The eyes are the window to the soul...

People argue about the origins of this popular phrase and whether it is true or false. As a visual artist I have drawn and painted many faces and many parts of faces in my life and in my experience it is always the eyes that are the most expressive elements of human body. The eyes show not only temporary emotions like fear, joy, anger, but also the general state of human condition. They show the inner beauty of a person and whether that person is trully happy or not. 

I belive it is a good thing to take a few minutes and sincerely stare yourself in the eyes from time to time with a help of a mirror. What do your eyes tell about you? Are you doing your best in life or would you like to see yourself happier?

These short moments spent with your past and present life written in front of you are sometimes necessary to unlock the best of what your future holds.

Study of a Human Eye, 12x12cm, pastels on paper

Next time we'll meet in a year 2015 :)

I wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Unlock the best of your 2015!

Merry Christmas

Santa Claus put the last one of the presents on his sleigh and squeezed a hat on his head. He looked up at a clear night sky and his merry eyes reflected  thousands of stars. He smiled. This was the time when human hearts shone brighter than the brightest stars. On this silent night they were filled with the sweetest melody known to the world - the melody of kindness.

May this melody always stay with you all :)
Merry Christmas!

I miss you so much :(,',',',

Today I write with my eyes full of tears. My most beloved rabbit died yesterday and words cannot express the sorrow I feel. With a bleeding heart I just want to say:

Farewell my dear little friend. Thank you for your love with which you filled my life. You made me smile, you made me laugh, you gave me comfort in difficult times. I hope I made you happy as much as you made me. I will always love you and you will always live in my heart.

"Squirrel"

I love watching squirrels in the park, when they are climbing up the trees to hide on the top branches, or chasing each other on the ground. Sometimes they come so close, you can even touch them. I never have, but I've seen a photo lately of a squirrel taking a ride on someone's rucksack :))) These cute little raskals can be very funny sometimes!

I've enjoyed every inch of this small study, from the tiny nose and shiny eyes to the tip of the bushy tail.

"Squirrel", 18x24cm, oil on canvas

Have a lovely week!

"Good morning, Daisies"

This is my latest illustration inspired by children's books. As the days become shorter and shorter, I begin to miss sunlight, so I've decided to make a picture that would fill my heart with light and make me smile all through the winter. 

I hope, you will feel the Sun's kiss through this little picture, too :)

"Good morning, Daisies", 21,5x23cm, watercolour on paper

See you all next week!

***

Update: 

The funny thing is, after a whole gloomy week, the sun really did come out the next day after I posted this :)))

Sketch of Architecture

I've always loved drawing architecture. Even when I was just a child, I used to draw fictional interiors or architectural surroundings for my pictures filled with some fairy tale characters. I guess I felt a necessity to show that people move in space, in 3 dimentions, although I wouldn't probably say it that way back then :) But this problem was hugely intriguing for me very early on. And it still is today, even though I have much more experience now. I simply find great pleasure in making observations of this kind and playing with space on a sheet of paper.

Sketch of Architecture, 21x30cm, ballpoint pen on paper

See you next Monday. Have a lovely week!

"Study of a Red Rose"

Whenever I challenge myself with a study of an object, I want to learn more about how it is shaped and created. But usually it's not enough. If I really want to understand what I paint or draw, I have to look at it as an element of the entire universe. When you think about it, that's what it really is. Everything you look at is a piece of this amazing creation, a piece that fits perfectly into this universe's order.
This thought is always humbling for me, and as I continue my study, I notice that I learn not only to depict things more accurately, but also to respect the world around me.

"Study of a Red Rose", 17x23 cm, oil on board

See you next Monday!

"Little Prince"

After a few busy months I am going back to posting regularly on Mondays.

To get started, I prepared something that is very special to me. It is a painting inspired by my favourite book of all time, "Little Prince", and wisdom of its best known quote:

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.

Little Prince, acrylic on paper, 21x30 cm

"A Sketch in Llanfechain"

I fell in love with Welsh countryside years ago. Perhaps it was because of its green hills and beautiful pastures, or its lovely architecture. It's good to have a place which inspires you and gives you a different perspective. Fascination always powers your life towards improvement.

