Red Cup Oil Painting

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I truly love working with oil paintings. I know it takes time as each layer needs from 5 to 7 days for drying but this time allows me to plan it in details how to apply the next one. You already got to see the sketch of this painting some weeks ago but I think it is always good to start with a small reminder and obviously, we need a sketch to show where I started. I have titled it: Red Cup, kind of obvious when you look at it once completed.Red Cup (1)Some people ask me how I select an image which I want to paint? This is always a very difficult process. I look for an item which brings my attention (or sometimes it may be just a play of light in the water which I like to catch) then I look for something else which would complement it in the color and form, then I think how to bring them together on interesting background. Plenty of fabrics which I have in my sewing studio always helps. I’m trying to use fabrics without patterns but who knows, maybe some sort of composition with fabric and bold print on it could give an interesting effect.Red Cup (2)I have outlined all darkest areas on the painting except a cup which I have find out later as a mistake because my red paint was transparent and didn’t blend well with black.

Then I have covered background with first layer of blue and added yellow and green on the flowers.Red Cup (3)I had to wait couple of days to make sure that blue field is dry before adding red as I wanted to avoid any possible mixing. Flowers got their centers and pearls got their white color.Red Cup (4)Best way to work on the oil painting (or acrylic) is to paint from external parts towards the center and from less detailed areas to more detailed. Thanks to this method you will see progress on your painting really fast which obviously gives more motivation to carry on with painting. All of the artists struggle with motivation sometimes, we tend to start artworks and don’t finish them for months. It is good to have an external motivations like an exhibition deadline or a partner to keep reminding you about your goals.Red Cup (5)On the picture above I have covered most of the background with second layer of blue, added highlights ant the same time and smoothed out darker areas. I have used Persian Blue which is a transparent color and getting those folds of fabric painted was quite a challenge and I had to make 4 layers in total.

As you can see I have worked out the flowers with all of the highlights on them and added second layer of red on the cup incorporating black in the shaded areas.Red Cup (6)I can see that colors of the below picture are quite different from the above one, sorry about that. Above photo was taken in the evening with camera flash and it has affected colors.

Below you can see finished painting.Red Cup (7)The cup has few layers of red on it and I had to use a sponge to blend red and black and ad highlights were needed. Bracelet got it’s silver bling which is not so much visible on the photo and pearls got shades where they belong for realistic look and correct light reflection. This is my favorite painting and I’m already thinking where to hang it. Red Cup Oil Painting would look fantastic in the dining area or kitchen, so for me painting and for you story how I made it. I will share more interesting oil painting tutorials very soon.

Yellow Daisy Oil Painting

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I thought that was the perfect idea for my next abstract oil painting. Yellow Daisy oil painting on a dark background should look spectacular next to my water lily don’t you think? I have started with a sketch.Yellow Daisy (1)Then I have added a black background and had to do it twice to cover it perfectly even.Yellow Daisy (2)Then I have painted a layer of cyan blue which is very transparent and made this super deep and background looks actually very dark blue not black at all. I have also painted medium yellow underpainting for daisies pedals.Yellow Daisy (3) Now I started adding al of the highlights and lowlights on the individual pedals along with shades of those pedals which are in front of the others. Little by little, pedal by pedal.Yellow Daisy (4) This is a bit better picture and you can see the color of background too and few pedals more with all of their distinctive lines.Yellow Daisy (5)Now I just added green heart to it and this little yellow daisy can keep our eyes happy. We all know that a picture makes for a thousand of words so I will stop talking and let you enjoy the view 😉Yellow Daisy (6)

Water Lily Oil Painting on Canvas

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I have presented a draft of 3 future paintings a few weeks ago and now I’m pleased to present my Water Lily Oil Painting on a Canvas. I have a few photos to show you progress of painting which may look a bit like an oil painting lesson. I hope you are going to enjoy it.

Just to remind you, this is how a pencil drawing on canvas looks like. I usually try to take time and draw it as detailed as possible as it always helps with applying colors correctly and finding all of those high lights and low lights in the right spots.water lilyFirst I have painted all the dark areas of the painting and added some greys wherever needed. I know it’s a bit boring but it definitely helps to achieve final effects and contrasts.IMG_5816With a second layer I have applied dark colors of the water and added some green with highlights here and there. I have also applied white and light grey on the lily with pink at the bottom of it. This is going to help me to cover unnecessary pencil lines. IMG_5862I have worked even more on the background. I wanted to make sure it reminds water with its movement. Now the lily pads got green. I had to make sure shapes are intact and all waves on the leafs.IMG_6110Check this out! This is the finished painting with another layer of white on the lily and it’s reflection plus all detailed highlights. The lily reflection is in movement of the water too. It looks really realistic. How about leafs? When you try to learn how to do oil painting on a canvas you have to remember that paints are transparent and dry quite slowly so you can use under layer to blend and pull out color through white over it. Important is to study shape and position of each shed and if you make a mistake and something doesn’t seem to be right you can correct it quite easily. IMG_6114Oil paintings lesson may be expensive, so why don’t you just give a try by yourself and experiment with paints? It is all about paying attention to the details and distances between elements. If colors are a bit off from the original this is not an issue, I would say it is how you see it. Water Lily is one of my favorite flowers to paint, try to find your own favorite flower and get on painting.

