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.

Artist spotlight interview with Inaa Häggström Foose

The other day I got an idea that it would be nice to do something new and different and I decided to interview one talented artist: Inaa Häggström Foose.
The purpose of the interview is to get more exposure to an artist and that people could get to know her better.
Hope you enjoy!

1. Tell me a little about yourself. What got you interested in art? Did you take any classes?
   My name is Lina, but my artist- and nickname name is Inaa and I'm currently 22 years old. I'm originally from Sweden but now live in Florida, USA with my husband.
   
   I first got interested in art when I was 15 years old. But after being put down by my own High School art- teacher once at a project I was working on I quit drawing completely. It wasn't until I was 17 years old that I said to myself that I needed a hobby, so I started painting on my spare time after school hours.
   And no I haven't taken any art-classes, but I would love to honestly.
2. What is your preferred medium and why?
   I prefer mixed media. I often mix charcoal, chalk and soft pastel to get what desirable result I want. Sometimes it takes me minutes, or even hours to get the shades or blended colors I want. I like mixing because black charcoal gives me the dark depth I am looking for, and white chalk gives me the light tones.
3. Do you have a blog or website where it would be possible to see your artwork?
   You can find me on:
   Facebook- www.facebook.com/InaaArt
   Blog- http://inaahart.blogspot.com/
4. Where do you get most of the inspiration for your artwork?
   I can get inspired by photographs, a specific feeling I have, music and even other artworks from other artists online. I try to have a very open mind and look around so I don't get stuck or get sidetracked ( Which happens more often than it should in my opinion)
5. What else do you like to do besides art?
   I really enjoy crafting, DIY's ( do it yourself) and photography. I wish I can get more materials for crafting and also save up for a better camera than the one I currently have- an advanced digital camera from the brand Olympus.
6. Do you listen to music while creating art? If yes, then what kind of music?
   My music taste varies so often, it really depends on what kind of mood I am at the time. But mostly I like to listen to  Lindsey Stirling, Nightcore, Chillstep, and other melodic sounds when I am " in the zone". However it really depends on my mood haha.
7. Where can people reach you if they are interested in commissioning work? And where else can people find you in social media?
   People can email me at inaaart@live.com, or visit my other Social-Media- pages.
   Twitter and instagram- @InaaHart
8. What are those things you have learned as an artist?
   Be open minded to new ideas.
   Try look at different angles, so you won't get stuck.
   I've taken time to study paintings I've come across and tried to see how artists mixed colors or stroke with their paintbrush.
9. What are you working on at the moment?
   I am trying to create a piece for an art-swap with a friend in England. But sadly I cannot share what it's I am having in the making in my drawing pad.
10. What are your goals for the future?
    Try creating more art; I've been slacking for months lately due to private life. But I also want to be able to future my work at art-shows and galleries maybe. So I will continue to work my way until that happens. I want everyone from everywhere to be able see what I can do.
11. Do you have any good ideas for emerging artists?
    I have three tips:
    1. Stay strong and do YOUR thing, don't let anyone else say what you can do and cannot do.
    2. Study techniques and ways to improve yourself as an artist. Books, videos or online articles are great ways to learn more.
    3. Have fun and stay open-minded.
    
    You can read Inaa's interview with me on her blog:
    Interview with Estonian-artist: Liisi Gordejev

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:

Painting #14

Zebras
Oil on canvas
60x80cm

 I seem to get more and more african theme painting ideas these days. I think African theme paintings are my new favourite.
This is actually the first time I painted the zebras. At first I was thinking about painting only one zebra but then I thought that it would look so much better if I paint a family. I like the grass that I made. I'm quite pleased with the outcome.



And here are some work in progress shots:

Painting #13

Giraffes
Oil on canvas
60x80cm
SOLD

Painting elephants I figured that I should paint something new. This time I decided to paint giraffes. I had to study their bodies before I started to paint them. This took me a while.
I started with sky and then I painted the sand. I wanted to make more trees than on the previous paintings. And in the end I painted the giraffes. I spent many hours working on this, and am really pleased with the outcome.
This painting makes me happy. The way they are walking there, enjoying their freedom.

Here are some work in progress shots:

Sometimes I like to paint on the floor.

Painting #12

Happy elephant
Oil on canvas
60x80cm

This time I wanted to paint just one elephant and concentrate more on details. I started with the background. I wanted it to look warm and positive and I used really warm colors to create it.
It took me hours to finish the elephant's ears. I guess this was actually the most complicated part of the elephant.
I spent 3 days working on this. I love this piece!

Here are some work in progress shots.

Work in progress video of painting #11

Painting #11

African landscape
Oil on Canson paper
50x65cm
SOLD


African music, African culture, arts and crafts fascinates me. I've wanted to paint African themed painting for a while. I guess the time just wasn't right.
One day while I was in my room listening some African songs, the light pulb went on and the African landscape painting was born.  I guess the right music plays a big part in my painting progress. I have had many times when music made me feel really good and inspired.
So the first thing that came to my mind, was beautiful African landscape, with warm colors and with 2 elephants. I started to paint. I was in a really good mood and excited about my painting. It took me few days to finish the painting.
One of my goal is to learn to paint elephants because I will certainly do some more African paintings in the future. So far this is my favorite painting.

Here are few work in progress shots.

Painting #10

The secret waterfall
Oil on canvas
60x80cm

On 2011 I painted my first waterfall. It didn't quite turned out the way I expected. So now I wanted to paint a new waterfall and give it another try. Also decided to paint mysterious trees to the background. It took me many hours to paint those trees.
I learned that little touches can make a big difference- adding light spots on the water made it look more real and added to the feeling of the movement.