floral

Wildflowers. Yellow Thistle and Paris. Part 3

Artist, ArtTravel, Uncategorized, Urban sketching

Still life and urban sketching.

Paris. In the city of love, all you need to do is go outside and look around – beauty and history surround you within architecture, monuments, street names, memorial plaques, restaurant signs … There is something unique to find at every street corner.

Do you think sometimes about a city as a flower or as color? I am continuing my series with flowers, even summer is over. This post is about a yellow thistle, bright and sunny flower with strong character that might survive in any location and condition. Why Paris represents this flower for me? Any artist might answer – just look at my paintings, they will explain everything:)

Thistle. Wildflower with colors of eggplant and gold petals. I would describe it as Parisian Luxembourg Gardens.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-colors-of-eggplant-and-gold-petals-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle. Wildflower,sunny petals of colors pumpkin, orange and beetroot. Yammy, right? As traditional French cuisine itself, tender, homemade and is filled with flavor.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-petals-of-colors-pumpkin-orange-and-beetroot-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle. Wildflower with petals of colors canary- yellow, spicy and burgundy. Reminds me about the Opera Garnier, one of the most elegant building in Paris:)

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-petals-of-colors-canary-yellow-spicy-and-burgundy-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle. Wildflower with petals of colors amber and purple. flower buds as big and small museums in the city center, Musée d’Orsay, Louvre, Musée de l’Orangerie, Musée Marmottan Monet.Musée Jacquemart-André,Musee de Cluny…

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-petals-of-colors-amber-and-purple-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle. Wildflower with mustard-violet flower and apple’s color of thorns. Stylish as Parisian sweeping and majestic boulevards:)

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-mustard-violet-flower-and-apple-color-of-thorns-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle. Wildflower with peach color of petals and copper and amber background. It reminds me the Eiffel Tower in the morning:)

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-peach-color-of-petals-and-copper-and-amber-background-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission

Links

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

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Wildflowers. Red Thistle and Madrid. Still life and urban sketching. Part 2.

Artist, ArtTravel, Uncategorized, Urban sketching

Red thistle flower and my favorite city in Spain, Madrid. The city I associate with red colour and positive associations like passion, strength, energy and fearlessness.

Madrid . This city has many sides to it – aristocratic, bohemian, and commercial. When you get to Madrid, you feel: this city is your place, you feel comfortable as if this is your own home. Your city, to live and to thrive in.

To name just a few of our favourite places in Madrid would be difficult but I will try: Plaza Mayor, Puerto del Sol, Prado museum, Royal Palace and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Art and Retiro Park. We’ve travelled to Madrid several times in the past and it is certainly on the list for our rendezvous in the near future:)

I dedicated a series of watercolour and ink paintings of  bright red or warm peach coloured thistles, to one of my favourite city in Europe.

Thistle with tomato and red cabbage colors of its petals, adding indigo background for some effects.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-peach-color-of-petals-and-copper-and-amber-background-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle with petals of colors pomegranate and scarlet, with background of lemon and coffee colours.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-petals-of-colors-pomegranate-scarlet-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Watercololour painting of thistle with some raspberry color and blueberry, dark blue, with leaves of celery color. Bright coloured flower, love it:)

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-petals-of-raspberry-color-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle, the wildflower with sunny petals of colors cocoa, with some addings of colours of cognac and bluish background.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflowersunny-petals-of-colors-cocoa-colorcognac-bluish-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle with petals of colors amethyst and salmon and background of creamy colors, tender feeling.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-petals-of-colors-amethyst-and-salmon-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

In my opinion Madrid, the land of gazpacho, bullfighting and flamenco, personifies the red colour itself:)

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

Wildflowers. Pink Thistle and Scotland. Part 1.

Artist, ArtTravel, Uncategorized, Urban sketching

Still life and urban sketching

To my sister who asked me to paint a thistle flower that demonstrates its character, strength, inflexibility, firmness, and survives in any conditions. And I did series of these strong flowers that live everywhere and survive in any conditions.

One of my first watercolor flowers graphics with ink, I used coolers purple and dark violet, with some additions of color of carrot with silver gray.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-petals-of-colors-purple-and-carrot-thorns-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

The  flower is credited with ability of magical effects on evil spirits.

The thistle is the symbol of Scotland from the 13 century. The legend says that an army intented on conquering Scotland. Once an upon time, one night an army landed to surprise the sleeping soldiers. In order to move more stealthily under the cover of darkness, the enemies removed their shoes.
One of them unfortunately stood on one of these spiny little defenders and shrieked out in pain, alerting the sleeping scotish soldiers. Needless to say, the Scots won the day.. Thank you to Thistle!:)

Thistle is the emblem of the Knights of the Order of the Thistle, whose motto is lat. Nemo me impune lacessit (“No one will touch me with impunity”).

