Mother’s Day flowers, great art for this special day
It doesn’t feel like it in Ontario, but it’s Mother’s Day. We have February weather, but we are keeping our hearts warm and we celebrate Mother’s Day. I do not celebrate in particular, however, my daughter sent me be-well-have-a-happy-Mother’s-Day card early in the morning. We have to admit, whatever the situation, our mother always deserves the best, respect, love and recognition. I assume it’s a fantastic occasion to post great floral art.
Late with posting, happy with outcome
I am a bit late with publishing the brand-new floral paintings because they certainly suit the occasion and the purpose. I might sell them next year or next season. I am happy how these paintings came out. I love white color and strong contrast, too. Floral paintings allow implementing exactly that, especially when painting white flowers.
White magnolia, 12 x 12 in
Mothers love floral art
If my mom were still around, she’d definitely love these paintings. I do know that acrylic paint isn’t oil paint, and every step which takes a few minutes in oils, can take hours painting with acrylic. Daffodil charm painting took 4 full workdays and the White magnolia elegance took almost 3 full days. That is because of layers and need to allow painting to dry naturally between layers.
Enjoy, paint your own or purchase
I noticed that my paintings work really well together. It’s almost as if any painting goes with any other painting. That refers to many years ago painted art and the new art which was painted just recently. I have step-by-step images for daffodils and magnolia. I intend to post them later on project’s page which is in progress. Please, let me know, if you would be interested.
This time, I’m presenting Summer place 1 which actually started the series. This painting should have been posted right after the Summer place 2 which is shown in the previous post, but I got done very little these days. That is especially true about posting pictures, but not creating paintings.
I wish I had some clear vision about all this situation and where it is heading, but it is quite difficult at the moment. I’ve run out of acrylic paints. I ordered some, and the waiting has been about a month so far. In normal conditions, I do not ever prefer online shopping, but it is the only option right now. I’m also waiting for some other things which are essential for me because the previous computer died and I lost good software which I cannot get back. The realization that I have left not that much good watercolor paper and I will be still missing some acrylic paints because I simply forgot to order them the first time, makes me feel not good.
To create good art, I use high quality art supplies, often the best available. I do not want to waste these good canvases and papers and paint on them with leftover paint. The shipping might be faster when ordering online in other countries, but it is quite slow in Ontario.
There is one more important aspect to all of this: I love giving live art classes. They ended by the second half of February. I had to take off my art show halfway through, and without any physical showings, I just haven’t managed to sell anything either. I took off the “Buy now” buttons for a moment because I just would not be able to handle and cover the shipping right now, in particular, for large paintings which many of them are. In fact, I do not have tiny paintings. To somewhat facilitate my presence online, I intend to widen the social media circle and I updated my website nicely, too. More work will be done, but I’m not rushing it.
Springtime is usually spent in the garden; therefore, I can devote less hours to art. I always appreciate interest in art and people, who have bought it. This time is stressful for many people and bloggers. I would be probably wrong to expect somebody trying to buy art at the moment. Meanwhile, there is so much of it that lack of space is becoming a serious issue. We have moved almost every year for a while, and carrying around large numbers of sensitive paintings is very difficult. Sometimes art gets damaged, sometimes I’m struggling.
The Summer place 1 is an updated canvas. I had painted the fence during previous year, and it just never looked as a completed painting. I added more trees and drew in the building, and it came to life immediately. I do frequently travel in my thoughts and imagination, that includes time traveling. Summer place 1 looks like that adorable place where I spent my youth.
The white daisies were updated, too, because the previous version needed a facelift. I find that it is much easier to paint on textured or previously painted canvas. Acrylic is such paint: the more we add, the more layers we build, the better it looks. Any of my paintings take about a few days to a few weeks to paint. Photography unfortunately cannot capture the transparent layers or halftones, and that annoys me slightly.
Properties of our eyesight are very unique, indeed. There are no two persons, who see everything exactly the same way. We could say, the way we see is just as unique as our DNA, fingerprints, iris of the eye and similar extra fine things. Therefore, when we create something, some people will love it, some people will think it’s nothing special and some will either ignore or dislike it. That is normal. The thing we have created has still the same value for us personally, at least it should, because its objective value does not change depending on subjective likes or dislikes. It’s social media which either stamps some creation as success or disregards it.
