Dusik

Curious George mural

2011-12-20T21:59:00.001-05:00

A new fun mural for my son! This one is in the "fun" room. Santino calls Curious George "coo coo". He loves this cartoon. (But not as much as he loves "The Cat in the Hat". This mural is almost finished and I'll post in here soon!)Meanwhile, heeeeere's George!

A woman's face

2011-12-07T00:28:00.001-05:00

Strange face

2011-11-27T14:22:00.001-05:00

Another poppy flower

2011-11-19T00:21:00.001-05:00

I am enjoying my new style more and more. I can express so much with just a black and white picture apparently! Tell me what you guys think?

A poppy flower. We remember.

2011-11-14T23:54:00.001-05:00

Boo!

2011-11-01T00:21:00.000-04:00

How was your Halloween? Scary? We had fun but got very tired!
Here's a Halloween cat I drew a few weeks ago.

A flower

2011-10-28T23:33:00.002-04:00

Just one of the few flowers I drew recently. Like?

Coo coo or kaka?

2011-10-20T23:36:00.000-04:00

Santino insists on calling Coocoo - Kaka. :))
His favorite game now is to find Coocoo, and poke her in the nose, but mostly in the eye, laughing out loud!

We have baptized Santino

2011-10-19T01:07:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful ceremony, Santino looked so handsome, like a little prince! It was the right time.

Thanksgiving pumpkins

2011-10-10T12:44:00.001-04:00

To all my friends and family, who supported us throughout this past exciting and challenging year, Thank You!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T02:27:00.002-04:00

To all my blogger friend mommies! I hope you all had a great Mother's Day! I really hope you didn't have to do much, rather took this opportunity to relax and had fun with your families and took care of yourselves.

We had such a wonderful day here in Newmarket, ON. I just enjoyed my day, spending some time outside with my son and my husband. I didn't have to cook much and that is a big deal for me!

xoxo!

What's in my diaper bag?

2011-04-20T19:37:00.003-04:00

A couple of years ago I played a blogger game "what's in your purse?". My life has changed so much since then, that I don't even carry a purse any more. I have a diaper bag. Yo!

Now, what's in my diaper bag today? I just flipped it and tossed everything what was in it on the floor.

1. A few diapers, size 4, and a few sample tubes of diaper rash creams. I received so many different samples, that never needed to buy any! WOW! I finally got me a deal!

2. A plastic cap from Santino's sippy cup. He doesn't like it any more, and I put the sippy cup away and couldn't find the cap. Now I know where it was hiding.

3. Garage opener. Yes, I carry it in the diaper bag!

4. Some cash in an envelope and loose change.

5. Baby's self feeder. I put slices of apple in the mesh this morning, but he doesn't suck the mesh anymore, he flips it and sucks on the plastic handle. Or just carries it like an Olympic flame torch.

6. Santino's toys.

7. Santino's Kenneth Cole jacket. I put it on him before we went to the Newmarket Goober Gang play date, and couldn't put it on him on the way back for some reason.

8. Santino's orange plastic circle. He likes to wave it around sometimes.

9. Burt's Bees lip balm.

10. Estee Lauder Tender Blush. "Peach Nuance". No 421

11. L'Oreal lipstick. "Milla's Plum". No 748. Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen. "01 Blackest Black".

12. Santino's new drinking cup. I filled it up with water and spilled it all over my diaper bag today.

13. Cards holder. I keep all my different reward cards, bank card, and a bunch of other small stuff in there.

14. Ear phones.

15. Pack of Kleenex.

16. Purple dragonfly broach.

17. Santino's shots checklist.

18. "Metro" receipts.

19. Sample pack of baby wipes.

20. Clinique lipstick palette: "Pure Posh", "Coral Crush", "Honey Nude", "Sassy Spice".

21. A pencil and a pen.

22. My business cards and my sister-in-law business cards (Made with love cupcakes).

23. Natural bristle brush for Santino. Softest bristle. I bought it before Santino was born so I didn't realize that he doesn't have much hair to brush!

24. Santino's teething ring.

25. Two changes of clothes for Santino. I normally carry just one, but today I had two, for some reason.

26. A few plastic bags for possible diaper disposal, if I find myself in a place where I can't throw a diaper out. Also handy, in case I need to put his dirty clothes somewhere.

27. My self-made baby wipes. Cut one roll of Bounty paper in half, take carton insert out, put in a Ziplock plastic box. Add a cup of warm water, a few spoons of baby wash and a few spoons of baby lotion. These are the best wipes!

28. My combs.

29. Baby changing liner.

30. "Canadiens" hat!

