gouache Archives - Peony and Parakeet

Creating a Protector of Good

Posted on October 28, 2022October 29, 2022Posted in Doodling, Paper Collage, Portraits & Faces, Self-TalkTagged canvas, colored pencils, decorated papers, drawing pen, gouache, oil paints, watercolors12 Comments

This week we get inspired by spiritual and ornamental art and create a protector of good.

Protector of Butterflies in Colored Pencils

Protector of Butterflies. Colored pencil art by Päivi Eerola, Finland.

Halloween is not an official holiday in Finland, but we have All Saints’ day soon. I started gathering images for this blog post in the spirit of All Saints’ day, but soon realized that this kind of art has a special role in my life in general. There are times when I want to create art to protect all the good things in life.

Colored pencil art in progress. Creating a protector of good. — A careless sketch becomes alive when colored pencils step in.

In the small colored pencil drawing, I was thinking about the beauty of butterflies and created a protector for them.

Colored pencil art in progress. Cutting out a scrap relief. A protector of butterflies. — After cutting the motif out, I do some finishing touches.

At the same time, I created a protector for my sensitivity, and it feels good to have one in my box of joy as I call the collection of hand-drawn paper reliefs.

Protector of Everything Sacred in Collage

Back in 2011, when I wasn’t a full-time artist yet, I made this paper collage from hand-decorated papers.

I wanted to express the atmosphere of a sacred space. My hand-drawn lines were clumsy, but I cut the papers so that they look decorative. I painted icons as a child, so I made the woman’s face in that style. I still like this!

Protector of Flowers and Plants in Oil

In 2018, I was practicing oil painting and explored all kinds of organic shapes. I first painted all kinds of plants and then changed the orientation, and added the madonna. (More about the process in this blog post.)

Madonna of the Heart, oil painting by Paivi Eerola — Madonna of the Heart, oil on canvas, 2018

The frame of the painting has a real silver coating, and I think it fits the image beautifully.

Painting and Drawing Precious Artifacts

We can paint and draw precious things that make us feel protected, like candles and crosses. I found these two gouache paintings from my archives today.

Gouache paintings: a candle and a cross — Small gouache paintings from 2019

Ornaments can also be more imaginative, like these hand-drawn collage pieces.

A paper ornament of hand-drawn collage pieces. By a Finnish artist Päivi Eerola. — Handdrawn collage pieces from 2019

You can compose paper pieces together so that they look like a talisman.

Protector of Light in Watercolor

Now when we are entering dark days in Finland, I feel the need to have a protector of light.

Watercolor angel by Paivi Eerola. From her online art class Magical Forest. — Watercolor Angel – a project from the class Magical Forest

This watercolor angel was painted for the class Magical Forest. I developed a method for it so that you first paint the angel figure freely by splashing colors and then add more definition by painting the dark background.

Protector of the Child in Us

I think one of the most important protectors is the one who protects the child in us. I painted this icon in the early 1980s when I was about 10 years old. It was my second, and as you can see, I wasn’t very good at varnishing back then – too much linseed oil!

The teacher of the icon painting group, Irke Petterberg, helped me with the details of the faces. I wasn’t eastern-orthodox; I just happened to live very near the church and love art-making. It was wonderful to be accepted as a part of the group which consisted of adult painters. For me, religion felt like a gate to the world of imagination.

Protector of Butterflies. Colored pencil scrap reliefs by Päivi Eerola, Finland.

No matter the religion, let’s cherish the child in us and protect the good through art-making.

Painting and Drawing Fruits

Posted on June 23, 2022June 23, 2022Posted in Flowers & Plants, Processing IdeasTagged canvas, colored pencils, drawing pen, gouache, oil paints4 Comments

This week, I share my love for fruits and give inspiration for fruit-themed paintings and drawings.

Jupiterin malja - Jupiter's Bowl. An oil painting by Paivi Eerola, Finland, that has fruits. — Jupiterin malja – Jupiter’s Bowl, 30 x 50 cm, oil on canvas

Here’s one of my newest paintings called Jupiter’s Bowl. This oil painting is a part of my series Linnunrata – Milky Way, where I explore planets and outer space. (See previous work: Uranus here, the Moon here, Mercury here, Neptune here, Pluto here, the Earth here, Venus here, and the Sun here!)

Fruit Storm in a Magical Bowl

The idea for this painting started from the orange storm that the planet Jupiter has. But then I thought about the Finnish saying “myrsky vesilasissa” which is “storm in the water glass” in English and similar to the saying “storm in a teacup.” It felt playful and funny to compare the planet to a small bowl and make a still life that doesn’t look still at all.

The first layers were very different from each other, and it felt like there was still more to come. The final version has brighter colors and juicy fruits that burst everywhere. Here’s a closeup of some:

A detail of Jupiter's Bowl, an oil painting by Paivi Eerola. Inspired by fruits.

I love lemons and oranges. I think they are one of the most attractive things in the world. Their smell, taste, and look captivate me. And they are not difficult to paint or draw either!

Decorative Slices in Black and White Drawing

Here’s a line drawing from 2018 when I participated in Inktober for the first time. The slices were fun to draw, especially because I treated them like Faberge eggs: filled with jewelry and other decorative elements.

Oranges and jewels. Drawing fruits with decorations. By Paivi Eerola.

Back then, I was finding out things that I really like and bringing them together in my drawings.

Intuitive Fruit Painting in Gouache

In 2019, I made a gouache painting (see the video!) that reminds me of Jupiter’s Bowl. It has fruity and fresh colors and some stormy vibe too.

Painting fruits. A fruit-themed refreshing intuitive painting. By Paivi Eerola, 2019.

I was a bit clumsier painter back then, but the idea of refreshing fruity burst is evident.

Fantasy Fruits in Colored Pencils

This year started by making a new class called Fun Botanicum. The second lesson of the class is about fruits and berries. Here’s my example from the class, made with colored pencils.

Drawing juicy fruits and berries in a class called Fun Botanicum. Colored pencils in a journal. By Paivi Eerola.

I wanted the spread to look juicy with my own fantasy fruits. Practically, you can draw a circle, add shadows and decorations, and it will look like a fruit!

Juiciness vs. Fruits

When I took pictures of Jupiter’s Bowl, it was late May and grass and tulips were in full bloom. There’s a lot of juiciness in summer colors.

An oil painting by Paivi Eerola and the juiciness of summer colors.

My suggestion is to focus on the juiciness when drawing or painting fruits. If you think about how the fruits look in reality, the result gets stiff more easily. If you let go and focus on the juicy part, creating is much more fun and the result more expressive. Anything can have the spirit of the fruit, and art can be juicy without presenting the actual lemons and oranges.

Tell me, which are your favorite fruits? Do they appear in your art too?

Pink Inspiration

Posted on April 1, 2022April 1, 2022Posted in Art Journaling, Color, Fantasy, Flowers & PlantsTagged acrylic paints, Archer & Olive notebook, canvas, colored pencils, drawing pen, dylusions creative journal, gouache, oil paints, watercolors8 Comments

This week is full of pink art inspiration. I hope that this post will get you to find your pinks and start creating sweetness!

Dreamy Pinks in Colored Pencils

First, one of the journal spreads that we will create at Fun Botanicum, the newest class.

Pink art journal spread. Colored pencil art by Paivi Eerola.

The softness that you can create with colored pencils is divine and you can highlight that with sharp strokes. The versatility of colored pencils always amazes me. With one pencil you can create the whole value range from light to dark so a few pencils go a long way. I like those shelves of individual pencils in art supply stores because it’s like picking candies!

Pink Handdrawn Playing Cards

These cards are from the class Magical Inkdom. They are drawn with a black pen and then colored with watercolors.

My husband asked when he saw me drawing these:
– “Playing cards? What’s the game?”
– Well, these are like collector’s items! And you can invent the game yourself!

Because if you make more than one, isn’t that like a little oracle deck? You can ask yourself how you feel by picking a card that reflects your mood.

Lots of Pink Petals

I am already waiting for summer and see my pink peonies bloom in June. If I was a small fairy, I could live in those petals!

Petals, petals, more pink petals – that’s how the flowers are constructed! These are from the class Decodashery.

Pink gouache flowers from the class Decodashery by Peony and Parakeet.

Pick a small brush, some pink gouache paints or watercolors, and paint small spots in layers!

Red and Green are Pink’s Best Pals

Here’s more pink gouache art – a small journal cover that also has reds and greens.

Journal cover in pink, red, and green. By Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

I love this color combination. Each color makes the other shine brighter. I can almost taste the colors when I look at them.

Pink Glow in the Dark

Pink is also a wonderful color with darks. You can paint a pink glow that makes the image look romantic.

Restless Heart. Pink glow in an oil painting. By Paivi Eerola, Finland. — Restless Heart, oil on canvas, 60 x 73 cm

Here’s a blog post where you can see process pictures of this painting.

Powder Pink Inspiration

One night my husband showed me new Swatch watches. I wasn’t so interested at first, but when I saw the photos and got the concept, I got so inspired that I am using that inspiration for the new series of oil paintings!

Here’s the new pink Swatch called Mission to Venus. I am definitely going to somehow incorporate all this into a painting! Not literally, but conceptually.

Bioceramic Swatch in Pink. Mission to Venus.

The powder pink with decorative details speaks of a beautiful adventure to me.

This watercolor painting has powder pinks too.

Floral watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

I painted this one a few years ago when my mission was to find the best way to paint flowers freely in watercolors without using a reference. I have a class about it too Floral Fantasies – Watercolor Edition!

Pinks and Other Pastels

What about selecting some acrylic paints and going wild on an art journal?

Art journal spread in acrylics. Pink and turquoise on dark background. Pink inspiration from Peony and Parakeet.

Add darks on the bottom and let dry. Then mix white to the colors and have fun with pastels. Use different brushes to have some variety in strokes as well.

You can be rough like above, or go in a more delicate direction with thinner brushes.

Lovestory, an oil painting on canvas by Paivi Eerola, Finland. — Lovestory, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm

Black with pink is also a great color combination!

Pink Inspiration – How to Go Deeper

If you are a color-oriented artist as I am, pink is never just one pink. Challenge yourself to make all kinds of pinks from light to dark, from warm to cool, and use them all in one painting. Nature doesn’t select just one pink, so why would you?

The same goes for shapes, lines, and ideas. The more you embrace the variety, the more exciting the art-making becomes, and the more you create. Restrict supplies and increase imagination!

Paivi Eerola and a spread in her colored pencil journal.

I hope you have an adventurous Pink Inspiration Day!

P.S. You can still sign up for Fun Botanicum and make wonderful colorings of plants!

Imaginary People – How to Paint Their Soul?

Posted on June 25, 2020June 25, 2020Posted in Going Beyond the Conventional, Portraits & Faces, Using Reference Images, Visual Voice / StyleTagged acrylic paints, gouache, oil paints, watercolors4 Comments

This week, the theme is painting imaginary people and how to find their soul. There’s plenty of examples in this blog post!

Imaginary People - How to Paint Their Soul? An article by paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

One of the wonders of painting and drawing is that we can give birth to an imaginary person – that we can create someone who breathes, talks, and has a life of her own. However, many times the doll that I have on paper hasn’t come alive. Or she has taken just a few breaths, and after the creative spark has gone, she just stares with empty eyes. So no wonder that I have had a love-hate relationship for painting imaginary people. I want to experience the miracle, but it can also be too much of a struggle.

References – Working with a Soul that Breathes Already

Using a reference may be the least innovative solution but if you find an image that really speaks to you, it can be a good one. Tiny changes in facial features lead to a whole new person so if you don’t follow the reference in the smallest detail, yours is like distant relative to the original – familiar features but still unique. For this oil painting called “Heaven and Earth“, I used a detail of Sandro Botticelli’s painting “Madonna of the Magnificat” (1483) as a reference.

"Heaven and Earth" - an oil painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Here’s a close-up of the faces. I changed the angle of the face, opened the eyes more, and made the mouth look more determined.

Using a reference. "Heaven and Earth" by Paivi Eerola and "Madonna of the Magnificat" by Sandro Botticelli.

Sounds easy, but I often struggle with finding the soul when using references. With this painting, I tried to slowly work towards an individual personality, but creating a connection took a lot of time. Botticelli painted his soul, and it’s not the same as mine.

Here the work was in the early stage so that you can see how she has changed.

Using a reference. "Heaven and Earth" in an underpainting stage by Paivi Eerola and "Madonna of the Magnificat" by Sandro Botticelli. Read about Paivi's thoughts on painting imaginary people with or without a reference.

From the struggles of this painting and many others, I have learned this:

Working on the face alone never brings up the soul.

With the Madonna, as soon as I figured out the purpose and the style of the surroundings, I was able to finish the face.

The Soul Spreads Over the Painting

Even if a person is usually the focal point of the painting, the soul is not focused but spread.

The soul is in the setting, in the things, in the atmosphere. Even Botticelli’s Madonna can look just like a bored person without the crown, the light, the child, the book, etc.

"Madonna of the Magnificat" by Sandro Botticelli.

So no matter if you paint intuitively without pre-defined ideas, sketches, or references, or more intentionally with a clear idea of how you want your imaginary people to look like, seek for the soul in everything you paint.

Flowers have soul.

A detail of "Mirimer" - a floral watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Pots have soul.

A detail of "Mirimer" - a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Hair and hats have soul.

A detail of "Mirimer" - a watercolor fairy by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Inanimate and organic things also give the soul to the imaginary people.

A detail of "Mirimer" - a watercolor fairy painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet. Read about how to paint imaginary people and their soul. — “Mirimer” – a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

In this watercolor painting called “Mirimer“, the fairy is the focal point, but her soul is spread all over the paper.

"Mirimer" - a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet. Read about painting imaginary people and finding their soul.

Imaginary People Exist in Shapes and Colors As Well

The painting doesn’t even need to have a face. Your imaginary people can be abstract, like in this small acrylic painting that I recently painted on a sketchbook.

"Pinkpolka" - a small acrylic painting on a sketchbook by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Shapes and colors have soul.

A detail of "Pinkpolka" - an abstract painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Imaginary People – First or Last?

The idea for this post came from the question that I received a couple of days ago:

“I like your little people peeking out from within your art. I would like to learn more about that. Do you draw them first and paint around them or paint and then save a spot for them?”

I have many approaches.

"Rising Star", a mixed media painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet. Read about creating imaginary people by drawing and painting!

In Innovative Portraits, we use references and make a sketch. The soul begins with the plan.

"Valomio", a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet. Buy her class Magical Forest to learn to paint imaginary people like this little fairy!

In Magical Forest, we lure fairies to appear intuitively from the watercolor background. The soul begins with the feeling.

Art for the class Decodashery. Paint flowers, lace, cakes, and omaginary people called Decodollies! By Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

In the new class, Decodashery, we start by building a visual world and then make the dollies to fit with it. So the soul is first just a small flower, then it expands to floral paintings, cakes, lace, and finally, the imaginary people are born. By gradually setting the style and the spirit is the best intentional way to add soul to your work.

Decodashery, an online art class by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Decodashery will begin on June 29, 2020. >> Sign up now!

Color the Emotion

Tag: gouache