How I Prepare for the Art Show

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The past few weeks were so busy I even didn’t have a chance to start working on the paintings which are going to the next Muslim Fest Art Shows in August. There is so little of time left and so much to do not mentioning I’m running into the same time problem each year. I love to paint with oil paints and I should start preparations much earlier to have enough time for drying of individual layers. I will probably have to switch some of the paintings to acrylics which are so much easier to complete in shorter time frame.

Never than less, I will have 2 special “paintings” and I can’t wait to show you the final idea. I came up with it just yesterday before I feel asleep. You probably know that the best ideas are somewhere between conscious and sub-conscious and the best way to unlock this potential is to daydream and imagine as much as possible.

For now, I’m going to show you the sketch of first 3 canvas which is going to be finished in oils or in acrylics as soon as possible. Deadline is mid-August so it is really 3 weeks to go and I don’t have a chance to sit in the piece and concentrate on the painting! All because of the new website and the big project I’m working on – this is going to be a surprise! I will share it with you sometime in September and I think you are going to be shocked! I will finish here so I will not spill some details by accident if you know what I mean.

Right, let’s get back to my sketches.

All of them are around floral composition, very neutral and optimistic accent. I’m planning to use mostly primary colors. This one is set on the fabric which makes so many interesting shades and shapes around flowers and the cup. I have placed one of my bracelets on the top of the cup to bring some more light in this area and bracelet will be my primary point of focus as it is sill stands out dramatically on the red cup. By the way, it is quite difficult to take a good photo of pencil drawing on the canvas (or paper), I took a lot of them before selecting those which I thought are the best and I still should apologise for quality, it is not good at all.IMG_5580Next two paintings are going to present flowers only. One of them shows lily on the lake. I love how flower reflects in the water. Lily will be white with a bit of pink and water will have very deep dark color. It will look amazing, I have a feeling this painting will be sold first, I even hesitate if I should put it on sale at all? I have some sort of weakness for lilies. They look so gentle and perfect I hope I will be able to capture it.IMG_5685Last painting shows a daisy with big close up. I got to take a very good photo on the other day and I thought that large painting of this daisy should make a good impression on the viewers. I would like to make sure that visitors of this Muslim Fest Art Show will remember me somehow not mentioning there are a couple of prices to win and one of them is awarded by the audience.

As you can see my little daughter Anna was trying to draw with me and I have lot’s of finger marks all over the canvas. Sweet baby girl, she is going to be an artist for sure! I have to wash walls regularly after she is done with her pencil drawings on them. I gave her acrylic paints once but instead of putting them on the paper she was playing with consistency and made a lot of mess around. I guess we will have to wait few more months before she will let me explain to her how to use them.IMG_5686Daisy is going to be yellow with a dark background, maybe navy blue will look good? I really have to start painting soon and I love that The One With Art will get to present art this year. I was told that we were missed last year so I will do my best to prepare perfect presentation this year and Muslim Fest visitors are going to enjoy it. If you are somewhere in the neighbourhood please come for a visit last weekend of August at Celebration Square in Mississauga.

Acrylic Speed Painting

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Welcome to super speedy acrylic painting! It was always so amazing to me: speed painting tutorials! I finally have my own! This is just first one but there will be more as this looks like amazing tool to show art and engage viewers. I’m sure you will agree it is much more attractive than looking at static finished painting.

speed painting 2I have started working on Muslim Fest 2016 Art show and since I have decided to present more varieties of my art I had to start painting before end of the year so all will be ready before end of August when Muslim Fest is schedule to show

One of my ideas was to paint flowery triptych on the paper with glass over it and wooden frame. Smaller size, only 8 x 10 inches, may bring interest of many  potential customers as smaller sizes are usually cheaper than large productions.

I have broken down my tutorial to two parts and added some of my favourite music from different parts of the world. I hope you will enjoy watching it.

This is how you can squeeze 1.5 hours of work in to 10 minutes movie.

