Painting Nature, Releasing the Dragon
I love painting nature freely and intuitively —without reference photos, or even a clear image in my conscious mind.
For me, the best way to create is when the picture simply flows from the pen or brush. It feels like my whole existence is tied to it. When I took this small abstract painting to the garden, it became clear where the inspiration had come from.
For me, nature feels freedom. And if I cannot make art freely, I get irritable and the colors disappear from my life.
Living in Between
Recently when I have been living in between painting series. One series ended, and the next one has not started yet. I have been gathering materials and ideas, thinking about canvas sizes, and all that planning is driving me crazy.
Yes, crazy!
I feel like I just need to create and create—the new images are already pushing to come out!
Still, this time has been meaningful. I have been working on my newest course, Drawing Soulfully, which is very close to my heart. As I have edited the instructional videos, it has been satisfying to pack deeply considered content – the explanations of how to create freely and grow that skill – into each minute.
And it has been a pleasure to see the artworks from the participants. They are amazing, and I am so grateful I am able to see them.
Intuitive Nature Painting
This week on Monday, however, I rushed into my small studio feeling like I was about to burst. “Give me some paper or anything!” I yelled to myself. I found a small canvas board, grabbed my acrylic paints, and started painting.
“What are you painting, Päivi?” I felt like asking myself, but soon swallowed the question.
There are artists who choose reference photos, plan color palettes, study the direction of light, reflections, and shadows, and paint landscapes of clearly recognizable places. All honor to them! But to me, nature appears as a system where one thing follows another.
When I start painting, it’s like turning on a machine, and the machine feels both intuitive and logical.
As the picture begins to take shape, I feel like I jump inside it, breathe its air, and hear its sounds. At the same time, I feel the tension inside me loosen and peace return to my mind. It’s the magic of intuitive painting! No shopping, scrolling, or even walking in nature gives me that same feeling.
Creative People Have Their Dragons
There is a lot of creativity in the world that people try to suppress by consuming more stuff, looking at more content, and seeking more experiences.
I also do those things. I often get the feeling that I should go buy new art supplies, browse master paintings online, or take photos of nature—right when the best solution is to just start creating. It is as if I have a dragon inside me that eats up beauty the longer it is kept locked up. But once it is released, it flies, carrying even heavy burdens with ease.
How about you? Do you ever catch yourself consuming or planning when you should just be creating?
Creating Art Inspired by the Garden – The Story Behind My Latest Floral Painting
Let’s create art inspired by the garden! This week, I share a couple of short videos about my latest painting called Jardin.
Let’s Finish a Painting – Making of “Jardin”
This video shows parts of the painting process, and it only has music. It’s a shortened version of the video that I published a couple of weeks ago. >> See the longer version here!
The Story Behind the Painting
Here’s the second video where I talk about the ideas behind the painting and share inspiration from our garden.
Transcript: We have two gardens – one in the back, one in the front.
As a painter, I often think of Claude Monet, who had his garden in France over 100 years ago. He said that the light and the air vary continually in the garden. And it’s so true. Every day, the light, the weather, birds, growth, and decay make our gardens look different.
Capturing the cycle of life is important to me. In this painting, plants at different stages are gathered in a tree-like vase. Right in the middle, there’s a bud that’s just about to open.
Monet once said he’d like to paint the way a bird sings. I think about birds a lot too – not their song, but their flight. I’d love to paint the way a bird flies. Imagine if their paths left trails in the sky, adding new shapes to the landscape. That’s the richness of nature’s motifs that I wanted to capture in this piece.
The hardest part was connecting the earth and the sky. A garden needs water and light, so it acts like a mirror to the sky. And the stronger the roots, the higher you can reach.
I brought the blue of the sky down to the bottom and filled the top so your eyes always have somewhere to land. Even a small garden can feel endless with layered plantings. That feeling of infinite space is what I wanted to create in this painting too.
I hope these two videos inspired you to paint and draw inspired by flowers, plants, and the beauty of gardens!
Make Old Art Journal or Sketchbook New Again
This week, I have a 1-minute video about revamping my old art journal!
This sketchbook is from 2018, back when I was practicing different portraits and creating a course called Innovative Portraits. There’s still plenty of empty space left in the book.
My Old Journal and How the Cover Was Decorated
My old art journal is from The Pink Big. I decorated the cover around 2020.
I cut hand-painted papers, added shadows, and protected the collage with gel medium. See an old blog post about how to create the collage!
Now I brought the book back out to start filling it up again.
Oil Pastels in A Journal
The first page was done with smudgy oil pastels, so I left the opposite page empty.
Oil pastels are fun, but maybe not the most practical for journals. See an old blog post about ideas for using oil pastels!
Abstract with Colored Pencils
On the next page, I made an abstract drawing using colors that go well with the original 2018 page.
Fun with Sakura Gel Pens
These brown pages are great for trying out gel pens. I made a new drawing on the opposite side.
My newest course Drawing Soulfully is about drawing all kinds of lines, and it was fun to use those techniques here.
Flowers and Fabric with Colored Pencils
I placed a paper sheet to protect the previous page, and then colored flowers with colored pencils. The opposite page only had three faces, so I added flowers there, too. I love historical styles, so the main figure got a big, decorative sleeve with dramatic folds.
The next spread is already waiting! I hope this inspired you to make an old art journal or sketchbook new again and use your past pages as inspiration.
P.S. You can still sign up for Drawing Soulfully! >>Sign Up Now!
A Dot That Went For a Walk
Paul Klee said:
“A line is a dot that went for a walk.”
I would continue the conversation about the line:
“Art is a line that was freed to play.”
Everything starts with a single line. When people say they can’t draw, they simply haven’t made friends with their line yet.
Art doesn’t start by comparing yourself to others. It starts with your own line. Observe where it turns naturally, and learn how to vary it—so that a drawing isn’t just a monologue, but a conversation, a play, an event.
When a drawing is a happening on paper, art happens. And that’s when you know you can draw!
Drawing Soulfully – Sign Up Now!
My newest course, Drawing Soulfully, is about finding your living line and starting a journey to your artistic style.
Drawing Soulfully goes much deeper than standard technique. In the course, I open up about the invisible side of art. I guide you to move beyond concrete ideas into conceptual thinking that frees your creative process. I also share how emotional needs shape our lines, and how to balance intuition and technique.
In my explanations, I’ve focused on what isn’t directly visible. Making art is so much more than just looking and creating. >> Sign up Now!