New blog / Новый блог

Over the years I’ve accumulated several blogs: A general English one, two Russian ones, one about art, two with quotes I like, one with interesting news articles, one with thoughts, one with verses, one with my photos, one with digital art, one with digital finger paintings,  one with my photos and paintings… It became too confusing. I want simplicity! One life – one blog. It is still a bit rough, but I’m working on it. So, it will be just this blog, the web page, Facebook, Pinterest & Twitter. Lets see what will happen…

За годы у меня скопилось несколько блогов на разные темы (см выше) и я стала в них путаться. Пытаюсь все свести в один. Если кому-то интересно, подписывайтесь лучше сюда.

Two framed artworks and an ornament are sold

Raven Cracked Heart Ornaments by Linandara

A large oil pastel painting: 

 

and a decoupage fantasy artwork

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

A delicate original folk art pattern in pen ink and pencil

 

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Product Description

A pure improvisation. The mauve color is metallic. The inks used are artist quality lighfast.

Inspiration/Story Behind This Product

I love inventing folk, ethnic or tribal patterns.

Materials Used

paper, ink, pencils

More Info

An affordable little handmade piece to decorate somebody's room

 

Sword in Stone Abstract

Based on my photos of some sea eroded cliffs in Norfolk

Available for sale as Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters

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Something for the St David Day

Daffodil Spring Poster by Linandara
But there is no daffodils in Newtown this year yet - too cold. Snowdrops are out.
I've found yet another print selling outlet: DEVIANTART

Selling art

I've discovered a new print selling outlet, called Imageking, and so far its looks well designed and strait forward. Anyone can sell photos and artwork here, which is good, but also because of this one has to spend long time before finding good quality artwork. So far, selling art on Etsy and Zazzle have been the best options for me.

Ebay UK used to be very good for selling art but recently they started to treat the sellers worse and worse increasing the fees and inventing ridicules rules all the time. Funny enough few days ago they blamed me for breaching the copyright and selling an authorized copies of... my own novel... Any attempt to reason with them fails as they don't bother reading messages. I really hope somebody invents a user-friendly online auction site one day...

Also recently I've visited an exhibition of Michael Brennand - Wood's artwoks. Most of them appear to be like beautiful vases with flowers but when one comes to look close one realises that they made up of quite sinister details (like skeletons, bullets, etc). They all have got some meaning and make you think, but I just wonder if its right to make people feel attracted to something on the evil side...

Art Calendars for 2010

Distant Lands Fine Art Calendar by Linandara

My Russia by A.CookMy Russia by A.Cook (calendar) Print: £12.49 This is 14-month calendar for 2010 illustrated with my own paintings and drawings dedicated to landscapes, people and buildings of my native Russia. Contains British and US holidays. If you would like other / custom holidays please let me know before buying and I'll create additional version for you. I hope you'll enjoy my calendar!

Distant Lands by A.CookDistant Lands by A.Cook (calendar) Print: £12.49 Welcome to the Distant Lands! Nineteen of my artworks (mostly seasonal landscapes) are included in this 2010 14-month calendar. It has British & Christian holidays (could be changed - just send me a message). I hope you'll enjoy it!

Fantasy Lands by A.CookFantasy Lands by A.Cook (calendar) Print: £12.49 This it 14 months 2010 calendar illustrated with my fantasy artwork. It contain British & US holidays (this could be changed - just send me a message). I hope you will enjoy it.

• Calendar Print

  £3.50

• Alexandra Cook's Art Calendar

  £17.00

New shop

I've joined CafePress today:
http://www.cafepress.com/linandara

I've also had an idea for Delta Quadra group on Last.FM:
http://www.last.fm/group/Delta+Quadra+-+Socionics




INTPs got their own group, so why not?




Anyway, I'm also working on a very strange painting (in digital sketching stage at the moment), incomporating my love for music and some socionic ideas. My husband already christened is Abbagonewrong... Sounds sort of Welsh... (my preliminary name is Shadow Walkers)




Also I've found some funny socionics-inspired art:

http://www.iztkanirukami.ru/cats/socion01.html

Stefan Morrell - Dream Cities

Just a link to an artist site:

http://stefan-morrell.com/

Very moody dreamy cities. I wouldn't want to live here but certainly love to visit...

BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2008 in Wolverhampton

I've seen this exhibition recently
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART56726.html
http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/wolves/exhibitions/003715.html
http://www.npg.org.uk/live/bp2008index.asp

Lots of good art - painterly, skill full and thought-full portraits. For example, Lliana by Krasimir Kolev, Amanda Smith at Vincent Avenue by Simon Davis, Kristy, 3rd Attempt by Geert Schless, Natalie by Jason Walker, Her Name Is Rio by Lucie Cookson, Blue Pool (Datuk Vinod Sekhar Family) by Paul Benney (kids favorite - swimming pool), Melanie by Jackie Anderson (my favorite - a lady in fog).

But two tendencies a bit upset me. First, quite a number of works looked just like good resolution professional photos blown up on canvas. (E.g. Untitled by Peiyuan Jiang - Young Artist Award; Metamorphosis by José Luis Corella Garcia (I actually like the picture), Meralby Joanna Yates). Whats a point of painting then? The eye sees differently to the camera lens anyway. The only case (in my opinion) when photorealistic style really works its when there is no way that you can actually take picture of the subject (if its from the past or from fantasy)

Secondly, there is that hint of admiration of ugliness, illness and injury in some works (like in Sunny Jim by Sue Burns, Hannah O'Brien by Robert O'Brien). I don't mean at all that only classically beautiful people should be painted. But I always thought that the good portrait artist should try to find inner beauty and kindness in any subject. Unless the artist wants to offend or humiliate somebody (including themselves).

