nature Archives - Page 8 of 11 - INESE'S ART STUDIO

December 15, 2015December 5, 2022

Snow paintings for Christmas delight

Bright snow paintings for Christmas

Shadows in my tea-cup, darkness behind the window and soft warmth from the small outdoor lights. That is the calming scene which surrounds me at the moment. The scent of a live fir-tree is absent, but I can certainly imagine that, too. As the year is fast approaching its end, my hopes and expectations get smaller and smaller until they will fade away completely. I paint bright snow paintings to lift my mood.

Feeling better after cold

What a terrible thing that is to get sick straight before Christmas! I did exactly that, I worked very hard for about a month and then my body told: that’s it, I need to shut down for a while and get some rest. Well, I missed all the potential sales opportunities since I couldn’t even move my arm, not to mention do show preparations, final touches on art or crafts, and I did not post any ads. I even did not turn on the “Open” sign. It’s the first day now when I am a bit better. I can see the computer screen at least. What a relief!

Snow paintings, acrylic — Large snow landscape painting in acrylic, 24 x 30 inches or 61 x 76 cm

Why not spend something on art?

When I hear the big numbers about what people are spending during Christmas and holidays, I get even sicker. Is that even possible? Most likely it is. I wish some of that would come my way, too. I think, this is the right time to buy art, and it doesn’t have to be even winter art since prices are set to sell. I know many people, who would really love receiving artistic gifts. I usually give something free with every purchase. as a sign of appreciation. It can be a box of watercolor paints or a framed sketch.

Snow paintings in acrylic — Winter creek, 24 x 18 inches or 61 x 46 cm, snow art at its best

Taking art photos, adding light

I took some pictures of the recent works with my phone. It’s so dark, that trying to take a picture with my camera is out of question. Oh, and like all people who are born under the Leo sign, I love warmth, sun and light. I have actually painted so much art which brings more light into any space. The current weather isn’t good news for me so far. My potential sales aren’t either because nobody even knows I worked a lot to make this pre-holiday sale happen, but broke down straight before the finishing line.

Snow paintings in acrylic, sunset — Winter creek sunset, 20 x 16 inches or 51 x 41 cm

Christmas traditions

I don’t put up a Christmas tree or decorations in November. I do not do the Christmas shopping until the last-minute also. Therefore, I am only catching up when others are way ahead of me. My Christmas means to put up the tree in the morning, decorate it around lunch time, and then cook a nice meal to have it at night. That’s how it always was since I can remember. My dad and I went even to the forest to get a tree early on the Christmas morning sometimes. If I have everything ready month before this day, I am losing all the Christmas spirit. Songs, flavors, candle lights and sparkles on the Christmas tree is all I need.

Fir cones, snow paintings — Fir cones under guarding snow, 20 x 20 in or 51 x 51 cm

Hopes, hopes, hopes

Since there is still a full week until Christmas, I hope that my bank account will miraculously turn from red into black. That might be also the only occasion when black is a nice color. I could supply myself completely with all the medications before the pharmacy’s shut-down period. I sincerely hope there might be a person who wishes to see some of my original paintings on their wall or believes my art is the right thing to be presented as a gift. Despite the poor odds, I won’t panic just yet. Everything goes on with or without fireworks.

Art class was painting this winter scene along with me. We are doing some winter painting every December. Snow paintings allow creating stunning paintings with using all shades of white. That might be not always easy in acrylic, but if you use artist grade paint, it will be less problematic. Good luck!

The Life school blog talks about memories which are beautiful, but can be painful, as well: http://inesepogalifeschool.com/2015/12/18/christmas-memories-that-can-make-us-cry/

For art prints and other art products, please, go to:

August 30, 2015December 10, 2020

Drawing for everybody: brain fitness at our fingertips

Drawing ability is in our DNA

Everybody can draw. And everybody should draw; if not at artistic level, so, for pure pleasure and healthy brain. I hope you are not one of those parents who make remarks like this: stop playing around with pencils, do your math assignment! While we all need literacy skills and math, there is something unique about drawing. We can draw before we can even speak or write, or count.

Path to artistic freedom

We can actually do it successfully without any regard to any rules which people have imposed on creative expressions and art. We can very well express ourselves until somebody says: that doesn’t look like a cat! That’s when the kid who loved to draw starts to wonder: really? Am I doing something wrong? That’s where the artistic freedom ends and rules start. Art is categorized as not that important compared to coding, IT, math, chemistry, physics, history and essay writing.

