Sunny days

Summer time

2010-07-04T11:15:00.020+02:00

What a long pause again... time is running fast. How are you all doing?
In June I managed to transform the garage in a little painting studio. Did some wall and old furniture painting and so I finally have a big window (with a view on the garden:)) at my drawing desk. I'm so excited about it. It is a pleasure to create in such a bright space.

Last month was also time for some travelling. I was visiting Rovinj,

a town-peninsula in the Croatian Istria. A place with a splendid scenery and easy going, warm people. Probably the most beautiful town in Istria, a paradise for painters. In fact there are nearly more galleries in the town than restaurants. On a cloudy day, sat in front of an abandoned villa, I painted my second plein air - the town of Rovinj.

My latest painting portrays a place on the Croatian isle Cres, which served as motif for our monthly painting challenge with Matej. Photo reference by Matej.

Wishing you all a happy Sunday.

Beautiful Croatia

2010-05-23T00:01:00.024+02:00

What an enjoyable evening watching the great Champions League final. Magic "nerazzurri". :))

Today's painting was this month's challenge with my painting mate Matej.
It was inspired by the old town of Veli Lošinj.
Lošinj is one of the many islands on the splendid Croatian coast. Have a look at some of it's scenery.

A sunny weekend to all of you.

Photo reference by Matej.

Across the country

2010-04-26T22:53:00.013+02:00

On your route on the mountains or at the beginning of little villages in my country one can often see a »Znamenje«, a memorial mark, dedicated to Saints. They used to be set up from late middle age till first half of last century, first by aristocrats and ecclesiasts, later on by local communities and farmers. Mostly they were a vow for salvation from disasters or a reminiscence of them. Symbolically with it the place is consignated in God's hands.

The photo reference was provided by Matej for our monthly painting challenge.

The Virtual Paintout

2010-04-26T10:33:00.017+02:00

Yesterday I came across this very interesting blog, based on a marvellous idea to paint the Globe from photo references provided by Google Street View. The blog is called The Virtual Paintout, hosted by artist Bill Guffey. This month's project is to paint any view from the Canary Islands. The rules to participate are simple and well explained.
Although virtually, I really enjoyed »walking« the roads of the Canary Islands and discover places I've never been to. What most impressed me, were huge fields of wild flowers in every corner of the islands. Beautiful. If you love traveling, check out this blog. It's real fun.

In the second painting I tried to paint a scene from a past holiday. Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon. To contrast with Venice and it's natural pastel and earthy facades, houses in Burano are very colorful and brightly-painted. It looks like there is a general rule that not one house should be of similar color as the next one. Surprisingly, for so much color, the atmosphere of this little place is still very tasteful.
Because of my fear of color and strong tones the facades on this painting had faded out, but the memory of a beautiful day spent there is still very vivid.

After someone's request I've added a Translator to the page. Thank you very much for your interest.

Have a sunny week everybody.

Happy holidays

2010-04-03T16:32:00.003+02:00

Hello, everyone!
It was a busy time lately, without painting and blogging.
What a mistake it is not to paint for such a long time. Today I felt like I forgot everything about watercolor. I missed my relaxing time behind the painting desk and I missed you all, guys. Can't wait to see all your new work since my last visit on your blogs. In the mean time

HAPPY EASTER!

Prešeren Day

2010-02-08T19:00:00.005+01:00

Today is a national holiday in Slovenia as on 8th of February we celebrate Slovenian Cultural Day after the death of the Slovene national poet France Prešeren (8.2.1894).
The 7th stanza of his poem Zdravljica is the national anthem of Slovenia and in English it goes like this:

God's blessing on all nations,
Who long and work for that bright day,
When o'er earth's habitations
No war, no strife shall hold its sway;
Who long to see,
That all men free,
No more shall foes, but neighbours be.

I spent a cultural weekend as well. Went to the opera to see Puccini's Tosca and really enjoyed it. And I did this little painting from a reference I was wishing to paint from for some time.
Photo reference from WetCanvas photo library.

Keep warm and happy!

Bodental, Austria

2010-02-01T11:03:00.013+01:00

Living in a mediterranean climatic zone we rarely get to see a snowflake. And I love snow. I think that landscapes covered in snow are one of the most romantic sceneries this planet has to offer.

Bodental is a ski resort in Austria. Photo reference by Matej.

