Drawing tigers

From time to time I like to watch tutorials “how to paint or draw” something. It gives me a base and more confidence to try new options. I also get a lot of inspiration from watching others doing great things.

A few years ago I joined DA community, where a huge number of people from all over the world exhibit their art and share their artistic experiences. Since life on social media is not a daily need for me, I am more or less a passive member there, happy with all the inspiration around.

I recently participated in a crazy crowd drawing of a tiger based on a tutorial posted by one of the DA artists. It was a great experience to see that when a thousand people do the same thing, it definitely doesn’t come out the same. And I believe there were more than a thousand. Digital or traditional, drawing or painting, in vibrant colors or black and white. Tigers of any kind.

It was a time when I was full of color palettes, so I wanted to apply one of them and place my orange tiger on a blue and turquoise background. I am quite satisfied with the result, except that I underestimated quality of the paper.

Since I still have trouble drawing figures, I challenged myself to draw another tiger in full body. I also wanted to give him an expression, an emotion. Most people see the tiger as a symbol of courage. My tarot reading experience says, that its presence often means fear. So I chose fear as the emotion for my tiger sketch. What do you say?

I have enjoyed participating in the tiger drawing craze, but I cannot wait to do my own projects. Where to start? I have so many ideas, lack of skills and time to improve them. But I keep trying.

With love and hugs,

Ivana

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Happy Holidays!

Time is running fast and holidays are just around the corner. Although I don’t have snow and the classic Christmas winter behind the windows, I hope many of you enjoy it.

I painted a waxwing with frozen hips to feel the winter atmosphere better. Thanks to an old gardening magazine for a reference photo!

I also participated in the Holiday card project again. I love this activity on the DeviantArt platform, because every artist has the opportunity to create an original Holiday card that will be distributed to a specific person in a hospital or nursing home. This year, it was only necessary to deliver cards in digital form due to covid-19. Let’s hope the cards find and please their recipients anyway.

Additionally, I created a small anti-stress coloring book as a monthly 2022 diary for my friends. If you are interested, it is free to download for you too! I’ll be happy if you enjoy it!

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Happy Holidays to all of you!

Ivana

Greenery

I’m not a big fan of Christmas madness but I like greenery in all its forms. And today’s walk brought me the inspiration of a green wreath.

OK, I added little decorations when Christmas is around the corner 🙂

To be honest, this is only the second attempt to paint a wreath in my life. Maybe that’s why the wreath belongs to the items I included into my personal art challenge. Did I tell you about it?

Recently I had a birthday (happy Scorpio) and I gave myself the artistic challenge as a gift. Actually, I was inspired by the Inktober event, held annually on the DeviantArt platform.

In the original version, only ink is used, and one specific theme is announced for each day of October. My version has softer rules, but is designed for the whole year. Until next birthday.

I put down 52 creative challenges that can be processed by any technique in any order. But in the spirit of one topic per week in the hope that regular exercise will improve my so called artistic skills.

So far I have painted 3 topics on t-shirts, and I chose the wreath for this week. Simple watercolor, but I enjoyed the painting. I’m happy to see movement inside, or am I wrong?

And I’m double happy to share my little greenery with you. Hopefully it brings a smile to your face.

Love, Ivana

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

As I was born and grown in the communist Czechoslovakia behind the “iron curtain”, I didn’t have a clue about Patrick’s Day for a long period of time. We’ve been taught and brainwashed about great soviet heroes and holidays instead.

Fortunately, we were allowed to keep some of the old myths, legends and fairy tales as well, especially if they didn’t sound too religious. And so we got the hidden wisdom through elves, fairies, witches and other fairy-tale beings.

One of those mythical characters is Vodyanoy – a completely green creature that rules over the waters. Because we don’t have a sea in my country, Vodyanoy usually lives in ponds, lakes or deep river bays. He looks elegant, prefers green or red top hat and has a tailcoat, from which the water is always dripping. We really have a lot of stories where Vodyanoy appears. Some Vodyanoys are good or cute, others are evil and scary, but you can easily recognize them because of green color and water, dripping from their clothing.

The reason, why the Vodyanoy myths came back to me in these days, was the last prompt on Deviant art. The challenge was to draw a green picture in honor of the St. Patrick’s Day. I tried to fulfill my intention, celebrating the Irish heritage. I drew for hours but the mind didn’t flow in the Irish mood at all. So much green has caused to me to see more Vodyanoy, sitting in a really green pond.

I would say that no matter how many things you learn in life, cultural roots remains with you for ever. What do you think?

Thanks for reading and extra warm greetings to all Irish people! 🍀

With love, Ivana

Fighting with nightmare

I like to draw. I like the moment with pencils when my imagination blows out. Sometimes I have a precise intention, and sometimes I let things go to be surprised by the result. Playing with the subconscious is fun and deep at the same time.

