Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Finally I found my acrylic inspiration again


These two pictures are a sneak-a -peek of the new acrylic painting I am working on at the moment.It is an imaginary composition of flowers, a bird and a butterfly.I used some reference here and there but mainly I tried to interpret the shapes and forms of the flowers with more freedom.In order to achieve the freedom I was shooting for I used a larger canvas.The size is 16x20 and I can admit I am really having fun.I am wandering how it would feel if I was painting even a larger canvas. Someday I will try.
I am glad I am back to painting with acrylic paints again after trying different things and opening my etsy shop.If you are interested you can visit it.Just google vanyasArts.etsy.com or click on the picture on my side bar to enter.



Thursday, September 10, 2009

Two sketches with watercolor crayons

I treated myself with a new set of watercolor crayons and there are the results of trying them.For a reference I used pictures from Country Living magazine,the British edition.The pictures in there are so inspiring,so delicious!
I know it s OK if I use somebody else's pictures on learning purposes,as long I do not sell them .



Friday, August 14, 2009

Playing with gouache


I did a couple of small gouache paintings and this one is the most successful one.On watercolor paper,size 6x4 1/2 with Faber Castell gouache paints.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Apples

This is an old painting -a study of a couple of apples, done in acrylics,size 5x7.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

A quick sketch with watercolor pencils


I took this picture from the car window.I liked the way this guy looked- like an alien with his shiny motorbike and his bright clothing.The sketch was done with Faber Castell watercolor pencils in my Mead sketch book .I tried to be as loose as possible.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Afton

I like to visit beautiful places and as I do not have any new art to post I am posting these pictures from our last trip to the Cities.This beautiful flower place is called Squire House Gardens and is situated in the city of Afton,MN.They have wonderful flowers and plants and a really gorgeous gift shop.


Friday, June 12, 2009

Old Lady

I am still here trying different media!This one is another sketch of my summer challenge with water media.I completed it with ink pen Pilot.I like its bleeding quality when disturbed with water.It gives more character to the painting.I also applied light washes with watercolor.it is in my sketch book,size 6x9.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Spring Time


I have hard time changing the media.After completing my watercolor challenge I hoped I could start another one with acrylics or maybe oils but it appeared to be not easy.There is some kind of barrier I can not get over.
So,here is my next painting with watercolors.It is 4 1/2 x 6 on Strathmore watercolor paper .The brand of the paints is Faber Castell.
Actually this painting is a part of the new challenge I started inspired by the Water Media Forum of Wet Canvas.It is called 100 Days of Summer and the participants put a goal for themselves to achieve during this summer.My goal is to complete between 30 and 50 paintings and sketches in water media-watercolors,watercolor pencils, acrylics and gouache.

Monday, May 18, 2009

An Award From suzy

Several months ago suzy gave me this award but I had hard time uploading it on my side bar.Now as I figured out how to do that I am posting it in my blog.Thank you suzi for your kindness. I will give this award to all the readers of my blog.Thank you ,guys for visiting my blog.

Monday, May 11, 2009

I Am Done With My Watercolor Challenge


This is the last watercolor of the challenge I started in my other blog -Vanyas Art Journal- in order to improve my skills in watercolor.I am glad I completed it successfully and can go on with another one.I am thinking about a similar challenge with acrylics on paper.

Monday, May 4, 2009

An Old Man With His Goat


I am on my way to finish my watercolor challenge.I am working on my last painting.If you are interested to see all the paintings you can visit my other blog Vanyas Art Journal clicking on the painting on the side bar on the right.
Gradually I came to the idea to start a similar challenge with acrylics.It will be a great motivational task to improve my skills in acrylics completing a whole sketchbook of acrylic or watercolor paper.Yes,it will be great! I can't wait to start it.
This one is watercolor # 14.I drew the figure and the animal with blue watercolor pencil before I applied the watercolor.
The paper is Canson,9x12,Faber and Castell watercolors.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Bike Trail In Fall-Watercolor #5


I am posting the same painting in both my blogs as I haven't worked in acrylics and oil recently.In my other blog ,Vanyas Art Journal ,I started a challenge: to complete a whole watercolor sketch book -15 sheets before I switch to another media.I started it in order to improve my skills using watercolors.I like to work with this media but I don't like the way my paintings look at the end.So my challenge,I hope ,will help me to become more confident with this media.
This watercolor is #5.Yes,I already posted five of them and I have two more to go.If you are interested you can check my other blog clicking on the picture in the side bar of this blog or on the link in the list of my favourite sites and blogs.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Two Nudes In Watercolor