Thistle wildflower watercolour graphic with ink. I used colours pink, milky blue opal, saffron latte and neon colours.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflowersafron-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

I love pink thistle’s simply colors, with some additions of plum color and some pistachio background.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-petals-of-plum-color-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Thistle, watercolor wildflower painting with petals of colors blueberry and purple grapes.

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-petals-of-colors-blueberry-and-purple-grapes-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Watercolor flowers graphics with ink, colors used strawberry petals with light khaki and shade of flax background

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-strawberry-colors-of-petals-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Some thistles have caramel and turmeric colours

https://pixels.com/featured/thistle-wildflower-with-caramel-and-turmeric-colors-of-flower-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

The most popular color for thistle is pink, this is why I gathered my pink watercolor paintings in my 1st post about this amazing flower with Scotland’s legend. And one more interesting thing.. A thistle is not only the floral emblem of Scotland and Lorraine, also it is the emblem of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

Magic and beauty, red peonies, cappuccino and Leonardo’s Notebook. Part 3.

ArtTravel

Still life and urban sketching. Art and travel

An advice I received from the Leonardo Da Vinci’s Notebook is next: an artist always needs to find something new to paint or draw. So I am always trying to learn something new, outside of convenient “box”. This summer I realized that watercooler graphic technique is not about coloring sheets:) It was a little discovery for myself. So I decided to explore more..

My still life subjects are bright reddish peonies, I put them on the my treasured book Leonardo da Vinci, added my glasses and a cup of cappuccino and ….voilà:) my new watercolor and ink painting in my favourite impressionist style

https://travelartblog.home.blog/portfolio/cappuccino-red-peonies-and-a-book/

Just imagine …warm evening, you walk somewhere near the Mediterranean sea’s streets and see flowers, red and pink peonies are in a straw basket on a wood door or window, watercolor and ink painting, impressionism. It’s my dream about our future travelling to the south of France or Italy or maybe …Greece. Who knows?:)

https://travelartblog.home.blog/portfolio/summer-flower-fantasy/

Thank you to my daughter for this great gift book Leonardo’s Notebook, it is providing so many tips to all artists from the Master who lived 5 centuries ago!

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

My favorite art store in Toronto Deserres, Spadina Ave

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Pastel GrayPas Expressionist, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

Summer flowers, its magic and beauty. Pink peonies. Part 2.

ArtTravel

Still life and urban sketching. Art and travel

My first flowers’ posts are about peonies. Why peonies? My mom used to have plenty of these bright summer flowers around my parents’ summer house and I loved their tiny pink hats and their tender scent. 

A peony was growing as a Queen-like flower, beautifully colored, some places in red, some in pink, and some in tender violet. Impressionism style, watercolor painted

https://pixels.com/featured/pink-peony-closed-bud-tamara-vitsenkova.html

I am looking forward for my next trip to Europe to use my new favourite subject flowers to paint and draw, both watercolour and ink.

A tender pink peony in impressionism style, watercolor painted

https://travelartblog.home.blog/portfolio/summer-flowers-pink-peony/

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

My favourite art store in Toronto Deserres, Spadina Ave

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Pastel GrayPas Expressionist, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

Summer flowers, its magic and beauty. Pink peonies. Part 1.

ArtTravel

Still life and urban sketching. Art and travel

Do you like flowers? All different kinds or one specific type? Do you like your flowers bright or tender? With or without smell? Proud Queen-like flowers like roses or the humble but beautiful daisies?

https://pixels.com/featured/summer-flowers-three-peonies-tamara-vitsenkova.html

This summer I took a new painting watercolor graphics course called Flowers. Before this, still life and flowers in particular were not my usual subject for painting and drawing. These studies smashed many of my previous ideas about my favorite subjects, what I like to paint and what I don’t. In this course, I was trying to paint and draw different flowers and use new techniques for my new joyful studies. I will share my discoveries in combined bright flower posts.

Three pink peonies in a garden, watercolor and ink painted.

https://pixels.com/featured/summer-flowers-peony-queen-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Pastel GrayPas Expressionist, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

My favorite art store in Toronto Deserres, Spadina Ave

My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. November, Winter mood. Part 10

ArtTravel

This part as an addition of my month of October daily sketches.

