"Sancho Panza and His Donkey"

Today I have something light and humorous for you again. Do you remember my last painting inspired by Don Quixote? I had to try something similar. I just couldn't resist. This time I wanted to show squire Sancho riding his donkey and dreaming of becoming a governor of an island one day (it was supposed to be the reward for his service). Sancho embodies practicality over idealism, so I wanted to make the donkey and his master look alike. However, the donkey seems to have a little more senses than the master... 

Don't you think?

"Sancho Panza and His Donkey", 30x40 cm, oil on board

"Annette"

Painting people is always so much fun but it can be tricky, too. How do you create a different world in your painting? How do you create personality, body language, thoughts? Taking these challenges always means going on a journey at the end of which you will be a richer person.

"Annette", 17x23 cm, oil on board

"Study of a Still-Life"

This is a small study of a still-life with mushrooms and home-made bread. You may have noticed that there is a link between these nice firm mushrooms and this crunchy bread with uneven surface. The link is that they are more or less round or a part of a sphere. And because sphere is somehow a symbol of perfection, it made me think about this beautiful quote from The Last Samurai. Do you remember? Katsumoto said: "The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life". And later with his dying breath he said: "Perfect... They are all... perfect...". Everything is perfect, because everything is unique. Everything is beautiful... Everything is divine...

"Study of a Still-Life", 10x14cm, pencil on paper

"Rain"

Hi there! Welcome back. I hope you had a lovely weekend. Today I"m showing you something I've been thinking about for some time. The painting is titled "Rain" but the real subject of this work is the attitude towards life. People usually see rain as an obstacle or something unpleasant. Why is it then that kids just love it? They love to splash the puddles, catch the raindrops on their tongues and play in the mud. Why? Because they see it as an adventure. I painted my rain with candy colours to give it a happy feel and to express my belief that we can improve our lives a lot just by changing the attitude :)

"Rain", 50x50 cm, acrylic on board

See you all on Monday :)

I usually spend weekends making some studies or finishing things, so see you all on Monday again and have a wonderful weekend!

"On the pasture"

Painting this charming little scene was a pure joy for me. It is partly imaginary and it was inspired by the XIXth century countryside. I hope it can give you a feel of times when life was slower and people lived closer to nature ...

"On the pasture", 17x23cm, oil on canvas

"Study of a Celery"

When I draw from nature I always marvel at the beauty of the world even if it's as simple as this celery. We live in the age of technology and we take thousands of photos of the world around us. But there's nothing like sitting quietly and observing a simple thing you think you know very well ...

"Study of a celery", 11x14cm, pencil on paper

"Don Quixote and Sancho Pansa"

Let's go back for a while to the story of Don Quixote, the story which is both philosophical and comical. This time I decided to approach the subject with a sense of humour and show our dear knight with his faithful squire, Sancho Pansa, using very simple means. While painting it I was literally laughing inside at his idea of tilting at windmills what is the most iconic scene of the book and also at the contrast between these two characters invented by Cervantes so cleverly.

"Don Quixote and Sancho Pansa", 30x40 cm, oil on board

"Sketch of Ruins in Snowdonia"

This is a sketch I made in Snowdonia some time ago. I'm a romantic, so I just love mysterious places. And what place is more mysterious than the one that has faded away under the spell of time in the wilderness of Snowdonia?

"Sketch of Ruins in Snowdonia", 21x30 cm, charcoal on paper

"Dulcinea of Toboso"

Hello there! I'm so happy to be back! I've been away only one day but I missed you all so much.

We all know the story of Don Quixote and his numerous adventures as a knight who chose a simple farm girl as his queen and lady love. He imagined her to be the most beautiful lady on earth.

Well, this is always a good opportunity for an artist to try his/her skills and use imagination, because we don't really know what Dulcinea looked like. The difficult thing was to give her the inner beauty, the essence our knight could fall in love with ...

"Dulcinea of Toboso", 17x23 cm, oil on board

Can't wait to see you on Monday!

I'm busy finishing some work, so have a lovely weekend and see you all on Monday!

"City Life"

I love the countryside, but I do get inspired by the city life, too. 

Have you ever wandered how incredible it is that so many people live their lives in one place? The evening is the best time to see that, when thousands of windows are lit and it almost seems like these cold, hard shells of modern buildings are heated from within with people's lives, passions, cares and joys.

"City Life", 50x70 cm, oil on canvas

"Afternoon at the Cottage"

I made this little painting not so long ago as an idyllic vision of the countryside. It's mostly imaginary and it expresses my longing for a peaceful and simple life that is so hard to find in this crazy, spinning world we have now.

"Afternoon at the Cottage", 17x23 cm, oil on board

When I was a little girl I used to spend summer at my granny's house, where everything had its own history and mistery around it. 

Wide open windows welcomed gentle and warm wind carrying rich scents of nettles and mint growing in the shadows of the old plum trees in the garden.

Oh, how I loved sitting by the window, when the sun would fill the rooms with the honey of its afternoon light. 

This is the feeling I wanted to recreate in this painting and because it doesn't depict any existing interior, it seems more like a dream place.

"Study of an Architectural Detail"

I made this small study of an architectural detail last autumn. It was really, really cold then, but I decided to be brave. It was going quite well until my fingers started rebelling... :)

ballpoint pen on paper, 6x13 cm

"Two Elements"

Sometimes I feel a need to go wild :) I wanted to create something dramatic and I chose two opposite elements (water and fire) to clash them into one burst of energy.

"Two Elements", 50x60 cm, oil on canvas

"Still-life with a glass and an egg-shell"

Today I'm showing you a little study of a still-life. I wanted to capture the silence of a forgotten place.

"Still-life with a glass and an egg-shell", 20x20 cm, pencil on paper

"The Manager"

This is another one of my humouristic paintings.

"The Manager", 40x50 cm, oil on canvas

"Bianca"

I wanted to make this painting very delicate and to highlight the beauty of this girl by creating a kind of glow around her. 

"Bianca", 17x23cm, oil on board

"Journey"

One of the things that fascinate and inspire me most is the universe and its mysteries. I love to watch the sky in the late night hours when everything around is asleep and imagine all those incredible things going on out there, in the ever expanding space, wandering how we came to be. 

"Journey", 50x50 cm, oil on canvas

"Church in Llanfechain, Wales"

This is a drawing of a beautiful old church in Llanfechain, surrounded by the magnificent Welsh countryside. While drawing it I was intrigued by the stonework of the walls and the pattern on the black and white porch.

I visited this village so many times and I was happy that I could capture the peaceful atmosphere of this lovely place.

"Church in Llanfechain", 21x30cm, charcoal on paper

"Circus Acrobats"

This is one of my humouristic paintings. I had a lot of fun painting it. My paint was all over the place :)

"Circus Acrobats", 50x70cm, acrylic on canvas

"Where to?"

Here is something different again. I really like this one. It's one of my favourites. I spent a lot of time painting the nightdresses, becouse I was sooo fascinated by the light on the fabric...

"Where to?" 17x23cm, oil on board

"Fun Laboratory"

I really really like experimenting. That's why I don't limit myself to only one style of painting. When I feel the consistency of paint under my brush and when I see the colours emerging ...it's always magic. I forget about everything else around and feel like a kid playing with a brand-new toy.

"Fun Laboratory", 60x50cm, oil on canvas

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my blog!

Art has been the love of my life since I was born and today I'm starting this blog to share with you some of my work.

So, let's get started!

"Aurora",17x23cm, oil on board