Posts tagged ‘drawing’

Mar 2

Wednesday acrylic painting class for adults

Painting spring during snow storm feels really great

I am receiving plenty of e-mails about painting and art classes. Many potential students come straight to the studio-gallery, as well. No doubt, there’s interest in creation and self-accomplishment, there’s a need to express our artistic side and our hidden potential. We all have some dream which can easily come true. All we have to do is JUST GO FOR IT. Sounds very simple, doesn’t it?

However, there are people who will start attending classes and become great artists and decorators, who won’t be looking any further because they have found themselves in painting; and there are those who will keep talking about how much they love art and how much they would like to learn painting or drawing, or both, but this will never happen because it’s just a talk. As we know, talk costs nothing, and basically is worth nothing, too. Whatever our intentions, everything requires some effort. It is amazing to find out that some beginners thought they’d learn to paint within some 1 or 2 classes, which means they allowed for this miracle to happen about 3 hours. Some are surprised that painting actually is a lot of work, intense focusing, thinking and trying.

Groups are very different. I am happy that along with students who quickly drop in and out there are always the serious and devoted ones who will stop at nothing and achieve what they came here for: the RESULTS.

It seems the adult acrylic painting group students are just like that: focused, committed and disciplined. The Wednesday group was a bit too large, thus, I had to start the Tuesday acrylic painting group, as well.

It was a pleasure to see how satisfied everyone was with the previous painting we just finished. I chose a simple spring scene this time. It came out so good probably because we all are longing for spring in our hearts.

We are using chalk to mark the spots for adding details, this time for trees

Besides, what can be nicer than painting a warm spring scene when outdoors is a snow storm how it recently happened? It is unbelievable how fast the time disappears when we are painting.

Some people compare the painting process with a deep meditation: getting lost in colors, shapes and imaginative scenes takes our mind to a meditative state.

Tuesday group: that was a happy painting session

Pictures are taken fairly late, light might have been better, however, all paintings looked very good in reality

Wednesday acrylic painting group: this was their first painting for two ladies in this group

All paintings lined up: I wish I had a special place where to display them

We just started a nature scene with blossoming apple trees, that definitely will make great paintings.

Jan 15

Painting in progress: still life, watercolor and pastels

Paintings in progress: experimenting with multiple media and surfaces

There is some certain stuff which I hate and usually avoid when painting. I do not like using masking fluid, and I recently don’t apply it at all with watercolors. While I have to admit that light lines or much lighter tiny spots in the middle of a dark image add depth and interestingness to the painting, I completely hate doing these small lines, bordering lines or similar stuff with masking fluid. I am using such a paper which allows for a lot of lifting, or sometimes watercolor canvas. However, watercolor canvas is not my preferred surface because paint goes on as easy as it comes off. It’s sometimes quite a struggle to cheat the paint onto canvas, it also takes a lot of time.

I’m combining acrylic ground, watercolor, fixative and pastels in order to draw with pastels on a stretched canvas.

I’m also stretching watercolor paper on bars, and I’m doing this all and going for that kind of trouble because I absolutely don’t like how paintings look behind the glass. Frame sort of contributes to perception of an image, but glass reflections definitely disturb it. I have some paintings under museum quality glass (that’s at least what I paid for), and there are still some reflections present. Besides, it feels as if color and image are not that directly approachable as in case of acrylic paintings.

Unfortunately, I cannot do oils because of allergy, that’s why I am combining these media which I like. I don’t think, there is any absolutely flawless medium. Pastels leave a lot of dust and cause respiratory problems, they need to be preserved immediately; acrylic paintings are easy to store and hang, but paint dries out in no time, and any correction requires to go over quite an area. Watercolor paintings need to be preserved and framed. Glass + mat board + frame increase the selling price incredibly.

My goal is to paint on any surface combining any mediums in such a manner that I never again need to frame my paintings, unless I really want it. Art buyers actually prefer paintings without frames, that gives them the freedom to frame or not to frame later and do that as they wish.

None of these paintings is finished yet, but I quite like how they are coming out

I’m experimenting so far, but soon I will see what works the best. It’s also fun to use watercolor pencils, pastel pencils, pastel sticks, watercolor on canvas, on paper, on board and just take a risk. The result might be unpredictable, but I don’t think it’s going to be unacceptable.