City of Toronto has the winter period, with snow, wind, when you might sit at home and enjoy the view from the window, with ice skating and the festive atmosphere of Christmas and New Years.

All paintings in this post were done in previuos seasons.

Ontario Place, Toronto, winter. Oil painting. Very far away is …yes the CN Tower, you might see this 0.5 km height landmark almost from any point in the city.

https://pixels.com/featured/happy-holidayscanada-february-in-ontario-place-tamara-vitsenkova.html

The winter season of Toronto Music Garden downtown is very nice and shining neighbourhood with lots of lights, and a view of CN Tower. There are couple bright yellow summer beach chairs near frozen Ontario lake, waiting for the next summer season.

https://pixels.com/featured/holidays-greetings-from-harbour-downtown-toronto-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Queens Quay West street and Spadina. The streetcar is in hurry to the next year! This imaginary art includes the Toronto tram that is coming for next New Year with Christmas sled dears with gifts is in the air. The bucket of champagne is on the trams’ way. Happy Holidays will be welcoming … especially this year:)

https://pixels.com/featured/seasons-greetings-toronto-tramthe-bucket-of-shampaigne-christmas-sled-deers-with-gifts-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Another Toronto Music Garden’s warercolour painting. The snowman is sitting with CN Tower background and the silver christmas ball nearby. It was completed in previous winter when we had lots of snow even on the south of Toronto, nearby of Ontario lake. Not very often snow in this area of the city.

Maybe it was a family that had fun time together, playing in snowballs and making the snowman.

https://pixels.com/featured/seasons-greetingssnowman-winter-activities-and-cn-tower-christmas-ball-tamara-vitsenkova.html


A beautiful frosty twilight of the downtown of Toronto with a view of featuring of the Financial district and its high risers, CN Tower and Thompson Hall. I added a gold powder to the painting.

https://pixels.com/featured/holiday-time-in-toronto-cn-tower-thompson-hall-and-christmas-balls-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Gold fantazy with the CN Tower and Thompson hall and large christmas balls.

https://pixels.com/featured/seasons-greetings-clock-champaigne-and-cn-tower-tamara-vitsenkova.html

The romantic holiday painting with the beautiful night view of Toronto, featuring cheerful downtown during the holiday season. Clock countdowns minutes to the New Year, Champagne is ready.

…and winter sunset skyline of Toronto downtown with CN Tower and Rogers centre. My dream shows lots of Christmas balls up in the air with my favorite places in Toronto – CN Tower, Rogers centre, Zoo, ROM Museum, Thompson Hall, Union station, AGO Museum, Pearson airport balls. Everybody can find their interesting places and buildings in the city.Watercolour painting with the landmarks and museums  of the City on the christmass balls, impressionism

https://pixels.com/featured/seasons-greetings-toronto-christmas-balls-up-in-the-air-with-cn-tower-and-rogers-centre-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Nightly blue colour of the Music Garden, Toronto

Blooming branch with flowers,drops of water. Impressionism.Still life

Hope that my posts about Toronto show the beauty and welcoming city:)

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. Music Garden, downtown. Part 9

ArtTravel

This the last part of my daily “travel and art” journey of my home city Toronto in the month of October. This post is about my neighborhood and the local piece of nature called the Music Garden.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-harbour-spring-tamara-vitsenkova.html

The current unusual year with #stayhome and #lockdown is giving me opportunity to discover the bright and friendly place I live in.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-street-art-impressionism-tamara-vitsenkova.html

This painting is mostly for fun:) Honestly the main subject is the bright yellow street note for the pedestrians to be careful – “Sidewalk maybe slippery”.

I used to go this way every morning to my office. Not this year…Almost all locals are working from home except our essential and frontline workers, thank you! This is the bridge on Spadina avenue at Front street.

The garden is still blooming, very warm autumn this year.

https://pixels.com/featured/romantic-weekend-golden-fall-tamara-vitsenkova.html

My fall “travel and art” in October’s Toronto ended. There are many lovely places in and around the city.

https://pixels.com/featured/canada-golden-fall-in-toronto-high-park-tamara-vitsenkova.html

I did photo of some daily sketches this month, some editing tasks in my art “office”:)

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

Magic of female floral wreaths, Belarus. Part 2

ArtTravel

Still life and urban sketching. Art and traveL

This post is dedicated to my motherland Belarus, its legends, customs and great people.

