Processing Ideas Archives - Page 3 of 18

Expressive Flowers in Watercolor

Posted on November 10, 2023November 10, 2023Posted in Flowers & Plants, Processing IdeasTagged watercolors4 Comments

This week, I share how I found the expressive idea for this floral watercolor painting. I go into more detail about this process in the course Freely Grown.

Expressive flowers in watercolor. "Syvältä selviytyneet" - a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola. — “Syvältä selviytyneet”, watercolor, 29.7 x 42 cm

This week I am presenting a watercolor that is part of a small series I painted for the gallery Gumbostrand Konst & Form. The title of this piece is “Syvältä selviytyneet” in Finnish. The English translation could be “Survivors of the Deep” or “those who survived the deep.” The first of the series was “Talven voittaneet” – winners of winter.

Starting with Random Strokes and Splashes

When I start painting, I usually have no idea what the finished piece will express. That keeps my excitement up! The flowers grow gradually and the overall expression takes turns during the painting process.

Starting an expressive flower painting in watercolor.

Even now, I only had an assignment to paint flower paintings with watercolors in the same style as what I had already painted earlier this fall. After the first random layers, I could see big flowers.

Wondering About the Expression

The large size and fearless look of the flowers reminded me of strong wild animals. But the further I painted, the more I began to think about the environment where the flowers had appeared.

Painting the background of the flowers in watercolor.

In nature-themed paintings, it’s important to find the right atmosphere, and that’s where the location matters a lot. I got the feeling that these flowers can withstand even the harshest conditions. Would they live in the desert?

Painting the details for flowers and leaves.

But the softness and roundness of the flowers told of something other than the desert.

Finding the Answer from the Flowers

I looked at the big rose at the bottom edge and asked myself where a flower could swell before decomposing. Then I realized that these have come from deep water and are on their way to the surface. After that, it was easy to add the references to water – like bubbles and water lines – and finish the painting. Painting expressive flowers in watercolor is not only about adjusting the flowers but also finding their back story.

Expressive flowers in watercolor. A detail of "Syvältä selviytyneet" - a watercolor painting by Paivi Eerola.

I think it’s a wonderful idea that you can not only grow from difficulties but also soften. And that difficulties can be overcome by staying together. Surface water which seems cold and drowning to others, can be like a gentle sea of light to these survivors.

Every time I paint flowers, my mood rises!

Art-Making and Garden Life

Posted on September 14, 2023September 22, 2023Posted in Flowers & Plants, Processing IdeasTagged canvas, colored pencils, oil paints, watercolors2 Comments

This week, I talk about how gardening inspires both my husband and me. The garden is present in these two new miniature paintings as well.

Two miniature oil paintings, inspired by a garden. By Päivi Eerola, Finland. — “Kesän viemää” (gone with summer) and “Syksyn tuomaa” (brought by fall), miniature oil paintings on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

It is already autumn in Finland, but we have summer in our hearts because we have done a lot of work in the garden during the summer. My husband has put all his energy there, I don’t have quite as big a passion. The garden is his canvas, but for me, painting is the most important.

Freely Grown – and a New Sweet Spot

Päivi Eerola and her art, inspired by a garden. Watercolors and colored pencils on paper.

I have a new course in the making called Freely Grown, which I hope to run in late October and get for pre-sale next week. There we will paint layered flowers in watercolor and finish the painting with colored pencils.

Lately, I’ve found my sweet spot in the way I look at plants. I can see both playfulness and soulfulness in them. This perspective has brought new positivity to my life. I think that art always has a lot of possibilities. Making art is like walking down a long corridor full of doors. Now I have found a door where I can be funny and profound at the same time. This insight also affects the creation of the course. I’ve had a lot of fun, although I haven’t compromised on explaining the details.

Making a Dream Come True

The garden is my husband’s canvas. He’s been making a bigger water feature all summer. It’s big enough to be called a pond. I wasn’t terribly excited about it, but the further the project has progressed, the more I understand his vision.

One of the hardest things both in art-making and garden life is visioning – so, dreaming! The dream must be simplified so that it can be remembered during the making. All projects have ugly phases. The dream must still be maintained.

Even these miniature paintings, for which I use leftover paints from the palette, looked pretty terrible at first.

Miniature paintings in progress. First dark layers.

However, I had a dream and knew these would become really nice.

Two miniature paintings inspired by a garden. By artist Paivi Eerola.

I also made small paintings like this earlier this year, remember?

Four miniature paintings by paivi Eerola.

See this blog post for more pics!

