Wonderland Art – Inspiration from Alice in Wonderland

Last fall, I was asked to participate in a small gallery exhibition called Kaninkolo (Rabbit Hole). I thought that the name was a funny reference to the Alice in Wonderland book and an opportunity to create fantastic wonderland art. I had previously covered the wonderland theme by drawing for the Magical Inkdom course. It was fun to see how the theme would lend itself to my painting style, which is much more abstract.

Wonderland Rises From the Dark

For me, wonderland art calls for dark colors. I’ve seen Tim Burton’s movie Alice in Wonderland and I think it has some wonderfully gloomy scenes. I would really like to paint dark paintings because exciting things can happen in the dark. However, I try to curb this desire, because Finnish homes are light and light paintings sell better!

But now I got permission from myself to paint one dark painting, in which I also rejoiced with colors.

New is a Wonderland

I started with confidence, but at some point in the frenzy of painting, I stopped: “Could I paint so boldly? Should I tone down a bit?” But then the painting replied: “Päivi, don’t be afraid in wonderland!”

And yes, whenever we are on the verge of something new, we are a bit like Alice in Wonderland. Then you just have to keep experimenting and painting. I admire brave people and I would like to paint with courage. It’s not always possible to do that, but I’m going to continue to let loose from time to time!

Wonderland Art – Queen, Alice, and Others

This “Don’t Be Afraid in Wonderland” piece was really fun to paint. Among the characters in the book, my favorite is the Queen of Hearts. Of course, Mad Hatter also had to be painted.

I also included Cheshire Cat, as well as the twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

In this painting, Alice is a flying flower!

Wonderland Art – Wheel of Fortune

When I started building the Magical Inkdom course in 2019, one of my first drawings was this Wheel of Fortune.

When drawing all the details, I thought about how I would divide the lessons. I got the idea to make a separate central circle for the drawing, which can be rotated and thus change the heads and outfits of the characters. You can see the wheel at the end of this video:

Drawing a gameboard with a wheel helped me to come out with the idea of playing cards and a bag for storing them.

So when I went more abstract and thought about the concept of the wonderland, it fed ideas for several lessons.

Moving from Wonderland Characters to Wonderland Mood

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences between representational and abstract and what can be expressed with abstract imagery. For example, could I paint an abstract outdoor tea party?

I saw the arbor and the delicate porcelain cups in my mind, but could I detach the motifs from the cups and fly to the place as a magician who removes the excess realism?

When painting abstract, I try to change the original idea to a mood, and then paint the mood. My mind is then in a 3-dimensional dynamic space rather than trying to maintain a 2-dimensional static image.

I think this tea party themed little painting turned out pretty well!

Art is a wonderland where you can do anything!

Here you can see the size of the painting better: 40 x 32 cm, about 15 3/4 and 12 1/2 inches.

Does Drawing Help for Loosening Up in Expression?

I have wondered if my abstract painting style would ever have been found without drawing figuratively. But I don’t think that would have happened. To become looser, it has been important to learn how reality works and how to express it with shapes.

That’s why I’m really happy that my way to wonderland has been through a bend. And even that kind of a bend that I can share with the rest of you through the Magical Inkdom course among others.

April 8-27, 2023, Kaninkolo group exhibition at Gallery Art Frida, Korkeavuorenkatu 25, Helsinki

Does Alice in Wonderland inspire you?