BUY ART and TAKE ART CLASSES from ARTIST INESE POGA
Author: Inesepaints
Artist, art instructor: fine art, watercolor, acrylic, drawing; medical writer and researcher, specializing in life sciences, brain function, memory and psychology
It is a local Greater Toronto Area event, and, therefore, a fantastic opportunity for local artists, artisans and writers to show off their creations. In normal years, we would head out to the Esplanade park in Pickering and see in person what artists have created, what musicians and writers would like us to hear, but this year the event is virtual again.
The virtual arts market website gives a brief introduction about each participant, and one can follow the link if they are interested. I hope they are! My personal website is extensive, however, the theme I am using does not support good Home pages, therefore, my Blog page and this new article will have to do that.
My art can be attributed to a few main categories.
and a page which offers art related to current season or which suits the current trends: Shop special offers
While all nature subjects appeal to me, I have always paid special attention to seasons, therefore, I can certainly say that I have plenty of spring, summer, fall and winter paintings.
Finally, my website has excellent search option viewing it on a large monitor. If you type a name which best describes the subject in the Search box, all posts which include this entry will come up.
Available acrylic paintings
All available paintings are originals. I think it’s best to allow companies which specialize in making prints to allow doing that. The smallest acrylic paintings are 12 x 12 in or 30.5 x 30.5 cm. Many are 20 x 16 in or 51 x 41 cm, 18 x 24 in or 46 x 51 cm, as well as 20 x 24 in or 51 x 61 cm. I haven’t published the largest acrylic paintings.
I always paint around the edge; therefore, painting can be displayed without a frame. Painting continues around the sides of canvas and looks great.
Available watercolors
Available watercolors are also only originals painted on watercolor paper, frequently, heavy Arches, Saunders-Waterford paper or bright white archival quality paper in case of pen and watercolor art. Displayed watercolor paintings on sale pages are sold without a frame or mat. The framed watercolors are available in person only, many of them have glass and I cannot take any new photos. They have beautiful oak wood frames, therefore, I wouldn’t be able to ship them. The smaller size framed watercolors are in 11 x 14 in or 28 x 36 cm in standard frames with mats and one can also purchase them in person from studio.
How to purchase available art
If you like a painting, just let me know via Contact page. You can pick up the painting you like practically any day between 11 am and 7 pm. I’m located in Ajax, along Highway 2 or Kingston Road West. See Inese’s Art Studio on Google maps..
To ask any questions and to find out more, please, use this page:
I will be happy to assist. My website does not process any payments; therefore, you are submitting your email only to me.
Thank you kindly for reading and I hope you like some painting so much, you’d love to own it! Most of them are available, just ask how to ship them to you!
I have drawn and painted numerous flowers so far not only in pen lines and watercolor, transparent watercolor, but also in acrylic, and less known are my pastel paintings just because I don’t have any photos of them. Among them are roses, magnolias, orchids, daffodils, tulips, lilies, calla lilies, daisies, peonies, pansies, poppies, sunflowers, lilac, trillium, wildflowers, forest flowers and flower fields. I probably forgot to mention some. Flowers are convenient for painting since they are always around. Something is always available and that suits me and my personalized realism. Being in the middle of so much beauty, real and painted, feels extremely good.
My opportunity
As I explained in Part 1, my background is very different from Canada-born artists. I am purely expressing my personal vision about the subject because nothing stands between me and my idea which I am putting on canvas or paper, not even a photo, and no devices are involved. I could say it’s the purest form of creation, going from what you see to what you create. I love most turning white paper and blank canvas into something where you can walk in or are able to almost touch the drawn or painted subject.
Technique versus idea and emotional aspect
While it’s possible to get carried away by the technical side of painting or drawing, I’d love to remind that there’s also a concept, an idea and a hidden meaning within such art. The concept isn’t the subject itself, it’s what it can tell the viewer and how deep emotional impact it can make. That’s my opportunity to stand out. Drawing for me is pure pleasure because I don’t have to struggle with it, I usually do not need any eraser. Pencil dances on paper, the subject takes shape and it will definitely have more meaning than simply trying to be lifelike.