New wall pic

2011-04-18T23:25:00.002-04:00

Hello blogger friends! Last week we came back from Florida. I had such a great time! We returned well rested and energized. So I found a couple of hours and drew a picture on the wall in my studio. Just decorating my work area :)

source

Baby is 6 months old!

2011-03-09T17:26:00.001-05:00

Time flies. Santino is growing very fast. He is already able to sit up by himself and yesterday we started him on solids!

I am still very busy and have no time to sit down and draw and "Illustration Friday" picture, like I used to. My mind is so preoccupied, that even when I do have time, all I wanna do is fall asleep or do nothing and just sit on the couch. In a few weeks we are going on a little vacation, so I am hoping I will have my rest, relax and be back to my old self.

A few days ago we made a few cute photos of him. My top banner is one of those photos. Courtesy of TNy Photograhy

Well, hello hello!

2011-02-22T10:05:00.000-05:00

Hello dear blogger friends!
I have not been blogging much recently as now I am very busy. Back in September I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. We named him Santino, a "little saint".

Santino has been growing very rapidly, demanding all my attention and time, therefore I haven't been able to draw much. That's pretty much why I haven't been posting anything for all this time. I even haven't changed my top banner!

Anyways, I will try to write more often. Here are a few sketches of my baby sleeping.

Mural. Finished!!!

2010-09-03T12:34:00.001-04:00

well, almost finished. I still need to finish up the black lines and fix up the Sun. I can't do it right now, as for the past few months my feet were really swollen, and especially the last month! It is really hard for me to stand for a long period time. I hope after I give birth and got some rest, I could little by little finish it up.

The day is coming any minute now!

Anyways, here it is! The wall doesn't fit in the camera, so I made 3 photos of smaller parts. Click on the headline of the post to see the rest of the images "under cut"

Flashmob - Rain, Rain, come and play!

2010-07-30T13:34:00.000-04:00

My friends in Moscow are all suffering from unusually high temperatures. Most of the apartments and houses are not set up for such heat, hence don't have proper air conditioners and people are going crazy, looking forward to some relief.

My friend, a fellow artist, suggested to collectively dream up some lower temperatures and even some rain. They call it " online flashmob": when people start posting their own interpretation of a certain topic.

Here's my rain:

Mural. Started!!!

2010-07-05T19:26:00.000-04:00

So I finally started my baby room mural. I procrastinated for half a year :)) Although, this was a good thing, that I delayed the mural, as we have decided to move baby room to another room, from the originally planned.

Anyways, here is what I've done today.

Coo Coo sketches

2010-07-01T17:18:00.000-04:00

Coocoo's face is very funny. She always looks very surprised and at the same time almost upset. I tried taking her picture with my camera, but every time camera clicks, Coocoo squints and that funny look disappears. I tried sketching her, but she moves too much, and I can't catch that funny expression. She doesn't move though when she stares through the windows, or lounges on the floor. So that's what I sketch...

Ehh.... and yes, she is a fatso :))

Here is the original :)

Summery

2010-06-29T19:04:00.001-04:00

Just a summery pic, for no reason.

Hamsters, cats and woman's happiness

2010-06-24T13:04:00.000-04:00

This is a rough translation of this short story header. Unfortunately, it is in Russian, and even if I translated it into English, most of humor will be lost. But trust me, guys, it is very very funny. This short story saved my day, after Italy's elimination from the World Cup, in group stages. sigh...

The story is about a hamster, who lived in the closet, and a cat, who thought this hamster was destined to be come his (cat's) dinner. Cat tried to get inside the closet, and the hamster thought, that such life is no good, moved in an old shoe. Cat found the hamster eventually, but it took his owners a few minutes and a newspaper to explain to him that hamster is a friend, not food.

(see? the style of the story won't translate properly, sorry)

Anyways, here they are:

And Bella!!! I have not done anything in regards to the mural yet. But I am still planning to. With Italy out of the World Cup it seems to me, that I will watch much less TV now and will finally start doing what I wanted to do.

My neighbor

2010-06-16T22:39:00.000-04:00

Hello everybody!

I feel a need to apologize to my blogger friends for disappearing for such a long time. Thank you for not forgetting me (I hope you didn't forget me :))

No updates really. Was working (part-time from home.. yay!), and when I finished work I didn't feel like hanging around my computer, and wanted to spend some time outside the house, on the front porch. I love watching our neighbors' kids playing. I also love watching my husband play soccer and bocci with them.

