colored pencils Archives - Peony and Parakeet

Drawing Inspiration – What I learned from Inspirational Drawing

Posted on March 15, 2023March 15, 2023Posted in Art Journaling, Doodling, Paper CollageTagged colored pencils, drawing pen, dylusions creative journal, moleskine sketchbook, moleskine watercolor notebookNo Comments

This week, I have some drawing inspiration for you. Let’s celebrate our living line!

Recently, I heard the term “transition” and it resonated strongly. After receiving the grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, I have thought about my artistic career forward and at the same time also backward. I’ve noticed that it’s hard to think about the future without thinking about the past. I thought I’d write a few blog posts this spring about how I’ve grown my artistic skills by building courses.

Artist Päivi Eerola in her studio. Oil painting in progress.

First, I want to talk about a course that formed the basis not only for everything I teach but also for how I paint today.

From Dots and Circles to a Living Line

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) said “Everything starts from a dot.” On the same topic, Paul Klee (1879-1940) stated: “A line is a dot that went for a walk.” I think that when a person feels the call of fine art, he is at a point where he wants to get to know himself, to walk inward. I first went on a small tour only: I drew circles.

Drawing circles. Handmade business cards. — Handmade business cards from 2010.

When I finally understood that I could open the circle and boldly move forward, a new world opened up. I saw my living line pulsating strongly. I felt I could draw anything and didn’t have to “know how to draw” to draw.

Drawing inspiration. Art journal page about a visit in an art museum. By Paivi Eerola, 2015. — Art Museum – An art journal page from 2015.

Fall in Love with Your Line

It became my calling to help people who are stuck and going around in circles move forward. In 2015, I first made a trial course for Finns called “Inspiroidu piirtämisestä” (Get inspired by drawing) and learned how to make an online course and clarify my points. Then, based on the Finnish course, I made an English version called Inspirational Drawing. When time passed and I got more experience, I made the same course a third time. In 2017, the most comprehensive version Inspirational Drawing 2.0 was born, which is also in my current course selection.

Inspirational Drawing is based on getting to know your own line. You don’t immediately remove your hand from the paper, but let the line travel a longer distance. This technique is commonly called “contour drawing”, but in my version, you don’t copy what is presented, but walk with your line and let the landscapes open up to the unpredictable.

Art journal page from 2015. Drawing freely without models. Drawing inspiration for those who say they can't draw. — Being Alive, 2015

Your line is as unique as your signature. The most motivating thing in art-making is to fall in love with your line. When you want to repeatedly see your line and cherish it, it will also reveal its hidden potential. With your line, you can go much deeper in drawing inspiration and feel much freer than if you cut and compose collages from magazines or use stencils or stamps.

Drawing Inspiration

Inspiring pictures are also at the core of Inspirational Drawing. It’s natural for a creative person to collect pictures in one way or another, and drawing is a wonderful way to spend time with them. In the course, you will be guided to use the pictures you have chosen in drawing so that the pictures are not copied in the traditional style. To fuel free drawing, ideas are extracted from them. I still use this kind of inspiring effect of images in my painting process.

When moving from a point and closed shapes to an open, free-roaming line, inspiration has been a keyword anyway. With inspiration comes courage. It’s wonderful to draw when inspired. And it’s wonderful to inspire others with your own creative outcome.

Start Drawing!

Inspirational Drawing is now for sale this weekend, from March 15-19, 2023 (midnight PDT).

Inspirational Drawing – Get 20 % OFF – buy here!

Art Supplies and Emotions

Posted on March 9, 2023March 9, 2023Posted in Abstracts, Artistic Identity, Flowers & Plants, SuppliesTagged colored pencils, derwent artbars, gelatos, oil paints, oil pastels, watercolors6 Comments

This week, we ponder what kind of feelings and emotions our art supplies raise in us.

Do you remember these small paintings from a few weeks ago?

Four small oil paintings by the artist Päivi Eerola, Finland. — Four small oil paintings, 15 x 15 cm each.