This is a sketch I made in Llanfechain, a small village in the heart of Wales (you might remember my other sketch from this place, posted in May here).
I used a black marker, which, luckily, was a bit dry and used up. This allowed me to make many kinds of strokes, which gave a more real feel to the architecture.

"A Sketch in Llanfechain", 21x30cm, black marker on paper

Have a great week and see you soon!

"Charge, Rocinante!"

Today I'm showing you my painting of Don Quixote, the third in the series of humouristic depictions of the famous knight. You probably remember the two paintings I posted in May: "Don Quixote and Sancho Panza" (here) and "Sancho Panza and His Donkey" (here). 

This one is titled "Charge, Rocinante!". It follows the previous ones in the style of bright colours and simplified design. 

Here you can see the pink cheerful clouds, the happy smile of our knight who wants to prove his strength and ferocity by battling with  (imaginary) giants and armies, the wind in his faithful steed's hair and the lance directed boldly in the direction of the enemy.

"Charge, Rocinante!", 30x40cm, oil on board

"Lizard"

This is my latest experiment with mixed media. I wanted to use a watercolour background in contrast to the ballpoint pen lines to enhance the details of lizard's skin, which I find absolutely fascinating. Drawing it was almost like a mathematical challenge, although I did give free rein to my imagination too. I like how the transparency of watercolour melts with the transparency of the drawing. In a way it expresses the camouflaging nature of lizards.

"Lizard", 21x21cm, watercolour with ballpoint pen

Have a lovely week, see you next time :)

"At the Edge of the World"

I usually make a project before making a new painting, but sometimes I like to simply turn on the music and let it inspire some thoughts and ideas that will slowly take shape under my brush. It's always a magical experience. That's how I created this painting and the inspiration came from Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite, Op.40. I have rediscovered Grieg lately and I'm fascinated with this piece especially. 

Do try to play it (from youtube if you don't have it) while looking at my painting and let me know what you think...

"At the Edge of the World" 17x23cm, oil on board

I hope you had a great weekend :)

Have a lovely week, see you soon!

"Portrait of a Bear"

Today I'm showing you a portrait of a bear. You know that I love painting animals. This one is one of my favourites, because it allowed me to experiment with using the texture of the board to make the fur more interesting. I hope you like it too :) 

"Portrait of a Bear", 17x23cm, oil on board

See you all next week!

"The King"

The king wiped his forehead with a silk handkerchief as he looked down at the busy streets below his royal balcony. It's been four years since the coronation and not a minute of that time seemed to be wasted. Taxes, decrees and ambassadors filled every single day from dusk till dawn. He was respected for his majesty and for his highness and yet each time he looked in a mirror he would see a face that did not share that respect. When was the last time he took time to smell a flower or to lie on a grass and watch the clouds? Doing such simple things can be very difficult for a king. He looked beyond the city walls at the trees he had used to climb as a boy. Those days had been filled with laughter, dreams and endless promises of never growing up. Aging comes slowly and has an army of earthly cares to fight its way to a human heart. Is it possible to... The king stood for a while watching the trees moving in the wind. Their branches seemed to wave at him gently. "Wait for me", he said at last, "I'm coming".

"The King", 30x40cm, acrylic on canvas

I hope you like my painting and the short story I wrote about it. 

See you next week!

"On a Shore After a Storm"

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where there seemed to be absolutely no way out and you had to choose between options which could make things better as well as make them even worse than they were? I hope you haven't, but that's exactly what happened to me last week and it was really, really serious. Today I can say with a huge relief that everything turned out well in the end and I made the right decision.

Because it was stretched in time, I decided to make this painting to find some comfort and clear my mind for a better decision-making. It is called On a Shore After a Storm and it expresses my longing for a happy ending which at first seemed to be as distant to my troubled mind as a lighthouse to a lost ship. It gave me strenght and I think I will always keep this painting to remind me that there is always hope. Just in case :)

"On a Shore After a Storm", 18x23cm, oil on board

2 Sketches of a Nude

I've been reorganizing my art supplies and sketchbooks lately and I came across these two sketches. I completly forgot that I had them. I don't do many ballpoint pen drawings now, so seeing these made me miss this technique. Take a look at the incredible simplicity the ballpoint pen gives to a sketch. Isn't it amazing? 

