Peony and Parakeet

Fly to Your Inner World and Color the Emotion

Color the Emotion

Pick a few colors and create without stiffness.

Category: Organizing & Time

Art On the Wall – Displaying Canvas Paintings

Posted on Posted in Home Decor, Organizing & TimeTagged , , 12 Comments on Art On the Wall – Displaying Canvas Paintings

Our home is full of art. Almost all my canvas paintings are displayed on the walls. The arrangements change when old ones are sold and new ones are born. In this blog post, I show some of the paintings and how they are displayed at the moment.

Displaying canvas paintings. Art by Paivi Eerola, Finland.

When using stretched canvases, framing is not necessary. I hope this inspires you to create some canvas art. Check out my acrylic painting course Floral Freedom and see more of my paintings at paivieerola.com/gallery!

In the Gallery Corner

Kultakätkö - Gold Cache, oil on canvas, 2023, by Paivi Eerola, Finland.
Kultakätkö – Gold Cache, oil on canvas, 2023

Our library room is on the darker side of our house, but I think that the lack of daylight and a heavy atmosphere goes well with the books and nostalgic-style paintings.

Art in a library room. Paintings by Paivi Eerola.

Displaying different sizes of canvas paintings on the same wall looks great but needs planning. I made a plan in Photoshop first, and then we hung them all at once.

Above the Aquarium

Ohimenevää tämäkin - This Too Shall Pass, oil on canvas, 2021, by Päivi Eerola
Ohimenevää tämäkin – This Too Shall Pass, oil on canvas, 2021

People often say that all my canvas paintings express the underwater world. That hasn’t been intentional because I am actually afraid of deep waters. But my husband has had aquariums for decades, and they must have affected my art.

Art above aquarium. Oil paintings by Paivi Eerola.

The painting continues the aquarium view. And it was not planned at all!

Best Lit

Saalistajan maailma - Predator's World, oil on canvas, 2024, by Paivi Eerola.
Saalistajan maailma – Predator’s World, oil on canvas, 2024

Our dining area has special lighting for a big painting – LED strips in two directions that have adjustable color and intensity.

Setting lighting for art. Led strips. Oil painting by Paivi Eerola, Finland.

The colors of any painting are highly affected by the amount and color of light.

When I Wake Up

Yön kuningatar - Queen of the Night, oil on canvas, 2022, by Paivi Eerola, Finland.
Yön kuningatar – Queen of the Night, oil on canvas, 2022

The bedroom is our darkest room, but every morning when I wake up, I look at the wall that is filled with my paintings.

Displaying framed cross-stitch pieces and canvas paintings side by side.

There is also a collection of my cross-stitch projects. Stitching is just a hobby but I like the combination.

In the Hallway Gallery

Lumikin maa - Snowwhite's Land, acrylic on canvas, 2021, by Paivi Eerola, Finland.
Lumikin maa – Snowwhite’s Land, acrylic on canvas, 2021

I love our yellow hallway and how the color unifies a mixed collection of paintings. Displaying canvas paintings can be this easy!

Displaying canvas paintings on a hallway. Artist's home.

This narrow hallway was super boring before we painted it and added art on the walls.

Entrance Art

Vanitas, oil on canvas, by Paivi Eerola, 2021.
Vanitas, oil on canvas, 2021

Our house has a space right after the entrance where I often change a painting to one that feels current. I also decorate the top of the sideboard cabinet that’s under the painting. Now it’s time for some darker art.

Displaying a canvas painting on Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Weekly Art – Creating Regularly in Any Mood

Posted on Posted in Flowers & Plants, Organizing & Time, Processing Ideas, SceneriesTagged 4 Comments on Weekly Art – Creating Regularly in Any Mood

This week, I talk about making weekly art and the feelings behind creating regularly.

"Elämää alavilla mailla - Life in the Lowlands" - a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola, Finland.
“Elämää alavilla mailla – Life in the Lowlands”, watercolor, size: A3

I feel that although artists talk a lot about techniques and creative process, something gets left out. It’s a time perspective. I don’t mean how much time it takes to make one piece, but what it’s like to make art week after week. If you create art, you will surely recognize this: sometimes you feel excited, sometimes you don’t. People’s moods vary and you can’t always choose the best day.

Not the Ideal Mood

I felt nervous when I started doing this watercolor. The best part of the morning was already over and I was splashing color very fast. My weekly art session had a messy start.

Playing with watercolor. Starting an intuitive watercolor painting. Creating weekly and regularly.

I found an unopened bottle of granulating medium in my stash and thought it might speed things up.

Spraying water over a watercolor painting.

But I found the medium a useless acquisition. Some of the pigments are naturally spreadable and the spray bottle works better for them. All this took time, and my nervousness was still present and there was a new feeling too: self-doubt.