Enjoy the winter!

Step by step - Thierry de Marichalar - "St Jean de Luz "

2010-01-24T21:22:00.014+01:00

Today I tried to paint a step-by-step exercise from one of my favourite watercolorists, if not my absolute favourite, Thierry de Marichalar.
Please have a look at the masterpieces of this unique artist and enjoy his amazing work. I'm simply in adoration of the beauty he creates.
There are also plenty of step-by-step paintings on his hompage, which I'm very thankful he shares with us.

God, I struggled with this one. Didn't know whether to be careful about perspective, or colors, or timing... ;) But I'm very glad I painted it. Comments and critique as always very welcome.

Happy painting, everybody.

Čentur

2009-12-27T11:57:00.005+01:00

At the time of the Roman empire there was the main road leading through this little village. Because of a great view at the surroundings a defence point was build here in Roman times.
Last century archeologists found the rests of a huge Roman military settlement here. A 80 kg heavy treasure of 12.000 Roman coins was also found in Čentur. These were made at the time of the self proclaimed Roman emperor Augustus Maxentius (306 – 312 AD).

After a glimpse on the history of the region where I live, I wish for the future to all of you

HAPPY ANNO DOMINI 2010!

Across the Drava river

2009-12-15T17:03:00.006+01:00

Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia. It lies on the river Drava.
After taking your coffee in the legendary coffee house Astoria, a relaxing morning walk through the city's oldest part – Lent, which lies on the bank of river Drava, is just beautiful.
Along the river you'll see the Guinness Book-certified oldest grapevine in the world, called Stara trta (The Old Vine), which is more than 400 years old. You can visit the Old Vine House and the Jewish part of the city with the Synagogue, which today serves as a centre for cultural activities, with events like exhibitions, concerts and literary evenings. Swans and ducks will make you company while you are observing the Defence towers.
Lent is hosting a two-week festival every June, with hundreds of musical, theatrical and other events.

Maribor, Slovenia

2009-12-14T18:48:00.006+01:00

I'm noticing that I enjoy sketching more and more. I hope I'll learn a bit on perspective as well... Today a little sketch of our city Maribor. It's a very nice place with friendly people.

Have a wonderful evening.

Čentur village

2009-12-12T12:26:00.005+01:00

Čentur is a settlement with just 108 inhabitants on a little hill in the municipality of Koper. There are some abandoned old stone houses and some new ones as well. I had a walk in this lovely place one morning and the village seemed deserted as everybody was gathering olives. The little road was shining in beautiful autumn colors. I hope I'll be able to capture the atmosphere a bit in the painting.

Happy weekend.

Autumn on the coast

2009-12-09T19:53:00.010+01:00

A quiet spot just outside the camping place Adria in Ankaran. Especially beautiful in October, when all the different grasses are in bloom.
I've started this painting with nice clean washes and at the end it turned out a picture full of "happy accidents" ;)

Off to watch Mourinho ;) and his football team Inter... See you soon.

Project: Winter in Hartington

2009-12-07T21:10:00.005+01:00

I've completed the step-by-step exercise from Peter Woolley's Drawing towards watercolour book and I'm very pleased with the result. While painting it, I've realised that I usually really struggle while wanting the paint to do what I want it to, instead of letting it paint the painting by itself. With this wet-in-wet technique it was really easy to cover the blank paper. I also tried a new approach on how to mix color with water. Instead of putting water to paint, I put paint to clean water and this way managed to control the mix much better.
An enjoyable experience.

Preliminary sketch

2009-12-04T22:03:00.006+01:00

A friend of mine indirectly reminded me that I've got quite a few books about watercolors on my shelves, which I love to read. I usually instinctively grab one, depending on my mood and inspiration and read a few pages from it. But I never do step-by-step exercises present in the books. This preliminary sketch is the first step to a beautiful watercolor, demonstrated in Peter Woolley's book »Drawing towards watercolor«, which I'll try to follow.

Keep warm!

