5 MINI PORTRAITS (WATERCOLOUR PENCILS AND ACRYLICS)


Today I'm sharing some quick mini portraits. I made quite a few of these in the past week. I like to work on these mini portraits to keep in 'portrait art' shape while I work on landscape paintings. I often sketch these portraits in my smaller sketchbooks or I just sketch many small ones (on the same page) in my larger sketchbook. You had a change of seeing some of these mini portraits in my last post (the focus was on crepe eggs, but if you remember I included some mini portraits as well). Sometimes I also like to thrown in elements from my other illustrations, for example borrow roses from another painting I did. It saves me time not having to paint the roses every time. It also works well with placing these illustrations of products.  I think it makes these portraits look more pattern appropriate when I use them to create patterns for my Redbubble shop. I'm also worried that if I just uploaded  these mini portraits without these floral additions or a background of some sort, they wouldn't look so good in pattern form. Not that there is much demand for my work printed on products, but it's good practice in designing. 

In comparison to landscape paintings, these mini portrait illustrations take only a small portion of my time (half an hour tops and sometimes only a few minutes). Speaking of landscape paintings, I decided to start a new art challenge.  I'm very much interesting in seeing how many of those landscape paintings I can get out in a month. I'm trying to paint 7-8 hours every day (not counting in the time it takes me to set paints, clean up brushes, do research and find a reference), just counting painting time. Painting eight hours a day is actually not as impossible as it seems. If you take for example that it took me approximately one hundred hours to paint the last large seascape I worked on, you can easily see how a painting like that would take at least a few hours a day over the course of a few weeks.  Naturally, it all depends on the style I'm using. More realistic or surrealist paintings typically take a lot more time.  When I'm doing something for the first time (and that's often enough), that takes a lot of time as well. Now, let me show you these mini portraits that didn't take much time.

MINI PORTRAIT #1. A GIRL WITH RED HAIR
 MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR PENCILS ON PAPER



MINI PORTRAIT #2: A GIRL WITH PINK HAIR 
MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR PENCILS ON PAPER 


MINI PORTRAIT #3 A GIRL WITH GREEN HAIR
MEDIUM: ACRYLIC PAINTS ON PAPER

MINI PORTRAIT #4: A GIRL WITH BLUE HAIR 
MEDIUM: ACRYLIC PAINTS ON PAPER

MINI PORTRAIT #5: A GIRL WITH BLACK HAIR 
MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR PENCILS ON PAPER


SOME THOUGHTS ON ART MAKING AND LEARNING 


Often I learn by trial and error. I think we all do, but I also think it makes sense to get as informed as you can. Art is one of those areas in life you cannot know too much about. You don't have to discover everything by yourself.  That being said, mistakes can't be completely avoided. You just have to work with them and through them. Some things you do have to discover by yourself. Learning about art reminds me a bit of language learning. There are many approaches one can take, but the important thing is to be consistent with your work. So, that is what I'm trying to do.  I mean sure I'm watching all the art tutorials that I can find (some of them are amazing). While attending art classes was an option, I was doing that, but now I have to rely on online learning. I might invest in an online art course some time in the future, but right now I'm just focusing on developing my techniques. Nevertheless, I think art tutoring and guidance really helps. Fortunately there is a lot of online guidance and resources out there. I'm trying to make use of them, but I also want to really put in the hours. So, I'm starting this challenge. I'm already spending a lot of time painting but it's nice to have it written down as a proof of some kind. 

 

Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a lovely day. 

Comments

  1. J.P. Alexander6 April 2021 at 18:35

    Me encanto los últimos retratos . Cada vez lo haces mejor. Eres muy buena artista. Espero que estés mejor de salud. Te mando un beso

    ReplyDelete
  2. ellie7 April 2021 at 04:24

    So do you make those roses separately? This is such an interesting process to see. Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ivana Split7 April 2021 at 13:03

      Yes, the roses are drawn with traditional media but I add them up with Paint 3D if that makes sense.

      Delete
  3. Caitlin'nMegan7 April 2021 at 04:25

    Oh, you are so busy. 8 hours! I can see your passion! Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown7 April 2021 at 05:48

    Che belli, sei bravissima! Non solo i visi, ma anche quelle rose sembrano vere!
    Kisses, Paola.

    Expressyourself


    My Instagram

    ReplyDelete
  5. Vix7 April 2021 at 06:10

    These are just wonderful, I love the girl with the green hair! x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kinga K.7 April 2021 at 12:24

    Lovely portraits ❤

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ivana Split7 April 2021 at 13:19

    dzijekuje

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sheila7 April 2021 at 16:21

    I've done miniature landscape paintings, and most of my Zentangles are small - it feels good to be able to make something and finish it in one sitting. The lady with the green hair is my favourite.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Polyester Princess8 April 2021 at 10:31

    Love the mini portraits! I too love the the green-haired lady the most!
    My stepdaughter creates miniature art, and I think it's delightful.
    As for your challenge to paint 7-8 hours a day, that truly shows how dedicated to your art you are! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Turgay Aksoy9 April 2021 at 04:29

    Very nice.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ananka9 April 2021 at 06:39

    These are great. Loving the colourful hair :-D

    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.

