landscape paintings Archives - INESE'S ART STUDIO

January 17, 2023September 25, 2023

Watercolor, beating the blues with art

Bright and sunny watercolor art

On TV, they were talking about winter blues. How this dull and wet January weather makes people feel down and upset. Our mind tells us that spring is far away, and to make everything worse, the sky cries with us. Bright and sunny watercolor art is my personal cure, my response to mood swings and upset mind. I paint the places where I want to be and flowers which will start in April or May.

Uplifting creativity

Not all people are artists, but many have paint sets at their disposal. Brushing bright, sunny colors on paper or canvas makes a big difference. It’s an immersive activity which allows to create our own imagined reality, very distinctive from the current settings. This year has been tough so far, so taking our mind off the painful and upsetting matters is vitally important.

New large-size watercolor art

All of these watercolor paintings are the same size – 24 x 18 inches or 61 x 46 cm. Well, to express ourselves, we need space. Tiny paper just won’t do that for you. It’s not cotton paper I used for these paintings. All of our art stores are closed now, and that leaves online shopping which I dislike. Paper is a very important part of watercolor painting, and each paper acts differently. This paper allows lifting paint easily, but it’s very problematic when adding paint layers.

Spring pansies, 24 x 18″ watercolor painting

Watercolor painting with pansies was started in the winter of 2021. So, it sat in a folder until I decided to add a few layers of paint and finish it up. Photos show way more white space, and I just cannot do anything about it. That’s how phone camera acts when there are white or light areas. Just imagine more purple and pink color on blooms because that’s how they look. Anyway, pansy blooms make a great subject in all regards. Use any color, any number and view of blooms.

Early spring flood, 24 x 18″ watercolor painting

The Early spring flood is based on views around our place. It’s a painting where you just throw on colors – Payne’s grey, Cobalt blue, Burnt sienna, Green gold, some yellow and Burnt umber. This all mixes itself on paper and then we swipe clean the areas which we would prefer to be white. We outline the trees, add leaves, wash on more color and sprinkle with a little of leaf green.

Watercolor wash and color

It is much easier to create watercolor paint washes on cotton paper, but if you don’t have it, any firm and thick watercolor paper will do. It needs to be thick and heavy since thin paper just rolls off and buckles. It was tricky to get any pictures of this painting since I don’t have good photographing light, and it’s been cloudy and very dark almost every single day. I love the dreamy quality of this painting, although I couldn’t get it on pictures. Colors are balanced – I used warm and cool shades to create the early spring mood.

Sunny spring creek, 24 x 18″ watercolor painting

I started the Spring creek painting (one more!) for a private art class last spring. It was half-done, just as many of art classes paintings are. It took me a while to get back to it, but I am very satisfied with the play of colors and placement of details. This painting is done with Cobalt and Brilliant blue, Burnt umber, burnt sienna, Lemon and Cadmium yellow, as well as Raw sienna and Sap green and little bit of Payne’s grey. This painting involves quite many layers.

Bright and happy art reality

I’d say these paintings show a very bright and happy place and that’s where I reside when I don’t have to deal with daily chores and other issues. It’s a perfect escape from daily routines, a perfect way to beat the winter blues. I think it’s time to write a new guidance for beginning artists. Trust me, tutorials cannot teach much about painting as such since it’s always something a particular person prefers and does. When we learn paint, we decide on everything – style, colors and subject, but tutorial requires to simply follow and copy.

I hope you’re dealing well with everything which comes your way. Spring will arrive eventually. Thanks for reading!

May 1, 2021April 5, 2023

The virtual arts market takes off

Artfest virtual arts market is open!

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 a 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.

Watercolor painting, purple pansy watercolor

My art can be attributed to a few main categories.

By medium and technique:

drawings,

pen and watercolor art on watercolor paper,

pure watercolor paintings on paper,

acrylic paintings on canvas and

highly textured acrylic paintings on canvas.

By subject of painting:

floral and floral still life,

still life,

seasons,

buildings, barns and perspective,

landscapes and trees,

small birds.

Please, see collections by painting subject here:

Art collections

All pages from which I sell art include all subjects, but I rather specified the medium I have applied. I have created a separate page for

Watercolor paintings: Shop watercolor paintings

Acrylic paintings (page will be updated with more paintings): Shop acrylic paintings

and a page which offers art related to current season or which suits the current trends: Shop special offers

Watercolor painting, spring, nature, arts market

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 and 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

As you will notice, 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 yet.

I always paint around the edge; therefore, painting can be displayed without a frame. Painting continues around the sides of canvas and looks great.

Rocks of gold, acrylic painting by Inese Poga

Available watercolors

Available watercolors are also only originals painted on watercolor paper, frequently, heavy and very firm Arches, Saunders-Waterford paper or bright white archival quality paper in case of pen and watercolor art. On sale pages displayed watercolor paintings 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, and they have beautiful oak wood frames, therefore, I wouldn’t be able to ship them anywhere. The smaller size framed watercolors are in 11 x 14 in or 28 x 36 cm standard frames with mats and one can also purchase them in person from studio, but not from website.

How to purchase available art

If you like a painting, just click on View product label and continue as directed. For purpose of this particular local event, you can pick up the painting practically any day between 11 am and 8 pm. I’m located in Ajax, almost downtown.