Painting from real set-up, that’s the way I like it
The last thing, which I really don’t like and do not advise my students, is painting from photos. Whatever the pros and cons, it’s more rewarding to develop one’s visual ability and drawing skills than try to go by a ready image.

Dec 22

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New watercolor paintings

I finished some watercolor paintings since I didn’t want to leave half-done work for the New Year. There are still some more paintings to do, but I am happy that these came out very nice.

Watercolor painting of gladiolus which is one of my favorite flowers

Watercolor of autumn flowers in our garden

This watercolor painting of apples is done stretching watercolor paper over bars. I have varnished it, and that way it does not need frame or glass.

I love working on watercolor paper, stretched on bars, since it facilitates the flow of water and paint.

This watercolor winter scene painting is also done stretching watercolor paper over bars.

Watercolor painting of rose hips in autumn

Watercolor still life painting with fruits and a cup; we did this still life together with my teen students.

Watercolor painting of winter scene which I also made available as a greeting card

I’d like to thank all visitors at the gallery who supported me purchasing some of my art and buying gift certificates. It is not easy to run an art gallery without any single sponsor.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Sep 19

Fall Art Show at Camp Samac: Sunday

The Fall Art Festival at Camp Samac not only allows one to explore a wide variety of different artists works, but also gathers many hundreds of people interested in art, crafts and creative achievements. It was not surprising that the majority of artists presented smaller size art, art prints and art cards. Even though, there was a fairly large crowd of visitors at some art displays throughout the show, the most buying activity involved smaller, more inexpensive original pieces and art prints. The impression was that the original art was loved and admired, but not that much purchased.

However, taking into account the large number of participating artists (71) and the even larger number of art presented, I must say this event had great success and resulted in many nice transactions for artists and gorgeous acquisitions for art lovers.

We had many thoughtful conversations and discussions, but I only could get a few pictures from this event (with kind consent of the respective artists) since general photo taking was not allowed.

I’d love to present some of the fine artists who were participating in this large-scale art show.

Paul Livingston

Paul’s art included fantastic Canadian landscapes, rural scenery, nature and some scenes with figures. I’d like to mention that his use of blue shades in creating the mood is amazing, and it contributes to the overall impact of his style.

Paul is not only a good artist, but also a very helpful and generous person, he really helped us with insightful advice when setting up my small exhibition space.

Judith Harper

Judith presented nature, floral, landscape and even figurative paintings in warm attractive colors. We had a great talk about different art issues and this show, and I was really happy to meet her in person.

Light in some of her landscapes was really impressive, and the gentle capture of nature made me think that Judith loves to paint objects which are meaningful and close to her.

Mike McGowan

Mike told his painting ideas originated in his imagination, and he had no need for photo references or direct object set-ups. His colorful abstract paintings and collages attracted many visitors, and he was very often involved in enthusiastic conversations with them.

The vivid colors were really eye-catching, and he couldn’t complain about lack of interest. Mike also helped me with advice and explanations which I highly appreciated.

More info about Mike’s art can be found at:

http://www.mcgowanart.com/

Anne Labelle Johnson

Anne is well-known for her sensitive beautiful watercolor and acrylic paintings which depict various nature themes. She finds the beauty and magnificence in simple objects which we are often just passing by.

Anne uses a very specific dreamy blue in many of her paintings, and maybe the symbolism of blue is adding another feminine touch to these impressive paintings.

More information about Anne’s art can be found at her website:

http://www.bluewillowstudio.ca/

Jordyn Gannon

Jordyn is a young artist (only 15!!!), and loves drawing, especially portraits.

It was pleasure to talk with her, and I told it was so great that somebody that young was joining older and more experienced artists in this show.

Jordyn is very talented, and she probably will surprise us with new drawings in upcoming shows.

More information about these and other particpating artists can be found at:

http://www.oshawaartassociation.com/

and http://www.pineridgearts.org/index.html

I was very satisfied with this show. This was a great opportunity to get better understanding of the local art scene, make friends, get to know other artists, and sell some paintings. 3 of my originals were sold, and I thought that was great because I did not bother with printing cards or getting art prints.

Jul 16

Waterscene with tree, painting still wet

My students already receiving art awards

I was very pleased to find out that one of my students who’s been attending my watercolour painting classes for a year, has been granted the visual arts award.

Diana with her visual arts award

She said that she had received 4 awards, but this one was the award she was really most happy about.

