Modernistic Style – Create Abstract Art Step by Step!
This week, we take a practical dive into modernistic style. My favorite modernist painters are Birger Carlstedt (1907-1975) and Sam Vanni (1908-1992) from Finland. The most famous modernist was, of course, Pablo Picasso, who was Spanish.
My piece has some figurative elements. Although it’s abstract, you can also see plants and light.
With this technique, you can create a fully abstract piece like Birger Carlsted (see examples from the past exhibition at the Amos Rex art museum), play with the perspective like Sam Vanni (see his artwork called Polydimensional Space), or use linework boldly like Pablo Picasso (see how he used strong outlines in his famous artwork Weeping Woman).
Supplies – Watercolor pencils or Use What you Have!
I created my piece on thick drawing paper with watercolor pencils and water. Its size is 16 x 16 inches (about 40,5 x 40,5 cm). You can choose your supplies and the size of your artwork freely.
Step 1 – Fill the Background with Colors
Don’t overthink, but just start adding colors!
You can play with shapes if it helps you keep going.
The idea is to cover most of the paper. Leave an area near the center blank if you are not working with paints that have bright white. For colored pencils, watercolor pencils, and watercolors, the best white is always paper white. To get some white and other pale colors in your finished piece, leave a fairly large area white at this point. Later, you can reduce its size and break it into several shapes.
My paper is quite big, so I change the orientation once in a while. I move from one area to another by first coloring an area with a pencil and then spreading the color with water.
Add layers and darker colors. At the end of this step, your paper looks like a landscape without the horizon.
Step 2 – Draw the Shapes
Use the filled background as inspiration and draw intersecting geometric shapes. A ruler can be handy here.
I use watercolor pencils for drawing the outlines.
Step 3 – Color the Shapes
Modernistic art often has strong colors. Now add more color to the shapes.
You can fill shapes creatively. Use stripes and add textures. Some shapes can have bold colors, others more muted. If there are nice details in the background, leave them visible.
You can also draw new geometric or more freeform shapes.
You can adjust the shapes, for example, by changing a straight line to a slightly curvy one.
After you have gone through all the shapes, decide how abstract you want your piece to be.
I wanted to add a bit more realism: make more organic shapes and express light as well.
Step 4 – Finishing
Carefully go through every shape one more time. Don’t just look at the big picture and adjust the composition. Focus on a small area at a time, and make it as expressive as you can. Remember that a modernistic style is quite minimalistic and based on abstract expression. Refine existing colors and shapes instead of creating more and more new ones.
Make sure that all the shapes are not similar in size. I created small dots by removing paint with water and drew some thin lines.
Simple But Rich Modernistic Style
By starting with the background first, you can achieve subtle richness for a minimalistic look. Here’s a close-up where you can see the effects of the background layer.
It’s good to keep all the best things – bold colors and interesting details – in the center. Often, the composition needs nothing else!
The more you learn about different styles, the more unique your own style will be. A style is never just one thing, but a combination of many. I hope you enjoyed this exercise!
P.S. Check my class Mystical Minis for creating more modernistic abstract art!
Circulism – Freely with Colored Pencils by Using Circular Motions
This week, I want to bring up a technique called circulism. It’s great for colored pencils when you want to achieve a soft and somewhat vintage look. It’s also a useful technique if you find shading with colored pencils difficult or are hesitant about mixing colors.
In this blog post, I show you how to use this technique to create freely and expressively, without any reference photos or even outlines. You can just pick a pencil and start making continuous circular lines without a specific plan, and let your intuition and imagination take over.
You can also combine circles with other kinds of lines, and thus create different textures that are like meshes on paper.
When you are close to finishing, include sharper lines to reduce the blur in the drawing.
Sounds simple, right? Let’s explore this technique in detail by coloring a mini scenery.
Circulism Tutorial – Mini Scenery Step by Step
Here’s my mini scenery, but yours can have different colors and a different atmosphere. The idea is to draw circular lines with different colors and get soft color transitions and mixtures.