Planning a Garden

In the spring, we hired a professional garden planner to draw a plan for a part of our backyard.

Garden perennials. End of summer in the garden.

It was a bit like taking a course. We got points of view from a professional and she helped us to see further in our dreams. With that, I learned a lot about plants and how to plan a garden like dividing a house into rooms. It is not very far from a painting.

Think about a painting as a place that has its own identity. My small paintings are like tiny closets but bigger ones often like halls.

Runaway Sun – Karannut aurinko, 70 x 120 cm, oil on canvas. By Paivi Eerola. — Runaway Sun – Karannut aurinko, 70 x 120 cm, oil on canvas.

See more pics about this big painting in this blog post!

Art-Making and Garden – Back to the Pond

The pond is entirely my husband’s work – although he has probably watched all the pond-building videos on YouTube!

I feel that the pond already affects my paintings. Do you remember this watercolor painting I presented a couple of weeks ago?

Freely grown flowers and water. Watercolors and colored pencils on paper. By Paivi Eerola.

See this blog post for more pics!

I think I already have a little love for that pond, its plants, its reflections, and how it reminds me of Monet’s garden.

However, winter is already coming. Art-making and garden life will be a bit more separate then. But the flowers will bloom on the canvas. And my husband will start watching YouTube again to see what he could create next summer.

A closeup of a miniature painting inspired by garden life. By Paivi Eerola.

Can you relate? Do you have a garden?

Start with Something – Following Picasso and Edelfelt

Posted on August 24, 2023August 25, 2023Posted in Flowers & Plants, History, Processing IdeasTagged canvas, oil paints10 Comments

This week, we are using inspirational art as fuel for our own art. I show how I created my own version of Albert Edelfelt’s masterpiece by following the advice given by Pablo Picasso.

Paivi Eerola, Kohtalotoverit - Friends by Fate, oil on canvas, 2023. Inspired by Albert Edelfelt's painting Ruokolahden eukkoja kirkonmäellä - Women of Ruokolahti on the Church Hill. — Kohtalotoverit – Friends by Fate, 30 x 40 cm, oil on canvas.

“Friends by Fate” is a small painting, but one of my favorites from the series that I made for the current exhibition. Because the title of the exhibition is Taiteilijat Edelfeltin tunnelmissa – Artists in the Mood of Edelfelt, I wanted to make my versions of some of Albert Edelfelt’s (1854-1905) artworks. For example, I made this one, and this one. “Friends by Fate” uses Albert Edelfelt’s painting “Women of Ruokolahti on the Church Hill” as inspiration.

Albert Edelfelt, Ruokolahden eukkoja kirkonmäellä - Women of Ruokolahti on the Church Hill,129 × 158 cm, oil on canvas, 1887. Owned by Finnish National Gallery. — Albert Edelfelt, Ruokolahden eukkoja kirkonmäellä – Women of Ruokolahti on the Church Hill, 129 × 158 cm, oil on canvas, 1887. Owned by Finnish National Gallery.

This is a very famous painting in Finland. Even if Albert Edelfelt painted a lot of portraits of wealthy people to finance his profession, he became known for pieces like this that depict ordinary folk.

Start with Something!

I have always been intrigued by this Pablo Picasso’s (1881-1973) quote:

“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward, you can remove all traces of reality.”

In my opinion, this applies to any art, not just abstract. You can always start with something and then make your own version.

For example, even if there are people in Albert Edelfelt’s painting, it doesn’t mean that my version has to have them.

Oil painting in progress. Creating an abstract composition inspired by Albert Edelfelt's work and getting inspired by Picasso when he says: You must start with something.

Start the painting with a similar composition, but then slowly let it grow in its own direction.

Oil painting in progress. Inspire by Albert Edelfelt's artwork and the sayings of Pablo Picasso.

In my version, the flowers and plants replace the women, and the location is different too. I was thinking about the area where I live and how people gather together on a summer evening.

Oil painting in progress. Finishing the details.

There was quite a lot of work in the details. Albert’s work is not clumsy, so I wanted mine to be well-finished too.

Following Picasso and Edelfelt

I love to paint so that flowers and plants are the characters of the painting. I feel I can combine my sense of humor with my yearning for beauty.

A detail of an oil painting called Kohtalotoverit (Friends by Fate). By the artist Paivi Eerola, Finland.

Flowers have given me a secret language that I can use to express anything. With this realization, I feel more and more drawn to the boldness of Pablo Picasso, the re-creator of Diego Velázquez’s 1656 masterpiece “Las Meninas”.

Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.