High ranked mediocrity
I do sometimes wonder why a painting which is really good does not get that many likes as something rather average. Go figure. Partially, this is because of ranking. Let’s say, I post my image at the right time and it immediately gets 30 likes in the first 20 seconds. That’s it! It immediately moves up the ranks, and that is all we need. New likes follow, comments are posted and we’ve got the attention of the invisible viewer mass. Now, does the response always indicate that we are becoming a master in some area? Not really. We still need to have our self-criticism and apply our personal judgement.
Versatility
We should have options, always. The trends are out there and whether to comply and act on them is up to us. People sometimes suggest: you should paint more abstracts, you should do some black and white art, you should post more drawings and so on. I could do all of the above. The problem is, however, that I do create art which I am deeply in at any particular moment. I am not good with following trends and I actually do not care that much about them either. It is bad for marketing, no doubt about that. However, it is the only way to stay true to oneself and do more of my own realism.
Specific realism
I love realism. I need to clarify, it’s not any realism, but my personal enhanced realism. We could say, it’s high definition because I adore adding something still tasteful, but very detailed. Details are risky, but they also make a view very unique. I love specific colors and cannot stand some other particular colors. I do not like using black, in fact, I use it only for mixing up other colors. I love greens which are mixed up from black plus blue, plus yellow plus burnt sienna and white. Some grey shades require black. I really dislike black in watercolors. I never have used even 1 drop of black in any of my watercolors.
The choice of subject
We normally paint what resonates with us. I at least do. I have also many favorite subjects: still life, seasonal landscape, buildings, perspective and flowers. I think all young people want to paint portraits and figures. I did, too. Some stick to them and some move over to other subjects. I love painting and drawing from reality, and to paint face or figure, I’d need a model. That complicates things because it makes me dependent on somebody else. With my subjects, I choose time, place and medium.
Too many paintings
I’ve read how people complain they don’t have enough artworks in portfolio. I think it is also problematic to have too many artworks. I’m adding 2-3 a week in average. I have numerous paintings in different completion stages. Some are drafts, some half-done, some need change in color or more highlights. I get tired of one medium or subject quickly. Therefore, I switch from acrylic to watercolor and vice versa, I sometimes do just pencil drawing or pastel drawing. I love creating all kinds of drawing-based art because I’m very good at drawing from reality, and for that matter, drawing anything.
Preferences
My preferences are very noticeable when it comes to art. I love clean colors. I never use paint straight from tube, but the mix must be clean. It is easy to create any color from 3 primary colors, plus black and white in acrylic. I add burnt sienna, burnt umber, ocher and many shades of blue. That way, my palette is complete. I’m not a big fan of Ultramarine. Instead, I use Prussian blue and brilliant blue. Seasons have huge effect on me. I basically paint spring in winter or early spring, summer in spring, and fall in summer. Does that mean I cannot wait until the actual season arrives? Yes, it does.
Enhanced and personalized realism in art; Summer place 2, I love how it came out, acrylic painting on canvas 18 x 24 inches or 46 x 61 cm
Summer place 2 and Breezy daisy field
I would love to post just one painting in every article, but there are so many lined up. I will limit myself to just two this time. Summer place 2 is the second one in Summer place series. Breezy daisy field is also continuing the flower field series. As usually, I started them for demo purposes at art classes. The summer place 2 took about 2 weeks and daisy field about a full week to complete. My paintings consist of many layers and under-layers. It is best to paint any acrylic painting on color-coated canvas. They both are the same size: 18 x 24 inches or 46 x 61 cm. One is horizontal, the other is vertical. I’m very sure, the internet display will make one look larger and the other smaller.
