Let’s Paint like Emily Wrote – Emotional Connection with Childhood Novels
This week, we are reminiscing about childhood novels while painting naturally with watercolors. Do you have this kind of emotional connection with the books from your childhood?
See more pics at Taiko Finnish Online Art Store
Now that spring has arrived in Finland and the plants have started to grow, two words have risen above others: “warm” and “natural.”
In January, I decided that my word of the year would be “Release.” This word takes my thoughts to childhood. Again, I want to be a person who is expressive, but also warm and natural.
Can Art Be Natural?
I think art can be abstract and original, but still natural. In this introductory video for the course Freely Grown, I open up about this way of creating.
Watercolors are perhaps the most natural art supplies. When a color meets water, it blooms, and as Henri Matisse said, “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”
When painting naturally, seeing and creating alternate. A hazy spot that looks like a mistake can be the seed for something bigger.
Natural vs. What You Expect from Yourself
With the word “Release”, I have been thinking about how difficult it is to let go of conventional interpretations and expectations. Can you paint dandelions – doesn’t everyone want roses?
To some extent, I identify more with the dandelion: persistent, sometimes pushy and overwhelming, often stepping over the borders.
The more I think about my shortcomings, the more I think about L.M. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon, a brave orphan girl who wanted to be a poet. She felt like a real person to me. Her story was also a growth story of an artist that had a big impact on my life. I recognize this kind of emotional connection with other childhood novels, too.
The Brave Girls of Childhood Novels
In Finland, we had a popular children’s book series written by Anni Polva. The main character there is Tiina, a pretty wild young girl. Tiina isn’t an artist, but an adventurer. Isn’t it so that to release is also to go for an adventure?
What about Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five books? You could also go on an adventure in those, and in good company.
I also read L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series and Louisa M. Alcott’s Little Women books. Memories of these girls’ books and the word “Release” strongly resonate with me right now. We are living turbulent times, and need to be brave and adventurous – but still in a warm and natural way.
Do you too have an emotional connection to childhood novels?
P.S. I also wrote about children’s books in these blog posts:
In 2023: Watercolor Flowers in Louisa M. Alcott Style
and in 2022: Turning Memories into Paintings
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!
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.
Out of the Creative Rut – Step 2
Second, we will go for an adventure that travels from one small picture to another.
Out of the Creative Rut – Step 3
Third, we will find a connection to fantasy through characters.
Out of the Creative Rut – Step 4
Finally, we put everything together so that we are excited to continue creating.
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.
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 will begin on March 17, 2025. >> Sign Up Now!
Why Draw in the Ready-Made World?
Have you recently asked yourself: Why draw? Here’s why we need to keep drawing no matter what!
Writing This Blog Post Was Difficult
I enjoy writing about art, but this time the task seemed difficult. First, I thought I would write about how you get ideas for colored pencils when you paint a bottom layer with watercolors.
But it felt like something I’ve written about many times before. For example, see the posts Wild Botanical Art – Create with Colored Pencils and Watercolors and How to Combine Watercolors and Colored Pencils.
Then I thought about writing about the quality of watercolors and colored pencils, but that didn’t seem like a very inspiring topic.
At last, I started writing about how to make a visual voice stronger, but the text became too theoretical. And I have nice posts about the topic already. See, for example: How Inktober Strengthened My Visual Voice and Enrich Your Art – Play with Shapes!
In the end, I decided to write what I have really been thinking about recently: “Why draw in the ready-made world?”
Feeling Blue
Lately, I’ve had the feeling that I’m in an ancient profession and that I am ancient in all other ways too. It’s odd for me because I love technology and I’m always learning new things. But I’ve seen too many images produced by artificial intelligence and depressingly enough hype about how you don’t have to create anything yourself anymore.
In addition, all kinds of insecurity have increased in the world, and that’s also toxic to creativity.
Despite feeling blue, I don’t want to give in. I still want to believe in the basic human need to create something new. It has helped that the upcoming course that I have been finishing, feels like a safe and cozy place. I hope it will have the same comforting effect on you.
Why Draw and Believe in Visual Self-Expression
There has been a lot of talk about freedom of speech lately, but human expression is not just words. I deeply believe that drawing allows people to express themselves more directly than writing.
And at its best, a drawing offers an imaginary view to which not only the creator but also viewers can attach their memories and meanings.
If we don’t approach life with our imagination, we lose our inner harmony. When we put pen to paper, we open up a connection to our inner world.
Not everything that comes out is necessarily masterful, but it is authentic to ourselves, and through that, there is an opportunity to also find a connection with others.
That is why I have been making art almost every week for over 10 years. Even if art were to one day no longer be my profession, I would still maintain this connection in my life, which only requires pen and paper.
This is the reason why I want to be an advocate for drawing and imagination.
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 will begin on March 17, 2025. >> Sign Up Now!