Complexity or simplicity of subject and display on the internet
I wrote in part 1 that the driving force for me is the subject, especially the challenging aspects of it, ability to create more complex and deeper paintings. I love complex paintings more. Also, it isn’t important whether my subject looks exactly like the real thing. I want the viewer to get my message, the idea behind the visible lines and colors. On the internet, you can only see a fairly small image of my art, often, the size does not reflect the actual size. On this blog, all vertical images look much larger than the horizontal ones, except the featured image must be horizontal. On Fine Art America print site, vertical paintings look much smaller than the horizontal ones and so on. Therefore, display doesn’t make a correct impression.
Drawing as base for watercolor painting
Realistic watercolor painting most often uses drawing before paint application. We can avoid that and create everything with brush only, and I have done that, too. However, when it comes to complex still life, floral or landscape painting, it’s best to plan values and know where to use what. I transfer such drawing onto watercolor paper using extra light and hardly visible lines. Watercolor paper doesn’t like eraser, and strong pencil lines disturb the image, at least I like only transparency of watercolor paint to be visible. This all refers to watercolor done traditionally: leaving white of paper for white and layering different value colors where they belong.
Solo shows and juried art shows
I started out very well in 2011 in Ontario with showing my large watercolors and fewer acrylic paintings in a gallery near Toronto Beaches. I couldn’t find this gallery on a map now, it has probably changed hands and has a different name. I also took part in art fairs, juried art shows, gave classes and workshops at my own gallery, everything was working really well. Recently, a few art students from back then shared their memories on Facebook and told how much they had learned in my art classes and how much they appreciated them. It was a different time. Being in a commercially zoned property definitely helped. Then health problems caused me to slow down between 2016 and 2019, plus, we had to move 2 times after 2018.
Moving an art studio
Moving just a house is difficult and stressful, but moving an entire large art studio with all kinds of art supplies, extra furniture, easels and numerous paintings of my own together with house, was a hassle. It’s inevitable that some art gets damaged, I had that happen even when moving art around to shows. It seems everything is packed up safely, but such move normally involves many people and not everyone of them knows how to handle a huge painting, for instance. That’s why I feel reluctant showing very large framed watercolors now. Glass sometimes breaks, it’s not only the high price for museum grade glass that worries me. Painting can get scratches, too, and the entire thing needs re-framing.
My painting method and technique
When I paint in color, I definitely need daylight. Regardless how good the artificial light is, it causes changes in color. Therefore, some parts of painting require extra work, that can be a lot of extra work. With watercolor especially, there might be parts which I cannot undo. Whenever possible, I paint only by daylight. The usable portion of my current place isn’t that big, maybe spacious enough, but I could utilize easily double this size for an art studio. When there’s a lot of heating in winter, it’s very difficult to paint with acrylic paints. They dry on touch. For watercolor, it doesn’t matter because I can always make the paper wet again. Colors or shapes are not affected when re-wetting watercolor paper.
Art is my full-time job
It is a huge risk to take on art as one’s entire lifestyle and full-time job. There are only a few fields where competition is as fierce as in art and teaching art. I had strong support when I engaged in art in Canada, but during the pandemic everything went downhill real fast. I don’t teach art as entertainment because my definition of learning is not the same as social drinking and using art as extra feature. I take painting seriously and I teach aspects I have discovered during many decades to those who want to master medium or observational drawing. That requires focus, interest in learning as a process, not only in a quick result. My students, who displayed the most willingness to learn, have become excellent artists.
I will share my acrylic painting creation process and my thoughts about teaching observations in Part 3.
I think I’ve seen thousands of articles by now where somebody says how bad they feel about isolation and how they have lost the sparkle of creativity and inspiration. Well, maybe they didn’t have any creative ideas already before the pandemic because as I see it, creativity keeps flowing and life goes on no matter what. Especially during isolation, we are more creative with everything, aren’t we? There is also so much advice what to do. Sometimes, I feel like everybody wants to give me some advice. The truth is our situations are so different that what works for that particular person, is often meaningless for me. We are all smart now, and we should be aware what works best for us. I personally prefer reading more about experiences.
