Peony and Parakeet

Fly to Your Inner World and Color the Emotion

Color the Emotion

Pick a few colors and create without stiffness.

Tag: acrylic paints

Black Art Journal Pages as Banners

Posted on Posted in Art Journaling, Doodling, Flowers & PlantsTagged , , , 4 Comments on Black Art Journal Pages as Banners

I want my Black Friday campaigns to be inspiring for art-making, and this year my theme is “Black Berry Friday.” It means juicy art journal pages on black paper. I am pretty sure you have one like my black and square Dylusions Creative Journal (affiliate link).

Flowers on a black art journal.

I use my black art journal for using up old supplies that don’t inspire me anymore. And if I have leftover paint on a palette, I make a few brush strokes on a page rather than toss the paint away. This floral page was born from those kinds of careless strokes and now, much later, I finished it with paint markers.

Edges and Banners

Usually, the center of the page is the most important area, but for banners, the edges need to draw attention. Here, the circular floral design, enhances the center text area beautifully.

Black Friday banner made from an art journal page.

I made the banner in Photoshop, and boosted the colors a bit.

Dylusions Creative Art Journal, black square journal.

I also drew a long rectangle of cherries that not only makes a great banner but also looks great on the journal. I think we treat art journal pages too often as one unit when a page could be divided in sections and thus bring more variation to the journal.

Cherries on black background.

My banner wasn’t long enough for all the purposes, so I made it longer by duplicating the design in Photoshop.

Cherries on a Black Friday banner for online art classes.

Colored Pencils on Black Art Journal Pages

I like to use colored pencils with paint markers. Marker pens produce thick and opaque shapes but colored pencils are softer and more translucent. Colored pencils are great for backgrounds. Look at these stripes!

Using colored pencils and paint markers on a black art journal page.

I also used gel pens to add thin lines.

Juicy art journal page made on a black background.

Again, I became more interested in the background than the center. The center is not very elegant, but here, in the banner you mostly see the edges.

Black Friday banner based on an art journal page on a black background.

Doodling on Black Art Journal Pages

My Black Friday offer is simple: All classes are 20% OFF. So I wanted the banners have some simplicity too. Doodling circles is easy and doesn’t require much thinking.

Doodling with paint markers and gel pens on black page.

I got a bit carried away though!

Wild doodling on a black art journal page. Using yellow, purple, and green for a limited palette.

I was talking on the phone and watching a movie while doodling, and once I stopped, I thought that I doodled too much. But the banner looks great and of course, there can’t be too much of anything in art!

Black Friday banner over some decorative doodling.

Designs for Fabric

I got so inspired making these pages, that I had to play with Photoshop a bit more than necessary. I combined many pages into one design and I think something like this would make a great fabric.

Dreaming about fabric design - art journal pages combined in Photoshop

Black Over Painted Background

I have been contemplating whether I should use both sides of the pages on my black art journal. Using only one side would give a blank page to protect the art on the opposite page. But the journal looks much more inspiring when both pages are covered!

Black art journal filled with doodles. Black art journal inspiration.

Here’s one more idea for an art journal page, and this works on any journal. When you have painted backgrounds, use dark marker or paint on top to make shapes from the background.

Using black pen over a painted background. Doodling freely.

I wanted to make one banner that has fall and thanksgiving themes with berries. The page became a bit busy, but again, the banner is ok, I think!

Black Friday banner over a hand-drawn background. Designing banners from art journal pages.

And now: it’s time to shop the sale!

The Black Berry Friday sale ends on Dec 2, 2024, at midnight PST.

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!

Belonging Somewhere as an Artist

Posted on Posted in Artistic Identity, Flowers & Plants, Going Beyond the ConventionalTagged , 8 Comments on Belonging Somewhere as an Artist

This week, I share my word for 2024 and thoughts about the good and bad in the sense of belonging. I also have a new finished painting!

Muutosvoima - Driving Force, acrylics on canvas, 2024. An abstract floral painting by Paivi Eerola, Finland.
Muutosvoima – Driving Force, acrylics on canvas, 2024.
See more pics at the Taiko art store!

I haven’t used acrylic paints on a canvas for a long time. But now I wanted to paint faster and not wait for the layers to dry.