I now got the fourth one finished, and I couldn’t resist taking a photo of them together. These are only 6 by 6 inches, and the small size enables me to study a style or an idea before making a bigger painting. So, in a way, these are like pages in an art journal – small art that is delightful to create and look at but that doesn’t fill a wall. It’s the first time I feel I can create quick experiments directly in oils. And this brings us to the topic of art supplies.

Crayons, Inks, and All the Possibilities

I have now painted on canvas in oil for over two years, and most of the other art supplies don’t inspire me so much anymore. I have all kinds of crayons, inks, and paint tubes that were purchased in a different mindset many years ago.

Playing with crayons. — Derwent Art Bars. See more crayon love!

Back then, a new supply meant a new beginning. Purchasing a box of crayons meant that I still believed in myself – that there was still hope that I will become an artist. See a video of me working with crayons – a blog post from 2017.

Created with Derwent Art Bars and Faber Castell Gelatos. By Päivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet. See her post about art supplies and emotions! — Derwent Art Bars and Faber Castell Gelatos. >> See more crayon love!

Rising Star - graphite pencil, acrylic paints, oil pastels, from the class Innovative Portraits. Creating mixed media, choosing art supplies. — Rising Star – graphite pencil, acrylic paints, oil pastels, from the class Innovative Portraits

I like many of the pieces that I created back then, but now when I look at those boxes of crayons, the magic has gone away. All I can hear is the calling of my beloved oil paints.

There are two exceptions though.

Colored Pencils Are the Easiest Art Supplies

Colored Pencils bring me back to my childhood when I was drawing with my elder sisters, admiring what they did with them. For me, colored pencils were not just pencils, but dolls that had names. It was sad to see a doll that I loved get shortened and then finally thrown away!

Compared to oil paints, colored pencils have an advantage. There’s no preparation involved. When I paint with oils, I need to build the palette, clean the caps, select the brushes, protect the tabletop, etc. But with colored pencils, I can just grab a piece of paper or open another page in a journal and start coloring freely. When I am tired but still want to create something, it’s really nice.

Colored pencils on a journal. Choosing colored pencils as art supplies. — Autumn colorings from 2022, see the video where I talk more about colored pencils!

I have also liked to maintain my illustration skills, and colored pencils are great for that too. For example, see the newest course Doll World!

Watercolors Are a Great Teacher

I am also emotionally connected with my watercolor set. Even if I haven’t used it much lately, I feel that painting in a watercolor set my style. Many techniques that I use in oil were learned when I was painting in watercolor, for example, negative painting and building an image layer by layer.

Päivi Eerola, After Winter - Talven jälkeen, 38 x 28 cm, watercolor, 2019. — After Winter – Talven jälkeen, 38 x 28 cm, watercolor, 2019.

I also learned a lot about pigments and their behavior back then. It was a good learning experience to paint many pieces in a row.

Watercolor paintings in a studio. Choosing the art supplies that produce the best emotions. — Watercolor paintings from 2019.

I have several courses on watercolor, for example, Magical Forest for fairies and Floral Fantasies for floral still lives!

What about all those inks, crayons, and such, did I learn anything from them? Yes, of course, but when I look back, it feels like when I started to focus more on one media instead of mixed media, I also took a big leap forward in skills. My art went forward when I no longer tried to find a solution by changing the media but by growing the skill. I was also able to get a more emotional connection with the supplies and somehow that feels very important to me.

Oils vs. Acrylics as Art Supplies

Before oils, I painted in acrylics for some time. They are more practical. They don’t smell like wet oil does. The painting mediums have less odor too. They dry fast so painting is much faster, no need to wait for days before adding a new layer or making the finishing touches. Acrylics don’t require a similar kind of knowledge of pigments and painting mediums as oils do. In oils, you have to be careful with some pigments and the use of mediums because they may cause crackling.

Varnishing small oil paintings with Gamvar. — Varnishing small oil paintings. I do my best to build the layers of the painting so that it will last the test of time.

Despite all that worry, when I open my box of oil tubes, I feel different than if I pick acrylics.

The Emotions I Get When Painting in Oil

The oil paints connect me to the past. They take me to the time before I was even born.

