OIL PASTEL PORTRAITS AND 12 MOST READ POSTS OF YEAR 2020

Today I'll show you a few oil pastels portraits I did on a mixed media paper. This is a medium I'm still not very confident using. In fact, you could say that I'm still learning how to use oil pastels. I drew these portraits without any plan or intention, just to practice proportions and drawing with oil pastels but I kind of like how they turned out.  If I remember correctly, they didn't take too much time to finish. That being said, I'm not sure are they done or do they need more work. Two of them are dark haired ladies and one is a redhaired lady. I uploaded one of them (the blue hair lady) to my redbubble store. I might work some more on the other ones. Scroll down to see more and to see what were the most read posts of year 2020 on my blog.

YOUR PICK OF MY 2020 POSTS (MOST READ)

Here is your pick of 2020, most read posts (among those published in the last year). My blog views in general for last (and this) year are humble and most views are actually of older posts published in previous years but I selected 12 posts that were most read in this 2020 to share with you. During the spring lockdown, I blogged less often because it meant more work for us in the educational sector. However, apart from that I could say that I blogged regularly this year. I've been blogging for a bit more than eight years now (but I always forget my December blogging anniversary somehow). I have no plans to blog professionally or to change anything about my blog. I think I'm pretty satisfied with my blog as it is. So, I don't think much will change about my blog in 2021, it will probably remain  the same as it always was: art and fashion posts mixed with book reviews and travel posts. 

2020 was a hard year for this world and I understand that many don't want to look back on it. For me  personally, last year wasn't as hard as previous years, maybe because I was living on island Hvar and got to see my grandmother often enough. I'm in my thirties, so as you can imagine, my grandmother isn't so young anymore and she won't be around forever. It meant the world to be being able to see her regularly. During the strictest part of lockdown, I refrained from visiting but I could still sometimes see her from afar and to speak to her while she was on her balcony. Living in Croatia again made me happy. I suppose everyone feels their best at their own home country. I worked really hard on my job on island Hvar this year, even did some freelance work along with it. I'm grateful to have acquired new and useful working experience.  Now with my work contract being over, I hope I will be able to do and find more similar work in 2021. I wish you all the best dear readers!

30 WAYS TO WEAR WHITE SNEAKERS


WHAT I WEAR ON THE GO: FIVE TRAVEL FRIENDLY OUTFITS

INSPIRED BY VIX
30 WAYS TO WEAR A PAIR OF CARAMEL BOOTS



INSPIRED BY ANN AND SHEILA

TWO NEW SEASCAPES INSPIRED BY JELSA

VISIT NATIONAL PARK KRKA WITH ME


VISITING HVAR IN AUTUMN

ONE YEAR LIVING IN  JELSA ON ISLAND HVAR

A GREY DRESS FOR A VISIT TO STARI GRAD, ISLAND HVAR

3 CHARMING VILLAGES TO VISIT NEAR HVAR TOWN

VRBOSKA VILLAGE AND BEACH SOLINE


Thank you for reading, commenting and visiting! Take care and stay safe.

Comments

  1. Jelena Dimić2 January 2021 at 15:09

    Mnogo mi se dopadaju portreti koje si radila, oduševljena sam bojama! <3


    http://www.couture-case.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. J.P. Alexander2 January 2021 at 16:58

    Me encanta como dibujas me gustaron en especial los paisajes, Lindas imagenes de tu isla . Esperó que tu y tu familia estén bien. Te deseo un buen fin de semana

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sheila2 January 2021 at 17:45

    I'm the same, I just plan on doing my same ol' blog - eight years is awesome, congratulations, Ivana! Here's to a better year ahead! I'm honoured to have been in one of your top posts - cool! :)

    Hugs to you, my dear friend. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mica2 January 2021 at 19:07

    You had a great blogging year! I have the same plans with my blog - just to continue doing what I'm doing as it brings me joy :)

    These are lovely portraits too! :)

    Happy new year! Hope that your 2021 has started well :)

    Away From Blue

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shybiker2 January 2021 at 21:06

    Great post. Make 2021 your best year yet!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Selvaggia Capizzi3 January 2021 at 03:02

    Sono bellissimi i tuoi ritratti Ivana e che bello leggere nuovamente alcuni dei tui post! Buon anno cara!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sabine Gimm3 January 2021 at 03:08


    Dear Ivana, these are wonderful drawings. I like your blog the way it is. 2020 was really tough for a lot of people. I hope this year will be better.