Switching tasks
Generally speaking, I’ll do what I have intended anyway, or I won’t engage in what I believe is a pointless action. I don’t really need encouragement or push: when the time is right, everything will happen. I’ve been painting here and there, just as I always do. The weather has turned very spring-like, therefore, I’ve been busy with garden works: digging soil, removing waste. I didn’t have the right mood to publish anything, – heavy physical work can be very tiring. My idea was to continue with the series I just started and share drawings, but I ended up working on a few watercolors which were started probably 4 or 5 years ago. I had reference drawings, but none of them seemed to be exactly of these paintings, therefore, I just worked from imagination.
Watercolor painting of apple blossoms, I am trying to show the size in my studio corner.
Painting progress with steps
I found this painting with light washes on the background and just one watercolor paint layer on apple blossoms and buds. Normally, the first step means to transfer the drawing onto watercolor painting, adjust it and make sure there are no strong pencil lines. After that, we start adding watercolor paint as we see fit. I usually add the first layer of paint on areas with the potentially strongest values.
Supply shortages
The first months of spring season always feel like a new beginning, a fresh breath. Except this year, we are again in a complete lockdown in Ontario, just like the year before. That doesn’t affect what I do too much, but there is a shortage of supplies. When I was at the art store last time, shelves were very empty. My favorite brands were pretty much absent, that included colors which are used more frequently for acrylic painting: artist grade Titanium white, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Golden Ochre, Carmine Red, different shades of yellow were not available. I use preferably Lamp black, that wasn’t available either. I ordered paints online once and the waiting was 6 weeks, therefore, I’m not doing that again.
This is the ready watercolor painting of apple blossoms. Its size is 15.5 x 20.5 in or 39 x 51 cm I hope your device shows correct colors and contrast because they differ from device to device.
Accepted into spring art show “Roots of art”
I just received an email notification that my paintings have been accepted into a virtual annual art show. Before pandemic, this was a live, real, very busy and well-attended art show. The show is local and that fits me well. Since I hope more traffic will come toward my website, I’ll need to spend more hours updating everything. It’s a time-consuming task and requires attention, therefore, that is my priority for a while. Including portfolio would be difficult because of all media options I use and various subjects. There is so much art in each category! I have currently 3 pages which display my available art. Acrylic paintings need the quickest update, however.
Representational art and my transition to personalized realism
To me personally, creating art means observing and creating it without help of any devices, and where possible, using the real things as references. It also means drawing and painting the subject in a recognizable way, but not necessary sticking to life-likeness so tightly that I cannot implement my own adjustments which are not present in reality. Representational art is pretty much neglected and not recognized in Canada. The modernism and contemporary traditions run here deep, and, certainly, artists who engage in abstract and contemporary abstract art, are way better off.
Flooding spring water, watercolor, 42 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm.
So, how come I prefer realism in art?
First of all, my background is very different from Canada-born artist’s background. I moved over here when I was close to 50. By that age, the local Canadian artists have established their niche, gotten decent visibility and have participated in numerous juried and other shows. Well, I had with me 2 brushes and a travel set of watercolor paints, and that’s it. No portfolio, no previous paintings because you just don’t have space in one suitcase. I hadn’t even ever had a camera before I arrived here, therefore, I had no images also. So, I started from scratch. I’ve been very successful and productive comparatively, but I certainly couldn’t catch up in a few years with what others had done during quite many decades.
Country barn in spring landscape, size of this painting is 22 x 16 in or 56 x 41 cm
Talent and practice
I had some features which lots of artists do not have when they start out, even if it is at quite old age. I was drawing since early childhood, all on my own. Unlike in North America where somebody would immediately get a private tutor for talented kid or send this kid to a specialized school, nobody gave anything about my well-done drawings. I didn’t have any artists around, moreover, I had never seen any real art. We didn’t have TV those times, nobody had even dreamt about internet back then. It was a countryside out of a small picturesque Latvian town where we lived, but there were no museums, no exhibitions. I had the feeling that I can draw, and my goal was to create drawings so that the things on them looked real.