Within seconds, I travel back to the beginning of the 20th century, meet the early abstract painters and impressionists, then continue my journey to the 19th century and meet pre-raphaelites, and move from them to those who wanted to capture the realism, and to those who were more romantics. Then again, within seconds, I go to the 18th century and admire all the floral still lives and women in beautiful dresses.

And at best, I continue the journey to the 17th and 16th centuries and see big paintings full of details. Then I also meet the masters that had the patience to make really thin layers and wait for each to dry before adding a new one.

This time traveling enables me to meet long-time friends like Wassily Kandinsky, Peter Paul Rubens, and Leonardo da Vinci and if I do some browsing before I start painting, I always find a new one that I want to meet and learn from.

Oil painting in progress. By Päivi Eerola, Finland. — One of the paintings that I will show you later this spring!

And now when I am painting for the upcoming Albert Edelfelt -themed exhibition, I also learn from him.

Kirsikankukka, oil on canvas, 15 x 15 cm, Paivi Eerola, Finland. — “Kirsikankukka” (Cherry Blossom), 15 x 15 cm, oil on canvas, inspired by Albert Edelfelt’s painting The Parisienne (Virginie)

There are many great artists today, but I feel that tracing what you love back to history is essential to artistic growth. I also get satisfaction from knowing that I belong to the chain of generations. Artists from the past, still live through me.

A small oil painting with thick edges. By Paivi Eerola.

Paintings In Progress

I have been painting quite a lot recently, and there are many more paintings in the queue.

These are in-progress pictures! I will show you the finished ones in the near future!

Oil painting in progress. By Paivi Eerola, Finland. See her post about art supplies.

I usually reserve a whole day for painting and try not to do anything else at the same time. If you want to follow a painting day, look for my Instagram stories where I usually post in-progress photos when I am testing the composition and such.

What are Your Favorite Art Supplies?

Miniature oil paintings by Paivi Eerola. The attic series.

Tell us what are your favorite art supplies at the moment!
It would also be interesting to know which supplies raise emotions in you.

Colored Pencil Doodling

Posted on February 24, 2023February 24, 2023Posted in Abstracts, Art Journaling, Doodling, Going Beyond the ConventionalTagged Archer & Olive notebook, colored pencils6 Comments

This week, we are doodling wildly with colored pencils.

Intuitive art with colored pencils. By Päivi Eerola.

Free doodling is the most natural way for me to create. I can just start. No browsing the internet for ideas, no trying to think what to express. It only requires trust that something will appear – that a problem I wasn’t aware of gets solved, a key to a door that I didn’t notice is found, and a place that didn’t exist is born for everyone to explore.

Mindless Doodling

When doodling with colored pencils, I like to pick a pencil and start coloring mindlessly.

I often pick a neutral color and use a light touch so that I can later add layers on the top.

The mindless curves can go on top of each other, already creating a new layer.

When I get bored, I pick another color and do the same.

I try not to worry about how it looks because it’s just a warmup.

Enjoying Colors

When my thoughts begin to flow effortlessly, I add more colors. Now I color areas or spots over the doodles.

I also highlight some parts of the doodles with color.

I cover most of the blank areas so that the image becomes less busy.

Drawing Something Intentional

If I get stuck and feel discouraged, I draw something to cheer me up.

Drawing a heart in the middle of doodling.

A heart is a message for myself: “Keep going; everything will be ok.”

Discovering by Shadowing

“What should I draw?” we often ask ourselves. I often push through by picking a fairly dark tone and shadowing around a random area.

Colored pencil art journaling in progress.

I also like to color stripes, so I color and shadow them. It usually doesn’t take long when I feel the sense of new, exciting scenery.

Doodling All The Crazy Stuff

Recently, I have become more open to allowing all the things that don’t seem to make sense. I also have got more courage to put expression over prettiness.

The success of this kind of wild doodling is connected with the more traditional art skills. I have noticed that after doing the projects for the class Doll World, I have been able to include human shapes and characters more effortlessly for drawings and paintings.

Colored Pencil Doodling – The Result

I think that the finished work expresses that I am at a crossroads. I have a new exciting project on the horizon that you will find out more about soon. I am considering what old things to continue and what to abandon.

