inspiration Archives - Page 3 of 17

September 7, 2021October 13, 2024

Pure, transparent watercolor – rose geranium

Watercolor painting, pink geranium, floral watercolor

Geranium is a healing plant, my mom told me to have a geranium plant always at my workspace, window ledge or in living room. Its energy is simply uplifting, and it blocks out bad vibrations and cleans air. How can you not love the geranium blooms? I have two kinds of blooming geranium currently: the pink rose geranium and bright orange-red geranium; besides, the red is more present, altogether looking like one of my most favorite colors. Well, pink color is great for painting. It’s also easier to photograph than, for instance yellow or red.

I started this painting not only because I adore the fluffy, colorful blooms and well-shaped leaves of geranium plants, but also because I wanted to create support material for art classes. Most students who’d love to learn painting, cannot really draw. Therefore, they normally trace photos or print-outs. It must be tough, and, thanks to my early devotion to drawing, I can draw anything on the spot. I created outline drawing of a large bloom and added a few leaves. As it appears, the drawing paper (it was actually some kind of newsprint I think, large sheets) was a bit smaller than my watercolor paper.

Geranium painting, watercolor — Here you can see the progress of geranium painting

My painting composition looked fine as outline sketch, but after a few first layers I could see that something is missing, so I got a reference leaf and drew it in the upper right part. I kept adding layers, and the flower which actually consists of numerous small blooms came more and more to life. Around layer 5 I think, I discovered that the bottom part needs something more, so I added half of a leaf and small corner of as if leaf.

Pink geranium, watercolor painting — Detail of the pink geranium watercolor painting

While it is step 1, step 2 and so forth, each step took quite a few hours, and the entire painting – about 8 full days. I hadn’t counted on all parts requiring so many layers. The paper isn’t Arches again, it is Strathmore 400 series which comes in this size I like 24 x 18 inches (61 x 46 cm) and which I had available. You cannot create very attractive washes on this paper, therefore, I intentionally left the background white. Certainly, if you want washes in your painting, you have to use cotton paper. There is no comparison how wash looks on Strathmore paper which is still very thick and firm, and on Arches which is at least 140 lb.

I do most parts of painting with my number 14 brush. I’m so happy it has still the fine tip, but it has started to wear down. Well, I have 3 of the same brushes, and two are useable. Not only it is faster, it is a lot easier, too, to cover an area with paint and add some other color to it. I do not like a few things with watercolor – using masking fluid and using very dark colors. I never use black in watercolor. For that case, there’s Payne’s grey, we can use Sepia, purple, indigo and so on. That allows creating gradual transparent color which looks almost black, but shaded black.

I love the transparency of watercolor, and I do aim for flowing lines, as well as colors which do not hurt, but have a soothing quality. I didn’t have Opera pink color which is extra bright and can be used for such flower paintings, I simply couldn’t find it, therefore, I used what I had, many shades of dark red and Carmine, plus some purple and blue, although, it isn’t well visible on photos.

It’s beauty which always touches me, the elegant shape of leaves, the fragile softness of petals. If you paint, add some heart onto your painting. Don’t worry always about the technical aspects and perfection. Having heart in art is already enough and that feature makes it shine and stand out among others.

Pansies, click on image for article

Garden rose, click on image for article

Group art classes

Thanks for reading! I hope your September has started off on the right foot!

August 19, 2021March 7, 2025

Watercolor nature, as seen in imagination

Before the horrible heat became an issue, we were creating watercolor nature art outdoors. I do always go for the simplest solution whenever there is one, therefore we did not use any masking fluid or any other extra watercolor enhancing supplies. The simplest technique with watercolor is painting around the parts which you want to leave light. It was very tricky in some parts regardless of the large paper size. Let’s just say, I added an element every time when somebody asked how to paint one or another part.

Nowadays, classes are not like art classes we used to have even 10 years ago when I would start with color properties and selection, features of brushes, techniques of using that particular brush, techniques of adding washes, glazes and details. I mean, I would make sure that my student knows at least a little bit about the medium, its application and the important aspects of painting. The shift has been towards very quick paintings, – the quicker, the better. Although, I’m not trying to squeeze in impossible steps, everything still takes time.

Students jump now from knowing nothing to trying to paint something great. It is what I told a girl who was attending a few nature art classes: to learn using brush and paint properly and automatically takes years, not hours. Our brain is wired in such a way that it will not allow doing automatically things which haven’t been rehearsed for numerous times. You have to add to this the novelty of particular technique, and mental attitude towards learning fast. Altogether, learning art has become an activity when one learns and applies the new skill immediately. I mean, they didn’t know it existed before the class. Most often, it won’t result in something great taking into account what I said before.

Since we all have started with something, for beginner, any scene is probably good enough. It’s just so that the potential participant judges the worthiness of a class by an image which I have painted. That is an absurd way of accessing the task ahead because I know what I’m doing and I can paint anything no problem, especially when the sketch is drawn by me. I know how to make parts of painting work or how to improve them if they don’t. Students take every brush application as final which by any means it isn’t. We certainly worked a lot, and due to the outdoor settings, I don’t have all steps on photos. I have finally started creating the downloadable materials, and steps will be available.

Before we start painting, we must explore our tools: watercolor paper, set of paints, brushes, everything. We cannot create a good painting when we don’t know what colors we have and how they act on paper. The same about color combinations, like burnt sienna plus any dark blue, but French Ultramarine and Prussian blue in particular, like in these paintings. We need to know what our paper does when it’s wet. One paper I used for demo, absolutely didn’t accept paint. I later found out; it was Fabriano. I avoid using any Fabriano papers, since my experience has been horrible with them. It’s not Arches either, but Strathmore 400 series.

Watercolor nature painting, trees, creek

Rocky creek, 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm watercolor

I hope we can have more confidence and trust ourselves to a higher extent. That is absolutely necessary with drawing and painting. Nobody really cares if you get it right or not for as long as you’re happy with the outcome. It sure would look better and cleaner if I had masked out all tiny areas, but I am ok without having too much detail. If that were Arches paper, the washes on bigger parts certainly would have looked nicer. However, art class is not my own painting session. There are many interruptions and many times when I have to go over and over some part.

Watercolor nature painting, old tree painting

Trees on the hill, 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm watercolor

As you might know, watercolor requires perfect timing. That can be an issue outdoors with higher temperatures when paper dries too swiftly. I’m not that meticulous that I wouldn’t paint just because something around isn’t right. I also use only 1 number 14 brush for practically entire painting. It has an extremely great tip, but due to frequent use it starts wearing down. Well, time to start looking for replacement brushes.

Watercolor nature painting, trees on abstract background

Second version on different paper, 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm watercolor

I use St. Petersburg watercolor paints because they’ve been my favorite ever since I remember. When I was about 10 or so, that’s a bit more than half a century ago, I stopped by at my neighbor’s place. They rented a room to an artist. She was great with watercolors. I noticed the large paint box on the table and colors in it looked so fantastic, nothing like my small student grade paints which I had. So, I asked: what paints are these? Her painting was extremely vibrant, literally alive. She said: Leningrad watercolors. Those times, it was still Leningrad, it only later reversed to St. Petersburg. I got my first St Petersburg watercolor paints about 20 years ago and have used them since.

I hope you enjoyed the new large paintings which resulted from my demos.

June 7, 2021March 20, 2025

Style, subject, techniques: change is inevitable

Tree and poppies, textured acrylic painting

Paint features for interesting techniques

Acrylic paint is extremely versatile and it can be applied in numerous ways and using countless techniques. It’s water-soluble, has hardly any smell. It consists of pigment particles dispersed in an acrylic polymer emulsion. When it dries, it becomes hard and changes color. Paints which contain more fillers and binders, but less pigments, become darker. However, properties of this paint make it possible to use many layers and it could be used as a glue. All these features are perfect for creating very textured art, sometimes, it can be described even as sculpted.

