Add Details with Pens

You can add fringes on the carpets, shadows near the paintings and panels, and adjust colors.

I use a black thin-tipped drawing pen (Copic Multiliner) and colored pencils in this step.

Here’s how my gallery looks when it’s finished. Because I love to take a step away from reality, I made a magic mirror on the wall. I made this paper collage on one of my A3-sized sketchbooks that has watercolor paper.

5) Let the Dolls in and Play!

Now invite the dolls to the opening! My dolls got so excited that the magic mirror became activated. It opened a door for the whole wild world!

Paper dolls in a art gallery. Handmade paper collage by Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet. See the instructions for a doll and the background! Animals are from her class Animal Inkdom.

And after the opening was over, a couple of the guests decided to take an adventure through the mirror with zebras!

Paper dolls in a art gallery. Handmade paper collage by Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet. The zebras and the riders are from her class Animal Inkdom.

Drawing and Playing in Animal Inkdom

Paper collage play by Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet. Her class animal inkdom is about drawing wild animals in a fun way.

Take the paper doll with you, and come to draw and decorate animals with us in Animal Inkdom! You will get the published lessons immediately after the registration, and you can start drawing right away. Sign up for Animal Inkdom here!

Paper Doll – Let’s Draw Collage Art!

Posted on February 13, 2019February 13, 2019Posted in A Step by Step, Fantasy, Paper Collage, VideosTagged colored pencils, drawing pen, pencil, scissors12 Comments

Paivi Eerola with one of her paper dolls showing the collage art pieces that she makes.

Here’s a fun little project for your box of joy – a box of hand-drawn collage pieces! Watch the video for instructions and inspiration!

Let’s Draw a Paper Doll – Watch the Video!

Drawing and Playing in Animal Inkdom

Paivi Eerola's collage art. Drawing paper dolls and animals. Check out her class Animal Inkdom!

Take the paper doll with you, and come to draw and decorate animals with us in Animal Inkdom! You will get the published lessons immediately after the registration, and you can start drawing right away. Sign up for Animal Inkdom here!