Country barn, spring, pen and watercolor, 16 x 12 in or 41 x 30.5 cm
Self-criticism
I was very critical and paid attention to every flaw in my drawings since there was nobody else to provide with critique, explanation or suggestion. I practiced for numerous hours until my drawings looked good to me. The paper I had wasn’t a drawing paper, nothing like it. It could be wrapping paper, white pages in front of a book, some paper for notes and later notebooks for school. I was certainly not selective when it came to art supplies, I simply didn’t have them, but pencils were around. I didn’t have eraser, therefore, I learned to draw without necessity to use an eraser.
Old countryside house in pen and watercolor, 18 x 12 in or 46 x 30.5 cm
Rocks and water, size of painting is 22 x 15 in or 56 x 38 cm.
Big works for me
I always loved drawing big or as big as I could depending on paper size. In high school, I was drawing life-size figures, huge posters. Well, Latvia was still in the Soviet Union, you couldn’t just go out and get a photo of a musician or modern poster because there weren’t any. I filled this gap and my paintings and drawings were very popular. I added to my stipendium during the University years (government paid students who had excellent results) income from drawing portraits of fellow students. It was a decent extra income which I immediately spent in old and rare book store. That explains why I do not draw and paint portraits while in Canada: I always did it from a real person, not photography.
Peaceful, lake view, watercolor, size is 20 x 16 in or 51 x 41 cm
My favorite subjects
We always had a garden and orchard ever since I can remember me. After helping my parents with most urgent work (we always had to work as soon as we were able to, like 5 or 6, and it was due to necessity of life, not my parents’ dictatorship), I sat down in front of some building, in a park or next to a flower or plant in the garden and just drew and drew for countless hours. When the drawing had all decent values, contrast and proportions, I was genuinely happy. I called my lines “completed lines”. If there was something not fitting in or sticking out, I started over. I developed my own style eventually since I had zero outside influence. Zero, and it’s a good thing. Although, I couldn’t study at art academy, I never gave up art and always kept it close to me.
While anemone forest, spring painting, 24 x 18″
Canada got me going on watercolors
The first paintings I did upon my arrival to Canada were all full sheet watercolor paintings: 30 x 23 in or 76 x 58 cm. This was the first time I ever had a real watercolor paper. It was Arches, 300 lb or 640 gsm. It felt like wood, and I loved it. Its cost was about 10 times less what it is now, and, yes, I used it for everything, even color tests. I was wondering how could the American and some Canadian artists get so much detail in their paintings because, realistically, what I cannot see, I cannot paint. This was the first time also when I discovered that artists were repainting photos, too. That was new since I was always told that repainting a photo is the worst of artistic sins.
Early spring, rural hills watercolor, size of this painting is 24 x 18 in or 61 x 45 cm.
I chose personalized realism
I never went that direction myself, though. There was no need. I can draw effortlessly anything assuming I want to or that subject seems interesting. It also shortens the number of steps: there’s no need for taking, downloading and editing photos or getting printouts. Yet, I need the subject to be present. That’s not always possible, like in winter and so forth, therefore, I added memory images to my reference sources. Indeed, due to drawing so much I developed photographic memory over time. I have numerous large drawings in a few huge folders. They include plenty of landscapes and most often flowers, still life and birds, as well as buildings. When I go through these drawings, I can usually find something I want to paint, or I just look for a new subject outdoors or indoors.
Uphill, rural house, size of this painting is 21.5 x 16.5 in or 54.5 x 42 cm
I hope it looks good
I have scattered my watercolor paintings from previous years all around this post. Many of them were posted before, but image quality had decreased, so, these are new images. I noticed on the phone that an article with too much text doesn’t look good. These paintings include black pen and watercolor wash and only transparent watercolor paintings. I do paint very loose actually. Students who have attended my classes know that. When demonstrating a feature or a particular subject, one simply doesn’t have too much time. I use targeted brushstroke, generous amount of water and paint, as well as excellent quality, pure-pigment-containing watercolor paints.
Early spring in rural village. Size of this painting is 18 x 24 in or 46 x 61 cm.
Realism it is, although, not strictly
I am not interested in abstract art, although, I can create it if somebody asks, for instance, for a commissioned painting. Completely abstract art doesn’t present me with enough challenge. The driving force for me is the subject, especially the challenging aspects of it, ability to create more complex and deeper paintings. I don’t care whether they look exactly like the real things. I want the viewer to get my message, the idea behind the visible lines and colors. That’s however, a theme for another post because these are aspects which internet display doesn’t bring to expression.
All paintings deserve being featured since my early posts get very little or no attention. I placed some on page for watercolor sales:
Places where I have spent most part of my life, do not stand out with spectacular landscapes. I don’t usually paint mountains, oceans, seaside or waves. I’ve seen them, but I have hard times recalling such views in detail which is necessary for creation of painting from memory. Many of these paintings were also started a long time ago just as a demo for my live art classes. That means, I’ve spent very limited time painting them during the class. My main focus was what students learned from each process and less an attempt to create a masterpiece.
Therefore, I had to change some parts, add finishing touches, increase strong values, add strong highlights, refine some details and mask out some other parts. These landscapes are views from my memory and imagination, they might or might not exist, but I usually want the subject to be recognizable without long explanations. I suppose, I’ve said it quite a few times that I’m not thrilled about small size, like 16 x 20 in or 41 x 51 cm paintings of complex views and detailed subject. For me personally, the most comfortable size for acrylic is approximately 30 x 24 in or 76 x 61 cm and for watercolor: full sheet which is most often 30 x 22 in or 76 x 56 cm. Such size allows implementing aspects which are very important in painting: decent values, decent size subject, powerful color switches and a few outstanding details.
Country barn with daffodils is an acrylic painting on 20 x 16 or 51 x 41 cm canvas
The current trend of displaying paintings in clusters is a great one. Even when painting is large, it takes a lot of design skill to make it rather become a part of space than dominate it or disappear in it. Clusters of paintings suit any taste and allow using paintings of small and medium size, too. They do change the mood in room, they can take you to any season or make feel happier in your space. I am not allowed to hang much on walls in my rented space. We tried strips and some of bigger paintings fell down. I didn’t even attempt hanging the huge and large watercolor paintings that way.
Spring at creek, acrylic painting on 20 x 16 in or 51 x 41 cm canvas
The history and story behind these paintings is the same, but some are pretty much painted from new. You can do that in acrylic, no problem. In fact, I think acrylic looks better with numerous layers, – the more, the better. Colors become intense and also change in different light settings, the most dramatic parts become textured and that looks really adorable. These paintings have taken weeks to accomplish letting dry between layers. I know how little of that is visible in an online image, but the presence is still there.
Along the spring creek is a multilayer acrylic painting on 20 x 16 in or 51 x 41 cm canvasI use fairly limited number of paints, black, white, burnt umber, warm and cold yellow and blue
Since I spent 46 years in Latvia and it’s not even twenty in Canada yet, the subject of my painted landscapes is associated most often with Latvian countryside, Latvian country roads, gardens and plants, as well as with nature in Latvia. The area around Ajax where I live now is similar, but I would never paint the local box-like boring buildings which really offend one’s esthetic principles. That’s why we have imagination and can travel back in memories to any season, any place and any emotion that provoked.
The image contains painting detail and some color reference for along the spring creek painting
Other than that, I’m finally working on compiling a book of acrylic painting techniques for landscapes, still life and floral art. It is a slow process, and it probably will take numerous hours for creating more pictures, describing tools and efficient process steps, as well as basic principles of painting in any medium since most of them are the same. Creating art should never be struggle, that’s why I will also keep teaching live art classes when we reopen. That might be in July, or August, or September.
Thanks for reading, enjoy!
My art store is not coming along swiftly as I hoped, so for prints, please, go to Fine Art America:
