Happy Watercolor Holidays – Watch the Video!
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!
Intuitive Painting in 60 Colors of Arteza Gouache Set
Paint with me! This week, I have a video tutorial of making an intuitive gouache painting with Arteza Gouache set.
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.
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!
Let’s share the passion of creating art!
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Flower Gardener’s Diary – Welcome to My Art Exhibition!
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!
For a drawing, that already had a hand-drawn decorative border, I chose a narrow frame that goes well with the fantasy theme too.
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.
Enjoyable Floral Watercolor – Paint with Me!
To celebrate the upcoming class Floral Fantasies in Three Styles, I have made a new free video. It is a tutorial for painting a layered floral watercolor painting. I love to paint this way – freely without reference photos and hope that you will enjoy this method too. It’s based on a negative painting technique where you paint more the areas around the flowers than the actual flowers.
Enjoyable Floral Watercolor – Watch the Video!
You only need a couple of brushes, watercolors, and watercolor paper. A spraying bottle is helpful also. Watch the video tutorial below!
More Floral Watercolor Projects
Here are some of the pieces from my floral watercolor series which I haven’t published in my blog before and which were showcased in the video. I link the title to my art shop where they are available with more descriptions. The first one is “Aamu – Morning”.
My favorite detail:
This one is called “Tahtoisin jäädä” – Would Like to Stay“.
My favorite detail:
This painting is one of my favorite florals that I have painted so far. I saw the color scheme in an old painting and wanted to use it. This one is called “Saan elämältä paljon – Life Gives Me Plenty“
My favorite detail:
A lovely birthday bouquet that I received this year was an inspiration to “Syntymäpäivä – Birthday” I will show how this was made more in detail in Week 2 of Floral Fantasies.
My favorite detail:
All the bigger paintings shown in the video are available in my art store too. See all the paintings here!
Floral Fantasies in Three Styles – Sign Up Now!
My comprehensive flower painting class Floral Fantasies in 3 Styles will begin on Monday, April 29! Don’t miss this!
Come to draw and paint flowers with me – Sign up for Floral Fantasies in 3 Styles!