Funerale di Venezia

2009-11-26T19:34:00.004+01:00

I tried to paint from one of the many photos of Venice I have. Most of them portray little canals or alleys of houses with amazing facades, very commonly transformed in hotels. We, tourists of Venice, are about 20 million per year, so no wonder there are that many hotels rising in the city. But there is the other side of the coin. On 14th of November the Venetians performed a mock funeral, the »Funeral of Venice«, with a procession of gondolas along the Grand Canal. With it they wanted to point out the problems of this unique city, with it's population shrinking under 60 thousand which is the minimum for an inhabitat place to be called city. Inhabitants are leaving Venice in search for work and as they can't afford rising housing costs anymore. It was a call to demonstrate that new strategies are needed to keep this city alive.

Color triads

2009-11-18T18:35:00.011+01:00

Just discovered a great exercise on WetCanvas! about painting with primary colors alone and what a palette were they able to create from them. So very inspired, I painted this quick sketch as my first try to find new color possibilities.
I love painting buildings, so I enjoyed these few minutes a lot...

I'm off to the telly now, as shortly our football team will be playing the second leg against Russia in the qualifications for the World Cup 2010. Cross the fingers!:)

Warm hands

2009-11-11T16:26:00.007+01:00

Is your letter-box also full of publicity every day? Day after day offers on food, clothes and furniture are being brought in front of our households. They usually travel directly from my letter-box to the waste paper bin. But yesterday one of the papers made a stop on my drawing desk, serving as a painting motif for this painting.

November challenge

2009-11-09T18:01:00.014+01:00

Not happy with the results of today's painting at all. I made lots of mistakes in this one.
I'm sure Matej's version will be very nice. Check it soon here.

Have a nice evening, everybody.

Frozen cherries

2009-10-28T15:22:00.014+01:00

Just a few weeks ago there was a news on Slovenian TV channels, that entire plantations of cherry-trees not far from where I live have mistaken the warm weather for spring, and are blooming.

For today's painting I sprinkled on salt on the wet-on-wet splashes of Prussian Blue and Brown Madder and I quite like the effect it produces.

Photo reference from WetCanvas free image library.

L' eta di Courbet e Monet

2009-10-26T08:26:00.028+01:00

There is a majestic villa with a rich history in Passariano (province of Udine) in Italy - Villa Manin. It was built in the 17th century as a country house for the Manin family. The villa was the residence of the last doge of Venice Ludovico Manin, and in late 18th century Napoleon Bonaparte chose this residence as the General Headquarters of the French troops stationed here. In the villa you can admire Napoleon's room, frescoes and a beautiful chapel. There are some permanent museum collections to visit and a huge park with many sculptures.

Till March 2010 the villa is hosting an extraordinary exhibition "The age of Courbet and Monet - Realism and Impressionism in central and Eastern Europe" with more than 120 masterpieces from masters like Pissarro, Sisley, Renoir, Monet,... .
I visited the exhibition last weekend and it's well worth to see. I was delighted to see those colors, that certain light in these masterpieces which no art book prints can reproduce. Simply magnificent. You can hardly go away from some paintings, it's a pleasure for the eye and the soul. I also discovered some new favourite artists like Guillaume Vogels and Hippolyte Boulenger. Here you can find detailed info about the exhibition and the complete list of exhibited paintings (Elenco delle opere in mostra).

Street market

2009-10-26T08:23:00.023+01:00

The fall has come to the Slovenian coast as well. The weather is just right for hiking in unspoiled nature to admire nature's splendor in the richness of the colors of plants like Cotinus coggygria (Slovenian: ruj). Made some beautiful walks in the surrounding these days, but painting all those leaves is still too much of a challenge ;) ... So today a little piece to practice painting with a limited palette (Prussian blue, Permanent magenta and Transparent yellow).

Enjoy life!

Tea Time

2009-10-07T00:00:00.008+02:00

...and off to bed.

Photo reference from WetCanvas free image library.

Cemetery of seashells

2009-10-03T20:51:00.010+02:00

It was a beautiful day today. Just perfect for a walk to the sea. The local soccer team was playing a match on the near football ground and some kids were running up and down the pier. Some years ago they have deepened the sea in this point and millions of seashells were dug out to the surface, so the place got the name "cemetery of seashells". It is a popular spot and offers some nice scenery as well. Sitting on the seashells path I was trying to sketch en plain air ...

Daily practise

2009-09-30T10:39:00.018+02:00

I'm in admiration of many "daily painters" on the Net. They paint each day or nearly. Many times it is everyday objects they paint, yet the paintings are so catchy and full of atmosphere. A piece of cheese, a piece of cake, a simple cup are transformed in a piece of wonderful art. Have a look at some amazing work of a great artist Karin Jurick.