I got the idea for this mini-scenery after I visited Galerie Forsblom in Helsinki to see Petri Ala-Maunus‘s exhibition. His art is based on very small strokes, and the result is stunning and historical-looking. We can achieve a quite similar effect in colored pencil by using circulism.
Step 1 – First Circular Strokes
You only need colored pencils and a small piece of paper. Start by practicing the continuous circular line and, at the same time, marking the corners with different tones. Calm down and keep the circles small!
I have darker and lighter tones of two different colors. When every corner is a little different, either in color or in darkness, it’s easier to get inspired.
Step 2 – Layered Corners
Add some darker neutrals to your color selection. I have black, dark brown, and a little lighter, warmer brown. Add more layers to the corners by making circles with the first four colors and with the new neutrals.
Work on one corner at a time. Make sure that the original color from step 1 dominates, even if you also use other colors. Don’t just color evenly, but create blurry clusters.
Change the orientation of the paper to achieve a more balanced circular mesh. Treat every corner a little differently.
Here you can see how my corners are different. One is very light, for example.
Step 3 – Valley
Add a valley between the lower corners. Draw a route across the landscape and add the horizon. Use circular strokes wherever you can.
Make sure your valley is dark on the bottom. Keep the center blank.
Step 4 – Clouds
Make the sky more expressive. With circular motion, draw clouds by adding contrast and colors to the sky. Remember to keep the color transitions soft.
Step 5 – More Layers
Color more details in the earth and the sky. Color over all the layers so that the coverage becomes better. The sky can have some very smooth and pale parts, and there you can use a white pencil.
Notice the dark lines that define the valley and some trees.
Step 6 – Finishing Touches
Adjust the shape of the blank center area by coloring its surroundings.
Bring in a couple of accent colors to make the color scheme richer.
The Possibilities of Circulism
Try combining circular strokes with different methods to add depth to your art. We usually think about colors and layout, but don’t forget the texture. This enriches your visual language and makes the drawing much more interesting. Softness also brings more depth and adds spirit to your work.
So, when you are working on my colored pencil courses, for example, Intuitive Coloring, you can add some circulism there too!
Easter Chick Art – Draw Step by Step!
Let’s draw more than just a little chick—let’s create Easter chick art! By adding details bit by bit, you can turn even a small drawing into a picture full of atmosphere.
You only need colored pencils and paper. My drawing is about 10 x 14 cm (4 x 5,5 inches).
Step 1 – The Shape of the Chick
Color two circles that blend into each other.
Step 2 – Features of the Chick
Use a darker color to add shadows so that the head and the body are distinct from each other. Then, add the eye and the beak.
Step 3 – The Chick’s Legs
Draw large legs that attach to the body at an angle.
Step 4 – Decorations
Get creative and decorate your chick! Notice that decorations can extend outside the body. For example, I added a bow.
If you draw an Easter egg under the chick, sketch it at this stage. This way, you can add decorations so the chick looks balanced on top of the egg.
Step 5 – The Egg
Color the Easter egg. Use your imagination – what happens to the egg when the chick stands on it? My egg has opened, and hearts are bursting out into the air.
Rotate the paper to adjust the shape of the egg.
Step 6 – The Background
Add decorations, grass, and colorful lights to the background.
Keep the background light so the chick stands out. Color lightly and soften the colors with white and light gray.
Continuity helps create a balanced look. In my drawing, the rainbow in the background continues on the other side.
Step 7 – Finishing Your Easter Chick Art
Spend some time finishing your drawing. Color carefully to ensure full coverage where needed so that the chick’s colors are bright and no paper shows through near the outlines.
Hearts and Stories!
I like drawing hearts. They are so simple and direct, yet they make the drawing feel warm-hearted. I also have a course about them: Hearts and Stories!
Let’s keep drawing!