Anyways, yesterday I finally (hurray!) felt a need to draw again. I was worrying, that this need disappeared forever, as I didn't feel like it for a while. I sketched a neighbor girl, who was kind enough to sit in front of me without running away for like.. 15 minutes! I saw she wasn't enjoying it though. So I sketched her, and today I wanted to try and color the sketch in photoshop. Here it is...

A question for professional artists

2010-03-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

Dear friends! I have an important question for those who have experience with the inside murals.

I am thinking about putting up a mural on the baby room wall, a scene from this cartoon

Who has an idea of what type of paint should I use for this mural? As Bella might remember, I have some experience with drawing on the walls ( ;-) ), only with charcoal, not paint.

Thanx in advance!

(I am ready to make and put up a new header on my blog! Spring is almost here!!)

Coming soon!

2010-02-02T15:56:00.002-05:00

Hello friends!

I have been out of touch with everybody for a long time! Sorry!
Well, I have a good reason for not writing and drawing anything. Excuse :)

Big news is, me and my husband are expecting.. to become parents! Yay! Our little family of Leos (both of us were born in August) will soon have a baby Tiger (well, if count by year).

Anyways, I've been really tired the past month, sleepy and dizzy. But it's a pleasant thing.

IF: Renewal

2010-01-02T14:41:00.002-05:00

I have never been to a "renewal of vows" ceremony, but looked it up on the internet. I wish I live that long and that happy "ever after".

Just a festive illo

2010-01-02T00:13:00.001-05:00

I was listening to Glen Miller on youtube, and imagined this illustration. Sometimes I wish I had a dress like that.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T01:01:00.002-05:00

Dear friends!

I want to wish you all many happy returns. Let the New Year make your wishes come true, may you finally meet your old friend who you haven't seen for the longest time, may you taste the most interesting dish, which you have always wanted to taste and never dared, may you finally buy that little nick-knack, that you always wanted. I wish you lose those pounds, that you've been trying to lose for the past 5 years.
I wish that those, who didn't believe in you would finally see your full potential.
I wish you all be happy, smile always, don't get depressed. Life is beautiful. I wish that those who didn't see it before, would finally see it.

Here is my little card for this coming year of Tiger.

2010 year of Tiger

2009-12-30T08:39:00.001-05:00

Here is a tiger. I drew it yesterday in Photoshop.
I wanted to make a card out of it, but words just seem out of place here. I want all attention to be on the tiger.

Happy New Year!

"Kalendar" again.

2009-12-29T18:38:00.001-05:00

This time i didn't submit it, because they have a "day for wrapping up gifts". And as you can see, I drew unwrapping...

Happy unwrapping to all of you!

Another "Kalendar" illo

2009-12-28T19:59:00.003-05:00

they spelled their site "kalen-dar" that's why I spell it this way.

This one is for the "day of looking for the forgotten gratitude"

Here is another one for Kalendar

2009-12-28T15:14:00.001-05:00

This one is for the "Day of Lemon Candy Passion". I already did it once. It was last year. I think it was one of my first, the one that inspired me to try more.

Here is another try.

Kalendar

2009-12-28T00:26:00.001-05:00

I recently posted an illustration for the Illustration Friday and also decided to post some for the Kalen-dar site.

Here is one for the "Day of looking for the Northern Deer"

Here is for the "Day of the Snow Angels"

More sketches

2009-12-26T20:41:00.002-05:00

A couple of other sketches that I colored in photoshop.

IF: Pioneer

2009-12-26T19:48:00.002-05:00

I haven't been posting for a long long time. But now I feel an "urge" again.

---------

I also come from former USSR, where "pioneers" were a common tradition. Kids had to join this organization around 9-10 years old until 14 years old. There was nothing wrong with this organization, kids were doing nice things to those in need (yes, doing these "good deeds" were forced by the rules, but there is nothing wrong with that. I think. Kids grew up learning how to help people, clean up, be active in social life... )

There are few great books written about them. Here is sample of the book I found on ebay. It was one of my favorite books when I was a child. I was a pioneer too, and I grew up a good person!

Anyways, I decided not to draw anything related to soviet pioneers. I just like kitties and snow :)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T01:19:00.008-05:00

My warmest wishes to all of you, no matter of whether you celebrate Christmas or not!

Hugs and kisses, my dearest friends! I love you all!

-----------------

I've been making these small avatars for my friends. I hope they like them. I just found a bunch of my older pencil sketches. I decided to make them in Photoshop instead of the Illustrator. It is easier, but also more difficult. I can't seem to find how to draw straight. Most of my lines appear squiggly :)

I'm back (click on the name to expand)

2009-12-20T11:50:00.003-05:00

Hello my friends! I am back from vacation. We went to the Dominican, it was great! The weather was awesome, a bit windy, but just right.

