Day 6 - Plein air by the Mojave River

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Today, I went on a plein air paintout with a couple of local artists. I chose a location fairly close to home, where Highway 66 crosses the Mojave River. Beautiful place with a lot of different subject matter. I spent most of my time painting the view below, though the resulting painting is "unblogably bad." I don't have much plein air experience (at least, compared to my in-studio experience) and still get easily distracted and overwhelmed with visual information when I paint outdoors. However, I keep trying and I'm sure I will be making blogable plein air paintings more often :)

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Another view I painted was of a couple of Yuccas. If you don't live in the desert, chances are, you don't know what those are. I didn't. These are also called Spanish Dagger, which adds a touch of drama...The painting below is not completely finished (I added light background wash at home but didn't take a picture of it yet). I spent maybe 15-20 minutes on it and was a lot happier with it than my first painting, which took 1.5-2 hours.

22 x 15" Watercolor on hot press watercolor paper.

 

....And I also dropped my pastels and, when I was about to pick them up, I noticed that they looked all nice and colorful, randomly arranged on top of the gravel, almost like an idea for an abstract, and I had to take a picture. So there you go :)

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On Day 5, I rest!

...Not entirely true. I'm taking a break from daily painting because I need to catch up on housework (to a degree, of course. In my experience, housework is a black hole that will gobble up all the time and energy you let it). However, let's keep the Italian theme alive! If you follow me on Facebook, you may know that recently, I developed a new hobby: making wonderfully delicious bread. So, my current batch is Italian semolina bread that looks like this:

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Go ahead, drool...Beg me to invite you over for a cup of tea. It makes awesome toast, too! :) And because I can't leave you without some art, here is a sketch of another loaf I made recently:

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That one was a "peasant loaf" out of my new favorite book, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day." Interested in making your own bread that is easy, fast, and tasty? Check it out on Amazon:

Day 4 - Neighbors

Venice yet again! I noticed these two windows sitting next to each other on two adjacent buildings. They have an intriguing balance of contrast and shared old world charm that I couldn't walk away from.

6.5 x 10" ink and watercolor on hot press paper. Special price of $75 until Februrary 1.

6.5 x 10" ink and watercolor on hot press paper. Special price of $75 until Februrary 1.

Day 3 - Restaurant "Chiodofisso" in Venice

I love street scenes. It's probably very obvious if you look at an archive of my work :). And I am particularly fond of European street scenes. Beautiful architecture, good food, people enjoying life - what's not to love?

This little restaurant is tucked around the corner from St Mark's Cathedral in Venice and, according to Yelp, it also serves great food. Next time I'm in Venice, I'll have to see for myself!

"Chiodofisso" - 7 x 10" Watercolor and ink on paper. Special price of $75 until Februrary 1.

"Chiodofisso" - 7 x 10" Watercolor and ink on paper. Special price of $75 until Februrary 1.

30 Paintings in 30 Days Round 3!

I may be crazy...because I'm doing it again! If you are subscribed to my blog and you don't want to receive an email with new post every day for the whole month of January, you may want to manage your subscription (so that you only receive a summary once a week). If you need help doing that, just drop me a line and I'll be happy to help :).

I decided to have a tentative architectural theme for this set of 30 paintings. And I also intend to keep them small and quick, which will, hopefully, help me survive and keep painting until the end of the month. The first painting was born when I was virtually walking the streets of Venice in search of an architectural detail I would want to paint. Instead, I got drawn into this little alley and attracted by the expressive figures. They aren't expressive in the sense that a flamboyant dancer is, they are just silhouettes of people walking with a purpose or enjoying their vacation in Italy.

Italian Window, December Virtual Paintout

Or, I suppose, it's more of a door...Virtual Paintout is in Venice this month, and I just couldn't miss it! During my first few minutes of virtually riding in a gondola down the canals, I realized that you can't go to Venice for a couple of days. You have to spend at least a month there. Inspiration is going to stab you around every corner!

I found a dozen of spectacular views on my short walk but settled for this charming architectural detail of a balcony for now.

Merry Christmas!

And a Happy New Year! Thank you for reading my blog an following my work, especially if you've been doing that for years :) Your support and encouragement means a lot to me.

The image above is from my sketchbook, a super-quick painting of a tree shadow that I saw on our backyard fence and painted while talking on the phone. Inspiration has been striking me in unlikeliest places recently :)

In news, I'm considering participation in another one of Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenges, which begins in a week. I really want to paint but I'm not sure I can swing it with two babies at home. Three on weekends...Yea or nay?

Ella-Nutella (or Meet the New Baby)

So you may have noticed that I disappeared for about two months...Which is pretty much what having a baby does to you :). Things get intense and everything other than making it to the due date, recovering, and taking care of the baby becomes less important.

Ella was born on November 4 and what can I say, she is pretty amazing. As much as I'm not into babies, I do tend to like my own quite a bit :)

Looking Back at 30 Paintings in 30 Days

And so, it was great, and it was hard, and it was worth it. In the beginning, I felt motivated and even, on some days, inspired. Then, about the time I ran out of energy (two weeks into the challenge), we went on a short family vacation to Catalina. Which, although exhausting in its own way, kept me going for the rest of the month.

I liked having a theme (landscapes and abstracts) and I am fairly happy with the results. I have 24 paintings and a sketch to show for it! I am also very grateful to all the artists, collectors, blog readers, Facebook fans and just friends who showed a ton of interest in my progress throughout the challenge and supported me with their wonderful comments, helpful suggestions, and the ultimate votes of confidence - purchases of my paintings. THANK YOU! 

 Some of the paintings are still available in my 30 Paintings in 30 Days section.

After a couple of days of a break, I would like to keep going. I am still full of ideas and I just got a shipment of paper and Nexus pens :). But I've been slowly cutting down on activities - mostly the fun ones, unfortunately, like the paintouts and figure drawing - as I've been feeling progressively worse. There are only four weeks left until the baby is supposed to get here. So, I'll be finishing commissions and painting a few pieces for a couple of winter shows I would like to get in to. Other than that, I will probably be laying low for a while. 

Day 30 - Avalon Pier, Late Afternoon

The day is finally here! This is the last painting of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. A few days late, but I'm pretty sure nobody cares except me, and I did have some tough few days.  

Avalon Pier. 11x15" Watercolor and Ink on watercolor paper. $120. Buy here. 

The painting is continuing (and probably not concluding) my Catalina theme. I put quite a lot of time into this one, beginning with a a fairly complicated drawing: and even some masking (and if you know me, you know I hardly ever use masking liquid):

I also wanted to keep the sky fairly dark and wasn't able to achieve that in the first wash (stuff dries quickly here in the desert!). So it took several washes to get to where I was sort of happy with it. The rest of the painting was just a lot of detail and small-brush work, which I don't do that often, either.  

Avalon Pier, cropped. 

I made the sky area large intentionally, but it seems to make the whole painting a bit too gloomy...So I am considering a more conservative crop. What do you think? 

Day 29 - An Old Church on the Isle of Wight (Virtual Paintout)

It seems like during this 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge, I couldn't stay away from architecture completely! It keeps peeking through the trees and suggesting itself in geometric abstract forms. But I did try :). Overall, I am pretty happy with how many landscapes I was able to paint during the challenge and I would like to spend a bit more time exploring the abstracts.  

11 x 15" Watercolor on paper. $95. Buy here.

So, with my challenge theme in mind, I gave the landscape a big part in this painting, while still keeping the church as the focal point. It was tricky modeling the building without any drawing - I usually like more structure in my structures. Here, I scraped the light areas of the church with a palette knife after laying in some color wet-into-wet. I added a few lines and reinstated the darks after it began drying.

Day 28 - A Seashore...Wet-into-wet!

I love bodies of water and I've always wanted to live near a largish one. My dream came true twice: first time, when I attended architecture school in Odessa, Ukraine, which is on the Black Sea. Second time, when I got married and moved to Oceanside, which is on the Pacific. My current plan is to at least retire (although, do artists ever retire?) on the water. Carmel sounds like a good place for that, but I will also consider other options :)  

7.5 x 11" Watercolor on Fabriano rough 140lb watercolor paper. $65 (until October 2nd). Buy here. 

And so, my painting today is a little piece of the sea. It was done wet-into-wet, with some palette knife scraping, lifting with a brush, and some coarse salt texture in the foreground. I am pretty happy with the result. I like how loose and abstract it is up close, while also clearly showing the subject matter at a distance. This would be interesting to do on a larger sheet. Title ideas, anyone?

Technically, today is the last day of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. However, I decided to stick to it and make two more paintings, even if that means extending the deadline. Weekends here are particularly tough to fit painting in, as both of my kids are home and my husband is at work.  

