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Author: Inesepaints
Artist, art instructor: fine art, watercolor, acrylic, drawing; medical writer and researcher, specializing in life sciences, brain function, memory and psychology
Waiting for spring and creating flowers of my dreams
It’s still chilly and nasty out here in Ontario. The rain is just pouring down in cold streams tonight. Not a good background for happy thoughts. Although, we should appreciate the fact that it is at least not that cold anymore. One step at a time towards the warmth and spring.
I remember my first spring in Canada: it was so sunny, so overwhelmingly warm, everything blossoming; and insanely uplifting green was everywhere. I had already all the garden planted and coming up around this time. That was 10 years ago. We have experienced quite bad weather conditions since then, and, no, I do not assume anymore that Ontario weather is any better than Latvian.
Soothing colors for spring mood
Floral painting to cheer up upset minds
It is no secret that we are already desperately hoping the weather forecast will have some good news for us, too. I recently looked at some of my paintings, and I don’t think I am going to paint or draw winter again any time soon. Instead, I am about to do way more florals, I worked out some nice flowers on the hill concepts, and when it is November I will paint autumn trees, distant skies and fog.
Since all my thoughts are in spring, with spring and about spring, my sketches, drawings and watercolors reflect that. These sketches or pen and watercolor images were all started as demonstrations. Since they are all in soft, soothing colors, they are flowers of my dreams. I am aware I have too many demo works on the go, and most of them get never finished, but that’s just the way I am. I cannot have one single class without demonstrating something. This something gets developed, and later it seems: it’s probably worth putting in more work.
I thought these could be perfectly used as images for greeting cards.
The spring rose, pen and watercolor painting in very attractive and soothing colors
Spring lilies on white, very beautiful watercolor painting
For soft and gentle flowers, all shades of pink is probably my favorite choice
Pen and watercolor, Spring daffodils painting 12 x 12 in or 30.5 x 30.5 cm
It’s been also mostly dark, so it’s hard to catch a good day with a normal daylight to get proper colors on my photos because any type of electric light does not allow to have them as in reality. I hope you love what I have created, and maybe I have inspired you to do some floral painting, as well!
Art can be a miracle that turns your life into positive, rewarding direction. Keep this source of positive energy always close to you, always in your personal space. The birth of a miracle may be not always easy, but there is undeniably some magic in it. How can doing art and painting make one’s life better, more balanced, more enhanced and richer?
The hidden benefits
Along with time-well spent and new skills at every step along the way, there is one more advantage: any artwork can become a beautiful decorative element. It could be just the missing final touch for the room, it could be the accent piece; or it could be the part tying the entire space together and making it complete. This artwork radiates clean, uplifting and positive energy in our personal space or workplace.
Positive energy
The story is actually about the energy: energetic interaction, consumption and release of energy, good, bad and neutral energy. Since energy is present anywhere and in anything, and not even the simplest thought could be made without consuming some of it; the question is as follows. Do we pay enough attention to our nearest surroundings, our closest environment and the dominant energetic features within that space? We really don’t, and we are most often between two ditches: following punctually every newest design trend, or completely disregarding any design and common sense.
Good color
There are lots of reviews about impact of color, lots of advice how to create a cozy, welcoming space, but what matters most is energy in that space. I do believe we’ve seen this all: museum-like houses or sterile living rooms, living rooms which are collections of one’s past, and top-modern minimalistic spaces.
Update your personal space with art
In my opinion, the best and the fastest way to update and adjust a space to our needs is using color, art, textiles and plants. Furniture becomes secondary, and all these previously mentioned things also take care about a great energetic flow and preserve the positive energy. Provided, they have such. It matters what hangs on your walls. I’m not talking about the purely esthetic aspects. Walmart print will have at the best some neutral energy of printer, cheap canvas and paint.
Careful with inherited and old items
Inherited art or an antique item may have both: very positive and extremely negative energy. So can an original painting. Painting during its creation process absorbs our thoughts, emotional vibrations, delight and excitement, or hate, misery and anger; anything. That way, the energy of a painting is equal to the energy artists put in their creation. Most people naturally give their art the best part of themselves by visualizing all these places they are re-creating on canvas: light, wind, flowers and leaves, waves, streams and the atmospheric vibrations in the air.
