To glaze or not to glaze, this is the question.

Here is my watercolor picture of Winter Wonderland. If you had an opportunity to visit Swallow Falls State Park in Maryland then this picture would look familiar to you. This waterfall is much wider in real life but to improve composition I decided to narrow it a little. This trick let me bring trees that grow on the opposite sides of the river closer together and create a nice opening for the misty background forest.

            At a first glance the picture looked finished but after a while I noticed that it was lacking the depth. Since Winter sceneries are mostly white it is hard for us artists to emphasize shadows, and shadows add the depth.

In such situation simple glazing can improve the picture. Glazing is a well-known watercolor technique that involves painting wet-over-dry picture.  Because watercolor pigment, even when dry, is not fixed to the paper, glazing needs to be done very gently. To do so, I used a very soft and large brush. I loaded it with diluted paint. I mixed previously used indigo and crimson red and started darkening the background and carefully avoiding areas that needed to be white. Then I added shadows to mid-ground snow covered trees. Finally I added an extra layer of paint to the water at the bottom but left the waterfall foam and yellow reflection untouched.

The idea of glazing can sound frightening because it involves painting over a picture that is almost finished and full of details. But if glazing is done properly it brings loose elements of the picture together and simplifies busy compositions. 

So, to glaze or not to glaze?  Definitely glaze!

How to find an art inspiration?

Let’s say you have time, and you want to create some art. Your studio is cleaned, your materials are well organized, and you have desire to make something nice. There is nothing else to do but art. Unfortunately, instead of submerging into the creative process, you realize that you don’t know how to start. Something very important is missing. The inspiration.

They say that you can find inspiration everywhere and this is true. So let's look for it.

First, leave your studio because there is nothing interesting there. Walk away from your computer, drawing from old photographs is not that thrilling. Real subjects are much more inspiring.

 At home the best place to find something attention-grabbing is your kitchen. You have constant supplies of fresh food there. Fruits and veggies, bread and meat are perfect subjects to paint. They are rich in attractive form and color. Look at them with fresh eyes, cut them in half to find what is inside, make slices or simply take a bite. Create an appealing composition by moving the elements quickly. Highlight them with a good source of light. Working close to the window is the best but artificial lamps are also helpful. Quickly you will find that even in the comfort of your home you can find a lot of ideas for fantastic drawing or painting.

For me though the best way to look for inspiration is outdoors. There, the possibilities are endless. Your backyard, neighbor's doorway, old trees, rocks, buildings, parks, rivers, lakes and mountains.  Everything is just waiting for you to discover it. Move around to find the best angle for your composition.  Don't be attached to the first idea.  Draw several quick sketches and then choose the best one. Strive for progress not for perfection. Take reference photos. You can finish your art outside or bring it back to the studio. Notice how refreshed you feel by stepping away and meeting with your art Muse. 

After such an experience you will soon be reworded with a beautiful drawing or painting.  Pablo Picasso once said "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" so lets go for it.

Willow

I was in Maryland's Zoo last week and I met newborn baby giraffe. Her name is Willow. She was born 7 weeks ago and she is the first baby giraffe at the facility in more than 20 years. I guess she will have a lot of visitors this spring and summer.
Willow, I wish you happy and healthy life :)

Improving Daffodil Watercolor Painting

This is a picture that we created at AC Moore's watercolor class during 2 hour period. It is good and you can leave it like this but also you can go farther and add some more details. Below I'll show what I've done with it later at home. I hope it will help you to improve your paintings. 

I decided to darken the background and make it richer. You can see that I sketched leaves and a flower bud at the top left corner. With such helpful pencil marks I was ready to start to paint around. I used in turns Phalo blue, yellow ochre and sap green colors.

When the paint dried off I added some more leaves with positive painting this time. I used deep green and darkened it with Phalo blue. 

Next step - shadows.

Here is a finished version. Darker shadows made this picture more three dimensional. To create my gray for the shadow I used a mixture of Ultramarine blue and Burnt Umber. You can also use Paynes gray.

Beef up the Composition

In late December I visited Canaan Valley in West Virginia. It’s a very beautiful and peaceful place and if you are an outdoor person you’ll love it too. Walking through the woods and meadows was a real treat for me. Because it was too cold to stay in one spot and draw I took a lot of pictures while hiking.

Here is a scene that made me freeze for a moment. This sight had a lot of attractive features but also had a few distracting elements. In my rough sketch below you can see how I handled the components to create a more exciting composition. The drawing was done with a graphite aquarelle and washed over with water. This helped me see the tones and the lighting better.

