TRAVEL WITH MY ART #38: BUNA CANALS (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)

Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! In this post, I'll share a quick acrylic landscape painting of mine. I used one of my own photographs as a reference for this painting. The location is Buna canals, a nature monument located in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's a truly magical place, and I'll tell you all about it in a bit, but first a few words about the art in question.

 I painted this landscape a year or two ago, and I actually ended up gifting it. To be completely honest, I do miss it.  I'm quite generous with gifting my art, but I do occasionally end up missing a piece or two. There's something about a landscape painting that just makes one's eyes rest.

 If you have been following my blog, you'd know that TRAVEL WITH MY ART is a regular feature on my blog. So, what was my last travelling art post? TRAVEL WITH MY ART #37: A SEAVIEW FROM A PARK (SPLIT, CROATIA) was made last summer but posted this summer. That one was also a landscape painting. I guess I'm back to sharing my travel art, at least for a while. 

The reason why I decided to start this feature on my blog was to give people an opportunity to travel with my art. Destination art if you will. Sure, we can travel digitally with photographs and videos, but there is something special about seeing a painting, a drawing of a place and knowing that it was painted or illustrated.

There's something about capturing a place in art that's special. Every art medium brings something special to the game and gives us another opportunity to try to capture what we feel with our soul. As much as I appreciate, love and respect photography as an art form, I think that I will always be more a painter than a photographer. I shared a lot of my photographs (as well as those of my husband) on this blog, but I also share a lot of my art.  Simply said, art is a big part of this blog. 

For a while I wasn't quite sure whether I wanted to continue sharing my art online because of AI theft and everything. It's not just the art theft that's worrying, the way our information is collected and stolen is horrifying. It's worrying to know we live in totalitarian society where everything we post online is copied and stored by AI to be used in a variety of ways. Should we post or not? I still don't  have a clear answer to that, and I don't have the energy to debate it (even with myself) now. 

Let's get back to the subject of this post, and that's this beautiful protected space where river Neretva flows in two separate canals, creating this incredible pool. 

I can definitely recommend visiting Buna Canals. It's a natural monument that is simply surreal to witness. Just thinking about it makes me want to illustrate it again. Neretva river is definitely one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever seen- and this might be its best kept secret. 

I mean isn't this place absolutely beautiful!  You can see more about it and read by following the link below. 

RIVER BUNA FORMS A NATURE MONUMENT IN VICINITY OF MOSTAR CITY

A PLACE OF MAGICAL BEAUTY AND SERENITY! 

I first blogged about this place in 2019, and since then I have visited it multiple times. 

WHERE TO FIND IT? It's only a short drive from Mostar and near the main road. 

You can find this amazing natural monument in vicinity of Mostar city.  Here is the spot where river Neretva divides in two, forming a pool like surface running on one end and a quick river on other. The same river, but two completely different scenes, running side by side. 

You can also find some information here: https://visitbih.ba/en/buna-canals-the-place-where-buna-kisses-neretva/

DON'T KAYAK HERE! Kayaking on Neretva river is a wonderful experience, but this particular spot can be dangerous for obvious reasons. 

PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING TO PROTECT THIS MONUMENT!

This natural monument is actually endangered due to some plans, but good news is that the local people are fighting to save it, and I think it will manage to stay protected. 

THE MAKING OF THIS PAINTING- A SMALL SCALE PAINTING 

Alright, so the making of this painting was quite a simple process. This is one of my fast paintings. It was painted on sketchbook paper using acrylic paints. You can see my low cost way of securing the painting before. Sometimes I just use a hair clip or whatever is at hand. 

I cannot tell you exactly how long it took me to paint this, but I know that wasn't very long because I remembered finishing it quicker than I planned. I don't know how much time it took me, but I'm going to guess that it wasn't longer than a few hours.

When I want to do a quick landscape, I usually just grab by acrylics and a sketchbook. When you scroll down my TRAVEL WITH MY ART links, you'll see I have two modes of paintings: one is slow and one is quick. 

As usual, I used one of my photographs for reference. Maybe it's also my husband's photograph. I can't tell for sure. Every time we visited this place, we visited it together. 

WORK IN PROGRESS 

I wasn't able to find a lot of work in progress paintings because I painted this a while back. I'm not sure exactly when, maybe two years ago or something like that. 

Anyhow, if you look down, you can see the first stage of painting. The painting is pretty much done, but I didn't add any details on the water, and that's what makes all the difference! 

You can also see my palette, that is basically the plastic covering of an iconic Croatian ice-cream brand Lado. I use whatever is at hand to make my palette. 

Even though this is a quick painting, I'm pretty happy with it. Proof that sometimes it's alright to paint quickly. 

 Below you can see more side by side photographs. The painting is not very detailed or realistic, but I felt it captured the feeling of a sunny day at Buna canals really well, and that's what matters. I added a lot of white when painting the river canal to emphasize the strength of the river.

Neretva is a powerful river indeed. I think I did a pretty good job with capturing the basic outline of it. 