The ocean was warm, the palm trees and the sand were there, food and drinks all included. I still have the resort bracelet on my wrist.

I made a few photos, I'll show them later. I brought my sketch book and my pencils with me, and was sketching away on the beach, in the lobby, and in the airport.

Here they are. Actually, I will start with a photo from my phone (I brought my blackberry with me, downloaded 6 books and was reading them on the beach. I don't need a separate reader, I can totally use my Blackberry for anything! I love it!)

Here is a palm tree I sketched:

Actually, to start from the beginning, I would have to start with this one. We left CooCoo at home, bought an automatic feeder and left enough water. But just to make sure that she will be ok, we asked our neighbor to stop by and make sure that the feeder is working and there is enough water and that she is OK. We left chocolates on the table for the neighbor to treat himself when he comes. I also made a card. Unfortunately, I didn't scan the colored final card, so here is the sketch, so that you have an idea:

And then on the plane to the Dominican, I was still a bit worried about CooCoo, and was thinking about her all the flight.

I sketched people on the beach

At night we chilled near the lobby bar. I sketched some people there too:

And then while waiting at the airport I also sketched some people:

Tooth

2009-12-08T21:19:00.000-05:00

They took out my tooth today. Now I am in pain. All day long. Can't really open my mouth, can't speak, can't eat. Well, I ate a little, only soup. Still hungry..

Just a girl

2009-12-03T21:32:00.001-05:00

I started making this girl for a project, and by the time I finished, I realized that she is totally wrong for it.

But I still like the girl. So here is just a girl. For nothing.

Winter

2009-11-25T21:43:00.000-05:00

I have updated my blog design. made it more "wintery" (if i may say so).
i only started decorating for Christmas today. anybody else is ready?

Color: Purple

2009-11-19T16:41:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine gave me a task to find some purple things around me and write about them. Here they are:

(In the magazines they usually add numbers to the corresponding photos, but I hope that my collage here would be easy to follow).

1. Klimt coffee book. My inspiration and my good mood. Somehow I am always in a good mood after I flip its pages. We don't have a coffee table really, so I keep it among other books in my art room (I don't call it my office any more), or sometimes on the floor of my art room. My desk is usually too full.

2. Oil paint. I don't care that there are only 12 of them, at this time 12 is enough for me. Check out my another attempt here (not original no... copy of course)

3. A book about pastel and how to paint with pastel.

4. A broach. Remember this IF illo? I used it there.

5. A gift from my Italian friend. She brought it for my wedding. It is a special Italian thing, made of candy. Very pretty.

6. A book about marketing by Seth Godin, "Purple Cow". Awesome book! The idea is explained at the beginning. Seth tells, how he was traveling by car with his family around Southern France, and how they were admiring picturesque views with fields and cows. But after a while they got sick and tired of those cows, as they all looked the same. So he had this idea, if at least one cow was for instance purple, he would definitely notice it. The rest of the book lists examples of how to promote small and average size businesses without spending a fortune on advertising.

7. A coffee set from Roberto's grandmother.

That's it! No more purple things in my house. None at all!

If you are interested in playing let me know. I will give you a color to find!

Hello everybody! Long time no post..

2009-11-17T22:08:00.002-05:00

... sorry. I some time post a few pictures on my livejournal blog, but that's in Russian, so no interest here.

Recently I've been drawing girls. Various faces and races.
I finally came to a decision, that I do need a proper drawing pad. Anybody uses any? Suggestions? I can't afford $400 ones, so I need something cheaper. But I need it. Suggestions are appreciated. Brand names, and pros and cons. Worst case scenario, I might look them up on craigslist or ebay?

Here are a few girls

Are you ready? We are..

2009-10-26T06:59:00.001-04:00

My husband carved a pumpkin, and it is all ready for the Saturday. We live in a neighborhood with 2 schools and countless children, so we are expecting lots and lots of visitors.

A few years ago I participated in my husband's family home Halloween party. Everybody was dressed up, lots of kids stopped by. I was dressed up as a she-devil, and one child started crying when I tried to talk to her :)
I didn't think I was that scary!

Window

2009-10-10T18:54:00.000-04:00

A few days ago we finally installed our frosted windows stickers. My husband came up with the idea, like a real art director, I designed it in Illustrator, like a freelancer, and his brother installed it like a production manager :)

It's a family art team

Looks really nice from outside too!

Our wedding anniversary

2009-10-08T11:22:00.000-04:00

2 days ago was our wedding anniversary.
What a beautiful day it was!