Painting Freely

This painting took me a couple of long evenings and I deliberately left it abstract, because the subject of the painting is not about the flowers, but about the power rising from the ground.

Here’s how the painting started: loose strokes and juicy colors.

An abstract acrylic painting in progress. Read thoughts about the sense of belonging by Peony and Parakeet.

It’s easy to fall in love with colors, but when you want depth, you also need muddy colors: browns and greys.

Creating abstract art. Adding muddy colors to bring attention to the other parts.

I like to use several different brushes in one painting, and my favorite brushes are very thin.

Abstract art. Painting details with a thin brush.

The title “Muutosvoima – Driving Force” sums up what I want to tell with this painting. Muutosvoima could also be translated as “power of change.”

Paivi Eerola and her painting Muutosvoima - Driving Force.

I believe that the best power of change is not the hype created by others, but the inner enthusiasm that has a grounded tone. Because isn’t it so that flowers only bloom when the earth warms up? Sunlight alone is not enough.

Belonging Somewhere – The Good and The Bad

I’ve been thinking about togetherness lately. It’s a wonderful feeling. For example, last week when many people commented on my post, I felt happy that this blog brings us together. One of the best things that has come with the internet is that you can be pretty weird and still find like-minded people.

Abstract florals, a detail of a bigger painting.

However, the sense of belonging has its danger. Art is about walking your own path. Encounters are important, but you also need to go in the other direction to create something unique. As a teacher, I have often thought about how I could better guide people in their own direction.

Brush strokes on canvas. Painting loosely and in an abstract style. Pondering about the sense of belonging.

Art is like a pot that you have to break first and then put together again. The pot can be broken in many ways and at best, you find your own way to put it together. You need a driving force to break the pot and then persistence to rebuild it.

Finding Your Places in the Art World

In my career as an artist, I have often wanted to be like someone else. I have envied popular artists and then later realized that I wouldn’t want to create the kind of art that they do. I realized that I would like to be popular in creating something else and somewhere else.

Signature on a canvas painting. Pondering about the artistic identity and the sense of belonging.

With experience, the art world opens up. Instead of one hall, you begin to see numerous smaller rooms. What is popular in one room can be overlooked in another. Being an artist requires a lot of self-esteem and the power to move from one room to another.

Holding a painting in the spring garden.

When you find one room that feels like your own, the sense of belonging is at its greatest. However, it’s better to move between several rooms and find many groups. At best, the artist acts as a bridge between different things.

My Word of the Year – Do You Have One?

My word for 2024 is Integrate. This year I have allowed myself to do more diverse things, but on the other hand, I have tied all the pieces together so that one benefits the other.

Have you chosen a word for this year? How has it been realized?

About Creative Freedom

Posted on Posted in Going Beyond the ConventionalTagged , ,
Creative freedom. Examples from the online course Liberated Artist Revisited.

I have often wondered why I am an artist. The first answer that comes to mind is creative freedom. “Creative” and “freedom” seem like easy words at first. Everyone wants to be creative, right? And who doesn’t want to be free?

But creative and freedom are also difficult words. Especially if you think of creativity as the opposite of traditional or familiar, and freedom as the opposite of safety and stability.

I find many things in myself where I love tradition and security. You could call me a homebody, that’s how much I love being at home. If I had to choose between a museum of historical art and a contemporary gallery, I would definitely go to the museum. And I love decorative items and anything small and cute. Also, my studio is always super clean – not what is expected from an artist!

But I still want to be a liberated artist, create a mess, break the formula, and then discover something new out of it. Crafting, or copying reference photos, or drawing the same things year after year, has never been enough for me. I have wanted to blow up the lump inside me, which has accumulated from creative energy that has not been able to get out. That’s why my courses also have a lot of creative freedom.

The idea of ​​the course Liberated Artist Revisited is not to create an image similar to what I do in the videos, but to solve a puzzle that we first create. Creative freedom begins when you realize that there is not only the art of creating but also the art of seeing. When you highlight what you see, you become a liberated artist.

Liberated Artist Revisited - online art course by Paivi Eerola.

Liberated Artist Revisited is a limited edition – only available for purchase until the end of March 2024! >> Buy Now!

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