If I'm going to be more critical, I must noticed that I didn't really emphasize the pool, and that's after all, what makes the location so unique- the fact that river Neretva takes the form of these almost levitating pools over the canals with the fast river. 

Still, on overall, I'm happy with this painting. I think this is a good example of how you can do something nice with limited time and resources. My resources aren't that limited, but like with everyone I struggle with finding time. So, it's really good to do something quick!

ART IS MAGIC THAT ALLOWS US TO TRAVEL TO DESTINATIONS UKNOWN....

I did a little trip down the memory lane and revisited my old TRAVEL WITH MY ART POST. Every destination has a tale to tell. I also feel like each painting I painted has taught me something. If nothing, than it improved my work ethics. :) Seriously, though I put some definite effort into this series. Painting all of this required time and patience- and so did blogging about them. 

 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. 

Travelling can be such an important aspect of our life. There are many ways to travel and we often associate happiness with travelling (read more about the pursuit of happiness in this rather inspired article). 

Apart from traditional travelling (that isn't available to everyone and certainly not all the time), there is also digital travelling. Books are the safest way to travel some say. Has there ever been a word so poignant with meaning as travel? For what it is to travel? Isn't travel a part of our daily lives ? Do we not all travel back when we remember? We travel in time, space and memory whenever we have a transcendental experience of any kind, whenever we rise to our higher potential as human beings. 

Our life sometimes feels like one voyage after another. Often we aren't even aware of how much travelling we truly undertake. Our languages, however, remember. That is why we have so many idioms and metaphors connected with travelling in our vocabularies.  Writers, in particular, often recognize the value of this word 'travel' and explore its hidden meaning and its presence in our collective consciousness. Books can certainly take us places, but as a painter,  I would add that visual arts are  another safe way to travel.  Sometimes picture does paint a thousand words.  Blogs as a combination of the visual and written word can be another fantastic way to travel. 

VISIT OTHER TRAVEL ART POSTS AND TRAVEL WITH MY ART!

#1 PALERMO ISLAND SICILY (ITALY)

There's a story behind every painting and there's certainly a story behind every art piece posted in this travelling art series. The painting of the Palermo beach was a painting that started this series. As in many of my paintings, the attention is on traditional fishing boats. A very long time ago, I lived and worked on this magical island. Maybe I will write more about it some day, but for now it will have to wait. The medium is acrylics on cardboard. More specifically, I painted this landscape on food packaging with acrylics. I sometimes recycle cardboard lasagna or pasta packaging by painting on it. Acrylic paints will stick to anything so you can get creative with your painting surfaces. This is especially the case when it comes to art & crafts. That is probably why acrylic paints are so popular when it comes to DIY projects of all sorts. I used them for art &crafts a lot, especially when it comes to upcyling and recycling. Do you remember this post where I turned an used plastic shampoo bottle into a vase? Naturally, when it comes to creating paintings with acrylics, it is best to use quality paper made specifically for acrylic paints but sometimes you can get with improvisations. This painting is available in a print form in my Redbubble shop. 

    #2 BAY MALA STINIVA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

In my second post in the series, I shared  an acrylic painting of a bay Mala Stiniva on island Hvar, Croatia. I used mixed media paper from a sketchbook to make this painting.  Both the paper and the acrylics paints are from brand Royal Talens (not sponsored).  I used my own photograph as a reference. Scroll bellow. If you remember I already posted about this magical bay on my blog, you can read those posts  here and here. If I remember correctly, made this landscape painting while listening to an audiobook. I'm not sure how much time I spent on it, maybe a few hours. It was a relatively quick landscape painting. I might redo it some day and make a more detailed version of it. This was a nice scene to paint. I'm not sure have I done these gorgeous colours justice with my painting but I tried. Scroll to see the work in progress photographs as well as more photographs from this wonderful bay by following the link above. 

   #3 IRKUTSK, SIBERIA (RUSSIA)

This is the only place in my travelling art series that I have painted my haven't actually visited. In my third post, I shared this a watercolour pencil sketch of a place I never visited: a church of Our Lady of Kazan located in Irkutsk, Siberia (Russia). Visit my post to see the work in progress photos of this painting. I gifted the original to a friend but if you want to buy unlimited edition  prints, stickers  or other products with this painting you can do so here. 

 #4  MATEJUŠKA, SPLIT CITY (CROATIA)

The fourth painting I shared is one of a location in my hometown. This watercolour pencil landscape was inspired by Split city, Croatia. More specifically, it was inspired by one of my favourite sights in Split city and that would be these absolutely gorgeous historical stone houses in immediate vicinity of Matejuška port. 

