On this last day of the decade, I share some moments from my art studio in Finland. Watch the 1-minute video!
Many times when people look at art, they say admiringly: “How did the artist do that?” They assume that the artist intentionally painted every spot. But often, art is more about seeing what accidental spots to preserve rather than how to intentionally paint them. It’s the nature of art to explore the wild and uncontrollable side of life, and it’s the job of an artist to make it serve the expression.
During the past years, I have tried many art techniques, many approaches, but this the journey that’s for me – to produce and teach art that goes out of control at times, and that has unrealistic and abstract elements as well.
When the end of the year gets closer, it’s time to look back. One of the big themes in 2019 has been watercolors. I gathered the paintings, filled my art shop, and made a Christmas video for you. I hope you enjoy the video below!
Happy Watercolor Holidays!
New Painting – Splashpompom!
Here’s the newest painting called “Splashpompom”. It has citrus fruits, marshmallows, and cotton flowers, and it’s all about partying in a magical forest! I really like this one!
Here are some details. The bursting orange:
White flowers that are like soft cotton clouds and flying marshmallows:
Some happy accidents that I highlighted with care:
It’s been quite a year, and I will post more about it in the next post, but this is for watercolors and my upcoming class Magical Forest. I hope you will join! >> Click here!
Wishing Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all the good things for you and your creativity!
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.
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!
Bleeding is not necessarily a bad thing. Actually, I prefer paints that bleed because I often like to remove color in later stages.
Bleeding wasn’t any problem when making this painting either. I used both thin and thick paint quite effortlessly.
I hope you enjoyed the video, and let’s keep creating!
I currently attend a group exhibition in Helsinki, Finland. The place is called “Hietsun paviljonki”, and it’s located on a beautiful beach quite near the center of the city. The art exhibition is open from 11th to 22nd September, so if you are in Helsinki during that time, welcome!
See the Exhibition – Watch the Video!
For those who can’t come, I have made a video of all the 11 pieces that I have there.
The Art of Framing
As you see on the video, I got several pieces framed for the show. My artist friend Eeva Nikunen has gorgeous frames in her paintings, so I used the same framer than she usually does. I am really happy with these frames!
This frame also had a purple version, and I chose it for the houseplant-inspired piece. The purple frame highlights the green leaves beautifully. Originally, I hadn’t planned to frame this piece so I didn’t leave any blank space around the paper when creating it. The framer attached the drawing on the green cardboard first. I like this solution.
I wanted something silvery for the madonna painting and chose a broad white frame that also has real silver! It wasn’t the cheapest option …
I was a bit doubtful if I could find a perfect frame for my big yellow drawing but this one really hit home.
I hope this inspired you to frame some of your pieces!
Coming Up!
I have another group exhibition coming up soon (Sept 20 to Oct 8). It’s in Gallery K in Vantaa, Finland. The show is called “Raffia ja smoothia” – Rough and Smooth, and it’s organized by the local professional artist association.