The creek was my focal point so I decided to cheat a little and make it a bit wider and brighter. The trees along the stream had trunks covered with lichens light in color. To emphasize that brightness I positioned them in front of the darker conifers. The unbalanced tree trunk and the footbridge were grabbing attention away from the stream so I didn’t put them in my drawing at all. Also, I decided not to paint the tall trees in the background to simplify the setting.

At first I covered the tree trunks with masking fluid. I wet the entire paper and applied the diluted mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt umber for the background. I added yellow ochre to the mixture to achieve a nice green color for trees in the distance. To create the soft look I started painting while the paper was still wet. For the foreground I used burnt sienna and a touch of purple. After these first two washes I waited for my paper to completely dry. Then I painted the closer fir trees and pines with the same mixture yet more condensed. Next I removed the masking fluid that covered the trunks. I painted their edges gray and green to create a feeling of roundness. The grass was done by a lot of negative painting. I completed the painting by adding shadows behind the trees.

I really enjoy painting details and I have to remind myself constantly not to over do it. 

Go to my YouTube Chanel to see the video of painting process

https://youtu.be/-1O7356g0ME

Drawing Classes

Hello Everyone!

I will lead a drawing classes in White Marsh Rec Council MD starting in October 2nd 2015. If you're interested please contact me ASAP and I'll give you more info. There are only a few seats left.

Moonlight Village

Hello All, It's been awhile.

Usually I'm drawing or painting from real life, this time I made a watercolor from my imagination. I love creating unusual, magical scenes, good for some fairy tail story.
First I worked really hard on my sketch. That mean I draw and erase in terns until I got a composition I like. Painting was a pleasure because I love this color combination. Mainly I used 3 colors: yellow ochre, phthalo and ultramarine blue.

I made my first real video tutorial Moonlight Village. So far I made a lot of speed painting videos but I don't think anybody can learn from such. So please enjoy this one, and let me know what you think

Pet Portrait Commisions OPEN

I paint animals in abstract way. They can be blue or green or in any other color of the rainbow. I use India ink to capture the pet's nature and then I paint over it in watercolors.
If you would like your pet to be painted in this style, I'd be more then happy to help.
Here are some simple steps to follow:

• contact me by sending a note or leaving a comment below.  We will exchange email addresses.
• Send me 2-3 good quality photos. Pictures need to be sharp, taken without flash,  and preferably outside in slightly cloudy weather, or during "golden hour" . For the best results take the photo on pet's eye level. I love to see sparkles in those little eyes. Here is a good examples of photo I took. Please, do your best, and keep in mind that I will work with what I am given.

Place a nonrefundable downpayment of $20 via PayPal. The total cost of the portrait after completion is $50 plus $10 shipping and handling to US & Canada location.

I work on 11in x 15in paper. I use 140lb acid free paper and good quality paints.

To ensure that you are 100% happy with the portrait, I'll email you a low resolution final scan or photograph of the portrait for your approval. I may also upload the portrait here or on my other websites. At this stage I can do really small changes, unfortunately watercolors and inks are not a forgiving medium.

Once the remaining payment has been made ($30 + $10 shipping), I'll send you an original. I'll pack the piece in a flat envelope and secure it with cardboard for safe delivery.

I retain the copyright and reproduction rights on the artwork created from your photo, although I will never reproduce or sell your image in any form without your written permission. 

Abstracts

Pet abstract portrait commission is now open. Please send me a note if you're interested. I'll be happy to help.

June Flowers in Bloom

It looks like I've painted one picture in cool and one in warm colors. A white Clematis is front lit while a Tiger Lily has a back light. So far I prefer painting white flowers so Clematis is my favorite. With Tiger lily the colors of shadows were tricky and it was very hard to paint the sun shining through the petals.  Well, I tried to do my best.
 

Clouds

April 15th in the Garden

First Wild Daffodils in Bloom

Frosty Birches

I think my little kitty is buying this one.
This simple watercolor sketch was done with two colors only. Ultramarine blue and yellow ocher. 

Love Birds

I was working on portrait of this lovely couple. I wounder which portrait should I send as a wedding gift.

A Trap

 

Morning Light

Lynx

Here is my lynx on the abstract background. Not too many years ago, I would never expect me do the abstract painting and be happy with it. The abstract like this can be created in just a few moments. We can call it beautiful or ugly depending on our mood and time of the day. When I'm looking back at my paintings, I can see that they are rather neat and well planed. I'd like to add more spontaneity to my paintings. I wonder if loosening my style will lead me to something good.

I videotaped the painting process. You can see it on YouTube