I'm posting a little still life today and I'll name the post "Daily practise" ... One has to start somewhere ;)

Photo reference from WetCanvas free image library.

Kočevje - Slovenia

2009-09-25T16:57:00.005+02:00

A week ago I spent a few wonderful days in Croatia and the road to there leaded me through our region Dolenjska (Lower Carniola). What a marvellous countryside!

One of it's towns is Kočevje, which as a coincidence my painting mate Matej has chosen for our latest painting challenge. The municipality of Kočevje is well known for it's primeval forest and it's brown bear.

On the painting there is the Parish Church of St. Bartholome (Cerkev Sv. Jerneja).
I'm happy with some »newly discovered« brush strokes for trees, but the color palette didn't turn out quite like I'd wished.

Enjoy the wonderful colors of the Fall!

Playing with color

2009-08-08T16:10:00.019+02:00

Hello! How are you doing in these hot summer days? I hope you all have nice weather and are enjoying the weekend.

Tried a different approach for today's painting... played with the wet-on-wet technique. Although I spoiled completely the left front building and messed up the rest as well, I still enjoyed painting it very much. It's a completely different feeling, letting - well, trying to let - the paint go. Will definitely try to do it more often.
Look at the beautiful atmosphere in Matej's painting.

Have fun!!

Campo Santa Margherita

2009-07-05T21:13:00.003+02:00

Another motif from Venezia. Buildings in the square Campo Santa Margherita.

Little alley

2009-06-21T17:59:00.007+02:00

You just need to venture in the first little alley in the historic city of Venice to see it's magic. Colorful facades, corners full of charm, the play of light and shadows emphasizing the glory of this city. I can spend hours and hours getting lost in them ...

Have a beautiful week, everybody.

Village Srednja vas near Šenčur

2009-06-14T23:53:00.006+02:00

For our June challenge my painting mate Matej has chosen a landscape motive from the Upper Carniola region (Gorenjska) in Slovenia. It portrays twin churches dedicated to Saint Radegund and Saint Catherine with a single shared spire.

Thinking of Upper Carniola makes me wish to make a short trip and visit the wonderful lakes of the region...

You'll find Matej's version here soon.

Back to the drawing board

2009-06-02T20:20:00.010+02:00

What a long time since my last post ... How are you doing everybody?
Time passes by so quickly and spring jumped over this blog.

I just returned from my week holidays in Venice, where I joined a group of artists from the USA leaded by the artists Karlyn Holman and Douglass Thomas. Spending some days in this splendid scenery, surrounded with very pleasant people and learning new stuff about painting was pure joy.
But what made this holiday so very precious was the possibility to meet in real life my wonderful friend Lin from North Carolina whom I met about a year ago on the Net. We've been in touch since then and it was an immense pleasure having the opportunity to meet her. I spent some marvellous days with her, having lots of fun wandering together around the beautiful town of Venice. GRAZIE DI TUTTO MIA CARA LIN!! You are simply a fabulous person!! Big big hugs to you. Missing you already!!

Today's sketch has little to do with Venetian canals, it's just a start to wet the brushes again … some memories from my recent trip will follow…
A delightful evening everybody.

February challenge

2009-02-16T20:08:00.011+01:00

Do you ever have the feeling with your paintings that you are making one step forward and two steps back? Well, it sure is the case of my today's painting.
It's too long ago I saw real snow to be able to capture it nicely ;)...

Today at work a customer brought us a bouquet of snowflowers :)).. so spring is on it's way...

Matej's version shortly on his blog. Thanks mate for the monthly challenge.

Have a lovely week.

The 40's

2009-02-02T19:56:00.008+01:00

My Hollywood Diva, although unrecognizable, is finished.
Decided for a soft background, not to compete with that big smile.

A nice Monday evening, everybody!

Happy painting

2009-02-01T14:18:00.017+01:00

Hello!
It's been quite a long time without me painting and blogging. Missed my paints and I've missed you guys! I hope everyone is doing fine.
Today a touch of real winter came to our coast and a few snowflakes were dancing in the wind. :)
I'm back with a little scene from our coast.
Actually this painting was a January painting challenge with Matej. Please have a look at the wonderful atmosphere Matej created in his painting.