Not Feeling Confident

When you make art week after week, success is based on self-confidence more than mood. It’s easier to be confident at the beginning than later.

Intuitive watercolor painting. Painting in progress. By Paivi Eerola, Finland.
How to dig out the flowers? Buy the course “Freely Grown”

I usually paint with intuition and don’t use any models, so I often end up feeling hopeless. All I can say then is something like: “Keep going!” with a fake smile, and I don’t know if that helps at all.

Different Mood – Different Ideas

But art doesn’t put one mood above the other. Different mood brings different ideas. For example, if I am feeling nervous, there is an opportunity to be less conventional and express something that I would not otherwise come to mind.

Painting weekly. Struggles and rewards in regular creating.

The idea of ​​this painting culminated in the Finnish expression “alavilla mailla hallanvaara.” It means “the danger of frost in the lowlands” in English, but the beauty of the statement is not in its content, but in how it sounds in Finnish. While painting, I began to think about those lowlands that suffer from rain and cold. Similarly, as painters paint week after week, flowers bloom constantly there, also in bad weather.

Creating art weekly - finishing a watercolor painting.

For me, in art, it’s not important in which mood it’s started, but that the end result contains both a trigger and a solution. Here, wind and rain bend the grass and break flower petals, but at the same time they make room for light.

Who Are You Creating Art For?

Within time, the mood evens out and focus is on the finishing. Then I also change who I think as a recipient.

I often start the weekly art by saying that “this piece is for me,” but when I finish I try to reach “for us.” There “we” includes all who like my art, both old and new friends in art. I don’t want to make art only “for you”, because then I lose myself while doing it, and not ” for them”, because it’s hopeless to hope that maybe someone would like the work even if we wouldn’t.

A detail of "Elämää alavilla mailla - Life in the Lowlands" - a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola, Finland.
See more pictures and a video of this painting at Taiko.art!

So, weekly, this happens again: the wrong moment, the wrong mood, the choice of brushes and colors, calming down, “I’m just doing it for myself”, uncertainty, slowly emerging ideas, concentration, triggers and solutions, happiness, and a feeling of gratitude that I can do this again for us.

Do you too create art regularly?

Pleasures of Watercolor Painting

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This week is about watercolor painting and the pleasures that can be found there!

Unelmille avautuneet - Opened to Dreams, a floral watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola.
Unelmille avautuneet – Opened to Dreams, 29,7 x 42 cm, watercolor

Getting Inspiration

Now I’ve been busy with a lot of different things – a new big art project, the new course Freely Grown, commissioned work, etc. Despite that, I stole some time and went to look at old paintings online – skillfully painted portraits of women in fancy dresses. They always make me want to paint, even though I prefer to paint plants and flowers instead of beauties.

Look at this painting of the Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in 1859!

Inspiration from portraits. Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, oil on canvas, a detail of a larger painting.
Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, oil on canvas.
A detail – only a part of the painting is in this image.

The colors, the brilliant brush strokes, and all the delicate and decorative details are so inspiring!

I used to think that inspirational images must be the same as what I want to paint next. So, if I wanted to paint flowers, then I would only look at flower paintings. But nowadays, I love to be inspired by something different. Then the inspiration doesn’t limit me. It doesn’t depict what I should do and how, but sets an atmosphere that I want to follow.

Love for Good Watercolor Paper

After getting inspired, I opened the closet of my studio, as if secretly from myself, and tore a clean sheet from the watercolor paper pad.

Arches hot press watercolor paper.
Arches Hot Press watercolor paper

One hundred percent cotton, aah! So soft, thick, and ready to receive color. Good paper is expensive, but I paint better when I know in advance that I don’t want to waste a sheet.

Painting and Doing Other Stuff at the Same Time

When I steal time to paint, watercolors are an easy choice. Especially in the beginning, I can do one coat quickly and then let it dry for hours while I do other work.

Pleasures of watercolor painting - starting with a mess.

I can add details little by little, and the pauses often just clarify the idea of ​​the subject of the painting. And when you paint slowly from light to dark, you can always fix it with the next layer.

Pleasures of watercolor painting - proceeding layer by layer.

I often have my iPad nearby and listen and watch something at the same time while I paint.

Watercolor painting in progress.

Luxury Combined with Minimalism

When finishing, it’s pleasurable to take just a little color on the brush, and often near the pan, if it has spilled there. I also check the corners of the palette, where unused paint easily remains. When the color is activated on paper, even a small amount becomes a treasure and an experience!

Painting in progress. Flowers in watercolor without references.

I always buy good artist-quality watercolors one pan and one tube at a time and use them right up to the end. If I buy a tube, I squeeze a small amount into a pan to dry and this way, use the tube in small portions. I love this kind of union of luxury and minimalism – definitely one of the pleasures of watercolor painting to me!