Drawing and painting for brain fitness

We have so much evidence nowadays that drawing and painting actually has the power to activate our brain to a huge extent and keep it flexible. Focus, memory, attention to detail, decision-making, imagination: these features are so important for anything we do in our life, and they are developed and perfected while we are just drawing and painting. In addition, this activity means a lot of pleasure, it is also rewarding.

Requirements for brain flexibility boosting tasks

In order a task or activity would boost brain flexibility and our memory, it should be:

challenging task;

new task every time;

task that involves decision-making, observation, focus and attention;

task that prompts to come up with solution;

pleasurable task and activity;

rewarding task and activity;

activity or task which enables socializing and exchange of opinions.

If you can write, you can draw

People, who think they cannot draw, have been simply using a wrong approach or have convinced themselves that drawing is something they’d never manage. They might believe drawing is something they don’t like or would never need. They might be addicted to devices and screens and they might see no point in using their brain and hand. However, fine motor movements are extremely important. Everybody, who is able to manually write, can also draw.

Manual drawing is not that common

I am obviously checking out what other instructors and classes offer, and I must say there’s not that much. First of all, if instruction starts with: take a picture, that is not going to be a lesson how to learn drawing. That instruction will tell you how to reproduce photography and sometimes advice to just trace the image and take credits for a great drawing. Why do we always need to focus on the final product? The process of creation is very exciting, and this process is well worth experiencing.

Seeing is the key to drawing

Drawing is not about copying or measuring. Drawing is about seeing, activating the brain-hand communication and creating an image of an object, person or view on a flat surface, at the same time trying to show the emotional impact we are experiencing. Before we can draw, we have to learn seeing. Most people are convinced they see everything, in fact, they see just a non-specific image, and they don’t pay attention to any details.

Practical advice for these who start drawing

When I’m watching people drawing, I have noticed the following: they rarely look at the object they are drawing or painting, hardly ever. Some follow my drawing, some look at the paper all the time and erase everything and start from new quite a few times and erase again.

Practical drawing

In fact, we have to focus on the subject we are drawing and just rarely take a look at how lines and shapes are forming on our paper. We have to draw the subject 2, 3, 4 times bigger than in reality. Also, memorize the subject for 3-5 seconds; explore the shape and values, look at paper for 1 second. That happens on its own after a while.

Forget eraser

I would like to take away the eraser, too. Eraser just disturbs during the initial drawing stages. Therefore, try not to erase everything. Focus on outlines and shapes, as well as size, scale and proportions with the first attempt. Start with light approximate lines, define them as you go.

Rough sketch for painting — Only reality shows the correct proportions

The starting point and reference area

We have to visually perceive the subject or scene, find the reference area or spot and start out with very light general lines. With every next line, we are building up the subject or anything within the drawing. We should also stick to what there is and what we can see not converting it into an animated, simplified shape of what we know this object might be like. We should not omit and take away all specific features our subject has in reality.

Good subject for starting out

All apples are not the same; all cups are not the same, not to mention trees and flowers or faces. Still life is a very good starting point, and I’d usually pile up more simple things in order we could observe their relationships. Therefore, learn seeing, develop visual perception and visual memory.

The positive impacts of drawing occur especially when we are employing the entire brain which is as in observational drawing. It also makes us completely independent from computers, cameras, phones, printers and other devices because all we need to start out is paper and pencil or pen. Good luck!

August 9, 2015January 8, 2021

Benefits of attending an art class

Art class delivers

I have been mentioning in my articles for numerous times how huge the gain from learning drawing, sketching and painting is. Drawing and painting is not intended only for those who want to be artists or already are involved in creative activities. Drawing is an activity everybody can pursue and art class helps.

Repair and boost cognitive function

There is more and more proof that learning and doing arts is a unique activity which boosts brain activity and development of new neurons and their connections that there is no doubt: drawing, sketching and painting is the best exercise to keep our brain fit, thus, preventing early memory loss and age-related dementia.

Enjoy and have better memory

I recently read about a new brain fitness trial which was carried out at the Newcastle University in a population of 30 volunteers divided in 3 groups for 8 weeks. One group was walking for 3 hours a week, the second doing puzzles and crosswords, and the third group took part in art class 3 hours a week. All participants were tested before and after their respective activities.

Reference: What’s the best way to fight memory loss?

The best results undoubtedly showed the art group, which is no surprise to me because I’ve observed that during all years of teaching. I would like to just mention that I have been working with student groups of 5-30 people for almost 35 years, and those who did arts quite often excelled in ANY area of their life.

If you can write, you can learn drawing

Is everybody able to draw? Yes, everybody is able to draw, but in order to do so they have to learn seeing and processing the object of interest in their brain so that the hand knows what it should be doing. Along with maintenance of good brain health and memory, it is a fantastic, rewarding leisure activity. Once one knows how to draw, they can forget about camera, image processing on computer, they can forget about copying photos.

Mastery is time- and effort consuming

Well, those, who want to master drawing from life, must count on 10,000 hours, at least. That’s the estimated time frame to learn drawing effortlessly. Although, the benefits are so obvious, majority of people will admit they cannot draw. In fact, the truth is they don’t know how to look at something, how to pay attention and what to look for The ability to draw is based on our visual ability to process the visual information and to make our brain move the hand with pencil.

Before you draw, you must learn seeing

Therefore, before we draw, we have to learn how to pay attention and notice relationships between parts of an object, its layout, size and how to reproduce everything on a correct scale. That means, most people see things, but they never focus enough to memorize what they see. At least it is not enough for being able to draw from memory.

First attempts

What are the usual problems when starting out with drawing, sketching and painting? It depends on whether one is at the class only for the result, or for the process. Process is good for everybody, but results are evident after longer time. I have sometimes people, who want to achieve excellent results right away, in 1 workshop or 1 class, or they think, it’s not worth continuing. While we progress, we can still enjoy a lot and give our brain the necessary exercise.

First watercolor washes when painting still life — First watercolor washes begin to identify all particular items in still life

Drawing and sketching still life — Drawing looks rough because camera cannot capture all aspects of surrounding room and drawing on paper, but drawing the actual size is really helpful, that is drawing large and very large.

Still life sketching, large drawing (full sheet of watercolor paper) — The entire drawing, I had to make it darker in order it was visible. We draw on watercolor paper with extra light lines which are hardly visible, therefore, taking picture of such drawing produces very washed out image.

How to paint still life, watercolor painting — First washes, it’s a good paper, Arches, cold press, heavy. I go layer after layer and usually add to background and parts of painting as I go and as I see fit.

How to get better with drawing and painting

Watch, learn seeing and exercise focusing ability! Drawing is not the same what copying photos, transferring images from photos or printing off outlines. Once one gets used to flat objects in a photo, they will have much harder times to ever learn drawing from reality. Reproducing photos also does not facilitate the brain activity as drawing for real does.

Learning changes our ability to see

All people, who wanted to participate in drawing and sketching classes noticed soon that they are seeing everything in a different way. Would you like to boost your memory and have some pleasurable pastime? Join the club. We are starting out next week. I’m sharing some pictures which show different types of drawing. We usually draw with very light lines for watercolor painting. We can sketch out main values if the reference object can go bad or disappear soon.

Drawing still life, outline drawing for watercolor painting — I made lines much darker. On the actual painting paper, lines are very light in order not to shine through after I have added watercolor paint. The finished painting is below, after text.

Drawing, drawing for still life — This is how I have set up everything for my watercolor painting. I create a detailed drawing first, then transfer only outline onto watercolor paper and continue with watercolor paint afterwards.

I actually completed one still life only 3 years later and the large still life 4 years later, but since I had a sketch, it was no problem. Here is link to the large still life and how it came out: Finished large Autumn harvest still life

Watercolor painting, watercolor still life with vegetables — This is the painting, drawing is visible slightly above. It took a few years before I got finishing ths watercolor painting with vegetables.

In my opinion, the only way to draw efficiently is using real subjects, real setups or ask somebody to be a model. Everything else means reproducing photos. Some do this very creatively and successfully, some not that much, but only manual drawing from real subject makes one free and independent of any devices. We can interpret our painting also in any way we prefer while photo limits one to use only what is on a photo.

Thanks for reading! Create!

July 3, 2015September 13, 2021

Weekend painting tips to enjoy summer creativity

Early spring, acrylic painting by Inese Poga

Summer painting tips

Some painting tips, especially for beginners in acrylic painting can be always useful! Many people have time and opportunity to do something about their creative intentions during the summer vacation. I will also answer some frequently asked questions. I have attached the demo art from a few recent art classes and workshops.

The favorite brush

Always use the brush which feels comfortable for the part of painting you are working on. It is difficult to draw fine lines with a huge brush and vice versa: it takes too long to cover large are with a tiny brush. Over time, every artist develops some kind of attraction to a certain brush whether flat, fan brush or round. It is very possible to paint the entire medium size acrylic painting with one medium size flat brush from start to finish.