So another blog I have set up

2009-10-05T20:59:00.001-04:00

Check out Candy:

(Yeah, yeah, I know. I just can't stay away from my little faeries :) )

Tried myself in oil...

2009-09-26T11:42:00.003-04:00

i mean, i tried oil paint. i really really wanted to try. i realize i gotta learn and be more patient, but this was my first. so here it is.

Renoir had this as "two sisters", my girls grew up a little, and turned into "mother and daughter". (hmmmm.. Freudian slip on my behalf? :) )

Kiss

2009-09-24T09:37:00.001-04:00

I feel like creating something again. For now, this little thing

We finally moved and more or less settled...

2009-09-13T21:01:00.002-04:00

Hi everybody!

My little update: we finally have moved to a little house in a quiet children-friendly neighborhood. The move went rather well, very stressful, with a few furniture damages, and sweat and tears.

People who lived here left the house in a rather poor shape, they didn't care much about it. So now we are finding little and big things here and there that need to get fixed. And our plan to save a little bit of money here and there to fix the house little by little might receive a few interruptions due to unexpected expenses, like a thermostat or a suddenly leaking kitchen sink.

Oh, the beauties of the move!

I wanted to make a drawing of the house, but really had no time. I am planning on making one soon. Here is a little photo for now.

Cheers everybody!

... once a year

2009-08-22T12:52:00.005-04:00

Accepting best wishes for my today's birthday here! ;)

translation:

let the people run
on the wet streets
they won't understand
why is that i am so happy
in such a bad weather

i'm playing my accordion
for everybody to see
unfortunately
birthdays only come once a year

a wizard will come
in a blue helicopter
and will show me a movie
free of charge,
he will wish me happy birthday
and will leave
500 packs of ice cream
for me

i'm playing my accordion
for everybody to see
unfortunately
birthdays only come once a year

And here is me and the flower cake! My parents sent it to me. It got delivered, and we all hoped that it is actually chocolate underneath, but there is nothing under the flowers, just that stuff, they stick the flowers into.

And there is no other cake :)
I guess I am bound to lose weight!

One more update

2009-08-13T22:24:00.002-04:00

I also have met several awesome writers. And I even got a few of them to start blogging.

Please, meet:

Angelique La Mone

and

Amelie Court

Update

2009-08-13T22:19:00.003-04:00

So, I have started working. Hurray!
I started working part time for a publishing company. Promoting, designing, stuff...
I may even do some illustrations. You know...

Anyways. Have been working on a website for them. It is not finished, but I'll show you fellow artists the work in progress. You guys, of all people, can understand what "work in progress" means. :)

Thank you Voz :)

2009-08-02T11:23:00.000-04:00

I will make something too. something.. i'll think of something...

Ink

2009-08-01T11:58:00.005-04:00

Bought ink and tried a few ink paintings.

and

and

A question to all real artists i know: am I crazy? I mean, crazy because I cut my brushes? Some of them, after a certain type of paint I use, the bristles start sticking out everywhere and won't combine in a pointy one piece any more.

I understand. Those are probably bad brushes. Or it is just because I don't know how to take care of them. How do I take care of them? :) Whats your secret?

Not drawing anything recently

2009-07-24T08:15:00.004-04:00

You think i'm lazy? 'cause I'm not drawing anything recently?

Well.. you are right yes. Although I'm not drawing anything because... my creativity is trapped in one of these boxes we have all over our house....

I guess not only my creativity got trapped in a box :)

Ice cream...

2009-07-16T14:09:00.002-04:00

We are lucky today... Rather hot outside, with promises of more clouds and even rain later on...

I am into drawing girls :)

Here is a funny story. I posted 3 pictures for sale on ebay. They were not selling and I stopped checking, hoping to receive email notification if they sell.

And then forgot.

And then 7 days later I found out that I need to send a quote to the buyer!!!! OMG!

I sent invoices. I meant to give the guy a shipping discount and instead of discounting, I accidentally double charged him for shipping.

I sent him 2 apologizing messages, but he has not replied yet :)

What a mess..

Hello again

2009-07-15T19:36:00.003-04:00

Hello, dear bloggy friends! I disappeared again. sorry. was busy.
We finally bought a house ('ve been looking since February), I finally left my tech.support job (yay!), and I have found me an online gallery to sell some of my paintings. Here (over 21 years old only) ...(oh,yeah!)

Got inspired...

2009-07-02T17:40:00.001-04:00

... by this blog here...

I fell in love with those cute girls and decided to make a few for myself :)

IF: worn

2009-06-30T22:41:00.002-04:00

I meant to show a worn out dress, ripped to shreds and all faded. But then just ended up drawing an every day situation at home. When I think what to wear. Everything seems to be so worn.

Journal ball pen sketch: F.M.Brown

2009-06-28T19:16:00.001-04:00

Just a relaxing time not watching TV...

More faeries

2009-06-23T15:07:00.002-04:00

I want to make more faeries, and also more non-faeries art. But I am stuck again, because between work, looking for a house and maybe even another job, I have no energy left for anything else.

Here are 3 more little magical creatures.

IF: drifting

2009-06-19T18:20:00.004-04:00

I haven't participated in IF challenges since... I don't even know how long. Now I feel the "itch" again. Here is "drifting"...

Dear Bella...

2009-06-18T00:35:00.002-04:00

I am so sorry for your loss... I wish you all the strength for yourself and your daughters. Hang in there... We are here, when you need us.

Mint fairy

2009-06-16T23:00:00.004-04:00

Remember the other one, pulling poor plants, "trying to make them grow faster"? LOL

Now, looky how big they are now! Huge! We've been having mint and oregano every day in salads and with onion and peas, and I even add a few leaves of mint into a jug of water, to give it some flavor. Much healthier than... oh well.

Something positive. For no reason.

2009-06-15T22:55:00.004-04:00

I realize I have been slacking recently. Not posting much. Not commenting much.
To be honest, I have been busy taking pictures and studying the environment around me. I am amazed how much beauty is around me! If I didn't start looking, I would have just walked by, as if it doesn't matter. But it does. It does matter. I want to notice every little detail. And make my life full of color, beauty and positive experiences.

Here are a few posts with photos from my LJ blog. There is no need for words really. Pictures are worth hundreds of words. Take a look:

Some everyday patterns

Riverdale Art Walk (1)

Riverdale Art Walk (2)

flowers

I promise to come back with some illos soon!

Have a great day!

Sketch of Rembrandt's "Pallas Athene"

2009-05-31T01:38:00.002-04:00

"Rembrandt's passion for rich materials and the opportunities they gave for effects of chiaroscuro and of lighting led him often to this use of precious armour and of cloaks. This picture and the "Mars" in Glasgow were probably companion pieces. In both, the crimson and gold flood the shadows with warmth". (From "The Outline of Art")

Anyways. I tried to translate the Rembrandt's genious of chiaroscuro into a little ballpen sketch..

And then I went crazy and .. just couldn't stop being crazy. I just felt so bored and decided to give this masterpiece a little twist. yeah... hm.... Call it "remix" if you wish :^)

Sketch of Raphael's "Pope Julius II"

2009-05-27T19:40:00.003-04:00

I really needed to draw something last night. I felt like I wanna go and eat something, and this was right after dinner. Actually, I felt I want either eat or draw.... huh!

So I opened my book on the history of art and the random page it opened to was this portrait of Pope Julius II. This book of mine only has black and white pictures, so I tried to copy and stay as close as possible to the original. But unfortunately, the black and white version blended lots of colors together, and it looked very much different from the original.

I looked it up on the internet, and found that the original was the portrait of an old sick tired man, while on the black and white version he looked more like an angry man. At least at first.

So here is my "excuse" for my sketch not being similar to the original.

Oh! And apparently there are 2 portraits of this Pope by Raphael: one is in London, and the other one in Uffizi.

My old art journal

2009-05-26T17:31:00.002-04:00

When my friend gave me this journal I was very excited and thankful, but had no idea what I want to do with it. And so I started doodling away, practicing drawing eyes and hair styles. And only later I decided I want to do "sketches" of the classic art and just photos from the internet. Nice practice. I finished off my old journal within a few days. Here it was:

Here is my last sketch - Adonis by Titian. I was in a pretty irritated mood, if I may say that, so I finished it off just looking forward to finish it. No heart.

My new art journal

2009-05-26T13:06:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I had a day off. My little art journal finished, no more pages to doodle and sketch, so I went and got me a new one.

Here it is. All flowery and summery and all.

And I immediately sketched a Venice by Velasquez with my ball pen. Weird. I love sketching with ball pen, prefer it to a pencil.

Edwards Gardens sketch

2009-05-23T00:58:00.005-04:00

I went there after work with my friend. What a beautiful place! So serene, pleasant and inviting!

We sat near a stream and talked and I sketched these stones with my ball pen.

Here is what they looked like when we were leaving (I took a snap with my phone for later reference and just to show you what it really was)

I will definitely go back there with some more colorful sketching supplies. Or maybe even with an easel! I wish I had a sketching partner ...

