Peony and Parakeet

Fly to Your Inner World and Color the Emotion

dylusions creative journal

Painting a Mystery

This week is about painting a mystery and entering another world through art-making. My paintings are in an art journal and made with a loose touch.

A mystery interior. Acrylic painting on an art journal.


It All Started from a Withering Bouquet

“The Midsummer bouquet has withered. I have to throw it in the trash,” I said. “But the setting is just like those old masters’ paintings,” my husband replied unexpectedly. And so I remembered this once again.

Withering Midsummer Bouquet. A photo by Päivi Eerola, Finland.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was
and there still is a world that you can get to from anywhere.

At first, it’s dark, but you can hear a woman reading a letter to someone.

Woman Reading and a Man Seated at a Table" at the exhibition of the H'Art Museum in Amsterdam. The painting is by Frans van Mieris from 1676.

You hear a clock ticking backwards, generating more time.

Mantel clock from the Rijksmuseum.

Then you know that it’s time to take a brush in your hand.

Painting freely on an art journal.

Squeeze the handle firmly and hear the trees moaning as their trunks slowly sink to the ground.

Landscape painting from J.L. Runeberg's home.

First, it feels silly to paint because there’s nothing to see.

Painting freely on an art journal.

But the darkness gradually disappears, and you realize that you are not alone.

Painting freely on an art journal in acrylic.

Those strange creatures are all familiar to each other and, in a strange way, to you too.

Using acrylic paints and painting freely on an art journal.

In this world, everything has been mixed up.

A mystery scenery. Acrylic painting on an art journal.

You are the wind that shook the flower, and in blowing the petals back, you lost your soul to it.

Abstract peony photo.

You are the chair for which the imagination built a room to rest.

A mystery interior. Acrylic painting on an art journal.
Click here to see a bigger photo of the finished spread!

In this world, everything is unfinished. But if you are willing to hear and feel instead of only seeing what’s expected, everything is ready enough.

Creating freely on an art journal. Dylusions Creative Journal Square.
Click here to see a bigger photo of the finished spread!

Painting a Mystery – Background Story

The idea of this blog post came from that short conversation with my husband. Then I had to take a photo of the bouquet and make it in the style of old masters.

After that, I remembered taking a photo of a painting called “Woman Reading and a Man Seated at a Table” at the exhibition of the H’Art Museum in Amsterdam. The painting is by Frans van Mieris from 1676.

While browsing my image archive, I was drawn by another photo, taken in the same trip to Amsterdam. It was a decorative mantel clock from 1782 in the Rijksmuseum.

The clock took my thoughts to a more recent visit in Porvoo, Finland, where my husband and I went to see Johan Ludvig Runeberg‘s home. The lovely interior was from the 1860s, and there was a big painting that I really liked. I took a photo, but haven’t succeeded in finding out who painted it.

After gathering the photos, I picked up my art journal (Dylusions Creative Journal Square) and started painting. I didn’t copy the photos, but let them soak in freely. I was just inspired by the atmosphere they evoked in me.

Hopefully this blog post inspires you to paint freely without strict plans and definitions. Painting a mystery is both fun and addicting – I am already eager to create more!

Coloring an Intuitive Selfie

This week, we draw an intuitive selfie, so without a camera or a mirror. Let’s pick the colored pencils and create a self-portrait freely and intuitively!

Intuitive Selfie, a drawing with colored pencils. Color freely without any references, no camera or mirror needed, watch the video!

We use the pencils as a camera and draw the face as it’s a photo taken from the inner world’s view. At the same time, we explore blurriness, freedom, and asymmetry. Watch the video!

Coloring an Intuitive Selfie – Watch the video!

I am creating my page on the Dylusions Creative Journal (Square, 8 by 8 inches) but you can use any paper and any size.

In the video, I talk about the difference between doing coloring pages and coloring a blank page, and how I have processed my word for the year “Release”.

Inner vs. Outer Selfie

It would be great to hear your thoughts on becoming freer and making an imperfect intuitive selfie. Leave a comment below!

Poetry Girl and Bosom Friends – Start Drawing Again!

Let’s get you out of the creative rut and have quality time with your inner child – the poetry girl in you! Join us for a course that will get you excited about making art again! >> Sign up here!

Runotyttö ja sydänystävät - Poetry Girl and Bosom Friends - a watercolor illustration by Paivi Eerola. Get out of your creative rut, and start drawing for your inner child!


Poetry Girl and Bosom Friends

In Finland we have two lovely words: “runotyttö” and “sydänystävä” – “poem girl” and “heart friend”. Runotyttö means a dreamy young person – poetry girl – and sydänystävä means a close friend – a bosom friend. I think the best courses are like the bosom friends that bring out the poetry girl in you.
They make you see new possibilities, but they do it in a gentle and fun way.

>> Sign up for Hearts and Stories!

Here’s how we get out of the creative rut in the course Hearts and Stories.

Out of the Creative Rut – Step 1

First, we will restore the joy of drawing simple shapes.

Hearts and Stories - Lesson 1. Online art journaling course taught by Paivi Eerola.

Out of the Creative Rut – Step 2

Second, we will go for an adventure that travels from one small picture to another.

Hearts and Stories - Lesson 2. Online art journaling course by Peony and Parakeet.

Out of the Creative Rut – Step 3

Third, we will find a connection to fantasy through characters.

Hearts and Stories - Lesson 3. Online art journaling course taught by Paivi Eerola. Bring out your inner poetry girl!

Out of the Creative Rut – Step 4

Finally, we put everything together so that we are excited to continue creating.

Hearts and Stories - Lesson 4. Online art journaling course by Peony and Parakeet.

Art is a mood and a direction. It shows where you are, and suggests where you want to go.

Join us for a course that will get you excited about making art again!
>> Sign up for Hearts and Stories!

Art Journal as a Storybook

This week, we are looking at an art journal as a storybook, full of fairy tales that are not borrowed but our own.

A storybook page in an art journal. Whimsical art journal pages that illustrate personal stories.

With this video, I want to inspire you to create whimsical art journal pages that illustrate personal stories. In these pages, mundane things become more fantastical, and there’s no pressure to draw realistic sceneries, real persons, and such.

I say in the video: “As a child, I drew lions without thinking if they were realistic enough. I loved lions, so I drew them, it was that simple. When I cherish the inner child, I don’t expect realistic perfection, neither do I try to control the story.”

Creating a page in your storybook journal can be a creative adventure that gets you hooked on creating.

Art Journal as a Storybook – Watch the video!

In the video, I use watercolors, colored pencils, and fel-tip pens and create a spread in my Dylusions Creative Journal. I start with creating the central heart on a separate paper ( Fabriano Accademia drawing paper, thickness 200 gsm/94 lbs), and then pick one of my boxes of joy to find more hand-drawn collage pieces.

I don’t start with the background, but glue the pieces first, and then combine them by coloring. This vice-versa collage process is fun because we can make odd images work together by drawing and also make them to tell a story.

I also like to start with a simple shape and work from a small detail to a bigger picture. I think this way of creating is exciting and adventurous, and it’s always a joy to see what comes up.

Hearts and Stories – Sign Up Now!

Let’s turn your art journal into a storybook and make the most out of simple shapes!

Hearts and Stories online art course

Hearts and Stories will begin on March 17, 2025. >> Sign Up Now!

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