Breezy daisy field, it got a lot of attention on Facebook, acrylic painting on canvas 18 x 24 inches or 46 x 61 cm
Grey of spring and lush green of summer
It is still cold outdoors. This April came with such a nice promise of spring starting early. What a disappointment! It is almost May and we have freezing temperatures every night. That is why I am a lot in very strong and very rich green color. I’m not trying to overdo, but it feels so nice to surround myself with this color at the moment. My love relationship with green will pass, too, but it’s so pleasant to look at such art and be around it.
This issue comes up almost every time as I type in Google search terms which I describe my paintings and drawings with. Almost every time, I find stolen images of my paintings which I obviously did not know of. I look at the website link: if it is not my website, my Fine Art America site or similar sites, I can be sure somebody has copied image of my painting and placed on their website. The purpose of stealing painting images is not always clear. Some websites look like they are selling prints, some seem to have the image for anybody to paint or draw. I am feeling sad and mad about this.
How about I use your art for my artwork?
Somebody contacted me recently (at least they contacted and asked for permission, which I appreciate) about 2 of my best floral paintings. It said: may I use your images for creation of my artwork? That left me wondering: how is that? If that was a photo of something else, but not my art, I could have allowed using it. But the idea was to take the image of my painting and use for whatever adjusted art they create. So, I work hard for some 3-4 weeks and paint it and try to do my best. I work on taking good pictures. They come along and admit that I did well, and that’s why they would use these images. To me, they are finished paintings, and I do not want anybody to add embellishments to them or remove something digitally. Creation of art takes time, efforts and actually talent, too. No, I’m not fine that you just copy it over and sell as painting by numbers.
Please, be respectful
I wonder: how do people come on these ideas? I think it’s time we start to respect efforts and time somebody has put in their art. I have seen all kinds of claims about art instruction, writing, including poems, stories, essays, interviews, how to instruction and lots and lots of paintings which are simply stolen from the owner’s website. I have watermarks on my paintings. I usually post paintings with my signature on them except when it’s work in progress. I have copyright notice in place, and I made it longer just now and I am also putting it under each article as of today.
Are these protective measures enough?
Do I believe these measures are going to stop some websites from stealing and displaying my art? Probably not. However, I will alarm about 2 most recent websites where I found my paintings. If you are a good artist, your drawings and paintings might be there also. Internet enables all kinds of unauthorized actions. It’s just so that it is annoying and time-consuming to follow up on all of this. It took me an hour approximately dealing with these websites. I am not even sure; there may have been more images. There is never guarantee that I will achieve much with searching, checking and sending my notifications in case a theft is detected.
It is a big deal
Does this stealing happen because people think that it is not a big deal to just simply copy somebody’s work and go ahead and place or use it any way they prefer? Well, it is a big deal for me, and I suppose for any artist whose life is a full time art creation and writing. No, I do not feel flattered by my painting images (sometimes works in progress) being scattered around who knows where. The display is usually also not the most appealing, and they are taken out of context and sometimes used for other than intended purpose. If you’d like to see what websites have your painting images, enter art descriptions which fit your art in Google search, click on images and see what comes up.
New show paintings
My initial intention was to post two images of my new paintings which will be included in show opening on February 14. And I am still working on more new paintings, as well as adjusting and varnishing some earlier works. But here I am: dealing with stolen painting images again. That happens much too often to ignore it. Maybe it’s time to report these websites and maybe they’d be closed down. Maybe it’s time to deal with thieves in a stricter manner? It’s been countless times I find my paintings on strange websites when I google for images with descriptions I have frequently used.
Happy with results
Anyway, art is where I find my happiest moments in life. The largest painting is Birch road. It is 30 x 24 inches or 76 x 61 cm. I cannot ship it at the moment, but it is available from my studio. It took about 3 weeks painting for about 6 hours a day. The photo cannot show all golden shade transitions which are implemented in leaves, but the real painting has perfect color play.
Birch road, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24 in or 76 x 61 cm
Some art simply got adjusted and new pictures were taken. I hope you enjoy my paintings and feel the same good vibes as I did when painting them!
Except for Birch tri, all other paintings are 24 x 20 in or 61 x 51 cm.