To ask any questions and to find out more, please, use this page:

Contact artist Inese Poga

I will be happy to assist. My website does not process any payments; therefore, you are submitting your info to Shopify or PayPal and they process the payment. Paintings are sold without tax and prices are in Canadian dollars. If you pick up your painting, that’s the final price. I can exchange any painting to a similar one, but I won’t take it back once it has been in possession of somebody.

Thank you kindly for reading and I hope you like some painting so much, you’d love to own it!

October 28, 2020January 4, 2023

No-rush life mode and energetic value of art

Distractions

These days, there are many distractions which do not allow working peacefully and devotedly on whatever we’d like to accomplish. I never give up painting, unless it’s so that I cannot get physically to my easel or painting desk. That is rare. I am working on additional paintings which will be included in the fall/winter sale event. It was supposed to take place in reality, but it’s safer to do this event remotely in the current situation.

Things which depend on me

I get done efficiently everything which directly depends on me. I wish everything depended directly on my own abilities and decisions! Just as always, iPhone gives me hard times. Especially when painting is large, it seems impossible to just snap a realistically looking picture of it. iPhone tries to enhance everything and I just don’t need that: contrast in excess, all blue or all yellow image, too light or too dark parts. These pictures look good on the phone screen, and that’s about it. Once I upload them on computer, it feels like disaster. It feels like that’s not the same painting.

Energetic value of original art

I post only original art on my website. That means I have created every single drawing and painting from scratch. There is no other one exactly like the ones I have painted. Original art is unique, one-of-a-kind and it displays features which are not visible or not present on a print or digitally multiplied image. Original painting has energy, and this energy vibrates in the space and captures the viewer.

Original art feels alive

Original painting upon completion starts living on its own. It’s a new energetic entity, and it has become a part of the universal energetic exchange. Art prints are copies, and they carry only the energy of materials and machines applied in the printing process, there’s nothing alive about a print. Yet, it is a good solution for decorating some certain spaces.

Texture plus multilayer paint

Many of my paintings have texture under multiple layers of paint. Textured spots enhance the image and usually look very attractive. It is more difficult to paint on a textured surface than on a smooth one. However, when used correctly, texture adds to volume and interestingness of art. I always use many layers of paint allowing them to dry between painting sessions. That also adds color play to painting and works towards an impressive impact. Photo cannot react to every tiniest nuance on canvas, and therefore, it goes almost unnoticed online.

Display and photo features

To be honest, if you haven’t seen art in person and with your own eyes, you pretty much haven’t seen it. Online is ok, and it can be anything: much better or much worse in real settings. If this pandemic had happened 50 years ago, we couldn’t even dream about connecting online and being present where we cannot be physically. Just keep in mind that no image can be like the original from which picture was taken. Every device, every screen will change it.

No-rush life mode

I’m living in a no-rush mode and moving ahead at my own pace. That also means putting no extra pressure on myself. Days are getting shorter swiftly, and I can do only what’s possible. That doesn’t involve lowering my personal standards, however. Every single one of my paintings involves a lot of work, many hours, numerous tubes of paint, countless decisions and millions of brushstrokes. It shows in the finished product. I actually wouldn’t change a thing when it comes to my art. It deserves attention and it deserves love. Slowly, but surely: art sales will take place.

As always, for prints you go to FAA:

February 16, 2020April 5, 2023

My solo art show February 14 – March 19

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.

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.

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.

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.

Early spring with red barn, acrylic painting on canvas by Inese Poga — Red country barn, early spring, acrylic painting 76 x 61 cm, acrylic on canvas

Early spring with red country barn, painting by Inese Poga — Red country barn, early spring won the easel, Nostalgia series

Nature paintings, spring paintings — Path in blue hill woods, Nostalgia series, acrylic painting, 24 x 20 in or 61 x 51 cm

Original art by Inese Poga — A few of show paintings

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

Art show by Inese Poga — With little bit of background and wider view

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

With background, acrylic landscape — Nostalgia painting on background of other art

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:

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May 24, 2015January 18, 2023

Take a moment and paint it

This moment is full of blossoming outdoors and still takes our breath away. Endless cloud of fragrances and all colors of the rainbow: how not to love this spring time? I think, I only live in spring. Summer brings its pleasure, too, but I’m already concerned in the fall because that means the dreadful winter is not far away. That’s just how I am, a spring and sun person.

I was so upset that my health decided to give me hard times exactly when everything just asks to be painted. Well, up to today, I didn’t get done much and kept everything to minimum, that unfortunately included posting, as well. Things seem to be easing up, so, I’m quite hopeful that the improvement will finally start. I’m using that expensive pills at the moment that I pretty much should be skipping other stuff like the daily bread.

Even though struggles were inevitable, we managed to get done something very useful in the studio. The regular Wednesday class was painting wildflowers and so did the Saturday Fun and Pleasure acrylic painting event participants.

Moment in art, spring — Behind the ben: acrylic painting of spring road is 20 x 16 in or 51 x 41 cm art on canvas

I had big difficulties with picture-taking because I don’t have filters that make a photographed acrylic or oil painting look nice, but nevertheless, I took quite a few. I will let these pictures speak for me this time. Nothing makes me happier than somebody admitting they like my paintings.