Painting #25

Sunset beach
Oil on canvas paper
50x65cm

I can't believe its already 25th painting of my "50 paintings in 1 year" challenge. So far it has been such a fun and exciting experience for me.

This time I wanted to paint something with warmer colors. That's why I decided to paint sunset beach. I haven't painted clouds very often so I had to look different pictures so that I could paint them.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed painting the waves. It was exciting and risky at the same time. Why risky? Because I was afraid that waves might not look so realistic as I want them to look. But I'm quite satisfied with the way the painting turned out.

I'm planning to make more beach/sea paintings as I want to learn some new things. What kind of paintings would you like to see? Sunset beaches, stormy sea, tropical beach with some palm trees? I would love to know your opinion.

I will post some work in progress shots so you could see how this painting came together. You can also see the work in progress shots on my Twitter, Facebook and Instagram page.

You can also follow my blog on Bloglovin:

https://www.bloglovin.com/people/liisi6-11139073

Painting #24

The beach
Oil on canvas

50x100cm

Inspiration is something that keeps me going. As I I'm planning new paintings, I'm constantly searching for new ideas to paint. 

The story behind this painting is.. I came across a website called stumbleupon.com. Maybe some of you don't know what this stumbleupon is all about. Basically its a discovery engine that finds and recommends web content to its users. It didn't take me long time to get addicted to it. I chose all the things that I was interested in and photography and art were some of those things that I wanted to find. I saw so many beautiful pictures of beaches and seascapes. I was so excited. And it all got me thinking.

I have been painting dolphins and I thought to myself " "Why not paint a beautiful tropical beach" You know these kind of beaches you see in the movies or the places where you have dreamed to go. The places which are on your "To do" list. And the water is beautiful light blue.

I have to admit I haven't visited places like this. At least not so tropical places. Right now I have 3 places where I want to travel. 

• Zansibar
• Bora Bora
• Thailand- Koh Phi Phi

Sometimes I just like to look the pictures of these places. And this time I also got some inspiration and ideas for my painting. I also watched some Youtube videos to learn how to paint the clouds and the waves.

Finally I got into the action. I started to paint the sky and when it had dried, then I painted the clouds. And after that I painted the sand and the water with some waves. I'm quite happy with the way this painting turned out.

I will post some work in progress shots so you could see how this painting came together. You can also see the work in progress shots on my Twitter, Facebook and Instagram page.

I think there is nothing as relaxing as the sound of the waves. I could listen it for hours.

"It's hard for me to put into words why I like beach so much. Everything about it is renewing for me, almost like therapy, beach therapy"- Amy Dykens

I would like to know what you think about my painting.

You can also follow my blog on Bloglovin:

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Painting #23

Bliss
Oil on canvas paper
50x65cm

Today I finished this painting. It's a third dolphin painting that I've done so far. I guess right now I won't do more dolphin paintings, although I would like to. I feel like its time to start painting something new.

I also started a new painting. This will be an ocean painting. I realized like its something that I'm not good enough and its time to improve my skills. Recently I have been watching many artist's videos on Youtube where they paint ocean and waves. And now I feel like I'm ready for it. So stay tuned.

Painting the background

Painting the shadows so that it would look more realistic

Painting the underwater plants.

Painting fish.

You can also follow me on Bloglovin:

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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:
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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

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:

Painting #19

Cheetahs
Oil on canvas paper
Reference: kridah-stock on deviantart.com
50x65cm

Maybe some of you have noticed that I haven't posted much on my blog lately. The thing is, last week I caught a cold and had a high fever. I felt really weak and couldn't paint anything. 

So today I finally had a chance to finish my Cheetah painting. I found the reference photo from deviantart.com and decided to paint them. Aren't they lovely?

I really enjoyed painting cheetahs. I will paint more cheetahs in the future.

And here are some work in progress shots:

Painting the background

Painting the first layer of the fur

Painting the black fur

Painting #18

Tigers
Oil on canvas paper
Reference photo: Chris Allsebrook
50x65cm

After I finished my last painting I was planning to start painting 2 cheetahs but then I came across 1 really lovely picture on Facebook group:  Reference photos for artists 2. If you are an artist and are looking for reference photos for your artwork, then I recommend this group.
So I took my oil colors and started to paint. I was really excited because I hadn't  painted 2 tigers before.
As always, I started from the background. I painted the first layer with aqrylic color. I used Burnt Sienna to do  that.. Then I let the painting dry.
After that I started painting the tigers. Layers by layers I painted the tiger's fur. I started with the darkest  colors and with each layer I added more white to the colors. I wanted the fur to look as realistic as possible.
I also spent a lot of time painting the tigers eyes. I had watched many tiger eye painting tutorials and now I was trying to apply all the knowledge.


And here are some work in progress shots:

Painting the background

Painting the tigers fur with Burnt Sienna aqrylic color

Painting the first layer of the fur

Painting the second layer of the fur

Painting #17

Snow Leopard
Reference photo: Kaz Turner
Oil on canvas paper
50x65cm

Wow, I cant believe that its December already. Time is moving by so fast. I have been working on the Snow Leopard painting over the past week.
I have been wanting to painting a snow leopard for many months, since I started painting big cats. And I was so happy when I saw a great reference photo in the Artist Reference photos group.
Since the reference photo was made in the nature or probably in the zoo, I decided to make winter landscape background. I thought that it would be a great way to paint something new. At first I thought that this would be really difficult, but then I browsed some winter landscape photos on Google to see how to paint the trees.

For me, doing this painting was humbling, I love those beautiful animals.

And here are some work in progress shots:

Let me know in the comments what you think of this painting. This was the first time I painted the winter landscape. So let me know if I should do more winter landscape paintings in the future.

Painting #16

Tiger
Photo by: Kaz Turner
Oil on canvas paper
50x65cm

Maybe some of you have been thinking why I haven't posted anything new lately. The truth is that I purchased an e-book so that I could learn how to paint animal fur. So most of the time I have been doing some research.
Today I finished my first painting where I applied all those methods that I learned. First of all I painted the background. After that I made the ground and then I started painting the tiger.
I like the way this painting turned out. I really enjoyed this one.

Here are some work in progress shots:

And a close up of a tiger

Painting #15

Lion
Oil on canvas
60x80cm

Painting a lion has been a longtime dream of mine. So finally I decided to give it a try.
I started my painting by making the background. And then I continued my painting by painting lion. I began with lion's head. I really enjoyed painting lion's eyes.  I love the intensity of this lion's eyes.
I'm planning on painting some more lions in the future because I discovered that I really enjoy painting this beautiful big cat.
Also in the future I'm planning to improve my animal painting skills by taking some painting classes or by purchasing some e-books which would help me to learn how to paint the fur. Because I want to get better and better every day.
There is one quote that I really like:
" I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel"- Maya Angelou

So with this painting I tried to paint with colors which would inspire happiness in people.
Here are some work in progress shots: