A Portrait A Day 56 - Lisa

12x16" watercolor on Arches CP 140lb. Reference photo - Lisa K from Julia Kay's Portrait Party. I started with a wash all over the sheet, worked with a palette knife, let it dry, finished with a large round brush. Oh, and some salt for the background, used at the end of the first wash. Relaxing...

Which is what I don't get much at all. Relaxing, that is. Grumble grumble.

Ok, a couple of news (sounds awkward...can you count news? It took me a while to get used to the idea that you can't count advice in English, you can only distribute it in pieces. In Russian and Ukrainian, you will get hundreds of advices, more than you need, really. You rarely get a piece of it. The Slavic soul is generous).  So, the news. I joined an art society - Associated Artists of Inland Empire, which was the closest organization of this kind (only around 60 miles from here. Yes, I am being sarcastic). I am looking forward to getting a bit more involved, joining their plein airs, shows, and demos. Next month, Tom Fong will demonstrate his watercolor technique - and I hope I can find a babysitter!

Our first arts & crafts event this year will be next Saturday, March 19, at the Harvey House in Barstow. We are also participating in the Oceanside Days of Art (April 16-17, Oceanside, CA). Oh, the smell of the ocean again! :)

And the last news is that my husband is completely absorbed in his new hobby - stained glass. I think it is fantastic and I hope he sticks to it. Head over to his blog and see some awesomeness! I got some glass paint to try, well, painting on glass...

Virtual Paintout - Romania

6x6" Ink/watercolor on Ampersand Aquabord. Location is in the city of Bucharest, Romania. Check out the other entries at the Virtual Paintout Blog! They're getting better every month.

Romania shares a border with Ukraine, where I am originally from. Virtually "walking" the streets of this beautiful city made me a bit homesick - which, I must admit, I have been for a while now... I know there isn't much point to it, the country where I grew up is not the same it was seven years ago, the people have changed, grown older, and we don't even talk anymore - and yet I can't help it. Something will always pull me towards that place on the other side of the world.

A Portrait A Day 55 - Elijah - my first pastel portrait

5x7"  Nupastel on Ampersand Pastelbord. Reference photo by the awesome Jordan Boesch and this embodiment of intense focus is my son Eliajh :)

Ooh...it HAS been a while! Various important and just unavoidable things kept me from painting (not counting commissions) for a couple of weeks :( I am looking forward to getting back into daily (or almost daily) painting.

I parted with two of my recent "moody" miniature landscapes but I was glad to send them to someone I got to know through a commission (step-by-step coming soon).

As for today's portrait, I have been interested in pastels for a while now and have tried some here and there, with varying levels of failure. I have never tried working on a sanded surface until a couple of weeks ago, when I did a figure study of my husband on a sanded Colourfix paper. What a difference! Like with watercolor, the surface your work on can have a tremendous impact on the outcome of your work in pastel (unless you're a pastel genius and can work on anything?)

I know I have a lot to learn when it comes to pastels, but I like the process!

A Portrait A Day 54 - Carly

12x9" Watercolor on Canson Montval CP 140lb paper. Carly is a member of Julia Kay's Portrait Party, see her thread here.

Needed something relatively easy to paint, hence this frontal view of a pretty girl face (it's hard to mess those up :) ). I do like that shadow on her face and the way she is emerging from the dark background.

Results of the blirthday contest!

According to the best traditions of my college life, I am posting the results of my blirthday photo contest at the last moment. Thank you to all who participated! I enjoyed "meeting" and getting to know you a little better through your pictures and emails. I would love to give every one of you a free painting...But I won't :) The free painting goes to Elza Metzelaar and her dog Athena:

I love the warm, comfortable colors of this photo, the inviting background, the flower bandanna, and, of course, Athena's expression! Congratulations!

And this could be all except that I was having such a hard time picking one photo, I had to at least do a 2nd and 3d place. So, please cheer for the runners-up!!!

2nd place goes to Katie and her "grand-darling" :) I love the pose and, paradoxically, the lighting. I am going to make a portrait-a-day painting based on this photo and offer Katie a discounted price on the painting and prints made from it. Katie is a talented photographer and actually has a very nice collection of photos on Flickr, each of which would make a good painting.

3d place! I promise I am not biased, but this is also Elza Metzelaar :). Needless to say, I could not resist the juicy colors and I will be painting this on Yupo. Elza will have an opportunity to order discounted prints (if, of course, it turns out well!).

And, finally, there's Crystal. Remember me asking for the stories behind the pictures? It is a sad story and really, something more like a community service award...It goes to A.J. Foran, Crystal's mom.

Crystal died in a car accident in 2007 at the age of 19, here in Helendale, California. Since the death of her daughter, A.J. has turned her grief into giving. She has held a toy drive every year since, donating the toys to the California Highway Patrol. She works tirelessly, sitting out in freezing weather to get donations. This year, she raised over $3,000! The CHP said that she provided 25% of the toys given out to kids in the entire high desert by the CHP! She does this in memory of her daughter.

I would like to give A.J. a painting of Crystal. A very small token of my sympathy, respect and appreciation that is shared by many Silver Lakes residents.

And please, PLEASE  buckle up!

A Portrait A Day 53 - Karen (WIP)

12x9" watercolor. Not quite happy with it yet, hence a WIP. Comments and critique welcome!

Oh, and don't forget that TOMORROW I WILL PICK THE WINNER OF MY BLOG ANNIVERSARY COMPETITION!!! You still have a little bit of time left to submit your photo for a chance to turn it into a painting.

Chris and Sarah's Adoption Journey

Last week, I received an email through Etsy asking me to donate some art for a silent auction intended to raise funds for an adoption. I didn't think much of it at first but I went to their blog and read the story behind this request. This Louisiana couple has been trying to have a baby for 7 years and finally, decided to adopt. They are currently in the middle of the process, with the baby due on April 15. So, after exchanging a couple of emails with the future-adoptive-mom's sister (who contacted me in the first place), I decided to help out. I have a 1.5-year-old son who, while making me fear for my own sanity at times (yep, already!) and taking way much more time and attention than I bargained for, is the joy of my life.  I am sure that all of the above will become true for this brave couple :)

The auction will be held tonight starting at midnight through Sunday midnight at http://thescottsblog.wordpress.com/. In addition to a number of fantastic things donated by artsy and crafty people from all over U.S., you will have an opportunity to bid on these three archival prints:

"Cherry Blossom II"

"Poppy Field"

"Brooke VI"

Hoping to send these to some familiar names!

A Portrait (or figure) A Day 51 and 52

These are from the life drawing session last week, and I'm going to go ahead and claim them as portraits-a-day :P. Both are definitely well under an hour total.

15x11 Watercolor on Kilimanjaro CP 140lb. This is Rachel, who is a talented artist herself and is now getting into art modeling. Last Thursday was her first time modeling and she was just fabulous. She is getting this painting as a gift from me, the happy figure-painting addict :) I would also love to work with her more, maybe do a real full-sheet reclining nude...Or a mysterious backlit sitting pose...

15x11" Watercolor on Kilimanjaro CP 140lb. Aaron (or at least, that's what I think his name is) is a model with some experience. He poses for a local college. If you are having difficulties understanding what is going on in this picture, I do not blame you. He was crouching on top of a cube, with his long-haired head hanging low and his hands trying to hold on to the cube. Pretty neat, actually, and I wish I had more time to work on this pose.

I will post more sketches and paintings from this batch when I find the time to scan and photograph them. Hopefully, soon. I'm experiencing a bit of a burnout lately...Which is probably due to the increasing volume of commissions (not that I'm complaining!) and decreasing duration of my son's daytime nap. I really need to go do something fun, like a concert or art walk or jumping off a bridge strapped to a bungee cord.

A Portrait A Day 51 - Eric (WIP)

18x18" Watercolor and watercolor sticks on Arches CP 140lb. His hand seems a bit too big, no? I will also cover those background shapes in the top right, they are distracting. It feels good to work larger, especially now that I have an Isabey Cat's Tongue Pointed Oval Wash (It is made of squirrel tails not of cat tongues :)) My dear brother got a size 8 one for me. Sometimes I wish it had more snap ("snap" is how springy a brush is) but overall,  I love it!

On a somewhat different note, six of my paintings are currently in a show at the Eclipse gallery. If you are local (high desert), you have an opportunity to see some interesting art. The theme of the show is "Work on paper and chairs" - and yes, there ARE some strange chairs, too :). I should have posted about this a while ago (the reception was last Saturday and was quite a success).