One thing I can say for sure: the atmosphere during our painting sessions is extremely positive. It’s such a pleasure to grab the shiny paint and just put it on canvas. The classroom itself contains plenty of art in all completion stages: just started, half-done and finished. This contributes to the relaxing state we most often find ourselves in. I mean, it’s very unlikely, these beautiful works could have some bad energy. We challenge ourselves, and the results are more than satisfying.
Monetary value does not affect energy
One more amazing thing is that the monetary value actually does not affect the true energy which some item possesses. That means we should stick with things which make us feel good, not only to the ones which cost a lot and are supposed to be “value”. The monetary value only shows one’s financial power while the energetic value has something much more important and substantial: it possesses the ability to ensure the well-being of our soul.
I’m usually advising my students: if you ever would like to learn drawing free-hand and manually, do not use photos, grids and other tools, but only your eyes in addition to paper and pencil. That gives us huge artistic freedom and allows not to depend on camera, printer, computer and photo editing software. That also saves a lot of time. It is more difficult for some people to draw and paint from a real subject initially, but it is like everything else: once you’ve understood how it’s done, the improvement is continuous.
Creating without devices
I grew up and learned painting without any cameras and photos. There was no internet, there were no computers. I suppose, that’s why the number of artists was noticeably smaller, too. In order to paint or draw something, you simply had to use your visual abilities and imagination. I am disagreeing with those who are trying to convince us that everybody was using some kind of camera obscura in the past in order to capture accurate details, proportions and perspective. It’s believed, that mostly amateur artists were using it since they did not have the knowledge and capability of producing good drawings. I know, everybody has heard about Canaletto whose drawings were created that way. Well, there were others, too. Some people can draw and capture everything flawlessly. I am one of them.
Why you can’t draw yet
I find that most people are unable to draw not because they have problems handling pencil and creating the image, but because they don’t know what to look for when they would like to recreate the subject on a paper or canvas. That takes practice and work, that’s all. I love doing drawings or sketches just for the sake of pleasure. It’s so great to see something evolving on a sheet of blank paper. Nothing really compares to this fantastic feeling! That always excites me, and I can spend hours drawing alone while other people are watching TV, for instance. As a kid, I was drawing my garden, street views, buildings and similar simple things. I used to draw portraits of my sister, other kids and later my daughter and my group-mates at the University.
Painting and sketching the easy way
Paintings are sometimes very labor-consuming, especially the large and very large ones. It is simply a lot of work. It can be hard physical work, as well, when handling huge canvas. Sketching with pencil, watercolor and pen is a quick way of capturing the desired view or subject. I do not draw anything tiny because I am trying not to use glasses. Glasses, just like camera can distort the image, and I wouldn’t like that to happen. These sketches were created while travelling, and sizes are between 10 x 12 to 12 x 16 in (25 x 30 and 30 x 41 cm). They were done in about 2 hours.
Advantages of using pen with watercolor
There are many advantages of sketching with pencil, watercolor and pen. First of all, sketching allows to stay focused. It’s like a daily exercise which keeps us in good shape. Our senses stay sharp and fresh, and it’s easier to get back to larger artwork after a break. It is also a great tool to overcome artistic blocks. Just start sketching without worrying about results. We allow our creativity to unfold and follow our imagination and inspiration.
Sketching is the quick way of capturing reality
Sketching does not take much time, it is very relaxing. Many artists and people, who are doing art for pleasure, know that. Lack of time is an ongoing problem. Not everybody is willing to sacrifice their free time only to drawing and painting, but they should. Doing painting and sketching regularly is already an achievement and it will certainly result in better skills. Sketching is very suitable to experience a new subject or style. There are millions of different ways of sketching, and that means: there is something for everybody.
Become a master in drawing
Finally, sketching is crucial for those, who want to master free-hand drawing from live subjects, or to capture a plein-air view. We can learn writing by reading a lot; we can learn many things by just watching how others do them, but drawing is a skill which we can learn only by doing it. The more we draw, the more we sketch, the more artistic and skillful we become. We might get a new approach this way. We also might find a completely new style which works for us. I have always something on my studio desks: flowers, cups, jugs, brushes, paint tubes and similar items. Jars and cups are my favorite still life subjects. I have a large collection of them. I’m already looking forward to spring impatiently because that’s when the true sketching starts. Nature wakes up and takes us outdoors.