But what I like most about it is that although you're making very hard contrastive lines, the drawing may be delicate and subtle with a lot of air in it. Sketching people with ballpoint pen is especially difficult but the expression it gives is well worth the effort. Wouldn't you agree?

Enjoy my sketches while I'm going back to my new experiments with this technique :)

20,5x13,5cm, ballpoint pen on paper

20,5x13,5cm, ballpoint pen on paper

See you next week!

"Lion"

It's always so much fun to study animals. Some are cute, other mysterious or majestic and they are all beautiful in their variety. We probably already know all the existing species but for me drawing them is always like a rediscovery. You start drawing an animal which you think you know very well and after a while you notice that there is so much more to observe and that the possibilities are endless ...

"Lion", 15x20cm, charcoal on paper

Have a wonderful week! See you soon :)

P.S. Because it's going to be my 4 months anniversary on the 4th of September this week, I want to thank you all for your support and all the thoughts you share here. I hope you find some inspiration in what I do. 

And thank you for everything you do on your blogs as well :) Keep up the good work!

"New Ways"

My life seems to have become cluttered lately with piles of things that unexpectedly need to be done. We're living in a world that is spinning very fast right now and peace-loving people can sometimes feel overwhelmed by it. 

I'm one of them. I love to put my heart into doing things, especially my art, and it can be really hard to reconcile that with a pile of tasks that suddenly grew in front of me. 

But I have learned that there is one good thing which this chaos may bring. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by all this, it usually means that a positive change is coming. True, many things have piled up, but by sorting this clutter I will discover some new ways that will change my life for better. 

And through this chaos I will find an order.

"New Ways", 17x23cm, oil on board

"Sunset"

This is my latest painting. Now, you may remember that some time ago I showed you my work titled After Sunset. I must say, I was so inspired by that event then that I've decided to try and make another work about that magical moment. I hope you'll enjoy this one as much. 

I do :)

 "Sunset", 18x23cm, oil on board

See you next week! Can't wait :)

Still Life with Bread and Stones

It may look like an ordinary still life, but for me this painting is a metaphor of a moral choice, a choice between love and hatred. 

The bread symbolises love, because it can be shared. Love makes people become one, so I've decided to paint the bread in one piece with a bright interior shining out. 

Stones are often connected with violence and hatred. It's the oldest weapon in history, (too many times used by people against each other). In contrast to the bread I have painted several stones, which show that people blinded by hatred are always divided. 

Hatred means chaos, while love means peace, harmony and prosperity.

Still Life with Bread and Stones, 20x35cm, oil on canvas

3 Sketches of a Nude

Today I'm showing you three sketches of a female nude. They are all made with charcoal, which allows creating very deep as well as very subtle shades and a lot of different lines and textures. 

all three: 15x20cm, charcoal on paper

We have an anniversary today. It's exactly three months since I made my first post on this blog. Thanks for being there and sharing your thoughts, not only on my blog but also on your blogs. You are all very inspiring for me and I'm happy that I can be in touch with all the great things you do. Thanks again and have a lovely week! :)

"Tree in the Mountains"

I'm very proud to present to you my newest work. I've just finished it today, so you're up to date with what I am doing right now. I've been working on it for more than a week and it's a result of my reflections about the humbling beauty of mountains.

The tree you see is a metaphor of independent thought and deep understanding of life, things that are usually born in the trying circumstances and always give us strenght to make the impossible become possible. 

"Tree in the Mountains", 18x23cm, oil on board

I hope you like it.

Until next week then. Can't wait to see you! Have a wonderful week!

"After Sunset"

The idea for this painting came to me after taking an evening walk some time ago. I know that the sun sets every day, but what I saw that evening was really amazing. The sun was giving a goodbye spectacle, or rather a goodbye hug, because everything within it's reach seemed to be wrapped around by it with such intensity that it almost felt like a last burst of emotions before it's disappearing. 

I remember going back home when the night was inevitably spreading it's wings over the world. The sun was long gone but it's light still echoed across the land, as if repeating: "Remember, after every sunset there is a sunrise ...". 

"After Sunset", 30x40 cm, oil on board

See you next time! Have a great week :)

"Question"

The ability of asking questions is a part of our humanity. True, it does help us survive in this world, but it also enables us to wonder about the deeper side of life. 