I had I lot of doubts if I should post these two paintings.I am not that good at watercolors and these two are just studies but I decided to do it in order to keep track of my progress.I have been working on improving my skills in using watercolors for more than a month and I can admit I have fun.I don't know what happened to my acrylic muse,she haven't showed up in my studio recently.Maybe she went on a vacation to Florida.
I painted these two paintings on Canson watercolor paper with Prang pan watercolors.
The size is 9x12 and I used reference photos from a book by F.A.Cerver-Drawing For Beginners.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Some Sketches From My Neighbourhood







Last weekend I did some sketches with charcoal pencils.While my daughter was mastering the art of riding a two wheel bike,something she had learned a week ago I did some sketches looking for interesting subject matter around my neighbourhood.I brought a chair with me to the culdesac where she could practise her turns and circles and took advantage of the situation improving my own skills with charcoal.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Murphy


I haven't done anything in acrylics or oil recently.So,I am posting this little watercolor I painted a week or so ago.It is our cat Murphy who died of old age a year and a half ago.I took this picture of her and had always wanted to paint it but never got to do that.Last week I finally did it and I like the way Murphy turned out.It is 5x7 on Strathmore watercolor paper completed with ink pen and watercolors Prang.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

An Old One-Ballerina


I haven't done anything in acrylics recently.Not that I did not paint at all but I was more into other kinds of media.I panted several pieces with watercolor and experimented sketching with charcoal pencils.The results can be seen in my other blog.
This acrylic painting is an old one that I painted last year and was not very happy about it.I had to redo it a couple of times till it started looking decent.The reference photo is mine taken two years ago when we went to watch a performance of a Russian ballet of the Nut Cracker.It was before Christmas and the weather was horrible and we had to drive for more than an hour away but it was worth it.The performance was spectacular and I enjoyed it so much and also I took tons of reference pictures.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

A Seagull On The Lake


This is the other little painting I did two days ago.I used my own reference photo.The piece is 5x7 completed with acrylics.

Friday, February 6, 2009

A Little Fellow On The Snow


Yesterday my day was pretty successful.I painted two little paintings,went skiing in the morning and took my daughter ice skating in the afternoon.I ace skated too and that was my second time in my life.I still had hard time standing on my feet but I did not fall.Yey!
Today I am posting only one of my paintings and tomorrow if I have access to the computer I am going to post the other.
This little fellow was painted using my own reference photo.We have two bird feeders in our yard and we enjoy watching the birds coming to peck seeds every day.I like to take pictures of them or sketch them,so I have tons of reference material.The hardest thing is to take a picture of a woodpecker.They are so sensitive and fast.
I painted the cardinal on a canvas board 5x7 big.It was a great fun to paint it.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Primula


It looks it was easy but it was not at all. It took me longer than I expected to.I had a lot of doubts about this painting.That's way I put it for a discussion on the website of the Wet Canvas.My fellow artists helped me with valuable advice,pointed to the weak spots of my painting and helped me with the name of the flower as well. I did not have any clue what it was.I just took the picture at a flower business because it was so pretty and was begging to be painted.I know it is not the way I wanted it to be but still it was a good learning experience.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Are You Talking To Me?


It has been my first painting in acrylics for several months.I experimented with oils and mixed media then got distracted by the Holidays and there was not time for acrylics.Last week I felt ready to go back to the acrylics and chose to paint something simple and funny.
I used my own reference photo I took at my parents hobby farm in Bulgaria when I visited them in September last year.That young lady was really very curious and interested in my presence staring at me from a safe distance.
The painting is 11x14 on canvas board.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Waiting For The Miracle To Happen



I painted this little painting last week and tried to upload it in my blog but couldn't.I guess the website was experiencing some troubles at that time.

This painting is completed in oils and it is a study of a night scenery.I have never painted a night painting before and I have always been shy of using the color black.So,I decided to overcome those two" fears "of mine exploring them.I am pretty happy with the results.I think the painting turned well.The style is painterly and impressionistic.As a reference I used a photo of my daughter at the park Millennium in Chicago.She is by the water towers waiting for the water show to start.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Inspirational Card #5


At the beginning of the New Year I am still in this crafty mood being under the influence of the mixed media art.I guess it is my craving for more freedom of expressing myself,more of so called "to- do- whatever -I- want-to",breaking rules and trying new things.I started making these inspirational cards /4x6/for myself for the rainy days when the muse forgets to visit me and I have hard time working on my paintings.I guess I got carried away and I am still working on this kind of stuff.I meant to keep this blog mostly for my acrylic and now oil paintings but here I am I broke my promise to myself.And I also don't have anything to offer in these two media.
From now on I will try to post all my mixed media pieces in my other blog Vanyas Art Journal.