Now it is time to add a signature and my favourite stamp which tells how much I care and put all my heart in to my art.

speed painting speed painting 1Oh yes, I have mentioned that my plan was to make triptych. I have already painted 2nd part of it.

speed painting 3Third one to cone soon and I’m planning to showcase it as speed painting as well. Creating this way is so much fun not mentioning how much fun is watching it too. I hope you did feel more of connection with my work and you will come back to see it again. This is precious experience for any level of skis. It makes you feel like anybody could do it. Please don’t be shy and try! There is plenty of acrylic speed painting in the internet to choose from and there will be more on The One With Art soon..

Pomegranate Tree

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Pomagranet tree 6Welcome back after a short break with my posts. I’m really sorry about that and I truly couldn’t wait to get on writing this one for you.

I have completed this acrylic painting of a pomegranate tree for a person who is very dear to me. All process of painting brought me lots of pleasure and I trust you are going to like it as well. I have mentioned it on the earlier posts, but I think it is worth saying again how easy is to paint with acrylic paints. It dries fast, so each layer can be applied short after finishing first one. Colours are bright and vibrant, I would say very spontaneous and happy.

To start following this step by step tutorial prepare canvas, brushes, acrylic paints, water and some pieces of soft fabric for cleaning and drying your brushes.

pomagranet treeIt is always good to start with under-painting. Some artists like to impose themselves and throw their vision on canvas but I prefer some structure and more organized approach. My paintings appear in my head much earlier before I touch the brush. I have a clear plan what to paint, how and what colors I will take.

Another layer will smooth out it out even more….. pomagranet tree (1)

I have set this landscape to show Kurdish land with all the hills and trees growing on them, with green grass and feeling of warm weather around.

Central element of my painting is the pomegranate tree. But watch carefully how it comes to life.

Pomagranet tree 3First we need to paint structure of trunks and branches from the bottom to the top.

I have made it as open as possible because I’m going to cover all seasons of the year and paint all faces of the tree. Pomagranet tree 4I know this is maybe much to put on one canvas but pomegranate tree is so beautiful each part of the year I couldn’t make my mind which one to pick for my painting.

When you look at the tree from left to the right you will see bare branches of winter season without any leafs and any life in it. Then tree is changing, thick juicy leafs growing, it expands to the right side of the painting with darkening sheds of Pomagranet tree 5green.

Finally tree gets orange flowers in April and May to transform them later in the summer in fruit which is first in the light green color and then goes in to yellow. It is reaching deep red sometime in September or October. It is unbelievable how those thin branches band right to the ground under the weight of fruit which are bursting with sweet juices.Pomagranet tree 7

How fantastic tree is that? Those slim branches doesn’t break… It has another meaning for me. Our life is kind of like this tree.
We have to be very strong and flexible to carry weight of our life experience accumulated over the years and don’t break down.

How do you like expressing so deep feeling in the painting? I find it very refreshing for my soul and I’m sure you can find much more of meaningful art around you. If you like my pomegranate tree and it’s message presented in acrylic paints please give a star to this post.

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Banana Paper and Acrylic Paints

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I have started working on new idea. I’m painting small size pictures on the Banana Paper which I brought from Cuba, with acrylic paints. Those can be beautifully framed and easily sold on the art fair which is coming up in November. Based on paintings I’m planing to print greetings cards and small calendar cards for 2016 year. It will be colourful and attractive for many potential customer not mentioning additional advertisement as The One With Art details will be printed on the reverse.

card 1I’m using metallic Acrylic Paints. It brings a bit of special effect and glamorous shine.

card 3I have chose simple floral and landscape theme with bright colours. This will pull customer’s eyes and can meet needs of colour preferences.

card 2During upcoming weeks I will share with you further paintings until whole collection is ready for greeting cards design. I’m planing to have some hand painted greeting cards and some printed greeting cards. Which one would you prefer to buy?

Oil Painting – Landscape

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Hi Everybody!

I didn’t have a chance to show you my latest landscape oil painting. I have used my friend’s photo from New Zealand and I have titled this painting “Peaceful beach – New Zealand“.

Peaceful Beach - New Zealand

I have already presented it on Muslim Fest 2014 and a great idea came to my head! How about I will give myself 5 days challenge! 5 paintings in 5 days! I would have to use acrylic instead of oil paints for fast dry.

I’m very exited already. I have decided to make 5 landscapes as I don’t have many of those and all 5 will go in to my on-line shop.

Yes, you did read correctly. I’m going to activate my on-line shop and slowly grow number of items for sale.

New Zealand landscape and Sunflower which I painted recently are going on sale first.

