Color the Emotion

Pick a few colors and create without stiffness.

About Birds and Art

This week is about observing birds and bringing them into our art.

Bird art. Digital collage of hand-drawn birds. 
These are from Paivi Eerola's online classes Animal Inkdom and Magical Inkdom.
Digital collage of hand-drawn elements.
These are from my online classes Animal Inkdom and Magical Inkdom.

Let’s start with a lonely budgie.

Last fall, the same sight always awaited me in the mornings – a lonely budgie in a big cage. The door was open, and I turned on the full-spectrum bird lamp, but nothing cheered her up. Ever since Primavera’s husband Leonardo had died unexpectedly, her world had been empty, and even the best YouTube budgies couldn’t fill it.

"Clock" - an ink drawing by Paivi Eerola. Birds around a clock.
“Clock” from 2018.

I have had budgies since 1991. My first budgie, Piuku, was also alone at first. Unlike 5-year-old Primavera, Piuku was a young bird. She adapted to being alone by taking me as her best friend. Later on, Piuku got other birds as companions.

Birds Bring Joy

"Mischief Maker" - a colored pencil drawing by Paivi Eerola. A bird is looking at flowers.
“Mischief Maker” from 2021. Colored pencils.

The most enviable quality of birds is their ability to fly, but the more you get to know birds, the more you realize that their social life is very lively. A small flock of a few budgies can be like a soap opera. There will be arguments, gusts of affection, gossip, singing sessions, and all kinds of fun play. This way, the day flies by!

"Envy" A page in a sketchbook.
“Envy” from 2017.

I have admired birds since swallows made their nest in the eaves of my childhood home. There were many other birds in the big yard too. I had bird books, and I dreamed about seeing kingfishers and other exotic birds.

Paivi Eerola and her painting Kingfishers. Oil on canvas.
Summer 2023 in the garden and my painting “Kingfishers”. Oil on canvas.

Similarly, as wild birds make you look up, pet birds bring lightness to the home. Their vocals are clear and the flight sounds lighten the atmosphere. It is as if the world is not only lying down but also up in the air.

The Rooster by Paivi Eerola, 2015. Acrylic painting.
The Rooster from 2015.

Birds and Flowers

At the beginning of my entrepreneurial career in 2008, I founded an Etsy shop to sell crafts and named it Kukkilintu.

Old Etsy shop banner from 2008.
Etsy shop banner from 2008

Kukkilintu is a Karelian embroidered bird pattern that symbolizes happiness.

Karelia is a place in Eastern Finland, a part of it was lost in the war with Russia in 1940. I live in Southern Finland but was born in Northern Karelia.

Karelian people believed that the soul leaves the body in the form of a bird. Kukkilintu is a bit like the Finnish version of the peacock, which appears in the designs of other countries with the same meaning.

Bird art. Handdrawn paper collage by Paivi Eerola. A bird flies with a flower.
“Believe” from, 2019. Handdrawn paper collage.

I thought the name “kukkilintu” was funny because it had the words “kukka” and “lintu” – “flower” and “bird.” When I was thinking about a name for my art blog a couple of years later in 2010, I thought that the flower could be a peony and the bird a budgie, so, a parakeet.

Old Etsy shop banner that has a bird.
Etsy shop banner from 2011.

These two themes “flower” and “bird” have guided my creative process. I have wanted to learn the language of flowers and create beauty in the world, but also understand the life of birds and include their movement. Birds, flowers, and art belong together.

Vapaudenkaipuu - Longing for Freedom from 2021, oil on canvas. By the artist Paivi Eerola, Finland.
Vapaudenkaipuu – Longing for Freedom from 2021, oil on canvas.

However, recently in my everyday life, it happened that the more I delved into the flowers, the more time they took away from the birds. I didn’t want to keep pet birds anymore, but felt that watching wild birds would be enough.

Magical Scene

Outdoors, one scene is above the rest – when a bird flies across the scenery. The bird then becomes kukkilintu – a flower bird. It takes over the landscape and erases all the sadness.

Villien paratiisi - Paradise of the Wild from 2021. Oil on canvas. By Paivi Eerola, Finland.
Villien paratiisi – Paradise of the Wild from 2021. Oil on canvas.

I came up with this when I was grieving the death of one of my dogs. Since then this very ordinary event has made me happy. It’s a message from the world that we always have inside of us, but that we don’t always remember, especially when we’re like a lonely budgie that has a hard time seeing ahead in life.

Birds and art. Blackbird, oil on canvas, 2021. By Paivi Eerola.
Blackbird from 2021. Oil on canvas.


We must believe in our abilities, and happy endings as well. I found a new home for Primavera, where it has a spouse who was also widowed. I wish Primavera a long life. After all, it already has a long-lived name-sake, the famous painting by Botticelli born in the 15th century, which I have been to Florence to admire.

Do birds appear in your art?

Life After Death – Commissioned Art

This week, I have a commissioned art piece to show you. I have fewer words than I normally do – not only because the project is confidential, but also because this project went beyond words in many ways.

Floral tribute painting. Commissioned art piece. Oil on canvas. By the artist Paivi Eerola, Finland.

Last fall, I got a commission for this oil painting. It was ordered by a man in memory of his recently deceased spouse. We brought elements of the wife’s life and references to what she liked into the painting. The painting is, therefore, a secret portrait, from which loved ones recognize familiar things, but which do not need to be explained to strangers, unless they want to.

Commissioned Art – Sketch First

I started with a digital sketch. Here you can see the sketch and the final painting side by side.

Making commissioned art. A digital sketch made in ProCreate and a final oil painting. By Päivi Eerola, Finland.

I painted the sketch freely in the ProCreate app. The sketch is more abstract than the finished work and is more about the impression than the details.

Painting Process

After the sketch was approved, I ordered the canvas. The size of this piece is 50 x 40 cm (about 19.5 x 15.5 inches). Here are the first blurry layers.

Starting a flower painting. A commissioned art in progress.

I worked several sessions and let the painting dry for 1-2 weeks between the sessions.

Working on a commissioned art piece. Painting flowers layer by layer.

The sketch helped with the painting process so that I could save my energy on the details.

Final Treatments

When the painting was finished, I photographed it outdoors. The natural light is wonderful now when Finland has a lot of snow, but the shoot had to be done quickly.

Photographing a painting in natural light.

I varnished the painting with Gamvar after the photoshoot.

Varnishing an oil painting.

I like to think that varnishing was like giving a special blessing to the painting.

Spiritual Meaning

This project made my work as an artist feel even more meaningful than before. I learned more about what kind of artist I am.

A detail of a flower painting by Paivi Eerola, Finland.

I thought: “What could be a better assignment than building a bridge between life and death?”
What do you think?

Inspiring Art Journals

This week is dedicated to inspiring art journals that hopefully make you start creating right away.

Towards the end of last year, I started to really miss drawing. When I want to come up with ideas, I need a pen and paper! Or maybe I should say that I need my art journals because that’s where the ideas stay in good order.

An annual art journal spread of 2024. By Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

I made this spread in my colored pencil journal. 2023 is an old romantic woman that is going away and a young girl who is ready for adventure will take her place.

There are only a few pages after the previous year’s spread.

An annual art journal spread of 2023. By Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

I hope to make more pages in this colored pencil journal this year.

Inspiring Art Journals

This week, I picked up random art journal books and browsed them. I especially love the one in the upper left corner with the black and white drawings the most.

Inspiring art journals by Päivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

The drawings have no color but they are all full of ideas that still inspire me.

Black and white drawing from 2019. Illustration with black ink pen. By Paivi Eerola.

I now want to add ink drawings to my colored pencil journal as well.

Tiny Pages

Last year I bought a very small art journal. This is a pretty cute page!

A tiny art journal page. By Paivi Eerola.

All the reds and pinks looked very nice together.

Inspiring art journals by Paivi Eerola.

Years go by and my skills grow, but even the clumsiest covers still seem to fit with the new creations.

Doodler’s Resort

While browsing the journals, I found a spread with a transparent film in the middle. I had printed doodles on it and I still quite like the effect. This idea is from 2020, when the world stopped and I couldn’t do anything but mindless doodling.

Doodler's resort. An art journal page spread with a transparent film in the middle. Art journal ideas.

This art journal also has a lovely inside cover.

Inside cover page for an art journal.

Divide the Content!

I don’t understand why it took so long before I realized that I could add annual pages, inside covers, chapters, and other pages telling about the content of the book in art journals.

Chapter cover page for an art journal. Fun Botanicum is the name of the chapter and the online course by Peony and Parakeet.

Nowadays, I have a course called Fun Botanicum, where you make a chapter cover, themed pages, and an end page in the middle of an art journal.

Inspiring Art Journals Tell About Time

It was fun to look at old art journals and wonder how these are connected to everything that is going on now.

Inspiring art journals.

Time is a mysterious place. It is like an illuminated palace that blinds us. We can only walk away from it to the darkness. But as long as we are alive, we can start the adventure and get creative. “It takes a long time to become young,” said Pablo Picasso.

10 years of art journaling. A page made in 2014 and another made in 2024. By Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet. Inspiring art journals.
2014 and 2024

In my opinion, only by drawing can we know what we really think. The more you draw, the more your skills grow, and the more you will find out!

Do you agree?

Watercolor Greeting Card – Watch the Video!


The year is coming to an end, and it’s time to celebrate. Thank you for this year, my readers and students!

Watercolor greeting card

My gift to you comes in the form of a video. Let’s paint flower cards for everyone celebrating in the coming year! The following watercolor greeting card video is especially a bonus for all who have taken the latest course Freely Grown where I give more detailed advice.

Watercolor Greeting Card – Watch the Video!

In this video, I not only paint the greeting card but talk about art-making in general. I hope that the video inspires you to keep creating, and if you are not currently creating anything, there’s a short speech for you too!

The paper used for the card: Arches Hot Press watercolor paper, thickness 300 g/m2, 140 lb.

I mostly use three brushes: one flat, and two thin brushes for details. I also use a small and sturdy round brush for removing the paint. When you have a good-quality watercolor paper, you can rub it quite heavily. Use a cotton cloth to remove water after rubbing and then, let dry well before painting over.

In the video, I mention the botanical artist Marianne North. See her paintings here!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

This is the last blog post of 2023. After a short break, we will meet again next year.

Paivi Eerola and her watercolor greeting card.

I hope you will have a wonderful time with your close ones, and of course, I hope you will spend some time with art-making as well!

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