There is more art inspired by Split city that I shared before I started this series, for example these two posts :  1)  EN PLAIN AIR SKETCHING (2021) & 2) OIL PASTELS VS WATERCOLOUR PENCILS AT FIRULE BEACH (2021)

#5 HVAR CITY, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

 For my fifth post in this series, I illustrated a historical Franciscan monastery on island Hvar with watercolours. As some of you might remember, I lived on island Hvar. Having had enough time to study this beautiful island, now I feel confident in illustrating it.  I worked on this illustration while I was visiting Split. I don't really have much to say about the illustration process. I took some work in process photographs so that you can have a look at the painting process.   I'm not sure I got the proportions of the bell tower entirely right but on overall I still think it looks nice.  Once again the medium is watercolour pencils on mixed media paper. Visit my original post to see and learn more. I gifted this painting to an elderly couple a while back. Recently when I visited their house, I was so moved to see it featured it in the central place in their kitchen. 

 #6 ZENTA MARINE, SPLIT CITY (CROATIA) 

Every painting is a different memory. For my sixth painting in the series, I illustrated a scene from my hometown and once again it's all about the boats. I distinctly remembering sketching this one. The medium was watercolour coloured pencinls on sketchbook paper and format A4. This painting was also gifted but I occasionally have a look at it. I  sketched this one while sipping coffee at Kalafatic restaurant  (#notsponsored) in Split. Zenta marine is one of my favourite places in Split city. That probably doesn't come as a surprise to you. Not just because I blogged about it quite a few times, but because boats are such a frequent motif in my painting. So, obviously Zenta is a perfect place to look for inspiration. Visit my post to see some art collages, photographs of my previous visits and work in progress shots. 

 #7 ZAVALA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 

The seventh post in this series was my personal favourite. I love how I captured sea in this post. I still often revisit this painting to admire it. It was also gifted, so it's not available for sale. This time my painting took  to beautiful Zavala on island Hvar, a place I visited a couple of times. You can read my original posts about Zavala here and here. This place has got some amazing beaches and I couldn't resist painting one of them. I worked hard on this painting and it was worth it. The medium is acrylic paints on canvas. I finished this canvas with an acrylic varnish to protect the colours and because I like the shine effect. The canvas was a gift and the acrylic paints are from royal talens (not sponsored). This canvas was quite large so I obviously used a lot of colour to cover it initially and then a lot more again because I choose to work on the details. I had to repurchase a whole new pack of acrylics for it. I worked slowly on this one, layer on layer on layer. If you remember, you actually saw a glimpse of the initial stages of this painting in this  Friday fashion illustration post back in March. I didn't really keep a strict track of time while working, but in my estimation this canvas took me about 50- 100 hours to complete. Less than my last detailed painting of Vrboska, but still a lot of time. I would say that a detailed seascape with a lot of water movement takes about 4 hours of painting a day over the course of a few weeks to complete. It might take a lot more time if it was painted in a hyper-realistic style. I'm not sure how I would call my style but it is not typical realistic or hyper-realistic. However, being obsessed with water as I am, I might move into hyper-realism or realism eventually. You never know. Anyhow, seascapes in which you want to capture the movement of the sea are quite  time-consuming. It's a lot of work, but I love painting the sea so I don't mind it.  You can visit my original post to read more about this canvas painting.   

#8 SUCURAJ, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

In the eight post in this series, I shared a canvas painting of Sucuraj. As usual, I used one of my own photographs as a reference for this acrylic painting. The painting was purchased by a friend of mine from London, and that is where it happily resides. I just love it. I'd say that I also took me from 50-100 hours to complete. I didn't time myself, but that's the average time a landscape painting takes me, sometimes more and sometimes less. It was intense work for sure and I remembering listening to Abba album while painting it. This location is super special to me and there's a reason for it..

Sucuraj has a special place in my heart because it was typically our family route whenever we would come to Hvar- and that was pretty often. When I was a kid and before we started school, we spent so much time on island Hvar. Moreover, we would always come here for holidays and summer. I always loved Sucuraj and the way it seemed to always greet me as a kid.  One advice I can give to other artists is to paint what you love. There is something very inspiring about painting a place you care about deeply, even if it can be a bit unnerving because you might be afraid you won't be able to do the place justice. Visit my original post to see the reference photos, details and so on. 

#9 MALA STINIVA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

For the the ninth post in the series, I repeated a location. It must be a special location, you might be thinking and you'd be right. I'd already illustrated bay Mala Stiniva on island Hvar once, when I decided to paint it again.  Can you blame me for wanting to paint this magnificent bay again? I don't think you can. This little bay is so inspiring that I might paint it all over again. I mean there are many beautiful bays and beaches on island Hvar, but this one truly took my breath away. Something about the blueness of the sea water against the whiteness of cliffs really took my breath away. Those high cliffs almost look like they were carved by human hand.

 I will never forget the first time I had visited bay Mala Stiniva. My second visit was even more memorable. If you recall I blogged about my first visit here and about my second visit here and here. What makes bay Mala Stiniva so fascinating? The beautiful cliffs that surround the bay completed by the gorgeous green of the pine trees do create a special kind of energy. The play of light in this bay is simply gorgeous. A dream place for a painter! The making of this painting was actually quite simple. I painted the first layer of paint quickly with some left over paint. I forgot that initial version and it stayed in my sketchbook for quite some time until I decided to return to it. Once I returned to my painting of Mala Stiniva, I started adding more and more paint, trying to get all the colours right. The next thing I did was to focus on the details. 