I have painted question in a form of a bright shape on a dark bacground. Now, some might say that it should be the other way round, since questions come from the lack of knowledge, lack of wisdom perhaps. But for me asking questions IS wisdom and I like to remind myself from time to time the well-known Socratic paradox: "I know that I know nothing".

"Question", 50x50cm, acrylic on paper

See you next time. Have a great week!

"Dry Leaf"

Nature will never cease to amaze me, whether it's a beautiful flower or a dry leaf. There are so many forms and shapes that one lifetime isn't enough to capture all the beauty of the world.

However, we can always try ... :)

"Dry Leaf", 22x30 cm, pencil on paper

Have a great week!

"Study of Tulips"

To make this painting I took some inspiration from the painters of the Dutch Golden Age. but I wanted it to be just a simple study.

Study of Tulips, 18x23 cm, oil on board

I would like to let you know, that from July I'm going to write posts once a week, so see you all next Monday :)

PS. On Friday it's going to be two months since I've started blogging and I want to thank you all for your support and lovely comments! I really enjoy sharing my art and thoughts with you guys, and your kind words make me truly happy ... :)

"Wind"

The most interesting things in nature are those which cannot be seen with your eyes. One of them is wind and the only way to capture it on a painting is to show the impact it has on other things or people.

"Wind", 17x23cm, oil on board

"Portrait of a Lady"

A lot of my inspiration comes from history and tradition and sometimes I like to create things that transport me to past ages. You may remember my painting Time Machine. Well, until someone finds a way to make time travels possible, painting historical themes will always be a way of "touching" the past for me ;)

"Portrait of a Lady", 17x23cm, oil on board

"Hunting Tiger"

This is one of my favourites. While painting it I wanted to emphasize that the tiger blends into the grass and only his focused face give him away.

"Hunting Tiger", 17x23cm, oil on board

"Goddess"

This painting was inspired by classical sculptures but I made it from my imagination.

"Goddess", 18x23 cm, oil on board

"Dream"

I made this painting to express the kind of feeling we all have when we fall asleep and the dreams slowly chase away the troubles of the day.

"Dream", 30x40 cm, oil on board

"Golden Eagle"

Today I'm showing you a portrait of a golden eagle.

"Golden Eagle", 17x23 cm, oil on board

Have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday :)

"Water Fairy"

This is a depiction of a water fairy. I got this idea one afternoon, when it started raining and the sun was still shining. It was amazing because the rain was heavy and there were barely any clouds, and it lasted only for a few seconds. It felt so magical, almost like a prank of a water fairy.

Water Fairy, 17x23 cm, oil on board

"Wild Horse"

I love returning to the film Hidalgo and one of my favourite scenes is the releasing of mustangs at the end. It has inspired me recently to paint something that would show the strength, speed and beauty of wild horses.

Wild Horse, 18x23 cm, oil on board

"Owl"

There is something hypnotizing about owls. Quiet, dangerous and majestic ...

"Owl", 17x 23 cm, oil on board

"Time Machine"

I've been inspired recently by an American physicist Michio Kaku's theories concerning time traveling and I've decided to make a painting titled Time Machine. 

Apparently there is no law of physics that says it is impossible to travel in time. However to make an experiment of this kind we would need an energy of a star. 

I've chosen an unusual palette of colours to show the mists of history and the mistery of unknown possibilities. 

"Time Machine", 54x65 cm, oil on canvas

"Portrait of a Girl"

Today I'm showing you a portrait of a girl. I wanted it to look a bit like a portrait from the past with a touch of mistery, but at the same time it was supposed to be fresh and with a pleasant feel. 

The most enjoyable was painting the hair and the sunshine on her face.

"Portrait of a Girl", 17x23 cm, oil on board

Have a wonderful weekend and see you all on Monday! 

"Study of a Sleeping Bag" ;)

I love going on trips, camps and all sorts of adventures. It's always exciting to be somwhere out there, facing the unknown. But when it comes to packing for a trip, I have to confess, I always find it so boring that sometimes I just have to take out a pencil and a piece of paper to make my packing time a bit more bearable ;)

This drawing is a proof of it and it definitely was a pleasant prelude to one of my trips!

"Study of a Sleeping Bag", 11x19 cm, pencil on paper

"Pandora"

There are moments in life when nothing seems to work. It may be because you didn't get this promotion you deserved or you don't get on with your partner as well as you would wish to. 

