TRAVEL WITH MY ART #34: BOTA, VRBOSKA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

 Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! Time for another post in Travel With My Art series. More precisely,  it's the thirty-forth post in this series. As you might know, Travel With My Art is a regular feature on my blog focused on my location and destination art.Started in 2020, Travel With My Art feature continues to inspired me to paint both places I have visited and places I would like to visit. Most of the 'travel' paintings I shared here on my blog are no longer with me, but thanks to technology you can still enjoy browsing them digitally. 

  This artistic feature on my blog enables me not only to share my paintings of places that inspire me, but to write about them as well. It's been a source of joy, let me tell you. Not that I haven't worked hard at it. To produce art on even remotely regular basis you have to be both consistent and hard-working. Sure, some of the paintings I shared are more quick sketches than anything else, but those tend to matter too (especially in the long run). On the other end of the spectrum are some paintings that have taken several months (and several hundred hours) to finish. So, it's been quite time consuming art journey, but I don't have any regrets. When do I find the time to make all these paintings? I don't know. I guess when you want something bad enough, you either find or make time for it. 


What can I say about the painting I'm sharing today? It's a smaller piece. I have painted this seascape on an A4 mixed media paper using acrylic paints and one of our photographs from the archives. I often use my own photography (or that of my husband) for my paintings. This painting was done relatively quickly, in two sittings. It took me between 2- 3 hours (if I recall well) to finish it (and I did it over the span of two days). I wanted to challenge myself to paint more quickly. The result is a painting that (to me) looks like a mix of impressionism and realism. I'll talk a bit more about it (and about the place that inspired it), so scroll down. 










My quest for finding the most beautiful beaches and bays on island Hvar and sharing them with you continues. This long and narrow sunny island is so diverse in its beauty that it never ceases to amaze me. It's like a little universe in itself. Trust me there are still moments when the beauty of island Hvar leaves me speechless. I'm happy to announce that I have found another magnificent beach to share with you. This beach is called Kamenjara ( kamen stands for rock in Croatian so basically it is a rocky terrain we're talking about). Kamenjara is located in immediate vicinity of Soline beach. Basically you just walk over to the other side of this peninsula and you'll be there in two minutes. While Soline beach offers a view of Vrboska village and Jelsa village, Kamenjara beach faces the other side and offers you a magnificent panorama of Croatian coastline and Brač island. There is also a wind surf center Bota if you're into water sports. I believe this wind surf center is open only during the warmer months as all the wind surfing gear was locked up when we visited. It was still a little cold to swim in the gorgeous Adriatic, but the sea sure looked tempting. 


VISIT MORE OF MY TRAVEL WITH POSTS  (LINKS PROVIDED BELLOW)

#TRAVEL WITH MY ART #33: LOZNA, ISLAND HVAR

THROWBACK TO VRBOSKA

VRBOSKA- A PICTERSQUE FISHING VILLAGE WITH GREAT BEACHES IN VICINITY

I have to say a few words about beautiful Vrboska on island Hvar.  I always enjoy visiting this lovely village that is sometimes also called Little Venice. On its official tourist site, Vrboska is described as a smallest town on island Hvar. I'm not sure that Vrboska is a town legally speaking, but it fits the description of a little town. Village or town, it's a lovely place.  I love how peaceful it is. I love the architecture, the gorgeous stone houses and the beautiful wood boats.  I won't go into details because I've already blogged about Vrboska a number of times, so not to repeat myself here are links to my previous posts about this charming village hereherehere,  here and here (feel free to check those old posts of mine) to find out more about this beautiful place.

