Missed a lot of big events! This one was meant for Chinese New Year (February 10, 2013) hence the Chinese sky lanterns! They are soooo cool, just love them!
Wanted to do one for Valentines too, but.. ah well, next year then :)
Happy New Year of the Snake!
Acrylic on canvas. 40 x 40 cm
This bugger took a whole week, but I have to admit I immensely enjoyed doing this one.
For one thing, it was a departure from my usual very bright vivid scenes, so something quite alien to me. Then I got the chance to use and thus learn quite a few different techniques which I usually do not use.
Pure pleasure! BTW, these red berries and the tree are called pihalakd in Estonian. According to wikipedia these should be Rowan in English, but not too sure.
I’d like to know what you think about it and how it compares against my other works in your opinion, so please leave a comment! :)
Many thanks in advance!
Acrylics on canvas. 70 x 50 cm.
Just finished this yesterday and while this may not visually be too appealing, I enjoyed it massively due to the technical challenges inherent.
Doing sun rays with acrylics is always a challenge but the added challenge in this one was to use the yellow and blue together without them turning into green.
Here is the result. It’s not perfect, but its something at least.
Has any of You tried something similar with acrylics? Any suggestions or advice for me?
Acrylic on canvas. 70 x 50 cm.
Suurupi is a village in Harku Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia. It has a population of 756 (as of 1 June 2010).
Acrylic on canvas. 70 x 50 cm.
Dear Friends, I have a story to tell. No, not the Douglas Adams’ one, that’s already been told.
This is a new story, and it starts towards the end of the month of December last year, on one fateful day when I looked at all my “artworks” and asked myself what the hell is all this?
Most of my works are based on photographs of others. Is this art then, or am I just a biological photocopying machine? And in that moment, the truth dawned upon me that the latter might just be the case!
And so it was that I had to ask myself the ultimate question about life, universe and everything: what is ART?Â
Or more precisely, how does one create art and not a copies of things already created?
Because once you start thinking about it, You, me and every other “artist” is bound within the space-time continuum we call the universe, and the queer thing about the universe is that, well, it’s already been created.
There is no color I can create that does not already exist in nature. There is no shape, not even a single point I can make that would be entirely new and does not already exist.
Seen from this angle, an artist is doomed to be a “copier”, inevitably, irreversibly and eternally, for all the art we create is but merely a copy of what nature has already created hundreds of millions of times over and far more exquisitely!
So…. is that it? Is that the answer? An artist is a copier of nature or whatever contraptions man has invented himself and that sorts it out?Â
Those of you lucky enough to have been to an art school might be laughing at my ignorance and/or feeling pity for me, but you see, dear reader, as I never went to an art school and no one ever taught me the answer to such basic fundamental questions, all I have to rely upon is the web and logical reasoning.Â
I have been surfing the web up and down but have found not a single satisfactory answer.
Perhaps the problem lies in my ambition, for when I started creating art, I aspired to be a “creator” and not a “copier”! Was I wrong in my ambition?
This is the dilemma I had been stuck in for the past 3-4 weeks, throughout the mass hysteria of mankind called Xmas/New Year etc. and into the bright fresh snows of January!
During all this time, I did not touch a brush or a canvas, for I refuse to be a copier! Neither did I post anything here, my apologies, for I had nothing to say. I felt terrible having to write something just for the sake of appearances and what could I have said? “Hi Folks, Merry Christmas from your friendly neighbourhood biological photocopier!” Nah!
And so the days went by… and then suddenly… without any warning… nothing happened!
That was rather disappointing
Though right after that, two things happened!
One, I realized that to “create” something you don’t necessarily have to start from scratch. Imagine someone wanting to create a chair and starting from creating quarks and atoms and so on. No, one can create a chair from already created natural elements, for instance, wood.
Two, I realized I have a power, a super-power, that allows me to alter the universe as I please or even create never-before-seen combinations of objects, lights and shades. That, by all means, is creation and the power which allows me to do it is imagination!
So there you have it, simple as that.
The answer to the question of life, universe and everything, this time around, is not 42, but imagination.
I also realized, that I was wrong earlier.
True that I have been using photographs of others or just mental images of scenes I witnessed in nature, but when I start putting them on canvas, I inevitable enhance and modify them as per my imagination, small as that modification might be and thus the final result is not a direct copy of something but a representation of something as “I” see it and that in itself is surely a unique creation.
So finally, after weeks of misery, I picked up my brush and dusted my canvas again.
A new start with a fresh outlook and fresh motivation. Almost ready to post, perhaps tomorrow!
Hopefully the result would please you!
Thank You all my friends for not forgetting me during this time and a very Happy New Year to You all!
I was getting very bored doing landscapes in the same style over and over again, so here we are back once again to impressionistic style.
Though I would consider it more of an experimental work as I mixed and merged a few different techniques into this one.
Just having fun with paints :)
Acrylic on pre-streched canvas. 40 x 40 cm.
A sunset view from Goa, looking out at the sea! Inspired by a photograph of Goa, India.
Personally, I like the “sea” part most! It’s made at a very narrow strip at the bottom of painting and yet shows the depth quite nicely. Notice the little boats? :)
Everything else could’ve been better, but, well, I feel the same about most of my paintings.
Your comments, suggestions, ideas, criticism are very welcome! Anything that can help me improve!
Acrylic on pre-streched canvas. 50 x 70 cm.
It’s 12.12.12, the date when this painting is to get its name from among all the wonderful names suggested by You imaginative folks out there.
Here is a list of all the names suggested:
1. The Wall by Judy Morris
2. A Day at the Zoo by Doron
3. Seeing Through the Crowd by Eve Amaro
4. Rorschach Revisited by Tade Thompson
5. Shining through by Lexa S.
6. Just Because by Kaitlyn Parker
7. Nanosecond by Brian Fillipowich
8 Emergence by Pam
A big THANK YOU to all of you for your wonderful suggestions!
Having to choose just one out of so many wonderful names felt impossible, and yet I can’t have many names for one painting, so choose I must!
Therefore I decided to choose a shorter version of the name suggested by Eve Amaro, and call it just “Seeing Through” which is also very close to the name suggested by Lexa S.
The most interesting lesson I learned from this experiment is that different viewers do, indeed, interpret an abstract work totally differently. The artist therefore should name the works in such a way which does not restrict the viewer’s imagination in any way by defining what he/she is looking at, but rather motivates and challenges the viewer.
Seeing Through  seemed to fit just perfectly.
Another aspect of the name is the actual ability of all of us to “see through” the mess of lies and half-lies we are usually surrounded by these days, otherwise called “News”.
Needless to say its a vital necessity when we are faced with information overload, and can mean the difference between life and death for someone!
For instance, if enough people had “seen through” and exposed the lie about Iraq and WMDs, we could have saved the lives of over one million innocent people who died simply due to our inability to see through!
This is another one of those where the photograph does not do justice to the real painting.
Somehow, the real painting is a lot better and though its very simple I’ve instantly fallen in love with it :)
Your comments and criticism are welcome as usual!
Acrylic on pre-streched canvas. 50 x 70 cm
Lo and behold, here comes my first proper seascape!
This is a large canvas so took me some 4 evenings. The scene is inspired by a photograph of Goa beach, India.Â
Loved doing the ocean though the palms took most of the time and effort. Another new thing I did this time was painting the sides of the canvas.
What do You think of it? Please provide some feedback. This is my first seascape so I’d really like to know if it’s any good.
Acrylic on pre-streched canvas. 50 x 70 cm
Javed's Art 