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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.)

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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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