Yosemite

Yosemite National Park is a place of great beauty. I was very fortunate to have a chance to visit it. The view of tall granite walls, waterfalls, trees, meadows and wildlife give joy to every guest.
I took a lot of pictures there. Now I'm using them as reference photos to my paintings.
I like the top painting better. The colors are vibrant and trees have much better shapes. I remember us walking down the bridge to dip our bare feed in the cool water. After long hike this place was great for restoring our energy.  

Wintry Creek

Today in Maryland we had a beautiful, warm and sunny Saturday. I went hiking in Gunpowder State Park. There was a lot of ice and snow on north side of the mountains, but on the sunny side all snow was gone making the trails muddy and slippery. So my family and I went off the impassible trail and trekked through the woods. We climbed the hill and sat up high on the rocks and looked down at the river below.

My watercolor painting keeps me in a wintry mood. The warm colors of the sunrise indicate the meltdown of snow.  Old, brown grass will soon turn green and the first flowers will bloom. I'm ready for new season.

Longing for Spring

White wolf on a cold winter day

I love snow days. They are like unexpected gifts. Here you are: suddenly I had plenty of free time and I could do whatever I felt like. I enjoyed every minute of it. I was watching my friends on Facebook. I photographed my daughter playing outside and Mr. Snowman she built. I was watching Olympic Games. Gee! These athletes are so fit and fearless. Congrats to Justyna Kowalczyk for the golden medal in 10K classical-style race. I cooked dinner and enjoyed the company of the whole family at the table. Then we went for a long walk with our dog. And I finally painted the wolf.
Oh, I also wasted some time playing Candy-crush. I quickly move up 3 levels. I can't figure out how to give up playing this stupid game.

During snow days we don't forget about wild animals. Especially birds which are the most vulnerable. To survive the cold weather they need to eat and unfortunately all the  grass where they can find seeds is covered under snow.

Misty Castle

Winter storm Janus gave me two snow days. I wasn't able to go to work because the roads were terribly slippery. So I enjoyed my warm home, my kids and my painting. From time to time I love to paint something unreal. A fantasy world without any references to real life. 

 I began by drawing it in my sketchbook then I used watercolors. I knew I'd like to see the road around the tall castle walls leading somewhere to the main gate. The mist from the moat was perfect for separating the foreground and the background. Yellow touches around the windows added liveliness. The feeling of someone's presence within the cold and harsh walls. The rest of my painting contains different tones of gray - the color of a foggy morning.

The wagon under the bare tree is the main point of interest. The viewer begins to wonder where this character is going and what his or her life looks like.

Yellow Hut

It has been raining for 3 days now in Maryland. All the snow unfortunately is gone but, not on my paintings. Here is a lose watercolor sketch of a wintry scene.

To paint this picture I used my 2 favorite colors: ultramarine blue and burned yellow. Mixed together they gave me all kinds of gray tones. In the middle of this image I placed the hut. It has a roof covered in snow and a cheerful smoke slowly rising from the chimney. The yellow color on the gray background is very powerful. It is hard not to notice the house partially hidden behind the spruce. I added yellow grass to balance the color of the house and to brighten the moody landscape. 

Winter Mountains

This is a watercolor version of my previous pencil sketch. I made a quick video from painting process. You can see it on  YouTube

It's snowing now on the East Coast and everything is turning white. Since everyone is safe at home, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.