To Blue Fridays

Only a couple months back and it seems like it's been years since I painted her. I came across this photo in my folder and had to repost it, she's one of my favorites. I'm in the same color tones with this today, blue as can get. I've got a flue and I've got the blues, my head 's spinning and couldn't have my painting session. There goes half a day lost... :(

PS. I'm more punctual on my Facebook and Instagram feeds. Hard to keep everything updated, because taking photos, improving them, uploading them, writing something, it all takes time in a day. I've got to paint too, right? Plus all that other boring and totally time-wasting stuff, like feeding myself+others, sleeping etc.  Tsk!! ;)

Tips+tricks series starting

For those of you who don't know, I am a self-taught artist. Self-taught meaning that I've hand-picked numerous art books which have shown me things that I would have learned in an art school I suppose, and I've spent endless hours of my life trying to learn every little detail that will make what I paint look a little better than yesterday, and me a little more happy tomorrow...

The main reason I still spend time on social media is to learn, Internet is a great tool and a great source of knowledge. So I'm thinking to contribute my piece to this process, and post occasionally some tips that I find handy, simple things really that however may be of worth to some beginners. I'll be marking such photos with a 'tips+tricks' stamp so that they're easy to recognize. 

Below is me working on 'Lolipop Rococo'. You see that I'm laying a dark blue color on the bows, although you may see them turning out purplish, even whitish in the end. The reason is that blue lies everywhere(thankfully!), on every shade, on everything we see. The sky is blue, the sea is blue, and they're all around us. Every shadow has blue in it and every dark part of your painting should too. Don't use stand-alone colors as I see in so much artwork posted around. Mix up things on your palette a little and play around. You'll be surprised... wink emoticon 

Lovely inspiration by Mariska Karto

Is it photograph or is it a painting? Hard to tell.
I love the cotton-smooth skin depicted on Baroque/renaissance paintings and thought it's hard to achieve on acrylics, that's where I'm headed at.

Mariska Karto's work seems a highly-recommended inspiration if realistic painting is where your heart lies, and it's definitely a pleasure for the eye and the soul. Lovely work!!! Here's her website if you're interested for more:http://www.mariska-karto.com/

'Out of space Leia'
by Zelyss
Acrylics on board 32x28cm