But drawing isn’t my hobby since childhood. Of course I did draw at that time, perhaps only until school. Then the system was trying to form my skills, telling me how much wrong I was. And believe me, I was!

Luckily I had other skills to develop, so I didn’t suffer much because of drawing bad. I had other things to enjoy and erased my need to draw from the mind. Before 40, the suppressed need woke up and started to fill my hungry hole.

Sounds the story is done, right?

But I quickly discovered that although I draw happily and felt free, in fact I had avoided drawing people all the time. And if I did it, it was a real nightmare. Finally I decided to fight with it!

Since January, I have been engaged in learning how to do it. My goal is not to reach professional skills, I just want to overcome my fear and remove the obstacle of the free self-expression.

The drawing above is the last practice and I believe that the head finally got the right proportions! What do you think?

With love, Ivana

The Holiday Card Project

I decided to take a part in the Deviant Art Holiday Card Project because I think its simple idea is great. Who wouldn’t like to please those who have not enough luck, pleasure or even health? Additionally, you can do that, which also enjoys you and what you consider to be your hobby.

The word charity usually involves donating money or things needed for life, more precisely for the physical part of life. But doesn’t soul feel hungry?

At school, I learned that there is a pyramid of values, the basis of which is just physical needs – food, drink, clothing, shelter. And if these are not saturated, you probably do not care about what is on the higher floors of the pyramid – values like love, belonging or self-esteem.

Traveling and aging brought me a little different experience.  With my own eyes, I saw huge number of people who were really poor, yet they lived in love and with supporting community, and I don’t think they had the problem of respect or self-esteem.

And of course, I saw and see a lot of people, who have their basic needs more than saturated, yet they didn’t open their hearts either for love or for the support of others.

I believe that donating money helps to change the physical reality of many people, which is great. But I also believe that giving joy feeds their souls and helps them accept what cannot be changed or paid for money.

And so I put my love and positive energy into a simple drawing, hoping to send pleasure and joy even across the ocean.

Thanks to the creative people in Deviant Art for inspiration and their excellent work.

Ivana

Ten Commandments

Perhaps I live in a small world, naturally influenced by the culture of Central Europe where I was born, educated and where I developed my knowledge and skills. And no experience from traveling could change rooted paradigms such as the Ten Commandments are known to everyone in the world, regardless of religion. At least they exist and that it was God’s message to people, a sort of moral code.

Was it completely stupid? It looks like it.

Currently I’m discovering nooks of deviant art. Everyone knows and I’m wondering. Hey, contest? I want to participate! I have never experienced that!

So I met the Magic contest and it was the topic why I decided to submit one of my works. I chose among several favorites and the winner was the picture To be connected – full colored drawing with Hebrew manuscript of Ten Commandments. First, I like the picture so much that I have it as wallpaper. And second, I consider giving the commandments to Moses to be a great magic. Naturally it must be magic as it came from God.

Satisfied with the idea, I submitted for the contest. I didn’t expect to win the prize because I have healthy eyes and I see a tremendous amount of talent and experience of other artists. But also I didn’t expect the content could be questioned.

Today I’ve been asked for precise translation of the Hebrew manuscript to English because not everyone knows the Ten Commandments.

As if the translation could clear the overall message. Or as if any words could clear magic which was the topic of contest.

This little intermezzo turned me back to the ground. I found the translation on internet and fed a hungry dog. Additionally, I found the second version of my Ten Commandments drawing as above. Should I submit it for the contest as well? Of course with full translation! 😋

Back in an optimistic mood,

Ivana

I became a deviant!

I have to repeat it again, because I cannot believe it. I have always considered myself as a decent woman with the only deviation – love for nature and herbs. So how did it happen to become a real deviant?

Long ago, I began to think about placing my drawings in a suitable part of cyberspace. Just to have them together and perhaps to get encouragement when I need it. And maybe my drawings could provide good mood to someone else who needs a bit of optimism.

I have checked various platforms and something kept me coming back to the server that my mind aversively refused. I would call my drawings naive, childish, non-educated, too colorful, but deviant?

I fought a long inner battle with labeling and prejudice, trying to find another alternative all the time. But the group of deviants attracted me beyond my control, so I gave up last week and became one of them. Still I cannot used to hear someone called me a deviant and my drawings deviations, but I work on it.

I slowly orient myself in a new environment and re-discover the old truth that every environment is like a pot of soup. You will find nice pieces of vegetable or meat, but also a lot of dirty water. It is  up to you what to join. And I hope to be a carrot there 😊

Although I add my pictures to the gallery slowly and you probably have seen many of them already, I would like to invite you to my small deviant exhibition here.

Thanks for coming!

Ivana