Diana is very diligent, very attentive, has lots of patience, and is also ambitious. She started out with having serious interest in drawing and watercolour painting, and she got noticed at her school very soon. Diana’s goal is to master drawing and painting at a very high level, and possibly attend an art college or art school.

Jerica told everybody, including the school principal and her art teacher acknowledged she had made a big progress and created beautiful art since she started to attend classes.

New painting: Summer landscape

Diana with one of her most recent paintings:

Jerica with her paintings:

Starting new painting

First washes in the summer scene painting

Kristina with her beautiful painting

Elaine’s painting in progress

It looks like all it takes is to find some time and get started. Once somebody falls in love with drawing and painting, that’s pretty much forever.

May 25

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Great TV show, and don’t be lazy in summer

I really enjoyed participating in the Rogers TV Durham Daytime show. Hosts Julia and Christian were very welcoming and supportive, there was actually nothing to worry about. TV presentations are my favorite events from now on.

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I’m getting more and more very appreciative comments on my website, and more people are asking me also, how come that all my art is so much loaded with positive and uplifting energy. The answer is very simple: I’m creating my art in a loving way, and every little bit of my good energy goes into my paintings. It is true that placing such painting in a room brightens up the entire room. When my art goes to exhibitions, some walls are quite empty for a while, and it feels like big part of me is missing.

One of questions I was asked during the TV show was related to my attraction and devotion to art. I think, art has become pretty much everything for me:

Art is my cure for stress.

Art is my escape from troubles.

Art is my shelter when life is too stormy and unpleasant.

Art gives me the feeling of great balance, harmony and self-fulfillment. It is like a cosy armchair after tiring day, like a warm sweater in windy weather. It’s like music which makes you forget everything else.

There are moments when I’d be lost without being able to dive and completely disappear into the art creation jungle. And I’m so thankful for this gift, this ability to capture all the beautiful things with my pencil and brush.

When I was young, I was having hard times back in Europe. I was short of money regardless of long hours I spent teaching at 2 highschools, and there was nothing at all for dinner quite often, but I used to think, isn’t that wonderful that I can draw just about anything I need? That might be the reason some of my stuff looks genuinely realistic, however, I don’t do actually realistic paintings; even though, they’d seem to be of that type. I’m calling my style “romantically inclined realism”or in some cases it is “realistically inclined romanticism”. Both versions describe my paintings extremely well.

I’m trying to convince those who are doubting whether they should take classes during summer. The season actually doesn’t matter. It is great to be part of something, it is fantastic to belong somewhere. Learning art and engaging in art is worth every single second you’ve spent doing it. It’s also worth every penny spent on materials and classes. Ancient romans were smart and highly insightful, and they used to say what I’m repeating here:

LIFE IS SHORT, ART IS TIMELESS.

Isn’t that fantastic: to be a part of something timeless?

I hope you enjoyed, and see you in my art classes!

May 23

Summer Art Exploration and Creation Camp

Watch Rogers TV Durham Daytime show at 11 am or 4 pm.

I will be presenting activities at my studio- gallery during this summer: regular classes for teens and adults, and full week art exploration camps.

Our focus is on:

Development of visual perception, drawing objects from real observations, setting up nature objects for still life, basics of composition, basic approach to perspective, exploration of paints, colours, their properties and mixing properties, sketching with pencil, journaling daily observations with watercolours, creating colorful experience and adventure pages, creating mixed media artwork, creating 3-dimensional artwork, exploring watercolour pencils and pastel pencils, painting with watercolours and acrylics, choosing the outdoor objects, drawing street scene, understanding one and two point perspective and eye level.

Students usually say after my classes: we are seeing everything differently now, and that’s true. Once somebody has learned what and how we choose to implement in painting, the whole world seems like a canvas or paper, and artist is the one who makes the most important decision: what to paint, how to paint, what to maintain, what to get rid of, or what to add. Students start to notice light and shadow play on regular objects, colour relationship, object relationship; and the way they see this planet is never the same again. It’s like in a fairy tale where surronding objects are suddenly given ability to talk and they are allowed to speak out about themselves. Every tree, every house, every fence and plant can tell us a story, and the young artist becomes the one who is able to interpret the language of clouds, sky, water, trees, rocks, plants and flowers applying colors. This is amazing how regular, unnoticeable things become very important parts of some never told story.

Take your imagination and creative abilities to the next level, learn, observe, practice, enjoy, see the results and have fun!

Time flies when painting your dreams and putting your ideas on paper or canvas. Make the best use of the beautiful summer weather, and enjoy ever after the colorful impressive art you have created! I am absolutely sure, this time will be well spent.

Art created by the nature

… and art created by our students

Spring blossoms

Story told by the tree

Grape colors

Deliciously red

Light and shadow: inseparable

May 11

Spring Classes and Summer Art Camps

Spring has finally arrived, and the beautiful blossoming keeps us busy at my art studio. It is always inspiring to paint something which makes us happier and cheers up. Colors are so lively and impressive, shapes so gracious and captivating that brush paints almost from itself.

Some Saturday class students (ages 12-16) kept working on their favorite flowers, some moved onto their toy animals.

Experience shows that the object can be practically anything, the most important part is how we are presenting it, how we are making the viewer to see what inspired us and made us to paint the particular object on watercolour paper or canvas.

Happy and busy

Diana painting pancies

Kristina is painting a hanging flower pot

Elaine works on orchids

Jerica has drawn and painted a toy kangaroo

Here it is

Diana’s spring pancies

Elaine’s orchids are also progressing nicely

Kristina enjoys the colorful flower pot painting

SUMMER ART CAMPS FOR YOUNG ARTISTS 10-16

I am offering creative arts day camps for 3 weeks this year.

Each week is filled with exciting artistic activities and involves exploration of art approaches, learning of new techniques, improvement of skills, development of visual perception, drawing objects from direct observations, both indoors and outdoors, sketching, journaling and painting with watercolours and in mixed media technique.

I’m adding also some 3-dimensional techniques this year for students to try out absolutely new and unexpected effects which can be achieved using imagination and creativity.

Results are usually extremely good, and paintings which were done during this week can serve as a wonderful wall decor in student’s room or as a gift.

This location features large, light and well equipped indoor art studio and beautiful huge outdoor space for plein air painting, it is very easy to access (downtown Whitby).

The garden is surrounded by old trees which provide relaxing shadow during hot summer days.

There’s always something blossoming.

Beautiful object to paint

Lilacs in the garden corner

Wildflowers along the fence; even this fence is artistic, and I have implemented it in quite a few of my paintings

Blossoming trees

Blue iris is in bloom on the other side of my backyard

Such surroundings and environment always boost artist’s imagination, and nobody has to look for special inspiration.

I hope, I will hear from you soon once you have checked this out.

Please watch Rogers TV, Durham Daytime Show on May 23 at 11am-12. I will be presenting my art classes and creative arts summer camp.

Apr 14

Wake up and get in mood for spring

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Living in more and more civilized world, we are loosing our ties with nature and seasonal cycles. Light and sunshine are very important factors which can tremendously facililate our energetic resource regeneration and our recreation, but lack of these essential elements causes inevitable destruction and death of anything organic and alive.

Lux aeterna – the eternal light, is the light in its highest meaning, light as a symbol of timeless flourishing and development.

I don’t think, it’s coincidence that “luxury” and Latin “lux” (light) have the same linguistic root. And, yes, the sunlight is a luxury which we are taking for granted.

Animals and plants are more involved in natural processes, and, no wonder, they thrive and bloom, and are at their energetic top-levels in spring. I suppose, humans were pretty much the same, but the artificial surroundings, which allow us to imitate any season and, thus, facilitate our functions regardless of the weather, don’t require us to feel and understand nature any more. Most of us have our shelters, and who actually cares, how long it’s going to rain or snow.

However, those of us who have still maintained the extraordinary sensitivity to underlying processes of nature, would probably agree that spring has not lost its importance as a driving force of the new seasonal cycle.

Nature wakes up, live juices start to circulate in trunks of trees, grasses and weeds lift up their tiny heads, buds are getting bigger and bigger with every second, first blossoms show their faces to the sun, and birds give the best concert of the year, especially when the day is bright and sunny.

Well, it’s really the right time for new initiatives, new challenges and wake-up activities. This is the renaissance time of our town, city, area, land, country, hemisphere. This is such a breathtaking renewal of our mind and soul, and our body shouldn’t be left behind.

We are welcoming the return of spring with our colourful floral paintings in my studio-gallery, and I will show in my next post how we are drawing and painting these artworks.