Reference photos

All my photos in this blog, my Russian blog, Picasa or Flikr are OK to use as an artist reference (for paintings, sketches, drawings). I'm not greedy (well not too greedy, I hope). I would love to see what you do with them but of course it's not mandatory. I normally take only low resolution pictures because they are good enough as reference for my artwork and I can take really a lot of them.

There is a good reference library at
http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/
but you have to be a member (its free) to save images.

I can't remember where I took this. Must be in a castle in England.

More Newtown ACEOs

http://picasaweb.google.com/Linandara/NewtownLandscape#

Some of my Newtown, Powys plein air ACEO card/miniatures.

Website updates

I've started working on the new website:

http://sites.google.com/site/linandara/Home

and moving my artwork to (hopefully) one place:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Linandara


Still Life Artworks(1)

Pen and Ink Fantasy(1)

Oil & Acrylic Fantasy(2)

http://picasaweb.google.com/Linandara/OilPastelFantasyLandscape#

Random Images 1

Sometimes I'm lucky to see real beauty right from my window. That's how the American winter landscape on the left has been made.

I do take hundreds of photos every time I go out in hope that one day I can use them for my artwork. They constantly appear in random order on my desktop.

My wild imagination and dreams often bring me vivid pictures worth painting.

I like using 3D modelling for creating landscapes and/or people to paint later.

I also feel its fine to be inspired by random photos in books, newspapers, on the web, in movies. After all, I'm not copying them photorealistically, merely interpreting. Artist Pablo Picasso said "Good artists borrow, great artists steal." And, of course, all artists & photographers steal from God a bit... Poor Van Gogh copied his favorite artists when couldn't afford live models.

Last, I sometimes do copies of historic art from all over the World to learn about old masters approach.

Random Images

I love finding inexpected inspirations for paintings all around me. If I have a chance, I'm going wandering with my sketch kit outside. Here are two examples out of a series of ACEO miniatures I did during this spring in Newtown, Powys.

Three Things you should Never do to an Artist...

From my own experience & what other artists told me:

- Never say "you have talent". For many artists it translates into "you don't work hard - just use your talent every time".

- Your painting is very good: it looks almost like a photograph... (then whats a point of doing a painting???)

- Never give to an artist an artwork of another artist as a gift unless you are ABSOLUTELY sure he or she will like it. Just ask! We lot have normally very strong preferences in art!

PS. Personally I found patronizing words like "clever girl" be real killers...

2009 Calendars from the Distant Lands...

There still is time to order calendars with my artwork at Lulu.com. I think they will make an unusual present - not many of them around anyway. Full previews available. I maybe even manage to make a couple more till New Year - Britain & People.

Distant Lands by A.Cook by Alexandra Cook
Welcome to the Distant Lands! Fifteen of my artworks (mostly seasonal landscapes) are included in this 2009 14-month calendar. It has British & Christian holidays (could be changed - just send me a message). I hope you'll enjoy it!(26 pages ) Paperback: £9.97

Fantasy Lands by A.Cook
by Alexandra Cook
This it 14 months 2009 calendar illustrated with my fantasy artwork. It contain British holidays (this could be changed - just send me a message). I hope you will enjoy it. (26 pages ) Paperback: £9.97

My Russia by A.Cook My Russia by A.Cook
Print: £12.49 (with postage in the UK)
This is 14-month calendar for 2009 illustrated with my own paintings and drawings dedicated to landscapes, people and buildings of my native Russia. Contains British and some Orthodox holidays. If you would like other / custom holidays please let me know before buying and I'll create additional version for you. I hope you'll enjoy my calendar!

Any artists from Newtown, Powys? Lets start a group!

I moved to Newtown about a year ago but haven't met any local artists yet.
I used to belong to the Nottingham Society of Artists (http://www.nottinghamartists.org.uk/) and a local Art Club (http://www.ledac.org.uk/index.htm) in my old place. Couldn't find anything here (maybe there is a group?). We don't drive (eco-friendly) so I can't really go to nearby towns to join their groups.
Ideally I would love to be a member of an open-minded & friendly all-media & style art group (club, society, association) with an aim to actively help each other improve they work, exibit it and, of course, sell it. Also get painting outside together. Let me know if anybody else interested.

An Art Gallery

Just wanted to write down few thoughts about a local art gallery (Oriel Davies)
http://www.orieldavies.org/

Small quiet town, not really much arty folk around... Exhibitions in the gallery are mostly very -very - very weird (strange). I love experiment and feeling of strangeness - as just one side of creativity. But why poor people have to think that only this is ART? Where are simply local artists? There was an "open" exhibition with entrance fee I couldn't afford... Where anyway are works which somebody could have in ordinary comfortable home and simply enjoy them? I know there is good art created right now - look in International Artist Magazine (http://www.international-artist.com/iam/overview.aspx), for example. Who profits from promotion of weird and disgusting in art? Why feeling of peace and happiness in art is ignored?

Recent art

Marshland and Kids with Pond. As you can see, at the moment I'm very much into painting in oil pastels and influenced by Vincent van Gogh (have been reading about him half of the summer). The image on the right inspired by a scene in my garden (Pond, hills&kids:Original Oil Pastel Painting by A.Cook). The one on the left is very loosely based on a picture from a Baltic wild nature book (Marshland in early spring - Original oil pastel painting). Both are still available.