Framed sketch: why not?
It is also possible to frame sketches and use them as beautiful art for decorating your space. Sketches can make great illustrations and they sometimes serve as a standalone artwork.
Happy sketching! Please share your experiences with different media and subjects if you have time.
Have you tried painting watercolor with sponge? I decided that adding some new technique wouldn’t disturb. Let’s give it a try.
This time it was application of watercolor using a sea grass sponge. It worked well with acrylic (I will post these pictures separately), it seemed it could work nicely with watercolor, as well.
I could see after the first attempts that it is advisable to test colors first. There are lots of brands, many types of paints, it’s hard to know whether the chosen colors will or won’t mix well. It is important not to overdo right at the beginning. Sponging takes one away easily, and in no time we can lose focus and forget where exactly we intended to place any particular color.
I did not plan these paintings. They are very spontaneous, and I just got straight to sponging. I would advise anybody who is trying this technique to plan a small bit ahead. Sponge allows to create beautiful watercolor backgrounds, like distant trees or forests, it is amazing how quickly some spots get textures, and it is a fantastic way of layering watercolor. Simply don’t forget to test your paint colors.
It seemed that Hooker’s green light and dark in combination with French ultramarine, Cobalt blue, Payne’s grey, Lemon yellow and Burnt sienna or Burnt umber worked better than Sap green in any combination unless I mixed only 2 or 3 colors in all layers.
Seagrass sponges are inexpensive and available at any art store, that’s at least where I got them. Every sponge is slightly different, so will be textures created using these sponges. I cut my sponge in smaller parts, and used every time that part which seemed to be the most fitting. Sponge has to be made wet at first, and we should squeeze out all excess water before picking up the paint with it.
Sponge works on wet paper well (wet in wet application), and we can create nice distant backgrounds this way. It creates thicker layers and attractive irregular shapes when applied on dry paper. It is possible to create the entire painting this way, and it looks especially great when we combine different techniques.
Generally speaking, application of a sponge helps loosen up, and sponge is a good tool to vary paint application techniques.
Forest creek, I used sponge for background.
Layering quite a few colors with sponge is interesting: we never know how it will look at the end! Using just a few colors is beneficial with sponge painting. If you test them before and see that mix well without causing muddy look, just go ahead.
Spring forest: watercolor painting using sponge, it is quite large, 18 x 24 inches
I did these paintings during private painting classes sitting next to my student. That allowed me seeing immediately what they did correctly and what needed extra adjustment. These paintings are perfect for any beginner in watercolor painting. There is hardly any need for drawing, just some areas need that. Painting with sponge in watercolor will make it simple for any beginner and help loosen up.
And finally, large watercolor painting Spring forest: watercolor painting using sponge, 18 x 24 inches or 46 x 61 cm.
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Winter ends in the art studio around half January. That’s just how impatient we are: once Christmas is over, we’ve got to start preparing for Valentine’s Day, Easter and, most importantly, for spring. We use this time period to define our painting styles.
While winter may seem to be long, boring and unpleasant to many people, we are using the best part of it. The picturesque beauty of snow-covered fields makes a good scene for painting, especially when contrasted with frozen or silently running dark streams to which the majestic attraction of trees under the snow is added.
Our vision and perception of any subject are absolutely unique. There are no two persons who can see one thing in exactly the same way. That’s how nature has taken care of our individual features. That’s also how one image becomes a reflection of many personal interpretations and allows to create many distinctive paintings.
Winter creek, acrylic painting, it’s sold. I painted it as a demo for class
Painting as a process is a very individual activity regardless of how much of experience or knowledge we are implementing in this process. The art we are creating from scratch will always carry our own features, as well.
From psychological point of view, it is possible to associate certain types of lines, composition, application of paint, colors, amount of detail or lack of it with particular human features. I find this fantastic because that’s one more way how our uniqueness manifests.
Winter creek paintings by my students
The emerging painting style is like handwriting: once we have perfected it, it’s completely ours. Does it make sense to repeat somebody else’s writing? Probably not, not even in these cases when you are told your writing is hard to read. The most beautiful hand-writings are actually all complicated and hard to read.