I'm particularly happy with how the rocks turned out. The rocks are an obsession of mine, I always feel like I haven't done them justice. Water is another tricky subject, but I think I managed just fine. The particular scene I selected for this illustration is (in my view) very peaceful. The emphasis is on the play of light in the water. The sunlight touching the stones in the distance is marked with lighter shades. All in all, it is a painting where light and shadow plays a big part in depicting the landscape accurately. While this painting isn't as detailed as many of my seaside painting, there was still a number of details that I worked on. I don't know how many hours I have spend on this painting, probably around ten in total. I paid attention to the colours and the shades a lot. So, even if it wasn't a realistic painting, I still tried to capture the feel of the place.  Visit my original post to see and read more.

 #10 HVAR TOWN, ISLAND HVAR ( CROATIA)

My tenth painting in the series saw me returning to magical island Hvar. In the centre of this painting there is a 12.5 meters long traditional wooden fishing boat and in the background you can see Hvar town (where we first spotted this boat about a year ago). I invested a lot of time and effort into this painting. I would say that I invested around 70-100  hours of work but I can't tell for sure because I didn't time myself. It was also a little nerve-wrecking process painting this one, mostly because I wanted to get it just right. I often feel a bit nervous before starting a new canvas. Right now, I feel like I'm developing my own style of painting, particularly when it comes to painting water and boats. I think this might be my most detailed work in this 'TRAVEL WITH MY ART' category. What do you think? I worked on this canvas  for more than a week.  Painting is a full time work! Every painting that is a bit more ambitious (as my canvases usually are) takes so much work, time and effort. You can visit my original post to read more about this detailed canvas painting. 

#11 JELSA TOWN, DANCE OF THE SAILS (CROATIA)

In my eleventh post in the series, I returned to Jelsa on island Hvar to paint a nightscape. The medium was acrylic paintings on canvas. This painting was also gifted, so it's not available for sale any more (even if the original post implies it is). This is the second night seascape I made (you can see the first one here). The reason why this painting is so special to me is because it captures an amazing event I witnessed last year- Dance of the Sails. You see, during the summer (every Thursday) the traditional fishing boats sail from Vrboska to Jelsa and there they put on a show. The Dance of the Sail is such an amazing event and I feel so blessed I could have witnesses it. You can visit my original post for more details on it. 

 #12 ZAVALA, ISLAND HVAR, (CROATIA)

For my the twelfth post in my series, I returned to Zavala to paint another acrylic seascape canvas. I typically invest more time into my canvases, as opposed to landscapes painted in my sketchbooks. Although, sometimes those sketchbook landscapes turned out looking better than I hoped for, so they get framed and gifted or sold. Anyway, the medium for this painting is acrylic paints on canvas and I even made a mini copy of it on a super small canvas. I applied a varnish spray over it to protect the colours and add some shine. If the painting looks familiar, it's probably because I have already painted this beach in Zavala (and I might paint it again). This time I captured this beautiful Croatian beach from a bird-eye perspective, though. It might be the same beach, but it's a different painting.  This one is all about the Adriatic sea embracing the stones and the beach. Visit my original post that includes my reference photographs (that I'd used to make this painting) as well as more painting details. 

#13: SUCURAJ LIGHTING HOUSE, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 

The thirteenth painting in the series is more of a sketch. I wasn't completely happy with it and wasn't sure where I went wrong. Maybe it was the number 13 that brought me bad luck. I'm just kidding. This lighting house seascape only took me few hours to make, so it's ok that it's far from perfect. Not everything I paint has to be a super ambitious. canvas. Sketches and studies are important as well.  The medium for Sucuraj painting I'm sharing today is acrylic paints on mixed media sketchbook paper. Both the sketchbook and the acrylics paints I used are from Royal Talens brand (not sponsored). 

I actually started painting this one while on vacation in Biograd na Moru but I added some finishing touches when I got back (not sure was it the right thing to do, but oh well). I'm not sure how long it took me to paint this one because I worked on it in between my canvas painting. I would guess four hours but I really have no idea. I'm not sure how I feel about the end result of this painting either, but that's all right. Not everything one paints has to be particularly accomplished.

#14: BAY BRIZENICA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 

In the fourteenth painting in the series, I depicted island Hvar again and this time a bay that is not widely known. In fact, there was no one there when we visited. After we visited it, I found out that Four Season hotel is going to be built there. I decided to paint it to preserve its virginal beauty in a painting. However, due to corona the investment and construction plan fell through. No hotel was built here. The beautiful bay still stands untouched. 

This is another sketch painting, but it turned out really pretty and I was (and still am) really happy with it. It was painted with acrylic paints on a sketchbook mixed media paper, but I managed to achieve a detailed look of the sea. I used my own photographs as videos as a reference for this seascape painting. Naturally, I also used my memories from visiting the beautiful Bay Brizenica as inspiration. It's truly a gorgeous bay. 

#15 BAY LOZNA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #16 BAY VEPRINOVA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

In my fifteenth post in the series, I illustrated bay Lozna on island Hvar. Another sketchbook seascape painting that turned out very satisfactory.  I worked on this painting for about two days. The main thing for me was to get the pebbles and the sea right. As you can see on my reference photograph, the sea in this  bay is crystal clear. I wanted to capture that in my painting. When I look at this painting now, I think of my grandmother. I painted this while staying in her old house. I miss her so much!

#16 BAY VEPRINOVA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

Another attempt at capturing the sea in the small frame with acrylic paints on paper.

#17 BOL, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #18 PLANINICA, (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)

In my seventeenth post, I illustrated island Brač and more precisely to- Bol. 

Something about this painting doesn't feel quite right, even if it's just a small frame ( A4) seascape, so of course it's not very detailed. I actually gifted this painting to someone, but every time I visit I have the urge to take it out of the frame and try to fix it. I don't know whether I should just try painting new one at this point. If it haunted me for years, maybe I should just do it.

Anyhow, I used my own photograph that I took from a catamaran. When I take  a catamaran from Split to Jelsa, it always stops at Bol, so I end up admiring it again and again. I didn't just admire Bol from the ferry, I visited it in the past and let me tell you- it's not an overrated destination at all. Being a popular tourist destination, Bol is quite well known but is worth the hype. Its famous beach Zlatni rat (Golden Horn) is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, sometimes nicknamed 'Symbol of Adriatic'. Did you notice the pun? SymBOL! What makes this sand beach so special is that it changes its shape depending on the wind and the waves. The tip of this sand beach often changes the direction in which it is tipped. Isn't that fabulous? Maybe I should try illustrating that beach as well. Visit my original post to hear me talk about Bol and my painting some more. 

#18 PLANINICA, (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)

 Planinica hill in Bosnia and Herzegovina. You might remember this place from my numerous posts about it. Like Goranci, Planinica is only a short drive away from Mostar. If you are lucky, you might even come across semi-wild horses.  I've been meaning to paint Planinica for a long time.

You know a friend of mine asked me recently whether I ever paint locations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I do, but perhaps not as much as I should. There are definitely a lot of beautiful places in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I illustrated and painted some of them in the past, but now I decided that it is time to feature more of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

#19 SUCURAJ, BOATS AT PORT, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 

The nineteenth painting in the series was an ambitious acrylic canvas  that was again all about island Hvar. This time I painted boats in a harbour. Funny thing is that every time I revisit this place, I always find the same boats. Painting this one made these boats imprinted in my brain somehow, I would recognize them anywhere.  How long did it take me to paint this scene? I cannot say exactly, but definitely not under 100 hours. As far as composition goes, this painting is busy. At front of the painting there are five boats, three of them traditional fashion boats and two more modern ones. I added a lot of details to these boats. Because these boats are in the foreground, I tried to make them come 'alive' by capturing details such as light reflection from the sea and so on. Behind them there is obviously the sea surface and beyond that many other fishing boats. Moreover, these is a whole other village scene across the sea. There is a church and multiple buildings in the background. There are pine and palm trees as well as some greenary. There are so many details in this painting. It was no easy feat.  I would say that it is an ambitious painting. Not the most ambitious painting I did, but definitely a 'busy' one. I worked on it for a few weeks and invested a lot of time in it. It is a canvas painting so layering paint was not a problem. I could just add as many layers as I wanted (this is not the case when I paint on paper). One of the reasons why I love working on a canvas. As for the style, I'm not sure myself. The style of painting is a mix between realism and impressionism, I'd say. I did my best to capture the colours correctly, but at the same time the style is a bit all over the place. Still, I love it. Is this painting for sale? Yes, it is.  I'm not in hurry to sell it, though. You can email me if you're interested in buying it.

#20 BEACH SOLINE,VRBOSKA,  ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

Sometimes nothing beats a quick painting. In the twentieth post in my travelling art series, I shared a quick painting of Soline beach in Vrbovska. The medium for this painting was acrylic paints on paper. I framed it myself and gifted it shortly after completing it. This 'Soline beach' painting is not as ambitious as other canvases I shared. That last 'Sućuraj' painting was bigger, more detailed, intricate and labour intensive. In contrast, this acrylic painting was done on paper in  A4 format is. So, it's not a large painting.  I worked on it for two days (maybe 5- 6 hours in total).  I did my best to capture the sea more quickly but still have some details present. I've been known to spend plus 200 hours working on some seascape painting, so six hours didn't feel like a lot of time. It was a relief to make something so quickly.  Sure, the result is not as magical as those 'time and labour intense' paintings, but it is still nice.

#21 STARI GRAD, VIEW FROM HOTEL ARKADA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 

This painting was inspired by photographs taken in April a few years ago near hotel Arkada, Stari Grad city (island Hvar). Like the last painting in my series, this acrylic painting was done on mixed media paper in  A4 format is. Therefore, it's neither a large painting nor a very detailed one. I wanted to make a pretty seascape and that's it.  I worked on it for two days for a couple of hours. It was done at the same time (almost simultaneously as the last painting I shared. Like with the last seascape, I was trying to paint this one faster that I usually do my seascapes. Basically, the aim was to capture the sea quickly but still have some details present. As I said, it can feel good to make a simpler and quicker painting. Sure, the result is not as impressive as with those 'time and labour intense' paintings, but simple seascapes have a certain charm to them as well. Again, the art supplies (professional acrylic paints and mixed media paper) used to make this painting are both by Royal Talens brand.

#22 MAKARSKA BOATS  (CROATIA)

Another acrylic on paper. This time my inspiration was Makarska town in Dalmatia (Croatia), but I started painting it while we were in Sarajevo (more precisely Ilidža) and finished it once we got to Mostar. I framed it myself, gifted it to friends and was on overalls I was pretty happy with it. Once again, I used my own photograph as a reference. As you know, I usually use either my own photographs or those taken by my husband. There is this photograph that I took in Makarska back in 2019 that I really like. That was my inspiration for this painting. I love the framing of this photograph and the light. I like the way boats look connected and the sea in the distance. I feel like it really captured the moment. When I see it, I remember that sunset walk and the chat we had with the local fishermen. I don't think of myself as a photographer, but if I were one, this is the kind of photography I would go for and aspire to. Anyhow, recently I have across this photograph of mine again and decided to turn it into an acrylic painting. 

NOW, THE FOLLOWING 3 PAINTINGS WERE ALL PUBLISHED IN A SINGLE POST, SO THE LINKS BELOW WILL TAKE YOU TO THE SAME POST.

In that post; I decided to share three paintings instead of one. So, it was twenty-fourth, twenty- fifth and twenty-sixth post in this category all rolled into one. Moreover, since these three paintings  are all focused on different locations, we would still be travelling (with my art) to different places. Nevertheless, we would not exactly venture into the unknown as all of the locations are in Croatia. So far I have mostly shared art inspired by Croatia for this feature. Paint what you know best, they say. Croatia is what I know best since that is where I'm from. It makes sense to keep painting the scenery I'm most familiar with. 

#23 ZAVALA  BEACH PANORAMA (CROATIA) 

There are so many layers in this painting, as one would expect from a realistic painting. When I first started painting more seriously a few years ago, I was naturally attracted to impressionist style. However, with time I started to do more realistic style paintings. Moreover, I even introduced some elements of hyper-realism in my art. My painting style is evolving as we speak. I started this painting without a particular plan in mind when it came to style it was going to be painted in. One thing I was sure about where the tonalities and colours I wanted to use. I sort of worked from there. I have spent hours studying the reference photographs. Capturing this scene on canvas was no easy task. Not only is this particular scene full of details, it's also filled with different tonalities. Moreover, the light reflections were challenging to paint as well. The light reflections in the natural shallow 'pool' created by rocks are very different from the light reflection on the waves and the sea. Don't even get me started on painting the sea foam. It's as time consuming and difficult as painting pearls. It took me a long time to finish this canvas. I didn't time myself but it definitely took more than a hundred hours.

I have put  so much effort into this painting but I think it payed off. What do you think? I love the shallow pool I painted, probably my favourite part of the painting. It's fascinating to paint the sea. There are so many different colours and tonalities you need to know how to use and mix. Moreover, you must be so careful with reflections and shades to get it right. It can be quite hard to make the sea come alive. Often it can be exhausting, but you can also get into the 'zone' and then it feels natural. I can't say that I'm completely figured my technique when it comes to painting the sea. I'm still learning. Paintings like this one are great for really studying the sea.  However, these kind of detailed and realistic seascapes take a lot from me. That is why I need to make pauses to work on easier stuff. Wrist, neck and back pains are often the price to pay when you do a more ambitious painting. While painting, I was probably using a very fine and thin brushes for about 95 percent of the time....and believe me when I say that I worked hard.  That's just how realistic painting works. 

#24 ŽNJAN BEACH, SPLIT CITY (CROATIA)

This Žnjan painting was painted on plain air which was a fun experience. I remember one lady approached me to talk to me. I painted it on beach Žnjan in Split city, Croatia. I don't do a lot of painting in the open but sometimes I do venture outdoors, for example HERE. I might do more 'en plain air' painting in the future. I don't know why I didn't do more of it in the past, to be frank. The medium was again acrylics on sketchbook paper. You can visit my original post for deatils, work in progress photos and so on. Finally, how long did it take me to paint it? Not very long. I would say about half and hour, give or take fifteen minutes.  I mean it wasn't very cold when I painted this, but it wasn't warm enough to paint for a long time. 

#25 JELSA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

I used one of my own photographs as a reference. The medium was acrylic paints on mixed media paper.  I'm really not sure how long it took me to paint it because I worked on it twice. Maybe a couple of hours, maybe an hour, I really can't recall. I wasn't happy with the first version, so I left it as it was, not planning to finish it. After a while, I decided to finish it in a more impressionist way. I'm not exactly happy with how it turned out, but I probably won't touch it again. What I plan to do is to paint another version of it. 

 #26 ZAVALA BEACH BAY, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

This was a super quick oil pastel sketch and I liked how it turned out. I used one of my own photographs as a reference. I can't seem to find it just now so I didn't share it with my original post. 

 The medium is oil pastels on mixed media paper. Oil pastels are from brand Sonnet (They're a Russian brand I think and they were gifted to me by a Russian friend). The sketchbook is from Royal Talens. It took me about half an hour to paint it (if I remember correctly).

#27 MALA STINIVA IN SUMMER, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

This one is a little different because it's more a drawing than a painting. I used my husband's photograph as a reference. You may see it above in the collage as well as on the photograph below (the first one in a row.) I don't have much to say about the art process. Drawing with watercolour pencils isn't much different than drawing with regular coloured pencils. The difference in the process depends on how much water to you plan to add. With this landscape, I planned on adding a bit of water. As I explained, I ended up not adding any water at all. If I had known that my husband would like it more as a drawing, I would have used regular coloured pencils and not watercolour pencils. However, I think the process would have been the same.

My problem with this seascape is that I want to apply water or paints to it every time I see it. I'm more a painter than anything else I guess. So, maybe I need to paint another version for myself. 

  #28 TRAVEL WITH MY ART, BASINA BAY, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 

This watercolour painting can perhaps be categorized as both destination and fashion illustration. It depicts a certain location- Basina bay on island Hvar, so you could call it a landscape or a location painting. However, I'm also present in this illustration it and I'm wearing an outfit- hence it could be labelled a fashion illustration. Visit my original post for more information!

#29 TRAVEL WITH MY ART, BAY TORAC AT SUNSET, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 

In the twenty- ninth post in this destination art series, I painted bay Torac using acrylic paints on canvas. As far as the making of this painting, it was a pretty standard affair. I'll talk about it in more detail below. I used a photograph as a reference. First I sketched the general outline and then I worked on the details. One of the challenges was in not making the painting too dark. As it depicts sunset, the colours were quite dark but I think I did a good job of balancing light in this painting.  The photographic reference was a bit blurry but that was not a problem. I have spent enough time in this bay to know it by heart. In fact, I painted it many times in the past. To see work in progress photos and more, visit the original post.

#30 TRAVEL WITH MY ART, VALETTA, ISLAND MALTA (MALTA) 

In my thirtieth post in my travel and destination art series, I shared an illustration that I made  for and gifted to a friend of mine who lives in Malta. The medium is  water pastels on paper. It's just a quick sketch, I didn't apply water to it, but I wanted to share it anyway. It probably took me about twenty minutes to make. It's not very good, but I might improve on it very soon. 

  #31 TRAVEL WITH MY ART : CAPE PLANKA (CROATIA)

This was a commission painting. This is a big painting! The client originally wanted a meter in width and length for the canvas (that is 1mX 1m). I had already made the order in the local gallery Michelangelo when she called me and said she needs it to be 80/80 cm. I called the gallery and they made the canvas with exactly those measures. I typically order my canvases from Michelangelo gallery because they hand make them with quality cotton. I find quality canvases to be a good investment. he process of making this painting was as long and as challenging as you can imagine. I was provided with a reference photograph that was a bit blurry so that made things  a bit difficult. Still, it was a beautiful photographs (you can see it above). I had to adjust the proportions to make them fit.  A commissioned painting can take as a while to finish, because it might involve a lot of communication, dialogue and negotiating. In addition, in some cases adjustments must be made. In my case, commissions may take some time to finish as I work full time in the educational sector. In fact, I'm surprised that I managed to finish this one in only three months, considering my long work hours  Sometimes I'm proud of my work ethics.

 #32 TRAVEL WITH MY ART: SQUICK ZAVALA SKETCH (CROATIA)

This super quick painting was another painting inspired by Zavala on island Hvar (Croatia). It is not nearly as elaborative or challenging as the last piece I shared in my destination art series. Rather, it's a humble A4 sized painting. The medium  is acrylic paints on mixed media paper. I think it'd look quite cute framed. I haven't decided what I will do with it yet. The aim for this painting was to capture the beauty of the Adriatic sea. I wasn't trying to go for a detailed or hyper-realistic feel. This is more an impressionist piece than a realistic one. I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. It is a motif I always come back to: the sea! Now, when I look at the composition and everything, it's pretty good for a quick painting. If I were to redo it, I'd change things up a little bit.

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

This seascape was another commissioned painting of bay Lozna (the second bay next to cape Kabal) on island Hvar. Some of you might remember I have already painted this gorgeous seascape location with acrylics on a A4 mixed media paper. This paining, however, is significantly larger and it's acrylic on canvas (as opposed to paper). It was commissioned by a friend of mine as an anniversary present for his significant other. So, just like with my last painting, this one was commissioned with a romantic intention. It was a pretty fairy-take experience visiting this place with my husband back when we lived on island Hvar. Therefore, it wasn't difficult getting those romantic vibes down. 

#34 TRAVEL WITH MY ART BOTA SURF CENTRE, VRBOSKA, ISLAND HVAR, CROATIA

In  the thirty-forth post in this series, I painted a beautiful spot in Vrboska. I was really happy with how this one turned out. The medium was acrylic paints on paper. I gifted this painting. 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.  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. Visit my blog and original for more information and work in progress pics. 

#35 TRAVEL WITH MY ART : BEACH KAMENJARA, VRBOSKA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA ) 2023 

Today I'm sharing with you an A4 acrylic seascape inspired by a photograph taken by my husband. It's a typical quick 'Ivana' seascape. Painted pretty quickly, it is not very detailed. The location is beach Kamenjara in Vrboska on island Hvar (Croatia). I haven't visited island Hvar this summer and I miss it dearly. I do visit it regularly with my art, though.

#36 TRAVEL WITH MY ART A COMISSIONED CHAPEL PAINTING MOSTAR 2024

This painting took me about three months to finish for multiple reasons.  First of all, I didn't work on it every day because- life. Secondly, there were many layers to it. Thirdly, I couldn't set for a certain photograph reference. I started working with one reference but then I actually went to visit the chapel and study it in person.  Once there, we took some photographs. So, long story short- it was a long process.

The end result was interesting! I feel like it's a strong (if not perfect) result. The final painting does leave an impression on a review. It's neither realistic nor impressionist painting, but something in between. I managed to capture some of the things I wanted but other eluded me. I wanted to capture the strong shadows, the contrast between the whiteness of the stone and the shadows created at noon. I also wanted to capture the mosaic inside of the chapel. 

Everything about this painting took me time and reflection. 

#37  A SEAVIEW FROM A PARK (SPLIT, CROATIA)

I used my old photographs as a  reference. I took these two photograph last year while I was walking trough this park. I enjoyed the sea view and thought the panorama looked pretty cool, so I snapped these two photographs. As I already said, I started and finished the painting last Summer as well. If I recall well, it didn't take me an awful long time to finish it. Maybe 20-30 hours in total? I know that I have started it in Split and finished it in Mostar.

#38 BUNA CANALS NEAR MOSTAR, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2024

Finally, we have come to the latest painting in the series, and that's the painting I'm sharing with you today!

You know going through all these old paintings (links above) was an interesting experience. I got to remember what painting every one of these destination art pieces felt like. 

I definitely want to continue painting and creating. There's something about painting a certain place that changes your perception of it. You remember it better. It's one of the things I love about painting.

Having this blog allows me to record and remember those memories. It's a reminder of how hard I worked.  I know I have a long way to go if I'm going to be serious about improving or even just keeping my art skills. If you don't use it, you lose it. Any I really don't want to lose it. 

Below you can see another comparison collage. I wasn't going for a realistic style with this painting, but the place is still recognizable. Perhaps I should do more impressionist or quick paintings. 

Below you can see another photograph of the two of us. We visited Buna Canals on multiple occasions, and we even brought friends here- more than once. The photograph below was taken at early Autumn, from the look of it. The photograph I used for a reference was taken in Summer. 

Despite how hot the summers are here, you'll notice that this place is very green. It remains quite green in Autumn as well. Buna Canals are a magical destination indeed. You'll have to hop on rocks to get very close to the canals. Alternatively, you can just observe them from the road.

Rock hopping isn't exactly required, it's just something I cannot resist, even in high heels. Standing next to these canals is really an intense feeling. The contrast between the idyllic calm pools and the vibrant karst Neretva rivers in mesmerizing. It almost looks like a man made place- or a god made place. I can imagine a water nymph emerging from one of these pools. 

The mini waterfalls are quite beautiful , and all the three of them that are visible in the reference photograph were captured in the painting as well. BTW Laundry pegs are doing a fabulous job at securing my painting aren't they? 

One more photograph of the two of us enjoying the view.  These two were the only photographs from this particular post that I could find. There were other visits as well, but again photographs got lost in the archives- life is sometimes too busy for my blog and that's alright. 

And one more close up of my acrylic Buna canals painting!

As someone who has grown up in the seaside, always surrounded by the sea, I experienced sea magic first hand.

River magic wasn't unknown to me either. I visited many rivers in Croatia and fallen in love with them.

I remember my fourth grade school trip to Krka falls where I dramatically carried a notebook and wrote poetry.

I think I can remember some of the the teachers rolling their eyes at me- Ivana's being Ivana again. 

However, it was perhaps only after moving to Bosnia and Herzegovina and living in a city on five rivers that I have really understood the true meaning of river magic. 

May there be more paintings that will try to capture it!

Any maybe a poem now and then!

Thank you for visiting! Have a wonderful weekend ahead.