HIKING OPTIONS IN VICINITY OF VRBOSKA ON ISLAND HVAR
Beach Kamenjara and Bota surfing spot are ideal locations if you want to enjoy a view of island Brač. You can also see the lovely islet Zečevo in the background. Maybe some day I'll swim to this tiny islet, but more likely option is renting a boat. I do want to visit this islet in vicinity of Vrboska. :)  Supposedly it is called Zečevo (zec means rabit in Croatian) because there are a lot of rabbits there. I haven't been to Zvečevo islet but I was surprised to see a rabbit very close to this spot when we were hiking there. I didn't know there were rabbits here, so close to the sea. I don't know, I always assumed that if there are any, they'd be in the forest further away. It seems rabbits like the sea view as well. Who knew? 

IF YOU ARE NEW HERE.... DID YOU KNOW THAT I LIVED ON ISLAND HVAR FOR A MORE THAN A YEAR?


MORE LINKS ABOUT JELSA AND ISLAND HVAR

MOST RECENT VISIT TO HVAR TOWN HERE!
DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF HVAR TOWN? If you want to see more of Hvar town, you are more than welcome to check some of my previous posts about it.

Beautiful bays on island Hvar: 

MORE BEAUTIFUL BAYS ON ISLAND HVAR I HAVE VISITED AND SHARED WITH YOU IN 2019/2020 (Click the links if you want to know more about them):
VISITING MILNA NEAR HVAR
VISITING MINA NEAR JELSA
VISITING STARI GRAD BAYS


THE MAKING OF THE PAINTING- THE FIRST LAYER OF PAINT

So, this is the first layer of paint. I used round and pointed round paint brushes for most of it. I did the first part of this seascape one evening and then I finished the paining in the morning. I remember doing it in a sort of rush, focusing on getting the sea colours right. Surprisingly, the pine trees took almost no effort. I managed to paint them in what felt like a few strokes. I felt a bit nervous about the rocks but managed to do a pretty good job with the time I allowed myself. Sometimes you have to practice working faster. After my last commission, I definitely needed something less time consuming. Anyhow, I was feeling quite good about this impressionist landscape sketch but still I couldn't resist working on it a bit more. 


The first layer is definitely more impressionist, done quickly with wide brushes and focused on the colours and the lights. The second layer is more detailed, though. I decided to grab my fine brush and focus on light reflections in the water. It really made  difference, didn't it? I might do another version of this painting and make it more realistic this time. 

So, that would be the story of this painting. Initially,  I was planning to do just a quick seascape sketch and leave it like that, but I ended up changing my mind and adding more details. As for this painting, I really don't have plans for it. Maybe frame it and gift it to somebody? I think it turned out pretty good for a seascape sketch.



 That's all for today. How's life been treating you? Have a nice weekend!


Comments

  1. Outstanding - You Nailed It - Painting Swirls In Water Is So Dang Difficult - But You Are Able To Bring Life To This 2D Canvas - Well Done

    Cheers

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  2. Oh, the light swirls add SO MUCH to it, Ivana. You are so incredibly talented. How lucky to have all these places so close to you. Brava, my friend!

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  3. Bellos cuadros impactante paisajes. Te mando un beso.

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  4. Very beautiful! Such detail in the rocks, the water the landscape and even the leaves. Such a lovely reflection of this awesome island. So glad you could study it properly by being there. Awesome warm outfit for being there, too. Thanks for your insight. All the best to your art projects!

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  5. That seascape is absolutely stunning, Ivana! How lucky you were to live in such a fabulous place for a year. I know from your posts that you were spoilt for choice! xxx

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, it was really lovely living there.

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  6. So wonderful, I do love being near the water :))))

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  7. your art is so good! You captured not only the colors but the vibe perfectly! Great painting!

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  8. Stunning painting! I love how you made the water movement come alive as well as the rock formation. So beautiful, and you look lovely there absorbing nature's beauty :)

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  9. Oduševljena sam plažom koju si naslikala, definitivno bih voljela da je jednog dana vidim uživo. Slika je prelijepa i vrhunski odrađena. Sjajan post. 🥰👏

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  10. You definitely have the dedication and consistency needed to have produced so many art pieces. This beach in Vbroska looks beautiful in your painting and the photos. You have really managed to capture it's charm.

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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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