Here are links to the most popular post categories (click on the ink drops!)
Articles about artistic techniques, tools and general advice
Drawing tutorials
The process of drawing (my case studies and art stories)
My artworks
Thoughts and emotions (inspirational posts)
I think it’s so important to be actively curious, courageously curious.
Inspiration or wish for creating something usually doesn’t appear just by itself; we have to pay attention to the outer world and actually want to find something inspiring. Otherwise, it is a “come here everybody and entertain me” thing – which doesn’t work. 🙂
It’s a question of switching off that constant mind chatter and leaving the feeling of self-importance behind the door.
That’s why I started to read books that are based on lives and thoughts of other artists. At times they inspire, at times – warn of making a similar mistake. But a greater perspective always is there…
Late spring and summer usually are the time of slowing down for me. I put my thoughts and priorities in order, enjoy the freedom that almost feels everywhere – and also observe the beauty of the outer world full of curiosities.
This year is no exception; many things were thought over, and new decisions were made. I’ve chosen what to dig into and what to abandon… Maybe this “hold-mode” is not a permanent answer, but it’s still a wonderful idea if one wants to focus and get much better at something.
The changes are so natural – coming fall and winter months are the time for accomplishing, acting, moving forward, creating and getting the idea of what I’m actually capable of.
Life is a process of a constant change-over and a transition of rhythm. The only thing that may be constant is a sincere aspiration for better choices, decisions, attitude models. 🙂
Let me introduce a new tutorial on sketching with a graphite pencil and ink liners 🙂 I’m showing a fun, quick and easy way to draw. 😀
As you can see, there are three different drawings: a banana in a solid peel, a slice, and an example with a partly removed peel.
Exploring an object in multiple variants is so useful for developing the skills and creating a library of things that can be drawn from memory 🙂
In today’s post, I’ll show you a new series of three artworks in an unusual for me artistic medium – watercolor.
When I attended an art school for children (many years ago!), I had very little success with watercolor painting.
My favorite subject always was the drawing, graphics, especially in the ink variant, and I also was quite good in painting with paints that gave me the full control like gouache or oils.
Watercolor isn’t the medium that allows being absolutely sure what will happen on the paper surface. It is spontaneous and even seems to have its own mind and will. That’s why we couldn’t decide who is the chief in our relationship 😀 I just wasn’t able to give up the control and stop before there are too many layers of strokes.
So I grew up with a fear of watercolors and a strong belief that I’m just not good at it. That made me sad because I love beautiful watercolor paintings, but, on the other hand, I was a strong graphic artist who felt amazing with inks and graphite pencils. It is something worth celebrating and developing the skill!
Recently I felt that something changed. I don’t want to be just a person who is good at something but that’s all. Comfort isn’t my end goal or the place where I want to spend my whole life…
Yes, specializing is useful and even important. Focusing on something, we have the chance to advance faster and have greater results. But who said that we should put ourselves into a small box and limit our world by its tight boundaries? This is insane.
My new project “Watercolor Skulls” is all about being a person who doesn’t let anybody or anything decide what is possible or permissible. By the way, this project title is still a draft version, maybe I’ll come up with a better and more figurative one in the future.
The series consists of three watercolor painting of the A3 paper size. Below is a gallery with the scanned and edited artworks:
I’ve chosen a skull theme because I feel like it is a connection point between themes of life’s joy and being in the moment, and the finiteness of everything. Every creature exists in the now, not in the past or in the future, and knowing that life will end makes us more concious.
Let me present you a new tutorial published on Envato Tuts+: “How to Draw a Bird Step by Step”.
There I’m showing the process of creating a nature-inspired composition, first with a graphite pencil and then – using a variety of colored pencils.
Blue birds are so charming, aren’t they? ❤ Especially when they’re singing! 😀
Yesterday we had a lovely rainy fishing day.
Life seems even brighter when you wear yellow glasses
I gathered new botanical elements for my collection. There were not only leaves but also weed and wild fruits like apples, ashberry, and pear.
I can’t express how I like all these wonderful creations of nature!
There is something special in being alone in a forest during the rain. Redundant, unnecessary thoughts and emotions go away, and you face the pure and undisguised magnificence of life.
It is said that a person who wants to do something will find a way to do it 🙂 That’s so true. I came home quite tired, but various tasks were waiting for me. So I found myself still drawing at 2 a.m. 😀
By the way, I should make prep sketches for a new nature-inspired art series.
Just seize the day and be sure to spend the time you have of full value! 🙂
Hello, Friends 🙂
I haven’t posted anything for quite a long time – that’s because of my new site in the Russian language. I create a ton of content for it, work on new ebooks, and translate some of the articles from this blog.
Plus, there are many new drawings and ideas for the new series, experiments with artistic techniques (I’ll show you a couple of examples soon) and so on, as usual. It is so nice to come back to the normal mode of working and creating after the period of decay that I had in the late spring and the beginning of summer.
At the time, I feel like I’m obsessed with new possibilities, and, especially, the chance to explore myself using a variety of ways. Life is too amazing to be locked in something that is easy and well-known. 🙂
Hopefully, I’ll find an answer how to do a lot of various things and to keep pace with all of my plans.
I spend time outdoor – much more frequently than it happened before. Being in contact with the real world makes me conscious and mindful of all the things I can accomplish – if I wish.
Yesterday we had an enjoyable walk in the forest.
I was lucky enough to run into a teeny-tiny grass-snake, it was so lovely that I just couldn’t believe it wasn’t a credible-looking toy. 😀 Then there were various butterflies, bugs, spiders and other beautiful creatures.
For a long time, I was afraid of forests. Surprisingly how a person can change 😀 Now I feel like everything is perfectly in order!
How to draw an apple? New tutorial published on Envato Tuts+ 🙂
I’m showing the process of drawing with a graphite pencil and ink liners, both the whole fruit and cut in half.
Welcome! 🙂 
I admire ImagineFX magazine so much. For years I’ve been looking at the amazing art featured in this magazine, and secretly wished that one day my art will be worthy of being published there, too.
Dreams come true if we work hard enough 🙂 Below is one of the pages featuring me and my art (July 2017 issue).
Thanks, ImagineFX magazine – you honored me! ❤
You never know what a precious gift may be waiting for you… just make another step forward.
Go after your dreams and goals 🙂