Since I'm extending the painting challenge, I will also keep the special pricing on the September paintings for two more days. Make sure to take advantage of the sale while it's on! You know you want to ;) 

Day 27 - A Tree-lined Alley in My Hometown

A memory of a memory. This is a view down a short stretch of an alley in Khmelnitsky, Ukraine. This place is next to the main town square, which used to have a humongous statue of Lenin, vandalized and then dismantled after the Soviet Union fell apart, leaving behind a plinth of polished black granite. This alley is also across from one of the art schools I attended as a child (I kind of failed that one..it was a multidisciplinary thing, with mandatory music, dance and theater lessons, in addition to visual art, and I didn't care for dance or theater). Anyway, I've seen it a few times :)

8.5 x 10" ink and watercolor on Arches hot press watercolor paper. $85 (sale price until October 1st). Buy here.

P.S. Incidentally, today was Khmelnistky's "city birthday"  - a celebration of the city. I just found out...an interesting coincidence. I must still be tuned in to the place I was born, even after ten years and across half a world.

Day 26 - A Wet-into-wet Watercolor Landscape

Initially, I wanted to try this very landscapey horizontal format yesterday, but I became intrigued by the vertical one and also, didn't have time for a wet-into-wet painting. So I enjoyed playing in water today instead:).  

Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico rough 140lb paper. 7.5 x 22". Buy prints here

This is another painting inspired by a recent trip to Big Bear Lake. It is such a beautiful location, and I can't wait to go on a plein air outing there.

Day 25 - A Big Bear Landscape Study

Another scene from Big Bear Lake today. I thought it would be fun to try a really narrow format (and it was). Not sure I'm happy with the painting itself - the shape of the tree bothers me...it's too symmetrical and breaks the space into halves right around the middle. It could be because I painted this in-between cooking dinner, changing diapers, being a toy conflict mediator, and trying to not let my daughter eat the freshly-squeezed cobalt blue from my palette. Not fun. I am definitely not one of those supermoms, efficient, multitasking, and happy to be in the middle of everything. I need my space and my time. I get crabby when I don't get them, which is most of the time these days...

22x7.5" watercolor on Fabriano Artistico rough watercolor paper.  

Day 24 - Big Bear Lake Watercolor Landscape

This wet-into-wet landscape was inspired by a recent trip to Big Bear Lake. My husband and I took the kids to preschool and babysitter and went to Big Bear for some quality kid-free time. We rented a canoe and had lunch on the lake. The weather was beautiful: it was in the 70s, mostly overcast with spectacular clouds that were reflecting in the lake, and an occasional mild breeze. Afterwards, we set up a hammock near the lake and enjoyed just hanging out and doing nothing. A good day :)

11x15" Watercolor on Lanaquarelle watercolor paper. $95. Buy here. 

Day 23 - An Avalon Street in Ink and Watercolor

More Catalina! The city of Avalon, to be specific, the little street called East Whittley Avenue. I snapped the reference photo while pushing a double stroller with both of my kids in it up that hill.

East Whittley Ave. 7.5 x 8.75". Ink and watercolor on hot press paper. $75 (special pricing until October 1). Buy here. 

As predicted, I had no time or energy to do a daily painting yesterday. I had an amazing second (and last) day of my portrait painting workshop and I'm super proud of what my students were able to accomplish. However, I was also experiencing symptoms of a cold and of being very much pregnant, so by the end of the day, I was dead. With a little over a month left until we get to meet baby #3, I am glad to stop being so active and lay low for a while. Of course, I will want back in the saddle before I know it...but for now, I feel like taking a break. 

Day 21 - Mission San Luis Rey

I spent the whole day teaching the first half of my portrait painting workshop and hanging out with the husband and kids in the evening, so I am cheating today. This sketch of the Mission San Luis Rey is from a few months ago, when we visited San Diego. Miraculously, I think I was even able to finish the sketch on site.

Watercolor and ink pen on paper. 6x11" 

I'm teaching the second day of the workshop tomorrow, so I may not have an opportunity for a new daily painting again. Good thing I have a ton of unpublished pieces...On the other hand, I am still reliving the Catalina trip and want to paint a few things based on my photos from there.

Day 20 - Santa Catalina Island!

Aaaand I'm back! This week, we went on a family mini-vacation on the Santa Catalina Island. It was exhausting, as our baby daughter pretty much refused to sleep and was throwing tantrums left and right (not at all typical for her). But it was also great. I enjoyed plugging off the daily life, the housework, the art business, the social interaction, even just for a few days. And, of course, the island is beautiful. It would be fantastic to return there just by myself, or at least without kids, on a plein air trip.

Eureka! I should organize a plein air workshop there! Hmm...

The Casino (which is not a casino but a movie theater) in Avalon. Pen and watercolor on paper.  

The uncropped version, with my daughter's contribution on the left :)