Taking a break...

Dear All,

Some changes in my life force me to take a break and put paints and pencils aside for a while. I will work full time up until January 2016 (hopefully no longer). Mountains look gorgeous in the Autumn but sometimes one does not have to paint or draw, it is good enough to look and enjoy the moment. This year has been a wonderful painting marathon for me and I am ready to switch to the reality... for a little bit :)

Yours,
Nadya

Contrast shadows

Beautiful spot for the painting. Doing quick studies of the colors and contrast.

Surprise unexpected break

Yes, guests season...

Did I show you my husband's work from Palenville PaintOut? It was sold as well as mine. Looking forward to participate next year.

Zoe

One of my cute students. A quick drawing with some baby alterations obviously :) 

Joyful colors on Etsy

This takes so long to add a listing on Etsy. I have a few more to add and I am not looking forward.
Joyful Colors of the Spring

This is how it looks framed.

Autumn colors

Baby sketch

Back to work or just another session

I will resist temptation to write a paragraph of the critics. Will keep it to myself.

Little explorer

Vacation is officially over.

Rochester waterfalls

Vacation is almost over.
Mountains, see ya soon!

Summer morning

Desperate drawing

When you hear that your guests will arrive in 40 minutes you run outside with the pencils hoping that they will arrive a bit later....

While on vacation...

... I am sharing with you one of my favorite landscapes by Mikhail Nesterov:

Hibernating

I worked two nights in the row (not to mention days) but it still feels so good to manage your own work schedule. Part-time job is wonderful. I am very grateful to my company.

Arts plans are changing. As much as I enjoy drawing/painting anything/anywhere, something will be different in the future. Do not know what. Digesting and thinking....... :)

Sunset that looks like noon

I worked a bit on this sketch from yesterday. Left side looks all confused and dirty but I feel good about the future of this painting :)

Last chance sketch

Right before the sunset. 12"x8"

Baby sketch touch-ups

Summer fun

Just another nap time. Instead of going outside with the coffee I decided to play with this little sketch. Less than an hour work until someone woke up.

Batavia Kill

One hour with the Cure in my head and with my favorite river on canvas
5"x7"

20 min experiment

On my wishlist: buy fancy markers and try them out.

Sunset progress

I feel more comfortable with the smaller canvases.

Personal solo exhibition....

... in our bathroom :)
I am not sure about the hours though.

Etsy-ing

I am slowly adding my drawings to Etsy hoping to find good homes for them.
Two of them are ready to go:
House on the Hill
Crystal Ponds #1

Sunset progress

About an hour long session. I am not very happy with the colors but hoping to fix them next time.

30 minutes at the swimming hole

- Are you sure you do not mind being with Blueberry while I am painting?
- Not at all. I am relaxing and enjoying the waters.

Our usual "selfish Mom-perfect Dad" dialog.

And this an unexpected surprise oil sketch on a 7"x5" board. I did some touch-ups today but the photo's quality is bad, so posting yesterday's picture.

14x16 sunset

Trying to follow the rules - no colors before composition is 100% done.

Chilling out at the swimming hole

+ a bit of computer editing (I can never get the right colors with the pencils)

Summer arrived

I felt so guilty to leave my men for almost 2 hours. Thinking about the artists that have families. Who is the hero - probably, their wife or a husband?

Sunset

Very small sketch to "taste" the colors.

Before and after turpenoid

Not a huge difference and one can argue which is better.

 

Reflecting on the Art Fest

What amazed me was the people who participated in this event. I was expecting unhealthy atmosphere of competition but it was the opposite with a few exceptions. It inspired me a lot and I felt happy to be surrounded by people that are kind to each other. The artworks were nice too. Paintings tell a lot about their author and even though I did not find real masterpieces they were nice and I would not mind having a few of them at my place.
Enough about this fest and moving on to new adventures!

A quick sketch

I was trying to draw during the Art Fest on Saturday and it did not really work because people kept walking behind my back. Even by looking at this drawing now I feel like coming back to the spot and drawing it again.

Windham Art Fest'15

It was fun! I met a lot of nice people, received a lot of compliments. Too bad it was raining all day long but still I think it was a great idea to participate.

Resting and getting ready to new adventures!

Yellow Pink framed

Looks yummy. And it is sold already to a nice lady.

Feeling nervous

There will be a first class with a new student today. It is always so stressful and... fun!
I hope it will go fine. 2 more hours to get ready...
.... and I get a free babysitting! :) His amazing Mom will be taking care of my boy while I m taking care of hers. Reasonable deal!

Paint Out Event in Palenville NY

Long story short - my husband and I participated in this event
Here is my painting (9x12), photograph cut it on the top a bit.

Last week before Art Fest

Yes, I am framing, re-framing, varnishing. One more week and then my life should be back to normal.

Here is an example how the drawings look like framed. I did not have time to take a nice picture but at least it will give some idea.

Another old one

Very busy days. Looking forward to having my usual joyful lunch breaks at the lake.

I have painted a few self-portraits and this one was probably thrown in the garbage long time ago. Despite the imperfection of the forms I think I should have kept it.

Old portrait

I was looking for something and I found a picture of a very old portrait finished in 2007. Time flies! I cannot believe it has been such a while... I always thought this was not a successful portrait but it looks better than I thought. If I had a chance, I would have worked on the shoulders/arm and cloths.

More contrast

Drawings look so much better with some extra contrast and colors.

Contrast

I added some contrast to this drawing that makes it look better in its frame.

Snow meets the grass

A few adjustments on this baby

Final version

Some touch-ups.

A house for sale

Finished this one. 11"x 14"

Yellow-pink is finished too

Looking for a better name.

Suddenly Windham Art Fest

Yesterday I came across a link to the Windham Art Fest and I inquired about free spots. To my surprise I got accepted within hours even though the deadline for applications was March. Exciting and challenging! I am finishing up the latest work and trying to fit this into our lives.
(...my husband is being unbelievably supportive...)

Sick people in the house

Dear blog, I am sorry that I disappeared. Cold and flu is in the house!

Experiment with the turpenoid

Yesterday there was a Led Zeppelin concert in the area so not too many folks came to the Greek's event. Well, if I knew about Led Zeppelin I would've considered going there too :-P
So even with a few babushkas that stopped by they still sold some of my drawings! I am glad.

Today I experimented with turpenoid.
Men are still napping, one is sick, another one is recovering from a long exhausting trip.

20 minutes

It could have been a nice painting/drawing if time was not an issue. I was looking at these purple shadows for day. Feels good to finally "catch" them on paper.

After rain

I did not mean to draw/paint today but the light after rain was soooo beautiful. I did not have my notebook and pencils around so I used something else to enjoy the moment.

Joyful colors of a windy day

The tree is in the center but who cares :)

Sunset drawing

My men were building the dam and I avoided their company in order not to freak out every time our little one steps into the river or finds new dirt.

Framing and re-framing

This Saturday's event turns to be such a pain in term of prep work.
This is some kind of artist statement. Good enough to present drawings I think.

30 minutes outside

Ah, the wild flowers are so beautiful. I should bring some home.
I had to make tough decision: to cook a soup or to draw. Too bad by boy's Mom has wrong priorities!

Framing business

My drawings will be offered for sale next weekend on a church event and I am surprised how much time it actually takes to frame them. Obviously I spent less time drawing than framing them.
They look nice but the latest oils look even better. Here is a rough picture of what is looking at me when I am working.