Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Painting #22


Ocean of love
Oil on canvas paper
50x65cm

As you can see here is the next dolphin painting. Last time when I had painted the dolphins, I asked some critique and feedback about my painting. With this painting, I was trying to do everything right.
First of all, I tried to add some shadows in the background so that it would look more realistic. And this time I was trying to make fish look a little bit more realistic. In my opinion they look better than on the first painting.
It was my first time to paint turtles. Aren't they lovely? I made many layers before I finished them. I'm thinking about doing some more dolphin underwater paintings. I really enjoy painting them! Maybe I will paint some whales next, who knows.







What do you think? Should I do more dolphin paintings? Or should I paint whales?

If you are curious to see what I will create next, then follow me. You can also follow me on Bloglovin:
http://www.bloglovin.com/people/liisi6-11139073

Monday, January 26, 2015

Workspace

The other day when I was on Facebook, I got a really good idea that I should make a post about my workspace. I have seen so many beautiful and inspiring pictures of other artist's workspaces and that kind of inspired me to write that post.
I had a pretty good light in my room, so I decided to pick up my camera and make some photos to share with you.

You might think that most of the time artists have this huge art studio but its not always true. Leonardo da Vinci once said: "An artist's studio should be a small space because small rooms discipline the mind and the large one distracts it".
I totally agree. I personally work in my room. And so far I'm totally satisfied with the room that I have. Yes, sometimes I feel like I don't have enough room for all of my art supplies but it just requires organizing the things, you know?  I'm sure that most of the artists are facing the same problem.


Most of the time I draw at the table. Well, when I feel really comfortable then on my couch. I also have a molbert but I don't use it very often. Why? I have learned that when I paint about 3-4 hours in a day, then my lower back starts hurting me. And believe me, that's not a good feeling! So I prefer to sit and paint on the table.




Right now most of my art supplies don't have a really good place so I'm planning to buy some rolling shelves so that I would have more storage space for my supplies. I guess I should think what are those things in my room that are working and what are not working. Maybe I can even throw something out. I have learned that I tend to be more inspired when I can see all my art supplies.

So this is my workspace. Where do you work? Do you have your own studio?

Friday, January 23, 2015

7 reason why you should use Bloglovin to promote your blog




If you are a blog owner and you are looking for a new ways to promote your blog and get some extra traffic to your blog then Bloglovin is a good place to do that. Maybe you haven't heard about it before, believe me few months ago I also didn't know anything about it but I'm glad that I found it. In this article I will tell you all the benefits of Bloglovin.

It's one of the newest social platforms which was created for bloggers and also readers. It allows readers to read, organize and discover their favorite blogs. It's really easy and comfortable to use. I personally haven't used it very long time but I have realized some of the benefits that it offers.

  • First of all, it allows you to link your blog to Bloglovin. This way your followers will easily see your new posts on their feed. I personally like to follow people more on Bloglovin than on blogger. It's more organised.
  • It has some really attractive " Follow this blog on bloglovin" buttons that you can use to post on your blog and this way your readers will see that you are using Bloglovin and can follow you there.
  • And of course you can build connections in the blog world. Commenting and following other blogs can have some really good impact to your blog. It will get you more traffic and you will even find some new friends.
  • Bloglovin has different blog categories. This way you can follow the similar blogs to your own or you can just search for the topic that interests you the most.
  • You can link not only your blogs, but your social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and it will help you to get more traffic from their users.
  • It's easy to use with your blog. You just have to "claim" your blog.
  • Bloglovin is free, It also has a mobile app which is available for Iphone, Android and Ipad.
So these are the benefits that Bloglovin offers. I hope that this article was useful for you and that you can go and claim your blog and rock the traffic world with Bloglovin!

And here is a link to my Bloglovin profile:
http://www.bloglovin.com/people/liisi6-11139073

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

What I like to listen while drawing/ painting

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Just like art is a huge part of my life, the same way is music. Certain type of music inspired me a lot. It's a really huge part of my painting process. Music is the light that switches me on in my work. I will share some most common songs that I love to listen when I work on my art:

























I also love to listen:



'













If you are working or you are doing something that you love,  do you like to listen to the music? If yes, then what kind of songs do you listen to?