Some legends about flowers in the girls’ wreaths. Yarrow is the symbol of freedom and rebelliousness. In many countries, bell flowers are considered an important attribute of the wreath, their joyful sound drives out evil spirits. Daisy flower in the girl wreath is the symbol of the sun and purity and loyalty, poppy flower is love, forget-me-not flower is constancy. The tradition of the wreath originates from afar and was superimposed on the Orthodox, but was not forgotten through the centuries.

The symbol of modern women, they are in white dresses and wreaths on their heads, peaceful and beautiful, and show supporting of freedom, independence and their husbands, fathers, brothers and sons.

https://pixels.com/featured/girl-in-national-costume-with-floral-wreath-tamara-vitsenkova.html 

Watercolour painting of a girl in national costume with floral wreath.

Another legend is about jumping over the fire is one of the main events of the celebration of Ivan Kupala. Jumping is considered a test of courage and simultaneously a cleansing process. Couples jump over the fire, holding hands. According to legends, if a guy and a girl cannot jump together, this is a sign of future separation.

Ancient pagan and later Christian traditions were closely intertwined in the rituals of the Belarusian Kupalya. The ceremonies for the celebration of Ivan Kupala are associated with the rituals of purification with water and fire. Dandelion in the floral wreath is the symbol of sun and light, fidelity, happiness.

https://pixels.com/featured/dandelions-floral-wreath-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Kupala is considered one of the most ancient holidays and has pagan roots. It is believed that its celebration was associated with the summer solstice. Our ancestors associated the Kupala holiday with the cult of the sun. And the word itself – “bathed” – meant being hot, angry, fervent, seething with anger. In those days, all these definitions referred to the sun. On the Kupala night, people thanked Fire, Water and Earth. On this day, according to legends, there was a purification by fire and water.

Floral wreaths with candles on the water surface.

https://pixels.com/featured/floral-wreaths-with-candles-on-the-water-surface-tamara-vitsenkova.html 

Traditionally, women put wreaths in water to tell fortunes about their future. A wreath of multiple colours symbolizes how we are all different and stand side by side, supporting each other in any situation.

The most frequent fortune-telling in Kupalya is with a wreath collected from wild plants and flowers on this day. For example, you can guess if a wish will come true – for this you need to lower the wreath into the water at sunset and watch it. If the wreath floats far away from the shore, the wish will come true.

You might read the 1st part of this post here:

https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/travelartblog.home.blog/2337

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

Magic of female floral wreaths, Belarus. Part 1. Still life and urban sketching. Art and travel.

Artist, ArtTravel, Urban sketching

This post is dedicated to my motherland Belarus, its legends, customs and great people.

https://pixels.com/featured/magic-of-female-floral-wreaths-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Watercolor painting of floral wreaths dedicated to my motherland, Belarus and their women. In the worldview of the ancient Belarusian, the wreath was a solar symbol. The form of the wreath has a magical meaning: it was perceived as a fusion of perfection and unity in the image of a circle, a ring. According to the ideas of our ancestors, the wreath symbolized the eternal return of plant life, the fruiting of the earth, the feminine principle, the secret of life and the secret of death. The belief of all Slavs in the magical power of the wreath has found its expression in the variety of its types: wedding, ritual, calendar, funeral and others. They were used in almost all the important parts of life: in wedding and funeral rituals, for the birth of a child, on Christmas time, Kupala, the Trinity – as amulets, or lucky charms, from all troubles.

The wreath has just moved away from the shore, overgrown with faintly green, wilting grass – this is the beginning of a possibly long journey, but a start has been made and ahead is a bright reflection of the sun with a better, brighter future.

Floral wreaths on water

https://pixels.com/featured/floral-wreaths-on-water-tamara-vitsenkova.html

At the height of the summer, Belarus celebrates Kupalye – one of the oldest folk holidays dedicated to the sun and the flourishing of the earth. Many European nations have holidays in honor of the summer solstice: Jan’s Day in Bulgaria, Saint Jan in Hungary, San Juan in Spain, Ligo in Latvia … Among the Eastern Slavs, this is Ivan Kupala, but perhaps only in Belarus have the traditions of Kupalya got fully preserved. Kupalya is celebrated on a grand scale.

Cornflower in the wreath is the symbol of beauty and life.

https://pixels.com/featured/cornflower-in-the-floral-wreath-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Ivan Kupala, or Kupala night, is a traditional pagan holiday celebrated by the Eastern Slavs. On the night before Ivan Kupala, various rituals are traditionally held: people weave flower wreaths, read fortunes, jump over bonfires and burn a wheel-shaped scarecrow symbolizing the sun. The tradition of weaving wreaths has come from antiquity, when women wondered about the future

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

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