Colored Pencil Tutorial “Limitless World”
This week, I have a step-by-step colored pencil tutorial for you. It’s called Limitless World. We color without outlines and end up with something that is partly realistic and yet more creative and limitless than any traditional drawing.
Supplies
This tutorial uses regular colored pencils, but feel free to try it with watercolor pencils, watercolors, or any media that can be layered. Choose the paper that goes with your supplies and is durable. I used Fabriano Accademia Drawing Paper (200 gsm/94 lbs). You can create the drawing in any size, but my piece is A4.
Introduction to The Colored Pencil Tutorial
You might be familiar with the work of Hilma af Klint. She is a wonderful example of how our inner world and intuition can guide the hand. Her art has been the main inspiration for my course Mystical Minis. In this project, however, we reach from the inner to the outer world—making the outer look limitless, too.
Before you start reading the step-by-step tutorial, watch a 5-minute introduction where I tell more about the project.
I hope you enjoy this colored pencil tutorial. Let’s start!
Step 1 – White Shapes
Pick any color. Create abstract white shapes by coloring the background.
Press fairly lightly. We will add more layers over the background.
Make sure you have a wide variety of abstract shapes in different sizes.
Tip: You can turn the paper in different directions during the process and decide on the final orientation later.
Step 2 – Colorful Shapes
Pick any colors. Color abstract shapes so that they form a new layer on top of the background.
Make sure that the colorful shapes extend over the white shapes and don’t follow their outlines.
Also, add new shapes on top of other colorful shapes. Press fairly lightly so that you can add more layers later.
Keep the expression abstract. Don’t guess what the drawing is about. Just color a variety of shapes in different sizes and enjoy the freedom.
When the paper feels full, but you can still easily see the background and the colorful layer, move to the next step.
Step 3 – Connecting Colors
Pick colors that are close to what you have used before. Use one color more than others. My main color is green, but I also use other colors.
Color over the previous layers so that the two layers are no longer separate. Focus on the edges and color a small area at a time. Leave only a few areas blank, mostly near the center.
In this step, you can adjust old shapes and color new shapes, too. Think about attaching two pieces: you can either glue (spread the color over) or tape (add a new shape on top).
Tip: Now you can decide on the orientation and get ideas for the drawing’s topic.
Step 4 – Discovery
Find people, animals, plants, trees, furniture, water, and any realistic objects in the abstract drawing. For example, I have someone in the corner who is like an observer of everything happening in the drawing.
Adjust the shapes so that the viewer will also realize what they represent.
Tip: Remember that we are drawing a limitless world, so odd things can appear! The drawing can make sense emotionally, even if it isn’t rational.
You can also use an eraser to adjust the objects.
Having an eraser pen is handy, and it’s very useful for the course Mystical Minis, too!
Step 5 – Advanced Level
When your drawing feels finished, you can either stop or take it to the advanced level.
Basic level: The drawing feels finished, and you feel quite drawn to it. For a viewer, it may look a bit chaotic, busy, and difficult to comprehend.
Advanced level: The drawing has an engaging atmosphere, and the viewer is gently guided around the drawing.
To achieve this:
- Increase contrast in the middle and reduce contrast near the edges.
- Increase intense colors in the middle and reduce the intensity near the edges. Don’t leave blank areas in the areas that are less important.
- Make the shapes less clumsy by adding notches and lines. Make lines curvier and thinner.
- Direct the viewer’s gaze with contrasting shapes and lines.
Tip: Some areas can be more realistic than others. The world of imagination has no limits!
What Does Your Drawing Tell?
I usually work in my little studio, but this time, I finished the drawing in our living room, and I think that the aquarium, the furniture, the glassware, and the birds chirping outside … they all found their way to this drawing. But every drawing will become different. What does your drawing tell?
This kind of intuitive process is natural and free, and at least for me, much more exciting than making a stiff sketch and then coloring it. I hope this colored pencil tutorial marks the start of a new journey for you—one we can continue together, for example, in the course Mystical Minis!