Acrylic Painting – Sunflower Step by Step

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I know there was a lot of sewing recently that is why I have decided to put this short tutorial for Sunflower painting in acrylic.

You can follow these simple steps by step and complete your own artwork in a day.

1. Prepare your canvas, a set of paints (for a more interesting result I have used metallic acrylic paints), brushes, water in a cup, drying cloth and the most important, a picture of sunflower which you really, really like. You can find plenty of photos on the net or in  magazines and books. I have a little “future projects folder” and obviously one sunflower was sitting right there.

Sunflower step by step

2. Draw on canvas from the picture. This may be tricky if you have a hard time to keep right scale or shape but don’t worry you don’t have to be exact with your copy. Another tip could be to print a picture of the same like size, of your canvas and copy flower with copping paper, but then you will not have much space left for your own creativity.

sunflower1

3. Cover canvas with under painting. Make sure to not to leave any white spots. Acrylic paints dry very fast so you can put next layers every 10-20 minutes. Tip: we always paint from outside of canvas to the inside of it. Make sure all of the external edges are painted as well, this will allow you to hang the painting without framing it. Also try to take your tile with details, it may be hard to correct mistakes later on as paints may not cover it well.

sunflower2

4. Second layer of paint should manage most of shades and underline basic colors. You will have to go over full canvas again. This will also manage to smooth out some lighter and darker sections from under painting.

5. Last layer will complete all of the details which you would like to highlight and make more bold. Sunflower doesn’t have to look exactly like what is on the picture. This is all about your own creativity and artistic expression so don’t be afraid of it. Acrylic sunflower looks radiant and fresh.

sunflower 3

If you would like to have more details on this project or would like to see other step by step painting tutorials please let me know.

 

Winter Painting

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Hi Artists! I’m always inspired by seasons and those miracles which are happening every day. Some of them are very pleasant and bring us so much needed inspiration and aesthetical experience while others may remind us that along with the very cold weather come hunger and death too. We can see it every day in smaller towns when hungry wild animals are coming  to our door steps looking for food. Winter 13-14 2 My next creative idea is inspired by the white of the snow and the silver of the ice. We have a lot of both in Canada nowadays with temperature dropping to -30C  – brrrr – that is very cold! Usual winter art in landscapes is quite difficult to create and then the results may become plain. Personally I would not attempt painting winter nature but I have another way to make something exiting. Winter 13-14 1   Please prepare a mid size canvas (or any size, depending what you like and how much time you would like to spend on creating this piece). Then you will need paints (acrylic are OK this time), paper, scissors, white spray paint and silver glitter (could be transparent glue or powder). winter painting 3 1. Paint your canvas in a gray-ish, blue-ish color. Go for darker tones for better contrast. Then leave it to dry. If you plan to have it framed afterwards then you can leave the sides plain, or if you paint it all over then you can hang it as it is. 2. Now the tricky part as we will have to cut snow flakes from paper which will be a stencil for white spray paint. I have prepared a lot of forms designs are simple and easy to follow if you would like to copy them. The important part is that we are going to use the external part of the paper so please take your time  cutting with small, sharp scissors for excellent results (I have used edge of the scissors, it did work like a little knife – worked out very well). winter painting 1 3. Once the canvas is dry and the forms are all prepared please place them on the canvas. I have used foam sheets in order to have them thicker and prevent from moving. That was actually a great idea however I could have used bigger sheets then I would have less corrections to do. winter painting 4 winter painting 3 4. Now the most important part! Spry paint! Use it carefully and slowly, make sure it is well shaken and going on the canvas in a direct flow. Any angle may ruin the borders and go under the form. The canvas should lie down flat to avoid any drips or drops. Allow some time for drying it a bit. It is good idea to use hygienic face mask and protect area well. winter painting 6 5. Slowly remove the paper from the canvas. Make sure you will not touch the still wet pain in any place. Let it all dry. Then you can add some lines here and there to make each snow flake unique. winter painting 7 6. Glitter should by applied on the edges of your snow flakes. If you have dry glitter make sure to apply it before the white pain is dry so it will stick to it. Also be careful while removing extra glitter as it will stick everywhere else without your control. For dry one it is best to wait until everything is completely dry and then rapidly turn the full canvas up side down and allow the glitter which didn’t stick to fall off (for example into the bath tap, that way it will be easy to wash it off with the shower). winter painting 8 7. Some final touches with sparkling bids and corrections of background as white paint did gate in some places where it not suppose to. winter painting 9 winter painting 10 8. Then frame it if you wish and hang it on a nice wall in your house for your guests to adore 🙂 You can use the same technique to your own seasonal ideas. This was fun! 🙂 winter painting 11