Holiday Season

I wish all of us a very happy Holiday Season and a New Year filled with inspiration and creativity!
Thank you so much for reading my blog and for all your warm comments. There are no words to say how much I appreciate your encouragement. Looking forward to keep communicating with you in the year to come. May peace, love and prosperity follow you and your loved ones always!

Christmas magnet

There remain a few days before Christmas, can you believe this? It's time to make up something for a festive mood! I created a birdie magnet for my Zazzle store and I like the product they sent me back. Thanks to this magnet my ordinary fridge has now got a holiday appearance:) Here are some pictures of magnet I made recently.
Hope you have a wonderful time in anticipation of Christmas!

Piña Colada

Рiece of summer in the middle of december:)
9.5'' x 7'' on Fabriano watercolor paper

Pinot Noir

Another watercolor influenced by the unforgettable journey to Napa Valley Wine Country.
12'' x 9''



This is the photo I was looking at while painting. We made it during our visit to the winery.

Apple season

Fall is... crisp juicy apples on your table
12'' x 9''

Autumn wine

A watercolor inspired by my trip to the wonderful Napa Valley Wine Country.
16'' x 12'' on Arches rough paper

Iris

I am totally obsessed with journals and sketchbooks. It happens so that I buy new one having no idea of what to do with it. It just can't be helped!:) As a result, several lovely virgin sketchbooks decorate my cabinet, awaiting their hour. One of my favorites is the beautiful rose petals and grass inlaid journal. It is said to be handmade by native Himalayan artisans. Could anyone possibly resist it? And this is a little painting I added to the journal yesterday

In the morning light

12''x16'' on Arches rough watercolor paper

Sketching in the park

Yesterday I had wonderful time with my husband in Rancho San Rafael Regional Park here in Reno. The park was such an eye-candy: fall has painted the trees in beautiful bright colors and the air was crisp and clear. It was a perfect chance to enjoy the moment with a sketchbook in my hands. To my utter joy, there happened to be a lot of canada geese pasturing on autumn grass. I felt so great walking close to the wild nature! Finally, I was lucky enough to have one of geese posing for me long enough to make a sketch :)




My husband took this picture as I was sketching some scene

Ashberry

Every now and then during the fall I feel a desire to paint an ashberry. For me, there is no other thing that has more autumn look than this fabulous tree.
9'' x 12'' on Utrecht watercolor paper

Ranunculuses

It is another day, and I am still trying to make friends with fabriano paper. I used beautiful ranunculuses as an object for the watercolor this time. Their inspiring warm colors remind me of the wonderful summer days left behind.
12'' x 9''

Rose bouquet

A rose bouquet I painted from my imagination using as many as two new things: Fabriano artistico hot press watercolor paper and 1'' oval squirrel blend brush.
16''x 12''

Lilac - SOLD

Experimenting is always a lot of fun, and I often use different sorts of paper. Sometimes, this ends in a disappointment, but most of the time painting on new paper is inspiring and gives a different feeling of the process. Today, I decided trying a Watercolor Canvas. And this is how it turned out



Watercolor canvas seems to be nice to work with. The only disadvantage, in my opinion, is that it creases and wrinkles during the process. I have never stretched a paper before and I thought that using tape for sticking canvas to a flat surface should stop it from wrinkling. However, that did not work out that well :) Nonetheless, I do not give up on watercolor canvas and going to keep painting on it.

Mono Lake

A watercolor inspired by my trip to the wonderful Mono Lake located in California's spectacular Eastern Sierra.
Beautiful blue sky reflects in the calm and smooth surface of the lake's waters. The lake is surrounded by silence, which only the gulls break occasionally
13'' x 10''

A bunch of flowers - SOLD

Another watercolor without a preliminary sketch
14''x10'' on Lanaquarelle rough paper

Sketches

A couple of sketches I recently added to my Arches travel book. Made during my last visit to Chicago.
Chicago is totally amazing. The skyscrapers are grand and gorgeous as they stand in front of the scenic Michigan lake, sail boats, green parks and beautiful fountains.

Letters from Provence

Letters about summer, vast expanses and lavender fields, about sun and southern wind, about heady smell of grass and small houses bathed in warm sunshine...
I've never been to Provence but I dream about that wonderful place often and like to paint the pictures that I imagine.

Lionfish

This amazing lionfish caught my eye in the "Shark reef" aquarium in Las Vegas. Lionfish embodies both the beauty and danger. It looks so cute with it's gracefully flowing fins and bright coloration, but it's venomous spines can produce very painful stings.
This painting is 12'' x 16'' in size on Arches rough paper.



And that's how it was looking at me from the aquarium:)

Crocuses

12'' x 9''

Watercolor fantasy

Sometimes I take a piece of my favorite paper and brightest watercolors, then start painting impulsively, letting my emotions flow. I don't use a drawing pensil in the process and have absolutely no idea how the result will look like in the end. It's always a lot of fun:)



And here are some fragments:)

The Bird of Paradise

The first time I saw this beautiful tropical flower was on my vacation in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Back then I thought it would make a perfect object for watercolor picture. My decision became solid when I saw it for the second time, in the San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers.
16'' x 12''

Garden roses

9'' x 12''

Bucket of tulips

I painted my favourite flowers in single session using alla prima technique on rough paper. Working in this expressive style, while the paint is still wet is a real pleasure!
16'' x 12''

Peonies

16'' x 12''

Cornflower

Spring blossoms

My workplace