Some time ago I felt inspired by an old Rita Hayworth photo from a magazine, so I tried to paint my first portrait in watercolor. ...
But I just don't have a clue which color should I pick for the background. Any ideas?

Have a marvellous Sunday everybody!

December challenge

2008-12-14T18:53:00.008+01:00

Hello everybody!

How are you all doing?
It's been nearly a month without blogging for me. ... Having some troubles with the PC which repeatedly shuts down spontaneously (tomorrow it goes on repair :) )...

Matej provided a beautiful and rather difficult photo for our December painting challenge and here is my simplified version. You'll find Matej's one on his blog in the next days.

Enjoy these last days of 2008...
See you soon! Hugs, Jona

Yorkshire Cottage

2008-11-22T23:40:00.004+01:00

It's time for this month's WetCanvas challenge. Photo by Yorky.
Same old story - I'm making new houses out of old ones,... But I promise one day I'll be able to surprise myself and paint a proper cottage!

Have a lovely Sunday.

New painting blog

2008-11-17T17:41:00.007+01:00

My painting friend Matej just started his own painting blog. Please welcome him in the Blogger community, by visiting his blog. He is a great "classmate" of me, always providing detailed comments and constructive critique to my little watercolors and recently we also started a monthly painting challenge together.

Enjoy the blogging, Matej!
http://matej712.blogspot.com/

City of canals

2008-11-16T11:03:00.005+01:00

My painting friend Matej and I decided to embark on our own monthly painting challenge, based on the same reference photo.

This one portrays the city of Venice, which beauty never fails to impress me.
The perspective in my painting is unique ;), but I'm content with the glazing on the right buildings...
You can find Matej's painting here.

Have a wonderful day!

My favourite season

2008-11-07T23:40:00.013+01:00

On Sunday I went hiking on the Parenzana, which was the railway connecting Trieste and Poreč (in present day Italy, Slovenia and Croatia), operating till 1935. It is now transformed into a cycle and hiking route, named The route of health and friendship.
A sketch after a photo from my walking in the green.

Thank you for your encouragement! :))
Happy weekend!

Plums

2008-11-06T19:05:00.007+01:00

Finally a touch of blue color on my blog pages. Hard to believe it is my favorite colour.
Just a little sketch to wet the brushes...

Red Admiral

2008-10-26T19:52:00.007+01:00

It was a warm, sunny weekend over here, which I spent mostly for olive gathering. :) I saw a beautiful Red Admiral in our field this morning. Funny coincidence as I was just going to paint this butterfly at the Wet Canvas October watercolor challenge.

Enjoy the autumn, everybody!

A rose

2008-10-11T16:43:00.007+02:00

I discovered a hp site of a master of watercolors - Thierry de Marichalar.
A look at his magnificent paintings is a MUST! In his watercolors he creates amazing light effect and the colors literally glow.
I simply ADORE his work!!

There are many step by step techniques showed on his site, which he generously shares with others. Thank you very very much, Mr. Thierry.

I tried to follow one of his lessons making this little rose.

Kids

2008-10-06T22:03:00.006+02:00

Inspired by a terrific painting "I love the parade" from a WC! member Greg, I just had to buy myself the Sepia color. A few days ago I spotted a marvellous photo reference in the WC! forum, posted by Graymare, so today it was time to try my new color. :)

I'm soooo happy with it, as honestly I wasn't even sure if I'll be able to bring the painting to a conclusion. :) So, well done, me. ;))... Please point out all the errors you see, as I'm 'blind' today. ;)

Have fun painting.

Just a sketch

2008-10-05T20:48:00.008+02:00

Spent a few relaxing hours at the sea this afternoon and I'm slowly learning to bring my sketchbook with me :)).

Thank you, Teri and Lin, for your comments about the shadows in my previous post. Very much appreciated!!!

Happy new week!

Vegetables on the plate

2008-10-03T20:17:00.006+02:00

Have you watched Jon Avnet's Fried green tomatoes? It remains one of my all time favorite movies... Well, a few tomatoes on my painting menu today... Tried I new approach - a bit of wet on wet.
I had absolutely no idea what I was doing with the shadows. Can somebody help or correct?
C&C more than welcome.

Photo reference from WetCanvas! reference image library by WC! member BettyBoop22.

