Category: Nature

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Pink and purple summer flowers with painting steps

Morning pansy, pansy watercolor painting

Summer flowers

When else to use live flowers as a model if not in summer when everything is in full bloom and getting more beautiful by hour? Although, we’ve been hit by a heat wave, there’s plenty to paint outdoors and indoors. I won’t write a long text this time because pictures will display the painting steps I use and also probably inspire somebody to get a brush, pencil and watercolor paper. There you have it: I’m presenting pink and purple summer flowers with painting steps.

Petunias

Petunias are usually in every garden. The pink and purple petunia painting is more abstract. I do usually create a drawing on a separate paper for reference and not to damage the watercolor paper with erasing anything. I transfer my drawing onto watercolor paper using daylight on a glass door and how it perfectly shines through even thick watercolor paper.

Summer flowers, watercolor painting steps
Summer flowers, painting steps
Summer flowers, painting steps

Watercolor paper

Watercolor paper is one of the most important aspects of watercolor painting. I started Bright petunias believing that I was using Arches watercolor paper. After a while, I realized it didn’t work like Arches. If you have painting experience, you know that Arches facilitates beautiful washes and easy flow of paint. It is possible to lift paint also. I discovered that this sheet came from leftover Saunders-Waterford paper. Some 10 years ago, it used to be a good paper, but it gradually became worse and worse, and the last batch they sent me was so bad, that I will simply never buy any Saunders-Waterford paper again.

Washes with big brushes

I always start with basic washes which I am applying to wet paper. Any cotton paper needs to be wet in areas which you intend to work on, except for fine details which we add at the end. Then I gradually build the shadows and shapes using multiple layers of paint. My pictures show how unsuitable the paper actually is. The only plus is it doesn’t buckle; therefore, I don’t have to tape it down as with cheap watercolor papers.

Paints and brush

I always use round brush with fine tip, size 14. I always use large brushes as long as possible for they hold a lot of water and pigment, yet allow getting extra fine edges and lines, too. I switch to number 6 round brush with fine tip only at the end when I need some tiny elements painted. I always use St. Petersburg original and authentic watercolor paints. I’ve never had better paints so far and I have tried very many. I’d give the second place Da Vinci paints, but they don’t sell them any longer at my art store. St. Petersburg paints have all the best qualities of watercolor paint thanks to the manufacturing process and raw materials.

Pink petunias, watercolor by Inese Poga

Bright petunias

The result could be smoother, but for an abstracted painting, it works. I use colors intuitively and carelessly actually and lots of water. For color testing, I am making use of extra sheet of cheaper watercolor paper because it shows the exact color I will have.

Morning pansy

For Morning pansy, I followed exactly the same steps. I’m creating drawing, transferring drawing to paper, making paper wet around the central flowers, starting with applying paint around the main part and allowing it to dry before I move on and start putting paint on flower. Then, I create leaves. The entire painting requires going over and over some parts. At the end I’m adding water drops. In the base of every single painting are the same principles: want impact, create values. Color to me is always secondary and I use that color which I prefer at the moment.

How I paint pansy, Inese Poga
Summer flowers, painting steps
Summer flowers, painting steps

Result

Morning pansy, watercolor painting by Inese Poga

While I didn’t try to paint reality since I never do, colors and shapes work extremely well in this painting.

Inspiration

I think that could inspire you to paint your own summer flowers, but I will sell later drawing templates on this website. My art is always based on drawings and I like it that way. Such art reveals progress and refinement of my personal style. I’ve done abstract watercolors, too, but they seem to be way too simple and never a real challenge. I love tricky things and exploration of effects and somewhat realistic art allows me doing that.

Note: Please, respect my copyrights, and since these particular painting steps are not intended for copying, use your own drawing, but apply process and advice.

Art prints, all my paintings which I have uploaded to Fine Art America:

Art collections by Inese Poga

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My high definition realism art

Red barn, acrylic painting

Personalized vision and realism

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.

Original realism art

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.

Breezy daisy fields, realism by Inese Poga

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.

Summer acrylic paintings by Inese Poga
Summer barn, acrylic painting

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.

Daisy fields, acrylic artworks

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.

Here you see art currently for sale: Shop original art

My art prints and other art products on FAA:

Art collections by Inese Poga

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Scrolling through old pictures, finding amazing art

Painting the garden watercolor

The unfortunate spring of 2020

This year will be marked by COVID-19 pandemic forever. This time is a very specific one, and so are our experiences. One can spend more hours on simply reminiscing about the moments which were captured on photos last year, the year before that and many years ago. This time also shows us how wrong we were about many things and how little we appreciated the freedom to move around and to go places whenever we felt like.

Art creation requires to be alone

However, for someone like me, there is no much change. I am not excited about Ontario winter which extends into spring, and in April as this year again. We had snowflakes dancing around daffodil buds for a few days now. Regretfully, it has been cold, and spring didn’t keep its promise about plenty of sunshine which it arrived with.

