"Tools for making clay pots"

Here you can see tools for making clay pots in jugs. Actually, the drawing with clay pots and the tools come from the same article in a magazine on houses. Some time ago, I got interested in that topic a lot. Especially, I find joy in making small gadgets useful at home. That article I found particularly illuminating, telling the story of 2 young and creative artists who built a house at Mazury and organize workshops for laymen to teach them to work on clay. Last time I told you about black clay pots which are burnt in a stove with special wood. Here you see the second picture and the last one from that article. Unfortunately, the colours faded away and the effect you see above.

Have a nice day, Ela.

"Nude act"

This a nude act. The interesting thing about it is that it's a view from above. What I want to say is that I like it very much. The colours are soft and pastel like. It's really feminine and sensual. I don't know how I achieved this effect, taking into consideration that colours normally fade away whereas here they stick to the cardboard perfectly. It's nice, ideal for hanging in a sleeping room.

Your remarks I leave to you.

Have a nice watching, Ela.

"Rest in sun rays"

This picture was done according to a photo , which I found in "Elle". I was surprised , because I always thought that that magazine is about fashion and here I found such a nice photo. What is curious about that work is that originally it was an eyelash advertisment. I omitted them. They are nice and feminine, but in my opinion a figure without eyelashes is more "pure". The title , which I gave to that drawing is : rest in sun rays. I like the idea that the woman is getting rest and looks like it. The picture is peaceful.

Have a nice evening, Ela.

"Clay pots"

Now a slight change of the topic. This time still life instead of portraits. Here you can see black clay pots on the wooden shelf. I'd like to inform you that such clay pots are black not because somebody painted them but because of wood used to set fire in a stove. What I mean by this is that wood of pine tree which is 300 years old is used here. This is the effect . That was about the method and now about the drawing. Here I used ink and soft pastel. Thanks to ink black is very deep and pastel gives reflections on the pots. I'm not entirely pleased with the result. I think that oil pastel would be better with the drawing. Its colours don't fade away and if they are too striking you can make it milder with terpentine. However, my problem is to get such oil pastels which won't be too vivid, 'cause I'd like to achieve delicate, sort of pastel like reflections.

Have a nice day, Ela.

"Hug"

This picture was actually my first grand drawing which made me realise that big is impressive. Thus, I embarked on searching big formats for my work. This picture was done according to a cosmetic adverisement. What I like about it is that the man looks like a real one, not feminine. The photo of this picture made it smaller than in reality, but I can't afford photocopying at the moment, therefore it's just the way it is. The drawing wasn't done on original cardboard, but on a new white one which costs a little. That's it.

Have a nice watching, Ela.

"Zoom-in"

Hi, today I promised to show you the zoom-in of the previous picture. In the focus you can see the profile of the woman which is quite successful. Actually, it's my best profile ever. One advantage is also that the colours stuck to the paper , so they didn't fade away after spraying. As you know, colours decide if a picture is nice. (And not only them of course.) I don't know, but in my opinion if the face of a person is well done, everything is less important. A face expresses all the feelings of a person and provides a certain mood to a drawing. That's it. The post is short maybe 'cause all has been said before. Have a nice watching, Ela.

"Soldier of love"

What a sunny day we have today. My mood is also good, 'cause each day I have the pleasure to show you my nice works. I realized that if I find something nice, I can talk about it for hours. This time is the same. Today my new cardboard drawing. It was done according to Sad's cd cover under the title "Soldier of love". The cover depicts Sade standing and her one hand is leaning against a pale. Her dress is very feminine and sensual showing her bare back. The background is ferocious and looks as if it was about to rain heavily. The sky is cloudy and dark.

Here I used different media: soft pastel, ink and charcoal. Thanks to ink Sade's hair is pitch black, whereas the pale is coloured with charcoal. Thus, its blackness is not so intense. I'm pleased with the fact that the woman's face is well done. Today I present the whole picture. Tomorrow you'll see a zoom-in.

Have a nice watching, Ela.

"Black pride"

Hi again. I promised you to show my cardboard paintings and I'm doing it now. I must say that I'm impressed by them. What makes me feel amazed is their size 40x60 cm, which is not great but for me is ideal. Besides, cardboard makes a picture look like a real painting. It's rigid and can be leaned by the wall to admire.

I discovered cardboard by accident, because a supermarket put away unnecessary carboard boxes right behind the cash desks. One day, I needed 3 boxes, which I found useful to cover a space, because I needed to spray a small object. When I brought the boxes home I realized that they could be used as painting boards. I was not sure if anything will come out of this , but I tried.

Here you see my first picture. I called it "Black pride". The model was Patricia Kazadi who is a Polish actress and journalist. The painted model doesn't remind her, but she is my first mulatto model I've ever had. As you see, I used ink apart from soft pastels ( also discovered by accident). What I like about ink is that its blackness is so deep and unified. Apart from it, its advantage is that it dries down very quickly. In this way I started using different media which is new with me and very illuminating.

Have a nice watching, Ela.

"Girl with a toy elephant"

Today, I'm gonna present to you my drawing depicting a girl with a toy elephant. At first I was amazed by my talent but with time I realized that it is not as perfect as it seemed to me before. One thing I like best: it's the innocent face of the child and the colours remind me of my childhood. That's it for now as far as this work is concerned. ( This is the drawing on paper.)

I must tell you that I reached certain conclusions as far as drawing is concerned. For many years I stuck to the routine of drawing constantly on ordinary A3size paper and sprayed it with the same hair spray ('cause I don't use a fixative spray - alllegedly it's noxious). By accident, I thought out an idea that I can draw on cardboard. At first , I wasn't so sure if it would be successful but I tried. The effects surprised me. I found that colours are different on cardboard. The texture of paper is also relevant. Those rough ones are best. I started working on bigger cardboards, first doing sketches and then drawings. Sometimes I have problems with light colours which after spraying fade away, but in general my drawings are better on cardboard, besides the size of it also makes an impression on me.The bigger the better. There is a snag however: I cannot afford photocoping the cardboards. They are to big. The only solution is buying a digital camera which at the moment is out of the question.

And now my message to you is the following: Don't get yourself down if you don't achieve results which you want to. The reason for this is not always your abilities but the medium or the materials you use are to blame. Thet was the case with me.

My advice is: Try to experiment with different media and materials. Maybe you'll find someting you are good at and you don't even know it yet. Don't give up. In the following days I will show on display my cardboard drawings and I suppose you will assess from the start that they are better from the previous ones. Luckily they were registered on a digital camera. So have a nice watching, Ela.