Happy weekend!

Memories

2008-09-30T23:22:00.003+02:00

Made after a photo from my recent holidays in Italy. It's a square in a small town Cervia, which is situated at the sea in the province of Ravenna. Among the beauties of the place are it's salt-works where you can also watch flamingos.

Autumn leaves

2008-09-25T20:43:00.010+02:00

Last week Teri started a week of Autumn leaves paintings (beautiful ones)... it sounded appealing to me... The autumn came a bit later on my blog, but here is my try...

The pleasures of countryside

2008-09-15T10:02:00.018+02:00

This one is a WetCanvas Challenge for September. A shed at Mangerton Mill, Bridport in England. It should look like an old, rusty barn. ;))
Really enjoyed painting the building... hope to do more of them in the future.
Big respect to all of you who are able to make beautiful foliage... greens are giving me a hard time each time ...

Wishing you a nice week.

Missed the brushes

2008-09-13T15:31:00.013+02:00

Hello to you all :)
A long time since my last painting...
I'm back from holidays in oh so loved Italy. Spent a week in Emilia Romagna and it was a real pleasure to visit such marvellous places as Italy has to offer. Concluded the holidays with a few days stay in my dear Venice, which I enjoyed as always.

Finally bought a completely new palette of W&N Artists', so my Cotmans go in retirement. Yeees! :)
Kinda strange working with the new Winsors, they behave differently...
Not really content with today's painting, but I have to begin somewhere ;)
Critiques like always very welcome.

Have a wonderful weekend.

July WC challenge

2008-07-18T21:19:00.003+02:00

Hello, I'm back after some days off.
This evening I wanted to visit a rock concert, but because of bad weather it was cancelled, so it was a 'sunny day' for my paintings. As a good pupil I made a preliminary sketch (which I never did), have chosen the colors before starting to paint (which I never did before as well ;) ) and finally tried to paint the wonderful reference photo from the Wet Canvas July challenge.

Happy weekend everyone.

Coastal path

2008-06-20T18:10:00.002+02:00

A path along the sea, which connects two of our coastal towns, the medieval town Piran and the turist town Portorož. It's a nice place to take a walk or do some inline skating.

Have a sunny weekend.

Flower-show

2008-06-18T18:46:00.002+02:00

In April there was a little flower-show in the nearest italian city Trieste called Horti Tergestini. Among other flowering beauties there were also some bonsays. This little strawberry (much smaller in reality than on my painting) captured my attention.

Have a nice evening.

Fruit of the day

2008-06-15T09:49:00.004+02:00

A friend of mine and I decided to make a painting of the same motive each week and this is the first one I did.

Wishing you lots of refreshing lemonade in hot summer days.
Happy Sunday.

Just sketches

2008-05-27T16:14:00.003+02:00

A few sketches I made in these days...

Have a nice, sunny day.

Tagged by Teri

2008-04-15T09:20:00.029+02:00

Just experienced how easy it is to break New Year's resolutions ;):(
...I'm back after a while...:)

Some time ago Teri tagged me to write five things about myself... Thank you, Teri. :)

1. More than a decade ago I grabbed my primary school paints...had no brush at hand...so I just dipped a finger into the paint and made this 1st painting.

2. My other passion are flowers. I love gardening...trying to make an English countryside garden border (succeeding more or less ;)) ... Since I was ten I'm growing indoor plants (Saintpaulias and Orchids being my fave)

3. Every weekend I try to make a long walk in the nature. Today's painting is a memory from a beautiful family trip to one of our most famous lakes - the lake of Bohinj... untouched beauty!! (not to confuse with my painting ;)...by the way, I'm wondering why am I not able to make my Cotmans glow on 300 lb paper?? :( )

4. I LOOOVE the sea. I live the sea. I even dream the sea.

5. I'm daydreaming I'll be able to make a two-month holidays in Scotland one day. :)

Well, it's my turn to tag 5 other people... bit of a problem as I don't know as many bloggers ;).
I'm tagging Jael Bendt of A Thousand Sketches. She's always a great help when it comes to solving my painting troubles and she is doing just fantastic in her art studies.
I'm also tagging Lin Frye of View From the Oak. A very nice and consequent lady with a fabulous blog. It's always an immense pleasure to visit her new posts.
Last, but not least, I'm tagging Carol Gillott of Paris Breakfasts. I'm a regular visitor of her blog and I'm in love with her delicate watercolors.