    Greetings Sabine

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anca3 January 2021 at 03:46

    Happy New Year!

    Lovely to see a round-up of the best posts of 2020. It's natural that some of the older ones have a more views, as they are picked up by search engines and so seen by people who are searching for something specific. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. ellie3 January 2021 at 05:08

    Awesome blogging! All the best to your creativity! Lovely art and photos!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Better Left Unsaid3 January 2021 at 05:09

    So great! Hope you have a wonderful new year of blogging!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Carefully Listening3 January 2021 at 05:10

    Wow, some fantastic outfits and art! All t he best! Stay creative!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Polyester Princess3 January 2021 at 10:09

    Those oil pastels portraits are gorgeous, Ivana, even if you're not very confident using the medium yet. Eight years is a long time to be blogging, especially since you are quite a prolific blogger. I'm already glad I can churn out two posts a week!
    I won't be making any changes to my blog either. I love it the way it is.
    I'm totally chuffed, by the way, to have made it into one of your top posts of 2020!
    I'm also glad to hear that your time spent on Island Hvar has enabled you to see your grandmother more often!
    Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year, and all that you can wish for in 2021! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Vix4 January 2021 at 10:14

    Your artwork is gorgeous and I can only see you increasing in confidence the more lovely things you produce!
    Eight years blogging is a great achievement, I've been at it since 2009 and have no intentions of stopping or changing what I do already! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ananka4 January 2021 at 11:56

    These are lovely and great photos of you :-D

    ReplyDelete
  15. akiko hiramatsu5 January 2021 at 23:26

    Those women you painted look so great, and I really love the woman wearing the yellow head accessory<3 It is the first time I saw the oil pastels. It is good to know that you met your grand mother sometimes:)

    akiko

    ReplyDelete
  16. Pilar6 January 2021 at 13:25

    Your paintings are so beautiful Ivana! I hope your year is off to a great start!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Marisa Cavaleiro7 January 2021 at 09:21

    Hi Ivana,
    I will also keep my blog the way it is and continue to blog and keep in touch with the blogosphere!
    xoxo

    marisasclosetblog.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Pablo Parra (Fungi)9 January 2021 at 08:29

    Hi again Ivana,

    First of all I wish that you keep on posting amazing content.... books, fashion, travel and cool places and a lot of things related to creativity and imagination :)

    I think your blogs is one of the sites I enjoy the most when it is time to catch on blogs from friends and colleagues! Keep doing the amazing job!

    PS: Pastels are so tricky to use, so you definitely manage to get a very good result!

    Pablo
    Hey Fungi

    ReplyDelete
  19. Kezzie13 January 2021 at 16:13

    I really enjoyed you being back in Croatia this year! You have shared a lot. I am so glad you got to see your Grandmother too- that is very precious as you say- time is limited.
    Your oil pictures are good - I like the one that reminds me of Tudor headdresses!
    I think I liked your Krka national park ones best!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kathrin28 January 2021 at 15:17

    I'm glad that 2020 wasn't a bad year for you and that you enjoyed it. I understand what you mean when you said it was important for you to get to see your grandmother a lot. Both of my grandparents live in different countries so I almost never get to see them and I really wish I could.

    Ekaterina | Polar Bear Style

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

All your comments mean a lot to me, even the criticism. Naravno da mi puno znači što ste uzeli vrijeme da nešto napišete, pa makar to bila i kritika. Per me le vostre parole sono sempre preziose anche quando si tratta di critiche.

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