Painting of the day (A Lioness) / Slika dana (Lavica)

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was walk to the kitchen. Naturally, I was there to make coffee (can’t start a day without it) but while I was at it, I decided to also make a nice cup of warm chocolate. I figured that one can’t have too many warm drinks when the weather is misbehaving. Plus, I wanted something to drink right away, and because preparing coffee my style takes a while (wouldn’t be caught dead drinking instant coffee;)) I opted for warm chocolate first and it was nice but I have to remember to make my own instant coffee again, I’m sure that stuff they sell in shops are full of all kinds of unhealthy stuff. Speaking of health, I have had a cold for a week now, my throat is still sore and my vocal cords are in pitiful state.  I'm not a big fan of my voice right now, but most people seem to like it. Well, at least I’m unique this way. I can always tell people that I was out partying the previous night. Anyhow, while I was preparing my coffee/hot chocolate, I was wondering what should be the first thing on my agenda for the day. Do you do that in the morning or do you already have it planned?

Kada sam se jutros probudila prva stvar koju sam napravila je bila pravac kuhinja. Naravno, tu sam kako bi napravila kavu ( ne mogu započeti dan bez nje), ali kada sam već tu, odlučila sam napraviti i lijepu šalicu tople čokolade. Zaključila sam da nam, kada je vrijeme ovako promjenljivo,  nikad osta toplih pića. Osim toga, htjela sam imati nešto za odmah popiti i jer pripremanje kave na moj način traje malo duže (nikad ne pijem instant, bože sačuvaj;)), tako da sam prvo pila toplu čokoladu i nije bila loša, ali moram se sjetiti napraviti svoju instant čokoladu, sigurna sam da je ono što se prodaje po dućanima nezdravo. Kad smo već kod zdravlja, već tjedan dana vučem prehladu, još uvijek me grlo boli, a glasnice su mi u jadnom stanju. Nisam neki obožavatelj svoga glasa trenutno, ali mogu uvijek reći ljudima da sam prijašnju noć slavila. Uglavnom, dok sam pripremala kavu i čokoladu, pitala sam se što bi prvo trebala danas napraviti. Radite li to ujutro ili to imate već u planu?

Then I realized that I haven’t painted anything for a weak straight. Well, unless I count what I painted at an art class last Tuesday but I really ought not because it was rather terrible. I don’t really enjoy doing reproductions; I know they’re useful to develop one’s skill but I always feel like I have stolen something. It is not like you can do a reproduction and feel it is your all own work because the idea  belongs to somebody else. The one I selected was semi-abstract and it seems I'm not so great at that. I don’t mind the practice and while I’m sure that I can benefit from it, I prefer working on my own stuff. High time to get at it, I thought this morning. Truth be told, it being early in the morning, I didn’t feel much in mood for the painting, but I know that later on, I might not get the chance. It is not that I had a crazy busy day ahead, but life gets in the way of your creative hobbies unless you set time for them. I knew that later on there will be meals (lunch/dinner) to be prepared and desserts and all kind of food (I mean what is Sunday without all the extra fun? I need calories for a day to feel like a proper Sunday), and  besides by the end of the day who knows will I have the energy. Moreover, I do believe in what Picasso said. Inspiration exists but it has to find you working. If we wait for inspiration, we’ll probably never get much work done.

Onda sam shvatila da nisam ništa naslikala cijeli tjedan. Osim ako ne računam ono što sam naslikala na tečaju slikanja prošloga utorka, ali ne bi trebala jer je bilo baš grozno. Baš i ne uživam u reprodukcijama, znam da su koriste u razvijanju svoje vještine, a ipak imam taj osjećaj kao da nešto kradem.  Nije da možete napraviti reprodukciju i imati osjećaj da je vaš rad jer ideja iza nje uvijek pripada nekom drugom. Ona koju sam izabrala bila je pomalo apstraktna i čini se da mi to i nije najjača snaga. Ne smeta mi vježbanje i iako znam da će mi dobro doći, opet mi je draže raditi na svojim stvarima. Krajnje vrijeme da se toga uhvatim, pomislila sam jutros. Iskreno, tako rano ujutro, baš i nisam bila raspoložena za slikanje, ali sam znala da kasnije možda i neću imati prilike. Nije da sam imala neki ludo zauzet dan, ali ako ne odvojimo vrijeme za kreativne hobije, život se uvijek nekako umiješa u sve. Znala sam da će kasnije trebati spremati ručak i večeru i deserte i svašta nešto (mislim što je nedjelja bez svega toga? Trebaju mi kalorije da bi mi nedjelja bila prava), a osim toga tko zna hoću li imati energije kad dan dođe kraju. Uz to, vjerujem u ono što je Picasso rekao, nadahnuće postoji, ali mora vas pronaći dok radite. Čekamo li nadahnuće, nećemo puno toga obaviti.

So, I gathered my art tools and sat down to paint. I have been painting for two straight hours, when I was interrupted by a door bell. After that I got up and went on to do other stuff for the rest of the day. This was one of the paintings I made. I feel like I’m relearning aquarelle. I used to be good at it as a kid, but nowadays I kind of feel like I’m doing something if not wrong then in a peculiar way. Or maybe I’m just developing my personal aquarelle style? Either way, here it is my watercolour and pencil painting of the day. Mostly watercolour, I had only used pencil to sketch before applying the paints. I might remember to delete it (the pencil), or I might let it stay this way. The painting depicts a woman with a mane of hair, hence the title of this work- A lioness. Perhaps that doesn't make sense because lionesses don't have manes but we still use this expression for women- and for often because it is usually us ladies who have long(er) hair. I didn’t have anyone in mind while I was painting this, but now that I think of it, she does remind me of an old friend of mine, someone I hadn’t seen in years. Interesting. The background is kind of fairy-tale like or perhaps just a historical sight. The outfit this lady is wearing isn’t fully visible, but it doesn’t have to be- you can imagine what it might be. I suppose you could still look at this painting as a fashion illustration of some sort. After all, fashion is not just clothes….but we all know that.