Albert Edelfelt was also appreciated in his lifetime, but he didn’t have the confidence that Picasso had. He wrote to his mother:

” I fear nothing else than that I become a raté – a half-talent and an unhappy person.”
(Free translation from Finnish)

This kind of seriousness is what I recognize too: puolilahjakkuus – half-talent – who would like to be that! But still – or maybe because of that, it’s good to embrace playfulness when creating art.

Päivi Eerola and her painting inspired by Albert Edelfelt's work.

Like Edelfelt, you can recognize the fears and set the bar high.
But then, act like Picasso – Start with something and then ask: what could be and why not!

Finding Emotional Connection Through Imagination

Posted on July 20, 2023July 20, 2023Posted in Flowers & Plants, Going Beyond the Conventional, Processing Ideas, Using Reference ImagesTagged canvas, oil paints12 Comments

Imagination and emotional connection go hand in hand in art-making. If you don’t feel a connection with what you are creating, bring in more imagination and treat different areas of your work as characters – even if you won’t be including any humans. Let’s look at this example!

Kesäpäivä kalliolla - Summer Day on the Rock, 30 x 40 cm, oil on canvas, by Päivi Eerola, Finland. — Kesäpäivä kalliolla – Summer Day on the Rock, 30 x 40 cm, oil on canvas

This small painting is part of a series I made for the Albert Edelfelt Foundation exhibition. It will take place in August-September.

Inspired by Albert Edelfelt

For the colors and composition, I was inspired by Albert Edelfelt’s artwork “Koivujen alla – Under the Birches”. It is not this painting that I photographed in the Albert Edelfelt exhibition at the Ateneum Art Museum, but another similar work that I made a mirror image of.

Koivujen alla II by Albert Edelfelt. — “Koivujen alla II” by Albert Edelfelt, 1882.
However, I was more inspired by another “Koivujen alla.” See the picture here!

My version of “Koivujen alla” didn’t have any people. Instead, I used my imagination to depict human characters in the form of a plant and an object.

Combine Inspiration and Observation!

A good way to get the imagination going is to combine two different things. For example, if you saw an artwork that inspired you to create, also gather unrelated observations from your surroundings. This way, you need your imagination to bring them into the same image.

In this project, I remembered a pine seedling that I had seen in a nearby rocky forest. The name of the area is Pöllökallio (owl rock) and we often go there with our dogs. This little pine tree was like a bonsai! It was so sweet that I took a photo of it.

A small pine tree on the rock - nature's bonsai. Art inspiration from observations.

When the pink color of Edelfelt’s painting met a crooked stem of the pine, a tree-like rose was born!

Emotional Connection by Asking: Who is This?

The rose became the most challenging part because I wanted it to resemble the woman with a hat in Edelfelt’s painting. I thought about the hat when I painted a rose, but it didn’t work at all.

Adjusting a flower painting with a small brush. Finiding emotional connection when painting abstract florals.

But then I came up with thinking about the character of the woman instead of her hat. That way my imagination met the emotional connection, and I quickly got the impression I wanted.

Build a Story to Boost the Emotional Connection!

One of the most common problems is that our art is full of separate islands. The sun might shine but the effect doesn’t show elsewhere. The person may smile but the eyes are not affected. There may be three ladies but what are their roles? Use your imagination to find connections between these islands and add elements that make the overall story make sense!

A detail of an oil painting by Paivi Eerola. Building emotional connection through connecting elements.

In my painting, there are not two women like in Edelfelt’s painting, but a rose, a leaf, and a feather – three introverts! The rose reaching for the sky has agreed to be the center point. The leaf examines herself through the pond. The feather has been a part of a bigger adventure and is now ready to shift the focus to others.

The small pond is a central element here. It brings the leaf and the feather together.

You can also see the colors of the rose elsewhere in the painting. For example, there are flying thoughts (red lines) that the rose tries to catch, and a bigger punch of roses that is in the background.

Expressing emotional connection. A detail of an oil painting by Paivi Eerola.

The painting is about three romantic introverts who went on a trip to a rocky forest on a lovely summer day. They are together, but in their own thoughts, just like the women in Albert Edelfelt’s painting.

Paivi Eerola and her oil painting Kesäpäivä kalliolla - Summer Day on the Rock. It's a story about three introverts going on a trip.

When we paint or draw people, we hope to bring the character to life with their facial features. But we don’t need facial features to find an emotional connection. Once you get the hang of it, you can draw or paint anything, even just different shaped spots on paper.

What do you think?

Color the Emotion

Category: Processing Ideas