Missing and hoping

So, I was scrolling through pictures from previous years not only because I didn’t have anything better to do, but also because I needed to reinstall everything onto another computer after the old one crashed. The pictures from earlier years cause wide range of emotions. I am so proud of having painted numerous outstanding quality paintings, I miss the live art classes, I want to be in the blossoming spring backyard sooner. I start feeling older and I look at my own life as a train running away. I actually stopped making big plans many years ago after the accident in 1992. It would be interesting to know what my life would have turned out without going through that awful time. However, due to aftereffects of that accident I came to Canada.

Museum quality art

The attached images are of large watercolor paintings which I painted between 2008 and 2011. I honestly regret I cannot show you the actual paintings in their actual size. The image size is 23 x 30 inches or 58 x 76 cm. I am excited myself to explore the flow of lines, the perfection of detail, the soft and unexpected transitions of color which photos unfortunately cannot capture. Most of these paintings are put away and preserved in large folders. The ones in frames are under glass and neither pictures, nor videos would show them without a glare.

Mastering the medium

All of these paintings realistically show mastery in paint application and composition. I usually spend at least a few weeks to a few months on just one painting. They have been accepted in juried shows and exhibited in all kinds of galleries. After I broke the large museum grade glass on one painting, I stopped taking them out. These paintings are excellent value, and they should be treated like such.

Affordability of art supplies

It doesn’t even seem that long ago, just a decade or a bit longer, but art materials, especially watercolor paper was so affordable! I used very heavy duty and very thick Arches paper for anything, even sketches and quick drafts. The same paper costs a lot more money today because 1 sheet is $25-$35 in Canada. Is this only my imagination, or quality also does not feel the same? Any paint quality has definitely decreased big time over the past 10 years while prices are 3-4 times higher.

Art supplies matter

The truth is: great watercolor paper makes up for at least 25% of watercolor art quality. It is physically impossible to create good washes and flow of pigment on paper which does not absorb paint and water. Looking at these pictures makes me sad, too. I wish all art materials were available without any hassles again! I am waiting currently for some acrylic paints to arrive. I also hope watercolor paper became less expensive. Actually, the highest prices for any art materials are in Canada.

Should I even paint something more?

Most likely, I should sell more, not paint more. It is a matter of space and storage, as well. Yet, once somebody is hooked on creating art, it becomes like addiction. I’ve been in art for 50 years, and I don’t think I am going to ever discontinue painting. When I look at the art scene of today, I must say, I feel disappointed. Most images are computer generated, vector images, digitally enhanced or digitally painted images.

Good quality hand made art

Good quality hand made art is becoming quite rare. I would emphasize: good quality. The reason might be that most people do not want to spend time learning how to draw. It is way easier to trace or copy or print off and then paint over. While one has outline, they also need a lot more: understanding what values are, how contrast, light, direction of light and composition, as well as perspective contribute to any painting. These aspects are the ones which are missing in big part of today’s art.

The thorough painting process

I usually create full-size hand drawing for each of these paintings. Most of drawings show also the scale of values. Therefore, I do not need any other reference if the still life or landscape setup and view is not available any longer. I set up or looked at a scene and then drew it. Here is one example setup which was the base reference for my garden painting.

Painting the garden watercolor

I transferred the drawing (I used a large window for that as a lightbox) onto watercolor paper and kept working every day when the weather allowed.

Large watercolor garden painting by Inese Poga

The garden painting: so much great time spent with it, painted in 2011. This painting is 23 x 30 inches or 58 x 76 cm.

I cannot recall the year, but I think it was 2008 when I painted this road. It is also full-sheet watercolor painting on Arches. Some of my paintings have never been published, this is one of them

Sunset road watercolor by Inese Poga

The forest road watercolor from 2008, This painting is 23 x 30 inches or 58 x 76 cm.

The birch path painting refers to a Latvian forest path. When it comes to painting, I am always subconsciously referencing my memory which stores Latvian landscapes, views and scenery. I have added Canadian landscapes to my memory in the recent years, but Latvia still prevails.

Birch forest painting, spring trees, spring landscape

The picture comes from 2010 and might have more contrast. It was photographed through glass back then. However, the actual painting still looks very impressive and asks one to walk this path. This painting is 23 x 30 inches or 58 x 76 cm.

The spring creek was half imaginary, half photo-referenced. It took about a month to paint it. Image shows it more yellow, but it’s rather crisp light green and the blue is very attractive.

Spring creek, original paintings by Inese Poga

Spring creek, full-sheet or 23 x 30 inches (58 x 76 cm). spring watercolor painting

And finally, so far never published watercolor from 2010. It is also 23 x 30 inches or 58 x 76 cm

Along the summer stream

Along the summer stream, full-sheet watercolor on Arches

The difficult photo managing experience

Back then just as today, I was struggling with getting good photos of my paintings. It’s more struggle now thanks to Windows 10 photos app which seems to be incompatible with iPhone 11 Pro Max. Every time when I am trying to download pictures, one or another side doesn’t want to cooperate. Windows 10 photo app not only does not allow me to set my own parameters for download, they mess up everything and I have to manually copy over and delete lots of pictures. Sometimes this app wants to download all photos from phone, sometimes does not recognize any.

Simple editing tools

I was still using the great Microsoft Digital Image Editor 2006 up to the moment when my previous computer crashed. That was all I need for adjustment of my pictures. It was simple, fast, extremely efficient. One can find numerous photo manipulation apps now, but there is none for keeping the image as is, just fixing exposure, light and contrast. Most pictures displayed here were taken up to 2011. They are practically unedited, except, I added frames.

Blogging, pleasantries and some annoying habits

I have intended to post more of previous paintings since I also haven’t seen them for a while, that means for at least a few years. I know how people are busy. It’s just so that if you do not look at the actual post and the actual images, you most likely have no idea what I am talking about. I have noticed some bloggers click on “like” under 20 posts, but they certainly haven’t seen or read any of them.  I am trying to always respond to all comments timely and I do appreciate your comments a lot. However, I never put blogging before the actual life, therefore, I will like back posts which deserve that and comment back in case I have something to say about your article when I have time.

My paintings on Fine Art America, large collection of art prints:

Art collections by Inese Poga

Stay safe and take good care about yourself!

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My solo art show February 14 – March 19

Red country barn painting for show

If it was only painting

My show is finally up. Putting up a show, small or extensive, takes time, many hours of work, dealing with selection, adjustments and paperwork. It felt as if the small tasks were never-ending: glazing, covering with protective layer, attaching wires, designing and printing price tags. I have taken numerous pictures. Light was not that good some days; well, it’s February. Therefore, contrast ranged from extreme to none, brightness went from burnt  out images to a total lack of light.

Lots of work and many decisions

Even putting up paintings at location was time-consuming. Any place has its pluses and minuses. Light is as it is, and I had to figure out the best layout immediately and without hesitation. There was staff, who went up the ladder and put up each painting, and while they were doing their best, everything took some adjustment. I think I managed to do very well with placement of my art.

Preparing solo art show

It is a great advantage to see art in person

While less people attend shows or art events nowadays since everything is on the internet, I would like to still emphasize that nothing compares to seeing art with your own eyes and experience the feeling of direct presence. There are so many devices between the real painting and its image on the internet! Any of these devices change the look of painting to a great extent, so some things get lost along the way, which especially refers to balanced and carefully crafted colors and contrast.

Early spring with red country barn, acrylic painting for show

Paintings which were included in this show

My paintings frequently display paths and roads. Road, as well as path is an important symbolic element of my art. We are always on the way, always going to something new which is still to be discovered and explored. I am posting this time a few completely new and a few overworked paintings. That especially refers to “Nostalgia” series.

Red country barn painting for show

Subjects of my art

I loved to find untouched landscapes in close vicinity of a town: old country barns, quiet streams, birch groves and meandering forest paths. I genuinely love wildflowers, they appear quite frequently in my art. The same goes for always painting spring in winter.  That is a natural mood lift and fantastic way of spending dark and gloomy days when storms, snow, cold and ice make the outdoor landscape very hostile.

Less text, more art

This post is intended to show paintings, therefore, less text, more art.

Red country barn, early spring, acrylic painting 76 x 61 cm, acrylic on canvas

Red country barn, early spring won the easel, Nostalgia series

Nature paintings, spring paintings

Path in blue bell woods, Nostalgia series, acrylic painting, 24 x 20 in or 61 x 51 cm

Art show painting of blue river, Colors for art therapy
Acrylic landscape, summer reflection

Reflection of clouds, summer stream, acrylic painting on 24 x 20 in or 61 x 51 cm canvas

Old barn, spring painting in acrylic

Nostalgia, the painting which initiated the series of landscapes disappearing from our neighborhoods, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 20 in 61 x 51

The old barn painting for art show

Interested to purchase? Shop originals

If you happen to live in Greater Toronto Area and especially around Ajax, please stop by. My show is on at Ajax Town Hall Council Chambers Lobby until March 19. 25 works of art are exhibited. I take from the first responses, that people like it. Enjoy!

Link to Fine Art America printed art products:

Art collections by Inese Poga

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Space for improvement

Bullfinch and cardinal paintings

Space for improvement and skills

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!

Winter birds, acrylic painting
Winter birds, chickadee
Winter birds, original art
Winter birds, acrylic painting

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.

Private classes: One on one classes

Apply for art classes: Sign up for an art class

Unlimited path for improvement

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.

Bullfinch, acrylic on canvas

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.

New cardinal couple 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!

Art prints and paintings:

Art collections by Inese Poga