Art

Welcome! This is my art blog with an assortment paintings from portraits to landscapes. In 2026 I'm posting mostly traditional art.

[kmmarttila]

Same spot, different month. The first painting is from April 2024 and the second one is from July 2024.

I walk my dog along the path that goes past this bench. I have an obsessive amount of photos of this exact spot. The changes in nature and weather intrigue me.

Gouache on A5 Hahnemühle watercolour sketchbook.

[kmmarttila]

For 4 years I had a summer job on a local cemetary, which is propably why I now like to paint gravestones. I also just like cemeteries, there just is something to them. In Finland cemeteries are large open air areas and they resemble a garden or a woodlands more often than not even when they are taken care of.

Last spring I was walking aroud my town's oldest cemetery, which was founded in 1850s. Many of the graves there are like this, but the oldest ones tend to be more decorated with carvings and sculptures. Stone wall was inspired by the church wall. I did get a little carried away with the crocuses. Usually I don't make up a name to put on this graves, but sometimes I add a pseudotext of sorts which means absolotly nothing.

A5 on cold pressed watercolourpaper.

[kmmarttila]

I've now posted the old patch of Moomin background art from 2024. Next I have some character postraits and illustrations made in gouache lined up. At some point there will be more landscapes and more background art. I have way too many interest to follow a singular theme and to stick to one technique.

Niin, ne muumijutut loppus tältä erää, mutta eiköhän ne palaa taas kohtapuolin. Tähän väliin ois tulossa muutamia muotokuvia ja kaikenlaista kategorisoimatonta guassimaalausta. Jos tulit tänne ja odotit sellasta kuratoitua somekokemusta, niin olet valitettavasti väärässä paikassa, koska postaa vähän mitä milloinkin sattuu. Sen siitä saa kun mielenkiinnon kohteet vaihtelee laidasta laitaan. Rohkeasti oletan et kukaan ei ole tällä alustalla etsimässä sellasta napakkaa nykysometouhua, jotten homma jatkukoon.

[kmmarttila]

Noidan mökki muumeista. Taiteilijanvapautta on sovellettu. Lisäksi referenssina toimi hyvin sumuinen kuvakaappaus, mutta syntys siitäki jotain.

The witch's cottage from Moomin. I quite like this one.

[kmmarttila]

Jakso 36 Joulu on jo ovella. Taitaa siihen olla tasan puoli vuotta nyt, mutta oon sitoutunut julkaisemaan nämä sarjassa, ja tämä oli seuraavana. Tästä ei jousteta.

Tykkään nöistä lumikolon möröistä, koska mulla on aika samanlainen elämäntyyli.

Moomin background art from Christmas themed episode. I took liberties with the details.

[kmmarttila]

Muumien taustataidetta jaksosta 78 Etelää kohti. Olen hyvin tietoinen siitä, että nyt on kesäkuu.

More Moomin background art. The darker areas were unreasonably difficult to scan without them turning completely black.

[kmmarttila]

Siilit Muumien jaksosta 53 Vedenneito. Nää kaks näkyy tyyliin sekunnin ajan. Taisin jättää harmaan tyttösiilin valtavat irtoripset maalamatta, koska en tykänny niistä.

Hedgehogs from Moomin.

[kmmarttila]

Muumien taustataidetta jaksosta 71 Tyrmääjäsieni. Näin tän jakson vasta aikuisena, eli joko Yle tai mummi, jonka luona Muumeja katottiin, on sen multa lapsena kätkenyt.

Moomin backgroung art. I like the red hues this one has.

Gouache on A5 hot pressed paper.

[kmmarttila]

Muumien taustataidetta jaksosta 75 Satumainen smaragdi

Tais olla Muumipeikon painajaisesta(?) kyseisessä jaksossa.

More Moomin background art.

[kmmarttila]

Jakso 58 Taiteilijoita muumilaaksossa tutkielma

"Ois kiva osata maalaa tollein" ajattelin, kun katsoin muumeja uudelleen aikuisena. Mikäs siinä, opetellaan. Värit ei tässä ole ihan kohdallaan, koska mun skanneri ei suvainnut kopioida niitä kovin tarkasti enkä oo tarpeeks velho korjatakseni niitä erityisen hienosti, mut yritin. Ois täs pitäny olla jtn hahmojaki, mut jätin ne pois, koska halusin keskittyä nimenomaan taustaan. Otin kaikennäkösia taiteilijanvapauksia, eli ei oo tarkka kopio.

A study based on background art seen in a cartoon called Moomin (episode 58) which is wildly popular in Finland.

Gouache on A5 hot pressed watercolour paper.

[kmmarttila]

Clouds from reference

My attempt to learn how to properly paint clouds continues. I used my own photos as reference.

[kmmarttila]

Clouds from imagination

Looking at clouds has improved my life, 10/10 experience.

Gouache on size A5 cold pressed watercolour paper.

[kmmarttila]

An eraly summer birch tree

An older painting from 2024. I was trying to capture the likeness the birch trees have during early summer here in Finland.

Gouache on SMLT A5 watercolour paper.

[kmmarttila]

Sun shining trough leaves

In my opinion sun shining trough the new birch leaves is one of the prettiest sight you can see during the early summer here in Finland.

Made in early summer 2023 with gouache on cold pressed 300 g/m2 watercolour paper.

[kmmarttila]

Early spring view with european hazelnuts, aspens and liverwort (fin. sinivuokko).

Imitating the general mood the park I like to walk my dog in has during earliest spring days.

Gouache on cold pressed watercolour paper.

[kmmarttila]

It took less than 5 minutes to set up my old scanner, including downloading drivers and restarting my computer. Was it worth it to procastinate for 12 years (there was a drawing inside the scanner with a date way back in 2014) before trying this? No, it was not.

But hey, I scanned ~80 painting yesterday and cropped and colorcorrected most of them this morning. Scanning took 2,5 hours last evening and editing 1,5 hours this morning.

I honestly did not even remember most of these, so it was nice to shift trough them.

As of how many more paintings are stashed away somewhere? Atleast 100 more from past few years. I'll scan and edit those too eventually.

But now I'll head outside and touch moss or pick rocks or something.

[kmmarttila]

Both photos were taken around 20:40 a few weeks apart in April. Thought it would be cool to show how the spring changes nature and landscape here in southern Finland.

Gouache on Hahnemühle A5 landscape sketchbook, the more yellowish one has a base painting in Ecoline Golden Ochre liquid watercolour.