Monday, January 19, 2015

Painting #21


We belong to the sea
Oil on canvas paper
50x65cm

I have always wanted to paint the most intelligent animals and besides that I felt like I needed a little change from painting tigers and leopards. So here it is! My first dolphins painting

In the past I have seen many articles and videos about dolphins. There was one video where one dolphin was holding a brush with his mouth, He made different lines and curves and created his own painting. I think its awesome, isn't it? I am so impressed.

Sadly I haven't swum with them yet. Actually I can't swim. So I guess now I have something which motivates me to learn.

Painting the underwater turned out to be quite complicated. I wanted it to look like the light is shining down on the dolphins. At first I thought that I would paint only dolphins but then I thought that they would get bored and decided to paint some little fish to give them some company.

First of all I painted the water. It took me a while because I had to use darker blues and lighter blues to get the wanted effect.When that was done, I started painting the dolphins and after that I started to paint all the underwater plants and fish. I never would have guessed that painting the plants and fish could take so long time.
This is also probably because I paint in oils and this requires a lot of drying time. 

The most rewarding part of the painting process was painting the dolphins. While I was painting the dolphins I decided to get myself in the right mood and listened to some songs which are about the sea and I even listened Dolphins relaxation music. It was really relaxing! 

And here is a link to this relaxation music:



And some work in progress shots:















Linking up to: Serenity now

Friday, January 16, 2015

How I manage my time and structure my day



These days, time management seems to be very important part in people's lives and also it seems to be a problem for many of us. So today I tell you how I do it.
  • First of all, every night/evening I make a list for my next day. Why? Because this way its easier for me. Every morning when I wake up and I already have a list of all the things that needs to be done during the day. And I can start doing them.
  • Another things that I like very much is Editorial calender. I found it recently on Pinterest when I was going through many time management pins. So since I have my blog, then its a really good way to keep my blog organized.
  • I also love to make a schedule and plan for my Social Network sites because they are a huge part of my life. I promote my artwork there. So I better do it the right way, you know? Every night I think about next day posting- what and when. For there are certain period of times when it's most effective.
  • I focus on the most productive time of the day. Because when it comes to painting then I'm best at it in the morning. There are things that I'm good at doing in the evenings and some of the things I'm best at doing in the mornings. This way I can be sure that I'm using my abilities in a maximum way.
  • I keep track of my progress. This will help me see what is still needed to be done and it will motivate me as well.
So these are some of the ways I use to manage my time. How do you manage your time and structure your day?

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

This is the book that changed my life

I believe many of us have read a book that have changed the way we see things. Well, I have read too.

I think it was on 2009 when one of my friend visited me and told me about " The secret". At first I was thinking that this is some kind of boring book but many months later, when I was in the library, I saw this book. I instantly remembered that my friend had recommended it and I decided to read it eventually. I thought to myself: "I won't lose anything, so I might as well read it".

The book was written by Rhonda Byrne. She did a huge research and that's how this book was born.

According to this book you can have, be or do whatever you want. You just have to think the right way. You have to choose your thoughts carefully.

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought"- Buddha

There are many people who have decided to concentrate on the problems and negative things and they get everything according to the frequency that they offer. So instead of focusing to the bad things, people should start focusing on things that they want to achieve. I remember when on 2010 I got my anxiety and depression. Most of the time I was focusing on the bad things. And the fact that I couldn't even go to school, made me even more depressed. Back then I didn't concentrate on good things. Actually there were many good things in my life, but I just couldn't see them. So eventually I started reading a lot of books and I watched many movies and I started seeing things differently.

If something you want is slow to come to you, it can be for only one reason. You are spending more time focused upon its absence than you are about its presence"- Esther Hicks

You can get to where you want to be from wherever you are- but you must stop spending so much time noticing and talking about what you do not like about where you are"- Esther Hicks

I learned that the key is to feel good. So every day I  have to make sure that I'm in a good mood. This way good things can come to me.

Also I learned that when it comes to the dreams, then its important to do a little bit every day so that you will achieve your dreams. So every day when I wake up, I have a list of things that I need to do during the day. Sometimes there are just tiny things but eventually big things grow from little things.

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step"- Martin Luther King

So now, on 2015, I can honestly tell you that I won't be in the place I am today if I hadn't read that book. Yes, there are days when its hard but most of the time I am in a good mood and I'm focused on good things and on my goals.

Is there a book that changed your life somehow? What is the name of the book? I would love to add some new books to my read list.