Textured art

I created the first textured paintings around 2007. Since then, there have been so many from very large 6 feet by 4 feet to small ones, just 12 x 10 in. They sometimes sold very swiftly. I do not have any pictures of some. I didn’t try to showcase very textured paintings on my website, too, because pictures never looked right. As you could imagine: the highest areas of textured surface capture light more and camera creates a total disbalance of colors and contrast, therefore, these pictures are always off. In reality, however, they are extremely attractive and impressive works of art.

The old tree, 14 x 11 in or 36 x 28 cm

Vintage frames for impressive art

I went through my inventory recently since I have more time before live art classes resume. I added a new protective layer, so they are as bright and neat as brand new, not to mention removing some dust from corners and frames. The vintage frames which will be visible in some pictures are really old, but they make any art look like real art. I didn’t restore them to the extent they’d lose the feel of being old. The imperfections help them look more authentic.

Pears still life, 12 x 10 in or 30.5 x 20.5 cm

Textured poppies, 12 x 10 in or 30.5 x 20.5 cm

Distinctive creative periods

As I go through all my collections and create new products for sale pages, I cannot help but notice how each creative period is distinct with the use of specific color palette or subject. I’ve had the warm, earthy color period, the many shades of grey painting chapter, vivid blue and green landscape phase, as well as passion period for white, pink and red floral art, and then there are series of still life, birches and snow scenes. Reflecting on creative path from a distance of almost 20 recent years clearly reveals how I liked or disliked some colors and subjects over time.

Welcoming change

I wouldn’t say that paintings from 2010 are better than the ones from 2015, or the recent ones are the best. They are different, and each period of my creative journey emphases the dominant vision of that particular time span. We as humans change, and imagine the boredom if we as artists wouldn’t step off the beaten path! In fact, the greater the challenge, the more I love my new creations whether that refers to techniques, materials, subject or color palette. The pictures show art created around 2008 and up to 2015.

Time-consuming, yet, gorgeous

I used to paint everything as pairs of the same subject, quite frequently. I still continue that way, not with every single artwork, but there are many “twins” in my collections. The nicest feature is they work as series right away and look extraordinary great on the wall. Textured paintings are usually abstract by nature. While I am creating the texture layer, there is no outline, color or value. These are added later with layers of paint. Colors of textured art change depending on light and its placement. Photos capture some moments in time in a light which was present, and it might be that these images are able to convey the context and thought within the actual painting.

Art for sale, textured acrylic paintings

I hope this post inspires you to paint and create, as well as there might be somebody who loves the current featured paintings. I’d like to mention, that this is the first time images of these particular paintings are published. I will add them to art deals page soon, as well:

All other acrylic paintings can be seen here:

Shop original acrylic paintings

Thanks for reading!

April 11, 2021October 17, 2024

Isolation or not, life goes on, art gets created

How to paint apple blossoms in watercolor

Creativity drives life in isolation

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.

Isolation art, apple blossoms — 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.

Apple blossoms, watercolor painting — 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.

Inese’s original watercolor paintings

Inese’s original acrylic paintings

Special featured art, originals

You are very welcome to check out and see the progress of these pages.

As always, have a look at greeting cards, puzzles, coffee mugs, notebooks and art prints with numerous framing options:

Art collections by Inese Poga

Thanks for reading, stopping by and leaving a comment if you have time! Have great springtime!

March 4, 2021October 17, 2024

Landscapes which live in my memory

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.

Acrylic painting, country barn with daffodils — 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 creek, acrylic painting — 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.

Acrylic painting, spring creek — Along the spring creek is a multilayer acrylic painting on 20 x 16 in or 51 x 41 cm canvas

Painting spring in acrylic — I 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.

Acrylic painting techniques, creating a book — 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:

Art collections by Inese Poga

Category: inspiration

Pure, transparent watercolor – rose geranium

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Watercolor nature, as seen in imagination

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Style, subject, techniques: change is inevitable

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Isolation or not, life goes on, art gets created

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Landscapes which live in my memory

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