No pressure

We should never try to put pressure on ourselves or canvas if some painting step doesn’t happen. As with all water-based mediums, timing is an important part of acrylic painting. We should always use large loose brushstrokes for the first layers and keep the textured impasto approach for the most important areas and for the end. exception is when you are using the texture medium or modelling paste at first, then the sequence will be slightly different.

Cleaning brush

Whenever we move from one color to another, we have to rinse the brush and swipe it on a paper towel. It is important not to have too much water on a brush before you get the paint. You need just a small bit of water. Acrylic paint darkens as it dries, therefore, the values might appear not as they are while the paint is wet.

Keeping acrylic paint workable

Extenders and flow medium can extend the working time, however, working with sticky paint may be not suitable for all areas. It is better to work on segments and use mix of medium and tiny bit of water for re-wetting large areas. Too much water can damage acrylic paint. Brushes must always stay submerged in water while we paint. We can rinse them under running warm water and wash with soap afterwards.

Create monochromatic base image

If the object or scene is very complex, it is great to paint the main parts just in one color: create a monochromatic base image. Changing and adding color is very easy, the most difficult part is achieving the right values, color intensity, proportion between light and dark colors.

Expectations and real painting

It can happen that participants have very high expectations when they come to the 3-hour painting workshop. In general, one has to be a realist to some extent. If the participant has never painted before or has done a little bit of painting 20 or more years ago, the first painting will be an interesting exercise. That helps understanding what it means to paint with a brush and to try mixing colors. I would not advise to expect it to be a perfection and best art ever created. Who gets better when just starting to paint? People, who are able to take risks, to experiment and who dare stepping out of their comfort zone.

Acrylic paintings tips — Acrylic landscape with purple and yellow flowers, sold

You will have to learn and paint it

Signing up for a painting class does not mean that painting will paint itself. The art instructor is not a magician, but somebody who can explain, show, demonstrate and correct if something goes completely wrong. Live classes are much better than any online classes because I can see right away what is causing a problem: too much paint, too less paint, too dry or wet brush and so on. We are painting not only with brushstroke, palette knives and sponges, but also with hand pressure, heavy or light movement of the hand, arm or wrist. Application of paint is a big deal and that is something which is best done in the presence of an instructor. I usually explain why the particular image or composition is good or isn’t, why the particular choice of color works or doesn’t.

Spring, acrylic painting — Road to spring was created during art class as a demo for group.

Some tips for beginning artists:

Whenever you have time and chance, pre-paint your canvas in light cardboard color using burnt sienna, yellow ocher and white. Instead of white, we can use gesso, as well. Acrylic gesso is acrylic primer, it seals the pores on canvas or any other material, that includes wood panels, plastic and similar materials. It allows using less paint and it is easier to apply it on previously primed surface.

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

Think layers

Think in layers, separate in your imagination the part which is behind and underneath, in order to avoid working on small details right away. I’m often seeing how everybody tends to move to fine details way too fast and well before the entire scene is blocked in. We always start from the back and with the background. Unless there is a large very light part, we have to start with dark and medium dark colors. That seems to be the most difficult part for beginners. We do not use the final color at the beginning, but we build it up layer upon layer.

Applying color or building it up

There is a big difference between applying color and building it up. The further we are in the painting the closer we move to the front part. That is a bit different with separate objects like in still life or floral painting. However, we always start with more general things and just afterwards move to particular parts and details. In oil or acrylic, we always go from dark to light and finish up with small areas of highlights. If we have lost the dark parts, we have to paint them back in.

Start over

If you think that some painting is not good enough and it is not worth trying to make it right, you can cover the entire canvas (previous painting) with a mix of gesso and some colors and start a new painting. The small imprints from old painting lines will add more texture, they most often look interesting, and you can build up a thicker layer above the basic layers.

Correct everything

It takes a lot of effort to damage an acrylic painting completely since you can paint it over for as many times as you wish and have time for (or patience). Being afraid to do something wrong in acrylic painting has no reason – you can correct practically anything. It will take more work, time and paint, that’s all.

Happy summer painting! I hope you enjoy the summer painting tips!

For prints:

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.

Spring birch trees, acrylic painting — Some of my paintings at the studio. Birches are sold.

Summer flower fields, acrylic painting, abstract — I hope people, who bought this painting, enjoy it!

Thanks for reading!

Tag: nature

Snow paintings for Christmas delight

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Drawing for everybody: brain fitness at our fingertips

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Benefits of attending an art class

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Weekend painting tips to enjoy summer creativity

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Take a moment and paint it

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