Colored pencil doodling on a journal page. Intuitive use of colored pencils by the artist Paivi Eerola, Finland.

But I think that everything will be ok anyway because when I turn the spread upside down, the world still looks exciting and inviting.

A colored pencil journal page upside down. Intuitive art often makes sense when turned around too.

More Intuitive Art Projects

My classes – Inspirational Drawing and Intuitive Coloring, go into this kind of free-flowing process in more detail. If you prefer watercolors to doodles, check Magical Forest for a similarly intuitive approach.

This small colored pencil journal is currently my favorite art journal. Check the class Fun Botanicum for a jump start for beginning colored pencil journal pages!

3D Paper Collage of Hand-Drawn Art

Posted on January 12, 2023January 12, 2023Posted in Animals, Flowers & Plants, Paper CollageTagged colored pencils, decorated papers, drawing pen, foam tape, watercolors7 Comments

This week, let’s play with hand-drawn paper pieces and create 3D collage art.

My example is eight by eight inches (about 20 x 20 cm), so fairly small, but it has quite a lot of details. I used foam tape to add dimension to it, and the result is lovely. It brings embroidery or applique to my mind.

3D effects with foam tape. A closeup of hand-drawn collage art.

The idea of using foam tape between the layers is familiar to many from card-making, but I think the result is much more original when you use your own hand-drawn art.

Boxes of Joy – Shops Made by You for You

For years, I have been inspired by the idea of creating my own little paper shop. This shop is not about selling stuff for others but creative play where you are both a shop owner and its best customer. This picture is from 2016, when my shops were pretty simple and contained mostly paper sheets.

Playing with paper. — See the blog post from 2016: Painterly Collage in Rut Bryk’s style

But the longer I have been in business, the more demanding my customer has got. I have got requests from myself to draw doodles, embroidery imitations, animals, magical stuff, flowers, dolls, and the little shops that I call boxes of joy have increased year by year and course by course.

Working with hand-drawn paper pieces to create 3D paper collage.

Sometimes the things I have drawn feel too precious to put to use. For example, the roses that I made for Doll World.

But the older the pieces get, the more I try to use them. And if something doesn’t “sell,” I can recolor it or add something to it so that I – my best customer – feel tempted to “buy” it.

I like this process of adding more to something that’s pretty full already!

Thick Paper Love

One of my favorite papers is thick and smooth watercolor paper. It is suitable for both painting and drawing, but I sometimes avoid it because the collage gets so bulky. But for 3D effects, thick paper is perfect. It’s sturdy and goes very well with foam tape. Another paper that I like is Bristol paper. It’s not so thick but very smooth and sturdy enough for 3D.

Making of a 3D paper collage. Hand-drawn pieces, scissors, foam tape.

The background of this 3D paper collage is hand-painted watercolor paper. The elements are hand-drawn on watercolor paper or Bristol paper mostly.

Colored Pencils for 3D Paper Collage

Back in 2016, I used acrylic paints a lot. But nowadays, they feel less tempting. Not only because they are messier than colored pencils or watercolors but also because they are too similar to oil paints that I use for canvas paintings. I want to separate play from the pieces that I sell.

With play, I also want to grow my drawing skills. Colored pencils are great for that. They also go well together with watercolors. I have had a break with watercolors, but I hope to use them more this year.

3D paper collage of hand-drawn elements.

I like the many tones of green in this piece! I have colored many white parts with green to integrate the pieces better with the background.

Artist’s Life – Upcoming Projects

My playing time will get more limited soon because I will start a new series of oil paintings. I have been invited to a wonderful art history-related group exhibition that begins in August, and there is a smaller fantasy-related show in April. I will tell you more about these in the upcoming posts.

This spring is also full of art in other ways. I enjoy seeing all the lovely dolls from the participants of Doll World and other classes in my Bloom and Fly community. I hope to help you there as much as I can throughout the year. I am also participating in a Finnish artist coaching program to get to know the practices of the fine art world better. You have enabled my growth, and I hope that my growth will also benefit you. I hope that 2023 will be a good year of art for both of us.

Color the Emotion

Tag: colored pencils