Tako da sam skupila svoje alate za slikanje, sjela i uhvatile se posla, slikala sam oko dva sata prije nego što me prekinilo zvono. Nakon toga sam se ostatak dana bavila drugim stvarima. Ovo je jedna od slika koju sam napravila. Imam osjećaj kao da ponovo učim akvarel. Kada sam bila mala, dobro mi je išao, ali danas imam osjećaj da nešto radim, ako ne krivo, onda na čudan način? Ili možda razvijam svoj vlastiti stil akvarela? Kako god, ovdje je moja slika dana, vodene boje i olovka, većinom akvarel, olovku sam koristila samo za skiciranje. Možda se i sjetim obrisati ju (olovku), a možda je i ovako ostavim. Slika prikazuje ženu s gustom kosom kao griva, a zato je i njen naziv lavica. Možda to i nema smisla jer lavice nemaju grivu, ali ipak koristimo taj izraz i za žene, zapravo češće za žene jer obično mi imamo dužu kosu. Nije mi nitko bio na pameti dok sam ovu slikala, ali sada kada razmislim, podsjeća me na jednu prijateljicu, nekoga koga godinama nisam vidjela....Zanimljivo. Pozadina je pomalo bajkovita..ili možda samo neko povijesno mjesto. Odjevna kombinacija ove dane nije posve vidljiva, ali i ne mora biti....možete i sami nešto zamisliti. Pretpostavljam da je i ovu sliku moguće gledati kao modnu ilustraciju neke vrste. Na kraju krajeva, moda nije samo odjeća...ali mi svi to već znamo.

I manage do to a little blogging today, replied to your lovely comments- thank you very much, your lovely comments make my day. I did a bit of reading in the afternoon and managed some in the evening too, but let’s make at least one post without making literary references, shall we?  I’ll just admit to reading one contemporary British author and one Croatian author from last century. My day had been comfortably  slow paced so far. Lots of cooking ( I’m using my new wok and it’s great) and since I’m such a sweet tooth I could resist making at least one dessert- almost caramelized apples and bananas with with a bit of cream. Usually I like to make caramelized desserts but today I decided to remove the fruit from the heat before it was fully caramelized- just to try something new. My walk today was rather short and practical- I went to open the windows on my new house so that the paint can dry more quickly.  Anyway, the evening was wonderful and the sunset quite magical. 

Uspjela sam se danas malo baviti i blogom, odgovoriti na vaše komentare- hvala vam na svima, baš mi uljepšaju dan. Malo sam čitala poslijepodne, a pomalo i navečer, ali idemo barem jedna objava bez da pričam o književnosti. Samo ću reći da sam čitala suvremenoga britanskoga autora i hrvatskoga pisca iz prošloga stoljeća. Dan mi je do sada bio ugodno usporen. Puno kuhanja (koristim svoj novi wok i baš mi je odličan), a pošto jako volim slatko, morao je tu biti i desert- skoro pa karamelarizirane jabuke i banane s malo vrhnja. Obično volim praviti karamelizirane deserte, ali ovaj put sam odlučila maknuti voće s vatre prije nego što se posve karameliziralo, tek tako da probam nešto novo. Danas mi je šetnja bila poprilično kratka i praktična, išla sam otvoriti prozore na novoj kući tako da se boja prije osuši. No, večer je bila divna, a zalak sunca čaroban.

Had I not been so tired from this stubborn cold, I would have probably indulged in a longer walk today- I had the time for it, but alas no muscle power. Well, I'll get rid of this cold sooner or later. All in all, I’m rather enjoying Autumn, even if I’m not spending as much time outdoors but that goes to prove that you can never have two things at the same time, you can’t have your cake and eat it too, right? I’m working on one new project that I probably won’t be sharing with you because it is not related to blog. It is something that will probably demand considerable time and energy, but I’m doing it for myself, so no complaints here. Quite on the contrary, it gives me something to look forward too, so all good. What was your day like? Did you have a nice Sunday? Are you looking forward to the new working week?

Da nisam bila tako umorna od ove tvrdoglave prehlade, vjerojatno bi uživala u malo dužoj šetnji, imala sam vremena za nju, ali ne i energije. No, riješit ću se ja ove prehlade, prije ili kasnije. Sve u svemu, uživam u jeseni, čak i ako ne provodim toliko vremena vani, no to dokazuje da se ne može imati ovce i novce, zar ne? Radim na jednom novom projektu kojega vjerojatno neću dijeliti s vama jer nije vezan uz blog. Vjerojatno će mi oduzeti dosta vremena i energije, ali radim to za sebe, tako da se nemam na što žaliti. Naprotiv, daje mi nešto čemu ću se veseliti, tako da sve pet. Kakav je vama bio dan? Jeste li uživali u nedjelji? Veselite li se novom radnom tjednu?

watercolour on paper/ akvarel na papiru