And finally, something I am very excited about - the above-mentioned gallery is hosting their first "figure studies" - a figure drawing (or painting in my case) session! Tonight! You are invited, too :) To read more about it, please click the link to the gallery's Facebook page above.

Less than 3 weeks left to submit your photo!

Thank you to everyone who already sent me their favorite photographs!  I am getting excited :) Here are a couple of my favorites so far:

This one is a Palo Verde tree in its spring flowering, whose message is to create beauty even in the midst of harshness.

In this photo, I love the contrast of the older (grandparent?) hand and the face of the newborn. I only wish there was a bit more of the hand.

A couple of reminders:

• try to avoid photos taken with flash. Unless they were taken by a professional who knows how to properly use it :) Faces without shadows are not very interesting to paint, as a rule.
• same goes for wide grins. Great for photos, not so much for paintings. Think of a photo that could tell a story...

If you are reading about this photo contest for the first time, please go to the earlier post to read all about it.

And here is something I meant to post a while ago but kept forgetting. My portrait-a-day with his portrait:

I was thrilled when Allen's grandmother (who commissioned the portrait) sent this to me. It is interesting how the people you paint accept you into their lives. Priceless.

A Portrait A Day 50 - Brian

12x9" Watercolor on Arches CP 140lb. A study for a larger commissioned painting.

A couple of miniature landscapes on Fluid watercolor block

Back in the day when I was looking for a perfect watercolor paper block (I came to the conclusion that I just use too much water to work on blocks) - I got this little 4x8" block of Fluid watercolor paper to try. I liked the unusual format. The paper itself performs ok, at least in this size. It does curl and buckle a bit but overall it was quite suitable for my purpose (to play with little imaginary landscapes).  I might not get more of it, but I won't throw it away either.

"Fog." 4x8" watercolor on Fluid CP 140lb watercolor paper.

autumn

"Autumn." 4x8" watercolor on Fluid CP 140lb watercolor paper.

Would you like an original painting?

Happy Unbirthday to me (Happy Blirthday)! :) Yep, this time last year I started this blog. It was a way to document my art discoveries and connect with like-minded people. I think it has been serving those purposes successfully, in addition to a few more (like promoting my art and keeping me accountable for the time not spent painting! :))

At about the same time, I also joined the Everyday Matters Yahoo group, which is an extremely supportive and positive community of creative people at various stages of their artistic development. They will instill confidence into any self-doubting art blogger :) I have been out of touch for a while now, mostly just because there isn't enough time to keep up with my painting projects and commissions, update all the online places I'm at and look after a very active 1.5 old kid. I sure do miss the camaraderie and the weekly sketching challenges!

So, what do I want from another year of art-making? Several things:

• Even though right now I paint more than I ever did (actually...no...I did have a painting boot camp in my second year of architecture school in Ukraine), well - I want to spend more time painting
• I want to work bigger. Do more full sheet paintings
• Get that watercolor class going...really
• Do more landscapes
• Go to more art fairs and participate in more shows and competitions
• Join an art organization or two
• Take a workshop or two
• This is more of a "need to" - find a gallery that I like and get in there

Quite doable, I think!

And now, since you made it this far, you qualify for the exciting stuff! I was going to do some kind of a givaway to celebrate my "blirthday," maybe do a drawing of names and give somebody a giclee print. Instead, I am giving away an ORIGINAL PAINTING!!!

The way I am going to go about it is this: you send me a photo, I pick one that is the most artistically appealing and interesting to me, make a painting based on this photo, and give the painting to you!

A few guidelines:

1. Submit photos to watercoloredhands@gmail.com between now and February 6. You have a month.
2. You may submit more than one photo.
3. Photos cannot be copyrighted material, i.e. you can't take somebody else's photograph and submit it to me, unless they give you the permission to do so.
4. Subject matter can be anything. Portraits, pets, landscapes, architecture, industrial, cars, bikes, flowers, whatever.
5. Do look for some drama in your photos. Pictures with strong light/shadow contrast, intense emotion, saturated color often make the most interesting paintings. This, of course, doesn't mean that I wouldn't enjoy a photo of a foggy morning, for example.
6. I am looking for high quality photographs. Avoid unfocused, blurred, washed-out shots.
7. I especially do not recommend flash in portrait photos. Try taking those in natural light, either by a window or outside when the sun is low.
8. If you have a story to go with the photo, please do tell it! :)

I think this is it...Can't wait to see what you have!