Scent of my garden

2008-02-15T20:49:00.004+01:00

How relaxing it is to hold a brush after some days off.

Violets invaded my garden. There is a violets carpet along the corridor of roses. Beautiful!

Happy weekend.

Dreaming of summer

2008-02-08T22:32:00.000+01:00

Not doing justice to Hawaii. ;) My second try with palms, but somehow managed to destroy this one completely. Liked it on half-way... looked quite soft and clear... but the palms needed structure...and ...and...
It's important to know when to stop painting, I red somewhere. Hopefully I learned my lesson. ;)

Fruit studies

2008-02-05T23:06:00.000+01:00

Still red fruit ... :)

Have a nice evening.

Sketch book

2008-02-04T20:20:00.000+01:00

Someone recently taught me not to use paper with lines for my sketches, today I learned that the sketch book is good for pencil work and I need watercolor paper for water-colors. Facing similar troubles painting with watercolors on a 80lb sketch book that on smooth watercolor paper. Another thing I realised is that my camera is constantly "eating" the yellow color on my paintings.

I recently created this blog as a self-encouraging way to paint. But what a difference it makes when I see a comment on my post. :))) Lin, Teri and Jay, I'm grateful for every single thought of yours that you put on my blog. THANK YOU!!

Little road

2008-02-03T19:50:00.000+01:00

There's a place I really like to take a walk to. It's a little hill behind our village. Since I was a kid it was one of my fave destinations near home. Here grow beautiful wild orchids and on top of the hill you have a wonderful view to the sea and the italian town Trieste.

Sketching pencil

2008-01-31T21:30:00.000+01:00

Followed your tip Lin and went shopping... bought some Fabriano Artistico CP 140# and 300# :).
Also spent some money on sketching pencils and a flat brush for washes.:)
How frustrating not being able to find any W&N Artists watercolors in my country nor in the nearest Italian city... Well, lots of material where to practice on is waiting on the desk anyway.

Leaves

2008-01-30T22:50:00.000+01:00

Tried to paint a leaf on smooth watercolor paper (the green one) and it turned out a complete mess.
Did the red one on rough paper and realised how much easier it is for me to paint on such a surface.

Palms plantation

2008-01-29T23:50:00.000+01:00

Trying to figure out how to paint a palm. The only ones I like are the three of them in the right up corner. Could be mistaken for palms in the distance. I see the more simple I make it, the better. Would like to join the WC February Invitation to paint, but I guess by the end of the month I'll be still doing a palm-painting marathon. ;)

Fancy a new coat?

2008-01-28T01:41:00.000+01:00

Two 'five minutes sketches' made on a weekend evening. Both drawn on normal 'year calender' paper. The graphite one is made after a photo from a clothing catalog. Not casually I guess - thinking about buying a new coat in these days ;)

January paintings

2008-01-27T22:35:00.001+01:00

Here are some paintings I did earlier this month.

The 'Oranges' are my first try on Arches paper (300lb, CP) and my first post on the WC forum. :) I like the oranges, but I think I've overworked the leaves.

'Coffee time' was painted from a reference photo of the cup and I added the rest myself. Never tried to paint from a changed reference before. As some valuable critiques on the WC forum let me knew, perspective and values are not ok. One of my goals this year is to study perspective, which is still Greek to me. And I'd like to re-do this one later on.

Painting a snow scene was a WC January painting challenge and this is my try.

C&C very welcome.

Sunday evening thoughts

2008-01-27T21:05:00.000+01:00

A nice welcome to everyone who is reading this.

I was playing with the wish to create a blog for a month or so now. Since I remember I've always spent lots of my spare time making stuff with different creative techniques.
I'm a newbie in painting, with watercolor being my greatest fascination among the painting techniques. For quite a while I was lurching at the great painting forum WetCanvas!. ;) But one of my resolutions for 2008 is to dedicate myself to painting more actively. And I must also say that reading some blogs about every day painting has been very inspiring as well. So I consider this blog as a way to encourage myself to sketch and paint on a more regular basis.
You can expect very amateur work on this site, and I'd be very glad for every critique and comment that I'm sure would let me improve on my painting journey.