A MOUNTAIN CHURCH BLIDINJE (ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 20+ HOURS)

 It took me approximately +20  hours spanned over the course of three days to finish this painting of mountain church of saint Elias. Yes, I didn't get much sleep in the last three days and I'm not feeling so great as a consequence but that's fine, I rarely enjoy the painting process itself and I've been suffering from insomnia anyway. The original painting was made and gifted but art prints (and prints on various products) are available in my redbubble shop (link).

THE STORY OF THE PAINTING- THE MOUNTAIN CHURCH OF SAINT ELIAS- I sure didn't enjoy painting this one. I wanted to make the painting more realistic and lifelike so I opted for a fine brush and many many strokes on the details. It took me good eight hours just to finish the road leading to the church and the stone house in the foreground. I felt like curling into a ball and crying later that evening. Yes, painting isn't always enjoyable. It is more the finished product that I'm after. I paint because I like to own and gift art. This time I was after the details and you know what? The recipients of this painting loved it because of how detailed it was. Who enjoys painting this kind of detailed painting anyway? It's hard on the hands, I had to ice them before every 4-6 hours painting session.  Anyhow, the reason why I hurried to finish this particular painting was because I wanted to make it a gift and I did earlier in the day. So, it all worked out in the end!

A HOUSE WARMING GIFT FOR A COUPLE THAT GOT MARRIED IN THIS CHURCH!- So, this painting was actually a house warming gift. A married couple (obviously someone we know) recently moved into their new home and I wanted to gift them a painting. Originally I was thinking of the Boats in the Night painting of mine but then I thought- what painting would be better that the painting of a church they got married in? So, that I was I was working on for the last three days. I finished the painting yesterday at midnight and I gave them to them today. 

THE STORY OF MY OUTFIT- I wore this black coat over this today, as sunny at it was, it was also cold. All the items in this outfit are old. Once again, I was shopping my closet. The scarf- worn here, the blazer- worn here, the grey dress- here and the heels- here.  My hairstyle was inspired by Croatian folklore and I styled my hair myself- as I always do. 

REFRENCE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THIS PAINTING WERE OUR OWN TRAVEL PHOTOS

Nature park Blidinje is worth a visit. You are more than welcomed to have a look at my previous posts if this subject is of interest to you. Naturally travel isn't an option right now but at least we can travel virtually: 

1. PROTECTED AREAS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: NATURE PARKS BLIDINJE AND HUTOVO BLATO

2. HOW TO GET TO BLIDINJE?

3. A FEW REASONS TO VISIT BLIDINJE

4. WHERE TO STAY IN BLIDINJE?

5. NATURE PARK BLIDINJE, BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA

THE MOUNTAIN CHURCH OF SAINT ELIAS - AN OASIS IN GREEN- since I already shared photographs of this place and wrote about them in detail in my older posts, this time I'll leave you with just two photographs. If you want to see and read more, you can read about this mountain church of saint Elias in this old post of mine. 

HOW TO WRAP A PAINTING? How to wrap a painting is always an interesting question. This time I decided to recycle the Christmas decor I already had at home and just use some Christmas cord, a faux flower and a dried autumn leaf I painted gold some time ago. I think it came out alright. What do you think? How do you wrap paintings? How do you wrap gifts?  I think that an individual touch is always nice. If you cannot put in the hours to make something yourself, you can always personalize a gift by writing a nice thoughtful card with it or something of the sort. 

Thank you for reading and visiting. Have a lovely day!