I got my idea for this blog topic from:
www.marketyourcreativity.com

Check out this amazing page!




Monday, January 12, 2015

Painting #20


Lion cubs
Oil on canvas paper
Reference photo: kridah-stock on deviantart.com
50x65cm

Maybe you've noticed that I haven't posted anything new for a while. The truth is, my laptop stopped working so I had to buy a new laptop,

Since I haven't drawn lion cubs before, I decided to give it a try. They look so lovely so I just had to paint them.
I started the painting with the background. First of all I painted the sky and then I painted the stone. After that I started painting the fur. I painted many layers so that it would look as realistic as possible. In the end I painted the trees.

I'm not very happy with the proportions so I'm planning on painting some more lions.

Many thanks to Krida-stock for reference photo.

And here are some work in progress shots:








Thursday, January 8, 2015

My birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm sure that everybody loves their birthdays because its so amazing day in person's life.

When I woke up then I got a big surprise. My mom had made me a cake and there were even candles. I felt like a little girl again.





Later we cooked together. I have always wanted to cook a Jollof Rice. It's an African food and it tastes so good. I think it might be my new favorite.

I'm so grateful for all  those lovely birthday wishes that I got. It was amazing day.

So this is how I celebrated my birthday. How do you celebrate your birthday?



Sunday, January 4, 2015

Why I decided to become an artist


Since my birthday is not so far away, I decided to reflect on this question. Obviously I have been loving drawing since I was a little girl. Sometimes I was drawing even for hours. Oh yes, in drawing I feel like I'm in my own element.

My grandmother was usually drawing and painting with me. I can still remember clearly how we used to sit in the kitchen and paint with watercolors. That was so much fun!

Later on when I was about 8 years old and went to school, I also took some art classes. I was always very excited to go there. I think I was attended at these classes for few years. After that I had to concentrate more on my studies because it turned out that I wasn't good at math. Sometimes I felt quite sad because I missed those art classes.

When I was a teenager I went to a model school. At first it seemed so interesting and perfect but as the time passed, I realised that it wasn't for me. That because I got an opportunity to represent one brand's clothes and that required me to stand on the stage and walk on the podium. But I was and still am a really shy person and I knew that I can't do anything like that. So I decided to quit the model school.

During the high school I didn't draw very much. We had an art history class and sometimes teacher gave us some homework to do which included drawing. Everytime when I drew something, I felt like my soul was singing because of the happiness. And sometimes when I was at home and doing my other homework, I used to take some breaks from studying and during those breaks I used to sketch something. I think it was my way to relax because I was having a lot of tension because of the school. Many times I was having troubles with mathematics, physic and chemistry. I even had private teachers who helped me to stay on track. Looking back, this was my body's way to tell me : " Liisi, mathematics, physic and chemistry is not for you.You are meant to draw, you are meant to be creative"

After high school when most of my classmates went to study something in the university, I had no idea what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. Sometimes its just hard to figure out so important things in life, you know?
Going to the university immediately after high school didn't seem right for me. Especially when I didn't know what I wanted to study. I took some time off. I went to work. I worked in the cafe and sport shop. It didn't take me long to realize that customer service isn't the thing that I want to do for the rest of my life. Because not all the customers were nice and I found it emotionally really exhausting taking other people's negative energy inside of me and in the end of the day when I finished work and went home, I felt so tired and sad.
I understood that most of the people are doing the 9 to 5 work just to survive and they were so sad and angry inside- they didn't like what they were doing.


Finally I got an idea. I wanted to study business and marketing. So I went to the university. Most of the time I was happy with my choice but then I started to get some doubts. I had to do some presentations and that meant public speaking. My legs were trembling and I was having real difficulties by remembering what to even say. And again there was a lot of tension in my life. I tell you a secret. There were days when I got my panic attacks and depression so I wasn't even able to go to school. I was so depressed and sad. I started to draw and paint again. Slowly I started to feel good again. My mood wasn't so bad anymore and life didn't seem to be so hursh. Eventually I quit university and started to concentrate on art again. I can't even tell you how happy I was making that decision. I just felt refreshed.
Looking back I now understand that all those things that I experienced were there for a reason. To show me what I should do and to learn some life lessons. Thanks to all this knowledge I can start my own art company.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive"- Howard Thurman


Have you ever experienced something similar? 


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