Few more pen sketches

2009-05-21T11:38:00.003-04:00

My mind is bubbling at work from all those repetitive tasks I have to do. Same questions, same answeres, and no way out in sight...

sigh...

Anyways. Internet is still partially available to me. I cannot really browse my favorite bloggers' art, because blogspot and other blogs are blocked by the company firewall. Well, I can still browse classic art as much as I want, and recently I've been on this sketching spree, so I decided I can totally sketch classic art. I don't have to sit in a museum on a floor and do it in "the comfort" of my own cubicle.

Here are a few recent sketches.

This is just a sketch from a photo I found on the net.

Here is the original

Here are a few "good luck" charms I found on the internet. Sketched those too..

This is a "dragon jaw". Supposed to bring moneys and riches.

This one is supposed to bring positive change. Boy, do I need that!

My friend's portrait

2009-05-20T08:47:00.002-04:00

I have been trying to paint my friend's portrait for several weeks now. Or months. And I was never happy with the results.

And then I decided to go and just draw something. Paint something. And this one came out ok. I mean, a cat looks like a little daredevil, but this is funny, not bad.

Klimt always inspired me. That's Klimt background

Art weekend. Few more sketches

2009-05-11T10:33:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I took my mother-in-law on a little art trip around Thornhill.

A bunch of artists and photographers agreed to invite people into their houses to look at their art and, maybe, buy some too. We didn't see all the artists' houses, but the ones that we saw I really enjoyed.

One of the artists - Gary Wein - is actually somebody I know in the real life. I asked him if he ever goes on sketching trips, and he said that not normally but it would be a good idea! So we decided to go on a hiking trip together to the Rattlesnake Point, not far from Toronto. It doesn't even have rattlesnakes, so it is safe and beautiful. I better get me some hiking sketching gear!

Then I came home and made a few more sketches of my husband, a magazine cover and just doodles.

Also, almost every day of the past week I was trying to draw a friend of mine. But I keep failing and not liking the results. She liked this one, but I know the whole face here is wrong... I better figure this out

Sketches

2009-05-04T14:14:00.004-04:00

So everybody is sketching... well, not like EVERYBODY everybody, but many people that i encounter on the internet. I decided to sketch too.

We went for a ride around Toronto yesterday. I sketched a bench. Not the best sketch, but we didn't have much time and I was mostly laughing rather then sketching, because my husband was sitting next to me, saying that my drawing attracts flies!!!! LOL!!!! (You know what flies are attracted to... you know.. starts with "s", and it is not "sketch")

And then we got home and I sketched tomatoes and parsley.

I can't sketch people on subway and admire those who can do that.

Tulips

2009-05-02T23:54:00.004-04:00

My friend's birthday is coming up. She loves tulips and she's been talking about buying art for her apartment. Is this vain to give her my painting as a present? This is not "real" oil painting, but its oil pastel, rather close. I am no Renoir, but then again, my art is free :)

Here is not the best photo, but it gives an idea. (and she doesn't know about this blog, so I still can keep it as a surprise)

Redbud fairies

2009-04-30T23:58:00.002-04:00

I promised Amy to look for some fairies in the redbud tree flowers. Here I found 2 :^)
Ces, I told you the boy was ok !! :^))

Don't ask me why I put them so far up there on the picture. I don't know. I just screwed up I guess

Another pastel girl

2009-04-30T21:42:00.001-04:00

I have not attempted to go for more details yet. I will... I will...

Is this guy sexy?

2009-04-27T14:11:00.003-04:00

Hey Bella!! I found one just for you :)

Mint fairy

2009-04-27T10:49:00.002-04:00

We have some pepper mint and oregano and some other herbs starting to grow. We didn't plant them this year, they just kinda recovered from last year and started showing up a few days ago.

This fairy ... first i thought she was trying to pull the plant out of the soil. But then i realized, she just tries to make it grow faster :)

Rose fairy

2009-04-26T16:50:00.002-04:00

I noticed CooCoo staring at our rose for a while. I wasn't sure what she was looking at, so I took a quick picture, and OMG! there was a fairy there!!! Look!

Fairy of the blooming flowers

2009-04-25T13:17:00.004-04:00

,We have not planted any flowers yet in our backyard, but some of them started coming out by themselves. Maybe a little fairy helped them out?

Sleeping fairy

2009-04-25T02:19:00.004-04:00

I have made a few more fairies. This one is sleeping .. shhshshsh....

Flowers and a fairy

2009-04-23T01:01:00.004-04:00

So I had this useless crayon drawing and didn't know what to do with it. So I decided to let a fairy in, maybe her magic can save the day? :)

Pastel study, lights and shadows

2009-04-19T20:46:00.005-04:00

I wanted to see how to manage light and shadows. Here is a study

CooCoo and a blue ball

2009-04-15T00:13:00.003-04:00

she has this ball, a toy, that she likes to play "hide-and-seek" with. her ball became my inspiration for the third part of my bright pastel series

More color

2009-04-14T01:39:00.003-04:00

I couldn't sleep and decided to make another bright pastel painting (I like calling my creations "paintings"). Here is some color, watch out!

Got wine! Come on in

2009-04-12T21:04:00.004-04:00

So I have had my pastels for a while now, but have not been doing much with them. I have tried a few times, but was not really happy with the outcome. They act a bit weird (to me), but I guess I gotta keep practicing to feel 100% comfortable. I feel like we are a match, but just have not found our comfortable position yet :)

Here is an example

My portfolio website

2009-04-12T18:53:00.006-04:00

Alrighty... I have not totally finished it yet, but I needed to show it to somebody! That's just me, I need to see my creations through other people's eyes.

Anyways, come visit me at: www.nataliya.ca

Bring some wine and cookies, I have not finished decorating and setting up the furniture yet, so I have no time for cooking :)

Welcome to my new ... well, not quite home... Studio! Let it be studio!

P.S. I don't have IE6 anymore, so I am not sure what this site is going to look like there. But in FireFox, Safari and IE8 it looks just fine. Let me know if you find bugs!

OMG!!! I got an award!!!

2009-04-11T02:05:00.009-04:00

Bella-who-is-the-best-blogger-ever passed on this amazing award to me among 10 other great bloggers!

Well, first of all I immediately went and added Peter Breese to the blogs I follow, as well as a bunch of other artists who I don't want to lose.

Now, my challenge is that I don't have enough blogger friends who I can share my fortune with :(

But I will try. I really love looking at the following blogs and get inspired by:

Jim Rowland
Adrienne Trafford
Pascal Campion
Pierre De Lune
and Why
(and i know I added Ces but she disappeared. I will add her again :0)

Ces

I will let them know in the comments and hope they accept this award. Their blogs really inspire me!

Please visit their blogs and take in the wonderment!

To the recipients: please select six new inspirational folks, give them a shiny new Breese Award –clean off any Champaign or similar celebratory stains – and keep the awesomeness moving along!

Welcome back

2009-04-10T17:49:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I made this illo and never posted here. Then I never got around to it being busy with some personal stuff. And now I am still a bit busy (making my portfolio website), but I decided to post this illo and wave myself "welcome back" :)

March 31 - BooBoo Day

2009-03-30T22:23:00.005-04:00

I didn't know what "booboo" was supposed to mean, but the maintainers of the kalen_dar LJ community asked me to make an illo and told me that it is supposed to have something to do with a tambourine. I guess nobody understood that and hence, nobody made any illustrations for this day.

So here is my rush-rushh booboo day

Flowers

2009-03-29T18:04:00.001-04:00

just another watercolor. Got the flowers today from husband's cousin and his wife.

The day for hugging the Sun

2009-03-29T16:06:00.002-04:00

here is a small watercolors illo i made for this day.

Romeo and Juliet. Part IV. With music

2009-03-26T17:28:00.005-04:00

This one is for Ces. Now, remember this was a ballet, not a real play, and that's what I am trying to depict.

IF: "subtract"

2009-03-25T19:06:00.006-04:00

She's thinking: "after all my shopping I am running dangerously low on my budget. What should I omit...subtract?"

I am high on the music

2009-03-25T14:48:00.000-04:00

Just another tee on MySoti. And back to IF :)

T-shirt on MySoti - YAY!

2009-03-24T13:51:00.000-04:00

Patterns and backgrounds. Part IV - 2

2009-03-19T21:26:00.002-04:00

here is another one

Patterns and backgrounds. Part IV

2009-03-19T18:54:00.002-04:00

I have made this background... and it actually called for 2 illustrations. Here is one

Patterns and backgrounds. Catwalk

2009-03-18T17:43:00.006-04:00

Playing with photoshop patterns and textures. I also wanted to make a stylish illustration. I just love fashion shows, make-up, shoes, dressing up.

Romeo and Juliet. Part III

2009-03-17T17:47:00.004-04:00

There were only few other then main characters. One of them was this Harlequin. His part was very brisk and he projected lots of positive energy. I am not sure which character he was supposed to be from the original play. But then again, I don't remember the play very well, its been a while since I read it last time.