I wish the New Year brought back the importance and significance of real, high quality art. When we say: state-of-the-art, we mean something exclusive, outstanding, novel and unique. When we look at all entries on different internet sites which are labeled “art”, there is frequently mediocrity, lots of attempts which do not present skill or mastery, and numerous repeated concepts, e. g., eyes, lips and hands. I see lots of space for improvement there. Subjects, such as back-lit trees, sunsets, starry night skies and silhouettes are also in abundance. However, even a repeating concept is not that bad as long as the execution is skillful and shows some unique artistic touches.
Make it unique and unforgettable
Therefore, I’d love to see hand-made art as something exclusive, outstanding and unique. Just like in any other area, we are witnessing unnecessary self-criticism when a very good artist asks social media visitors how to improve an already great painting (unless, it’s an attempt to get more publicity) and complete lack of any self-criticism. Art should be seen more as something which cannot be repeated or copied by anybody for that matter. Also, designs and wall-filler pieces are also referred to as art. While it is a decorative piece like sign or poster, or framed wallpaper, etc., it isn’t really art.
Quantity versus quality
We have become a society which values quantitative results more, for instance, number of followers, likes, comments, sales, profit, number of created items, and so on. Chasing quantitative outcome, as in an article a day, painting a day, poem or song a day decreases quality because such creativity becomes obligation. Creation itself is directly the opposite. It is a summary of efforts, inspiration, trials, errors, discoveries and sometimes futile efforts. Eventually, such attempts result in what we call art. If you have ever created something, you know that creation also includes doubts and corrections of wrong assumptions.
Creation is not always a smooth ride
Good painting is not created within a few hours. Well, maybe a tiny one could be done that fast. Large paintings can take not only weeks, but months returning to painting every single day. We need to prime canvas, work out the concept, do sketches, color matches, transfer complex drawing and so forth. That can be a smooth or not at all smooth process. Some idea looks great as a sketch, and then I turn it into painting, and it plain and simple does not work. So, I start over.
Creation takes talent and skills
It’s a lot of work, a lot of skill, and I dare say, talent, as well. For some unknown reason, talent is greatly denied its importance. While everybody can learn everything, not everybody can achieve the top of artistic expression. We mostly hear that creating art is just work and practice. That is not true. I do not want to say that all my art is top-notch. It is normal that some pieces come out very well and some not that much. I also have many paintings which I haven’t been able to photograph in a presentable way, so I don’t publish them anywhere. The difference probably is that I am trying to become better and better with every brush stroke and never stop improving.
New paintings of small birds for bird lovers
I am attaching images of acrylic paintings which picture small birds. They were started as demos for art classes. I certainly added many more layers after class. It is very beneficial for an acrylic painting to apply many layers of paint. These pictures show a background with Christmas ornaments, however, I intended these paintings so that they can be used during any season, not only around this time. I used the ornaments to make colors match more my actual original paintings. Enjoy!
Learning, teaching, promoting
My current focus in art is to promote my own art and to give private classes to interested students. Group classes are great, and through these art classes I have met numerous wonderful people. However, it is an extreme pleasure to help shaping a talent and genuine devotion. Students, who attend private art classes, have certain goals and they are interested in a particular medium, subject or skill. That makes painting and teaching process fun.
Since I give very many classes and do very many demo paintings, I also need to bring the painting I started as a demo to finished stage. That’s why some subjects are not my preferred subjects, yet, it is a space for improvement. I am still trying to do my best and not pollute the internet with inadequate quality art. And, certainly, our tastes might be distinctive, yet, good quality is recognized everywhere.
European bullfinch or redbreast is seen more in Europe. It is the favorite winter bird. My painting displays early spring, and I believe it turned out as good painting.
This is the new version of cardinal couple since there are at least 6 more cardinal and cardinal couple paintings. It is a favorite subject of many students in winter.
Happy New Year and thank you
As the year is almost over, I’d like to thank all blogging friends, everybody, who took their time commenting and liking my articles, as well as people, who bought my art and attended my art classes and workshops. Your friendship and interest in my art means a lot to me, and I am grateful there are so many of you. Happy New Year! Happy artistic journey and lots of new discoveries in 2020!