Popular posts from this blog

THE ISLAND OF THE MISSING TREES BY ELIF SHAFAK (BOOK REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION)

Image
Today I shall review The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. I was actually gifted this book. What a wonderful present it proved to be! Published in 2021, this postmodern  novel  follows two  story lines and uses framed narration.  The Island of Missing Trees  tells the life story of a Greek Turkish couple and their adolescent daughter.  This novel examines and explores a number of topics such as identity, migration, immigrant life, war trauma, memory, love and family. It's an ambitious novel that examines serious topics with due respect and sensitivity . I read it months ago, but I remember it vividly. Honestly, I cried a lot while reading this novel. It really moved me greatly. In fact, that is probably why it took me this long to finish this book review. I needed to emotionally process the story.   The Island of Missing Trees is   set in London and Cyprus. The narration isn't chronological .  The story jumps back and forth, following ...
Read more

VISIT SINJ (CROATIA) WITH ME! EXPLORE THE DALMATIAN HIGHLANDS!

Image
Hello readers and fellow bloggers! Regular readers of my blog will know that I'm Dalmatian and ' parce mihi Domine,' (as St. Jerome's supposedly used to pray). Dalmatia is one of four historical Croatian regions. When we're talking about coastal regions in Croatia, there are only two: Istria and Dalmatia. Occupying the majority of Croatian seaside, Dalmatia is extremely popular with tourists. Dalmatian coast is quite long, including hundreds of islands, and running from Zadar in the north do Dubrovnik to the south.  However, there's more to Dalmatia than its seaside and islands.  I'm from the seaside myself, a proper sea child and all,  but I love the Dalmatian Highlands. Rich in history and culture, Dalmatia Highlands are unique in many ways. From culinary delicacies to fascinating traditions, from untouched nature to picturesque towns and villages, you'll find much to admire here. Have I blogged about it before? I certainly did. I blogged about the Gr...
Read more

WHAT I WORE IN MOSTAR FOR WONDERFULLY WARM AND SUNNY AUTUMN DAYS

Image
 Hello readers and fellow bloggers! Happy Sunday! In this post, I'll share three warm Autumn outfits I wore for strolling around Mostar city. Today is quite cold and cloudy for our Mediterranean standards, so the plan is to stay in and catch up with blogging. I've had a pretty eventful weekend so far. Weekend sometimes seem to just fly by, don't they? We often try to make up for the things we didn't do during the week, especially us ladies. We try to fit in all in- to clean the house, do chores and that sort of things. Sometimes weekends can even be tiring. There are conferences and meetings to attend. Learning how to shut down and rest properly can be a challenge. Life gets busy, and sometimes the older we get, the more busy it becomes. That's why I'm so grateful for these little outings I do, being a tourist in my own city and country- that sort of thing. I sometimes feel like I mastered sustainable and local travel . The challenge is just finding the time to ...
Read more

BURGUNDY AND YELLOW OUTFIT IN SPLIT CITY

Image
 Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! In this post, I'll show you an autumn outfit I wore for a seaside stroll with my family in Split city, Croatia. This outfit is another example of me shopping my closet, so you can expect the sustainable fashion files to kick in any minute. This was a very comfortable outfit to wear that also felt very energizing. Probably it was due to colour therapy and all that. Wearing colours often makes me feel better. Mustard yellow and burgundy are the main colours in this look, and I do love these colours together. I dressed in layers, for it was quite windy and fresh despite the warm sun.  As regular readers of my blog know, Split is my home city, and you can find me there very often. In fact, you could say that I live between Split and Mostar. I love Mostar, but I do miss the sea. Is there anything better than seaside in Autumn and Winter? I always love being near the sea, but during the Autumn and Winter when there are hardly any people aroun...
Read more

30 PLUS WAYS TO WEAR AN OLIVE BLAZER (SUSTAINABLE FASHION FILES)

Image
Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! In this post, we'll talk some more about  sustainable fashion. As I believe the best way to learn is through example, so I'll show you multiple ways how to style an olive green blazer. On this little digital place to call my own, I love to show you how you can be more sustainable by shopping your closet. The more you love items in your closet and the better care you take of your clothes, you easier you'll find it to shop your closet. So, that's something to keep in mind! Besides linking up outfits with this blazer, I'll link up multiple ways to wear other items in my closet. As always, there will be fun collages to help you see the vision- how chic and fun restyling items can be! Olive green can be somewhat of an underrated colour, even if it is trending at the moment. For Autumn/Winter 2024/2025, tonal dressing in olive greens and khakis is right on trend. I'm convinced that when styled right, olive green can look good wi...
Read more

FORGIVENESS DAY BY URSULA K. LE GUIN (BOOK REVIEW AND AN AUTUMN STYLING)

Image
Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! How are you today? I'm back with another Ursula K. Le Guin book review. In this post, I'll review " Forgiveness Day" , a science fiction novella that is a part of the Hainish Circle. Published in 1995, "Forgiveness Day " won multiple awards. This novella is often published together with her other novellas from the Hainish Circle, and it can be find in various editions of Four Ways to Forgiveness and Five Ways to Forgiveness.   Thematically, this novella is a part of five stories featuring two Hainish planets, but it can definitely be read on its own. I think it functions well as a stand alone novella. I listened to it in audio form, and I didn't have any problems following the story.  The world building is simple and effective. The author fills us in about the history of the two planets as the story enfolds. For such a short work of prose, this novella is really impressive in that it manages to explore the theme o...
Read more