You probably remember that ancient Greeks had a myth about Pandora. Olimpic gods gave her a box containing all the troubles and all the sorrows we can possibly imagine. When she opened the box they all flew out and spread over the entire world. 

That's how the Greeks explained why life is a struggle. 

But one of the versions of this myth says that there was also Hope in that box and Pandora managed to close it before Hope could escape. 

I definitely like this version the most and I wanted to make a painting which could be a kind of a symbol to remind myself and others that there is always hope. So I painted Pandora sitting on a globe in a minimalistic way with brownish colours resembling soil (because she was supposed to be the first woman on Earth and made of clay) and Hope shines through the box she holds in her hand. 

When I was painting it I was thinking about that quote from Ocean's Twelve: "Every problem is an opportunity in disguise". I totally agree with it and it proved true many times in my life. As long as we live, as long as we walk this Earth we can turn our problems into our allies if we use our imagination. And something that caused a trouble may become a source of new and better things to come. 

It's in our hands to make it happen.

"Pandora", 30x40 cm, oil on board

"Sketch of Books"

Today I'm showing you a quick sketch of still-life with books. It's a very simple idea and yet it gave me an opportunity to play with a complicated structure and a variety of sizes. So, on the whole, it was a pretty crazy task. I will only say that it is the kind of sketch you usually don't know where to start :))) Especially if it is supposed to be quick!

"Sketch of Books", 20x28 cm, pencil on paper

"Eagle"

Continuing the subject of birds, it is always fascinating to study their movement in the air, movement so graceful that it seems almost effortless and makes them appear free from the cares of the world they leave below ...

"Eagle", 23x17 cm, oil on board

"New Beginning"

I made this small painting purely for fun, but it turned out a little more metaphysical. There is this cute little man, more likely to be a children's book character than a serious art figure, and he is saying goodbye to the tiny yellow pet bird before letting it fly away to the unknown, free with all other birds. There's no horizon visible, so we don't really know where the bird is going, but the colours of the sky suggest that there will be a happy ending. It's a story about love which always respects the freedom of the loved ones. And it's a story about life the future of which we cannot see but we always hope that it will be good.

"New Beginning", 17x23 cm, acrylic on board

Have a wonderful weekend and see you all on Monday as usual :)

"Sunflower"

I made this drawing of a sunflower last autumn. There's always something bitter sweet in the passing of flowers. They loose their freshness but they make way for new life to bloom in spring from their seeds. And that becomes their new charm.

"Sunflower", 15x17 cm, crayons on paper

"Elephant"

Elephants are magnificent animals. With every step I took while painting this elephant I was falling more and more in love with the beautiful web of wrinkles on the skin. I felt as if I was carving them with sunlight. Whoever says that wrinkles aren't beautiful is wrong.

"Elephant", 17x23 cm, oil on board

Today it's exactly 1 month after I started this blog. It's been great! I'm really happy I can share my art with you. You are all amazing! Thank you so much for your support! 

And see you tomorrow, as usual :)

Two colour studies of mushrooms

I made these two studies, because I wanted to analyse something that has very little colour itself, but at the same time has a lot of potential in the way it catches light. Each study represents a different approach. I made the first one using the whole palette of colours and then the second one with the use of a very limited palette. I must say that the second one was much more challenging and I really learned a lot from it. But I like both of them. It's amazing how many shades light can create on things that seem white or grey at first sight.

"Colour Study of Mushroom I", 7x9cm, watercolour and pastels on paper

"Colour Study of Mushroom II", 7x8cm, watercolour and pastels on paper

"Sketch in Barmouth II"

This is another sketch I made in Barmouth that day. The town looked so beautiful and yet so humble at the feet of those majestic mountains. It almost looked like it was seeking protection against the uncertainty of the ocean.

"Sketch in Barmouth II", 21x30 cm, charcoal on paper

"Sketch in Barmouth"

This is a quick sketch I made in Barmouth some time ago. It was very windy that day, so perhaps the conditions weren't ideal for drawing, but I did love the atmosphere of that place and the heavy clouds moving fast with the wind made it even more fascinating.

"Sketch in Barmouth" 21x39 cm, charcoal on paper

Have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday!