Taking a break

Hi, Everyone! Easter is coming and I'll be moving to a different country in about two weeks. I think I don't need to tell you how busy these weeks are for me... I have to take a break from blogging for a while, until I'm settled in my new place. I wish you a happy Easter and hope it brings you a lot of new energy. I'll see you in a couple of weeks, before the end of April. 

P.S. Wish me luck! :)

"Night Ride Across the Caucasus"

This abstract work is titled after a song written by Loreena McKennitt. I've been listening to the album The Book of Secrets recently and I was captivated by the feeling of distance and never-ending rythm of a journey created in this song. I didn't want to make an illustration to this song, because I wanted my work to have a bit more autonomy, so I decided to go for a very raw and contemporary look and create a feeling of expectation and anxiety which are always present in a journey.

"Night Ride Across the Caucasus", 15x20cm, ink and collage on paper

Here are the lyrics of the song:

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Ride on Through the night Ride on

There are visions, there are memories

There are echoes of thundering hooves

There are fires, there is laughter

There's the sound of a thousand doves

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Ride on Through the night Ride on

In the velvet of the darkness

By the silhouette of silent trees

They are watching, they are waiting

They are witnessing life's mysteries

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Cascading stars on the slumbering hills

They are dancing as far as the sea

Riding o'er the land, you can feel its gentle hand

Leading on to its destiny

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Take me with you on this journey

Where the boundaries of time are now tossed

In cathedrals of the forest

In the words of the tongues now lost

Find the answers, ask the questions

Find the roots of an ancient tree

Take me dancing, take me singing

I'll ride on till the moon meets the sea

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Ride on Through the night Ride on

Ride on Through the night Ride on

"Deer"

I live in a city, so it is not very often that I see deers. Or hear them. Yes, the last time I heard a deer was in autumn and it scared me to death. I was on a trip to the fields and I just sat down on the grass to rest my weary legs, when I heard this strange noise nearby. My heart stopped for a while. I turned my head instantly just to catch a glimpse of a deer disappearing gracefully in the woods. 

This drawing does not show the deer I met then, of course. But I tried to capture the same kind elegance of this wonderful animal.

"Deer", 15x20cm, sanguine on paper

"Sleeping Fish"

I find it so fascinating that there is such a variety of fish out there presenting a huge spectrum of shapes, colours and patterns. There's a lot you can choose from when you have an idea for a drawing or a painting. My idea was to express that fish live in constant movement, even if they are asleep, because the water around them is in movement. To do this, I made the drawing on a background created with diagonal strokes and I chose a fish that would give a contrast to it with its pattern, and yet blend in with its colour, which would suggest a certain kind of unity with its world.

"Sleeping Fish", 10x15cm, pastels on paper

"Horatio Hornblower"

You probably know the TV series about a fictional character, a Royal Navy officer, Horato Hornblower. The films were based on C. S. Forester's novels and the title role was played by Ioan Gruffudd. I haven't read the books yet, but the adventures depicted in the films made me want to do so. In the meantime I decided to draw a portrait of the main character inspired by the films. I hope you like it.

"Horatio Hornblower", 10x8cm, pencil on paper