Black Art Journal Pages as Banners
I want my Black Friday campaigns to be inspiring for art-making, and this year my theme is “Black Berry Friday.” It means juicy art journal pages on black paper. I am pretty sure you have one like my black and square Dylusions Creative Journal (affiliate link).

I use my black art journal for using up old supplies that don’t inspire me anymore. And if I have leftover paint on a palette, I make a few brush strokes on a page rather than toss the paint away. This floral page was born from those kinds of careless strokes and now, much later, I finished it with paint markers.
Edges and Banners
Usually, the center of the page is the most important area, but for banners, the edges need to draw attention. Here, the circular floral design, enhances the center text area beautifully.

I made the banner in Photoshop, and boosted the colors a bit.

I also drew a long rectangle of cherries that not only makes a great banner but also looks great on the journal. I think we treat art journal pages too often as one unit when a page could be divided in sections and thus bring more variation to the journal.

My banner wasn’t long enough for all the purposes, so I made it longer by duplicating the design in Photoshop.

Colored Pencils on Black Art Journal Pages
I like to use colored pencils with paint markers. Marker pens produce thick and opaque shapes but colored pencils are softer and more translucent. Colored pencils are great for backgrounds. Look at these stripes!

I also used gel pens to add thin lines.

Again, I became more interested in the background than the center. The center is not very elegant, but here, in the banner you mostly see the edges.

Doodling on Black Art Journal Pages
My Black Friday offer is simple: All classes are 20% OFF. So I wanted the banners have some simplicity too. Doodling circles is easy and doesn’t require much thinking.

I got a bit carried away though!

I was talking on the phone and watching a movie while doodling, and once I stopped, I thought that I doodled too much. But the banner looks great and of course, there can’t be too much of anything in art!

Designs for Fabric
I got so inspired making these pages, that I had to play with Photoshop a bit more than necessary. I combined many pages into one design and I think something like this would make a great fabric.

Black Over Painted Background
I have been contemplating whether I should use both sides of the pages on my black art journal. Using only one side would give a blank page to protect the art on the opposite page. But the journal looks much more inspiring when both pages are covered!

Here’s one more idea for an art journal page, and this works on any journal. When you have painted backgrounds, use dark marker or paint on top to make shapes from the background.

I wanted to make one banner that has fall and thanksgiving themes with berries. The page became a bit busy, but again, the banner is ok, I think!

And now: it’s time to shop the sale!
The Black Berry Friday sale ends on Dec 2, 2024, at midnight PST.
Art On the Wall – Displaying Canvas Paintings
Our home is full of art. Almost all my canvas paintings are displayed on the walls. The arrangements change when old ones are sold and new ones are born. In this blog post, I show some of the paintings and how they are displayed at the moment.

When using stretched canvases, framing is not necessary. I hope this inspires you to create some canvas art. Check out my acrylic painting course Floral Freedom and see more of my paintings at paivieerola.com/gallery!
In the Gallery Corner

Our library room is on the darker side of our house, but I think that the lack of daylight and a heavy atmosphere goes well with the books and nostalgic-style paintings.

Displaying different sizes of canvas paintings on the same wall looks great but needs planning. I made a plan in Photoshop first, and then we hung them all at once.
Above the Aquarium

People often say that all my canvas paintings express the underwater world. That hasn’t been intentional because I am actually afraid of deep waters. But my husband has had aquariums for decades, and they must have affected my art.

The painting continues the aquarium view. And it was not planned at all!
Best Lit

Our dining area has special lighting for a big painting – LED strips in two directions that have adjustable color and intensity.

The colors of any painting are highly affected by the amount and color of light.
When I Wake Up

The bedroom is our darkest room, but every morning when I wake up, I look at the wall that is filled with my paintings.

There is also a collection of my cross-stitch projects. Stitching is just a hobby but I like the combination.
In the Hallway Gallery

I love our yellow hallway and how the color unifies a mixed collection of paintings. Displaying canvas paintings can be this easy!

This narrow hallway was super boring before we painted it and added art on the walls.
Entrance Art

Our house has a space right after the entrance where I often change a painting to one that feels current. I also decorate the top of the sideboard cabinet that’s under the painting. Now it’s time for some darker art.

Happy Halloween!
Belonging Somewhere as an Artist
This week, I share my word for 2024 and thoughts about the good and bad in the sense of belonging. I also have a new finished painting!

See more pics at the Taiko art store!
I haven’t used acrylic paints on a canvas for a long time. But now I wanted to paint faster and not wait for the layers to dry.
Painting Freely
This painting took me a couple of long evenings and I deliberately left it abstract, because the subject of the painting is not about the flowers, but about the power rising from the ground.
Here’s how the painting started: loose strokes and juicy colors.

It’s easy to fall in love with colors, but when you want depth, you also need muddy colors: browns and greys.

I like to use several different brushes in one painting, and my favorite brushes are very thin.

The title “Muutosvoima – Driving Force” sums up what I want to tell with this painting. Muutosvoima could also be translated as “power of change.”

I believe that the best power of change is not the hype created by others, but the inner enthusiasm that has a grounded tone. Because isn’t it so that flowers only bloom when the earth warms up? Sunlight alone is not enough.
Belonging Somewhere – The Good and The Bad
I’ve been thinking about togetherness lately. It’s a wonderful feeling. For example, last week when many people commented on my post, I felt happy that this blog brings us together. One of the best things that has come with the internet is that you can be pretty weird and still find like-minded people.

However, the sense of belonging has its danger. Art is about walking your own path. Encounters are important, but you also need to go in the other direction to create something unique. As a teacher, I have often thought about how I could better guide people in their own direction.

Art is like a pot that you have to break first and then put together again. The pot can be broken in many ways and at best, you find your own way to put it together. You need a driving force to break the pot and then persistence to rebuild it.
Finding Your Places in the Art World
In my career as an artist, I have often wanted to be like someone else. I have envied popular artists and then later realized that I wouldn’t want to create the kind of art that they do. I realized that I would like to be popular in creating something else and somewhere else.

With experience, the art world opens up. Instead of one hall, you begin to see numerous smaller rooms. What is popular in one room can be overlooked in another. Being an artist requires a lot of self-esteem and the power to move from one room to another.

When you find one room that feels like your own, the sense of belonging is at its greatest. However, it’s better to move between several rooms and find many groups. At best, the artist acts as a bridge between different things.
My Word of the Year – Do You Have One?
My word for 2024 is Integrate. This year I have allowed myself to do more diverse things, but on the other hand, I have tied all the pieces together so that one benefits the other.
Have you chosen a word for this year? How has it been realized?
About Creative Freedom

I have often wondered why I am an artist. The first answer that comes to mind is creative freedom. “Creative” and “freedom” seem like easy words at first. Everyone wants to be creative, right? And who doesn’t want to be free?
But creative and freedom are also difficult words. Especially if you think of creativity as the opposite of traditional or familiar, and freedom as the opposite of safety and stability.
I find many things in myself where I love tradition and security. You could call me a homebody, that’s how much I love being at home. If I had to choose between a museum of historical art and a contemporary gallery, I would definitely go to the museum. And I love decorative items and anything small and cute. Also, my studio is always super clean – not what is expected from an artist!
But I still want to be a liberated artist, create a mess, break the formula, and then discover something new out of it. Crafting, or copying reference photos, or drawing the same things year after year, has never been enough for me. I have wanted to blow up the lump inside me, which has accumulated from creative energy that has not been able to get out. That’s why my courses also have a lot of creative freedom.
The idea of the course Liberated Artist Revisited is not to create an image similar to what I do in the videos, but to solve a puzzle that we first create. Creative freedom begins when you realize that there is not only the art of creating but also the art of seeing. When you highlight what you see, you become a liberated artist.

Liberated Artist Revisited is a limited edition – only available for purchase until the end of March 2024! >> Buy Now!