A Portrait A Day 49 - Emily

Watercolor on Arches CP 140lb, 12x9". Emily...Emily Zych, despite looking like a princess, is actually a crown-maker. She makes "natural" crowns and gorgeous hair accessories for special occasions (read: weddings).

For those of you who don't know, I didn't have a "real" wedding. We got married at a court house and I was wearing a symbolically white t-shirt, knee-length skirt, and flip-flops. There were several reasons for it, one of them being my intense dislike of parties, ceremonies, fuss, and fluffy white dresses. Now, looking at Emily's crowns, I found in me a desire to wear one of them...still no to fuss though :)

A Portrait A Day 48 - Omar

Watercolor on Arches CP 140lb. Originally 12x16 but cropped to about 12x13, that's how my signature got cut off :). Omar is another member of Julia Kay's Portrait Party and, incidentally, a watercolor-painting architect...I seem to have a lot of those here on my blog ;)

Virtual Paintout December 2010 - County Clare, Ireland

Ink and watercolor on Ampersand Aquabord, 6x6". Location is the city of Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. My husband was quite surprised that out of all the beautiful meadows and seashores and sheep and cottages that I could have found in Ireland, I somehow picked this street view. Well...I like the meadows and cottages, but my heart just aches for the narrow streets lined with old buildings, each and everyone different from its neighbors, with small shops on the ground floor and huge chimneys sticking out of their roofs...The feel of old Europe. Ireland has been my dream vacation spot for many years now and some day I will go there.

You can view all the other entries in December Virtual Paintout here. To my surprise, there is one pastel painting of the same street looking in the opposite direction!

A Portrait A Day 47 - Jen

This is what happens when I become bored during painting! Watercolor on Strathmore Windpower watercolor CP 140lb paper. Gave Strathmore a second chance and...well...this paper sucks. The reference photo is Jen of Julia Kay's Portrait Party - although this looks nothing like the reference photo..This is the beauty of JKPP: no pressure :)

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Lots of inspiration and great art to you in 2011!

A Portrait A Day 45 & 46 Clem and Millie - step by step

Watercolor on Kilimanjaro CP 140lb watercolor paper, 11x14." Since I'm behind on portraits-a-day, I'm going to count this as two portraits :).

Looks like I'm on the roll with in-progress photos :). Hopefully, this will be helpful to somebody. This painting was a commission as well, this time for someone I met at a local craft fair. I'm fairly pleased with the outcome, considering the quality of photos I had to work with (none in focus, poor light and/or flash).

clem and millie in progress step 1

Step 1 - establishing the main shapes

clem and millie in progress step 2

Step 2 - defining the features further

clem and millie in progress step 3

Step 3 - working on the left side of the painting

clem and millie in progress step 4

And the finished painting. Kilimanjaro, which is a brand of paper sold by Cheap Joe's, is a 100% cotton rag paper that is half the price of Arches. I decided to give it a try and got a 10-sheet pack for $24.99. Well, I am pretty pleased with it so far! I haven't tried any heavy scrubbing or a lot of layered washes, but it stretched nicely and performed well under my usual painting techniques.

Incidentally, the Richeson Lyptus Lobo easel that I have I also bought from Cheap Joe's. They had the best price and did not charge me oversize shipping (the easel comes unassembled).

To learn how you can order your own custom portrait, go here.

When We Stayed in Lisboa - watercolor on Aquabord, step by step

This is another commission that I got through Etsy.com. It is an 8x10" ink and watercolor on Aquabord painting of a hostel room in Lisboa (Portugal).

Step 1 - Ink drawing

Step 2 - color. I could  have easily stopped at this point and I'm still wondering if I should have.

And step 3 - detail and deeper values. After finishing, I sprayed the surface with clear gloss fixative and brushed on two layers of gloss varnish. While Aquabord is not my favorite surface to work on, it is extremely easy to frame (or display without frame if it's cradled) and, enhanced by gloss varnish, the colors on Aquabord look vivid and rich.

Merry Christmas!

And whatever else you might be celebrating!