"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