Watercolor painting and supplies.

Finally, I wash the brushes carefully. Washing with water is enough for most brushes, but I often use soap to make sure that all the color has come off. With clean brushes, it’s nice to start a new painting again when I find time.

From Detail to Detail

Here are some pictures of the details.

A detail of a floral watercolor painting by the artist Paivi Eerola.

I like to paint a lot of subtle details, and I love the warmth that yellow has.

A detail of a floral watercolor painting by the artist Paivi Eerola, Finland.

Signing the piece before the final finishing touches makes sure that the signature fits with the rest of the composition.

Pleasures of watercolor painting. A detail of a larger piece painted by Paivi Eerola.

I hope this blog post inspired you to pick watercolors and paint freely!

P.S. Freely Grown – You can still hop in!

Freely Grown - an online art class about painting flowers freely

>> Sign up here!

Everyday Life as an Artist

Posted on Posted in Big Projects, Flowers & Plants, History, Organizing & Time, Processing IdeasTagged , 9 Comments on Everyday Life as an Artist

This post is about my current everyday life.

I was going to tell you that my life has been very ordinary lately: I wake up in the morning, take the dogs for a walk and start painting. In the evening, I practice my ideas with the ProCreate app or knit and let my subconscious work on art-making.

Paivi Eerola and many paintings in progress. Read about her everyday life as a visual artist in Finland.
Paintings in progress. I always bring them from the little studio to our larger library room to dry.

But if my dead parents heard about this life, they would claim that it’s not ordinary at all!

Visiting Exhibitions

Last week, I went to the big exhibition presenting the work of Albert Edelfelt at the Ateneum art museum in Helsinki. When I sat down to listen to seminar presentations about his work, my parents came to mind. They would have liked to see the exhibition. And they would be amazed to learn that I went to see it because of my work. I wanted to examine Edelfelt’s brush strokes in real life because I’m currently painting works for the show called “Taiteilijat Edelfeltin tunnelmissa – Artists in the Mood of Edelfelt.”

At the Piano, oil on canvas, Albert Edelfelt, 1884.
At the Piano, oil on canvas, Albert Edelfelt, 1884.

It’s important to me to see what other artists have created. It makes me feel connected, discover new techniques, and it inspires me to do things a bit differently than what I see. I often ask: what’s lacking if this would be my work? In the painting above, I would have added abstract elements on the top, depicting music.

Pressures of Everyday Life

All work becomes mundane when you do it systematically and goal-oriented. There will be pressures that you didn’t even think about in your dreams. You have to remember to order the supplies in time, plan the sizes of the paintings, the subjects, and the schedule for each one, pick up dog hair from unfinished works at the time of shedding, clean the paint tubes, wash the brushes carefully, wonder if anyone likes the painting and worry if it’s finished or not. Making a series of paintings is always a financial investment.

Oil paint tubes. Artist's everyday life.

But when I am washing the floor from oil paint stains or doing something else mundane related to painting, I want to remember how wonderful it is to work on this project.

Painting in progress. By Paivi Eerola, Finland. Read about her everyday life as an artist.

After all, I love art history, and the very thought that my paintings go to the place where Albert Edelfelt spent his summers is inspiring.

Everyday Ponderings

Lately, I’ve been thinking about why I always deal with longing in my paintings. I easily lean into nostalgia. Albert Edelfelt depicted people and landscapes realistically, but he also sometimes dealt with history and went back in time.

Queen Blanche, oil on canvas, Albert Edelfelt, 1877.
Queen Blanche, oil on canvas, Albert Edelfelt, 1877. Blanche of Namur, the queen of Norway and Sweden, lived in the 14th century.

However, the difference between me and Albert is that he was interested in how things could have really happened and did detailed background research. I’m more inspired by how things could have gone differently.

Painting in progress. By Paivi Eerola, Finland.

I don’t know how my parents thought my life would turn out. Many times it has gone differently than I would have guessed myself! Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. Life as an artist is very unpredictable. Just when you think you have to stop, a new project comes up.

Everyday Task – Planning for the Future

Painting in progress. By Paivi Eerola. Read about her everyday life as an artist.

One of the hardest things in being an artist is to always move forward and think bigger. When this year’s plans are set, the next year begins to worry.

Garden in the morning in Finland.

Artists are always in progress and very similar to gardeners. When a person says: “My garden is now finished,” you know that it’s the beginner speaking. Gardens are never finished!

Painting in progress. Garden-inspired painting. Comparing gardens and creating art.

It’s the same thing with art – you will find yourself, but then you will change and have a new you to find. I try to get the most out of this everyday life because it too is about to change for sure.

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