TRAVEL WITH MY ART #40, A VIEW FROM MARINE LUČICA SPLIT (CROATIA)
Hello blog readers and fellow bloggers! It's time for another TRAVEL WITH MY ART post that is another posting in my art series. In this post, I'll share an acrylic painting inspired by a location in Split city, Croatia. I used one of my own photographs as a reference for this painting. The format of this painting is quite small, but I'm pretty content with how it turned out. Furthermore, I might do another version of this painting on a canvas. I will share more details about the location and the painting shortly, but first a few words about why and how I'm sharing it.
As you might know if you read my blog regularly, TRAVEL WITH MY ART is basically a regular feature on my blog where I post my art (paintings & illustration) inspired by different places. I will mostly illustrate and paint places I have visited, but sometimes I will paint based of a photograph a friend has sent me or one that caught my eye. Sometimes I will paint places I would like to visit as opposed to the those I visit regularly. However, the vast majority of these art pieces will be my renderings of my 'happy places'. Typically, I'd have a personal connection with the landscapes I choose to paint.
For a time, I stopped posting my art on my blog, just because I read an awful lot about how art is used to train AI and it just seems unfair to tell you the truth. Not just art, but how everything we post online, from writing to personal photographs is copied and reproduced without permission in one form or another. Honestly, I missed sharing my art on my blog, especially since it's something I've always done, so I started doing it again. That's basically the story behind this art series.
IT IS ALWAYS INTERESTING TO COMPARE THE REFERENCE PHOTOGRAPH AND THE FINISHED PAINTING, ISN'T IT?
THE LOCATION, A SMALL MARINE WITH THE VIEW OF KAŠTELA IN SPLIT CITY, CROATIA
What can I tell you about this first location? We visited it a couple of years ago when we were in Split. We had a nice walk there, and I took a lot of photos. Is this a landscape of Split or Kashtela (Kaštela)? That's a good question! I'd labelled it as a painting of Split city because what is in the foreground of the painting is the marine Luchica (Lučica). Even if the sea really takes up the most of the painting, the marine Lučica is in the foreground. In contrast, Kaštela town is just a few dots in the background. More of the painting is taken over by the beautiful mountain that tops it then by the city. Not that I won't paint Kaštela some day, I do plan to. Kaštela is a fascinating town that used to be composed of 7 villages.
KAŠTELA TOWN IS TOPPED BY A GORGEOUS KOZJAK MOUNTAIN
Kaštela is located in vicinity of my home town Split city and from some parts of Split, like this marine, you get a direct view of Kaštela. If you didn't know, Split is basically located on a peninsula, so from different part of the Split city, you can see quite different views, ranging from the different islands, to Trogir and Kaštela town, to mountains and so on. I'll say a few words about Kaštela because the origin of Kaštela town is really interesting. It's composed of different villages that merged into one and with time this complex of villages became a town.
Kaštela is composed of seven different settlements (villages). In fact, Kaštela has been rewarded the status of a town fairly recently. When I was a little girl, Kaštela was a part of Split city, a suburbs of sorts. However, this place has definitely grown. Tourists are starting to discover it as well. Some parts of this city are quite historic. There are beautiful stone castles and houses. You can also enjoy a beautiful view of Split city and of the islands. You can read more about Kaštela on their official Tourist Board site.
SPLIT CITY IS AN ETERNAL INSPIRATION FOR ME, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I PAINTED THE VIEW FROM THIS MARINE!
My home city is an eternal inspiration for me! I blogged about it so many times, most recently here:
Besides in MY regular TRAVEL WITH MY ART feature, Split city has appeared in my other art posts as well. Have a look and follow the links below to see how Split inspired my art.
PHOTODIARY: EN PLEIN AIR SKETCH
YOU CAN FIND MORE POSTS ABOUT SPLIT CITY BY FOLLOWING THE LINKS BELOW
SPLIT CITY CENTRE AND A MIDI DRESS
THE SEA AND THE SKY REALLY INSPIRED THIS PAINTING!
As I said, Split is an eternal inspiration. In this case, Split is of course a big part of it. However, it is the sky and the sea that really inspired me to attempt this seascape. When I think of Split, my first thought is always the sea.
Capturing the sea is never an easy feat. Most of landscapes I do are seascapes. I'd like to develop my own style of painting the sea. It's something I'm currently working on. This seascape was a great opportunity to practice that.
THE REFERENCE PHOTOGRAPH AND THE PAINTING AREN'T REALLY THE SAME
I didn't want my seascape to be a copy of the reference painting. I never intended them to be the same, I wanted the painting to be more inspired than based on the reference photograph. I do really like this photograph, though. I think I might base another painting on it. The photograph was taken as the day was setting, so the sea has darker undertones. On my painting, the contrast isn't so striking. The sky is about the same colour in the picture and the painting, but the sea is painted lighter. Moreover, the light falling onto the stones and the boat (the yact) is more warmer and yellow than one depicted in the painting.
I CHANGED THE COLOUR OF THE SEA AND MADE THE SEA MORE LIGHTER
My sea is lighter, but I still tried to capture the movement of the sea. Maybe more contrast between the shades would have been better. I'm not sure. I do like the blue of the sea I painted, but now I wonder should I have made it more darker in some places.
THE LIGHT IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT IN THE PHOTOGRAPH VS REFERENCE
The light is different. This was not a large painting, so I couldn't go in with too much details. Of course I tried to capture the reflection of the sky on the sea and the waves. I did study the light, I just depicted it slightly differently.
THE COMPOSITION IS ALSO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
You can see some changes in the composition. The two stones protruding out of the water are actually smaller than the ones in the reference because I wanted the focus to be on the vastness of the sea. I do like the composition of the photograph as such, so I might do another version of this painting that will be more like the photograph. I will need to do it on a larger scale for that to be durable.
I STARTED PAINTING IT IN EARLY SUMMER, AND I FINISHED IT IN MOSTAR A COUPLE OF WEEKS AFTER THAT
I STARTED PAINTING IT IN EARLY SUMMER, AND I FINISHED IT IN MOSTAR A COUPLE OF WEEKS AFTER THAT
This painting actually didn't take me forever to do. I did make a week or two pause while I was painting it, but it was all a pretty straightforward and quick process. If you have a look at this collages, you'll see the work I did over the course of two days and maybe four or five hours. I'd say that I painted the majority of this seascape in eight hours, but the details took me just as much time.
SEE THE MAKING OF THE PAINTING!
Seeing the 'making of' photographs is always fun, so here are some taken on a sofa in Split. I don't have a lot of room to paint in my parents' apartment in Split, but somehow I manage. You can also see that I have a ruler next to the painting. I sometimes use those. As for the headphones, I always use that when I'm painting. Music helps me concentrate. Often I also listen to audiobooks while painting!
THE MEDIUM IS ACRYLIC PAINTS ON A MIXED MEDIA SKETCH PAPER
As you can see the medium is acrylic paints on paper. This is mixed art paper from my sketchbook.
I PAINTED IT IN MY SKETCHBOOK- AND THAT'S WHERE IT STILL IS!
I painted this in my sketchbook, and that's where it still remains. I didn't frame it yet. I'm contemplating varnishing it with an acrylic varnish. Can you varnish paintings done on paper? I'm not even sure. I have to google that, but I think it can be done.
Funny how sunlight hitting the painting can make it look different. That's what I'm thinking looking at this photograph above. It's also interesting to see the reference photograph from this angle on the photograph below, it looks lighter and more like my painting!
I'VE JUST REALIZED THAT I USED A LIGHTER PHOTOGRAPH AS A REFRENCE
So, maybe my painting isn't that difference from the reference photograph. Looking at the picture above, I realized that titled on my laptop screen, this photo appears lighter- and that's what I was using for the reference.
Therefore, I decided to make this reference photograph lighter with editing and then show another side by side comparison for you. So, that's the collage you can see below. Now, the light looks more similar, but again it's not the same.
You can also notice that the concrete on the dock looks more gray in my painting, whereas in the original painting it's a lot warmer, almost orange due to the setting sun hitting it. I did spend a lot of time painting this concrete wall, trying to get all the shadows on it! Stones and concrete can be quite a challenge to paint if you really want to get their texture down right.
A FEW DETAILED SHOTS OF MY UNFINISHED VS FINISHED PAINTING AND THEN WE'LL GET TO LINKING MY PREVIOUS POSTS IN THIS TRAVEL ART SERIES
 |
| UNFINISHED DETAILED SHOT |
FINISHED DETAILED SHOT
ART ALLOWS US TO TRAVEL- TRAVEL WITH MY ART!
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!
VISIT OTHER TRAVEL ART POSTS AND TRAVEL WITH MY ART!
There's a story behind every painting and there's certainly a story behind every art piece posted in this travelling art series.
This was a nice scene to paint. I'm not sure have I done these gorgeous colours justice with my painting but I tried.
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).
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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?
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.
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).
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.
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.
In the fourteenth painting in the series, I depicted island Hvar again and this time a bay that is not widely known.
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.
Another attempt at capturing the sea in the small frame with acrylic paints on paper.
In my seventeenth post, I illustrated island Brač and more precisely to- Bol.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Another acrylic on paper. This time my inspiration was Makarska town in Dalmatia (Croatia).
I have put so much effort into this painting but I think it paid off.
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 used one of my own photographs as a reference. The medium was acrylic paints on mixed media paper.
This was a super quick oil pastel sketch and I liked how it turned out.
This one is a little different because it's more a drawing than a painting.
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.
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.
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.
This was a commission painting. This is a big painting!
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.
#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.
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.
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.
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 used my old photographs as a reference. I took these two photograph last year while I was walking trough this park.
Thank you for reading and visiting!
Twoje prace są piękne. Odzwierciedlają klimat danego miejsca. Super, że na nam je prezentujesz.
ReplyDeleteDzijekuje!
DeleteTua arte é linda e nos encanta ver!
ReplyDeleteGostei muito!
beijos, tudo de bom,chica
Obrigada!
DeleteI love the details of the water and its reflection of the sky. It all plays a part. It is truly an in depth post of getting the painting where you want it. Such lovely colors. I enjoyed the sight of the horizon as well. So great to see your post and of course, the collages are amazing too. Thanks so much to learn more of the history of your art and the places you capture. Hope your September is brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ellie!
DeleteOh the light of the water. When I was a youngster, I remember the painting that hung in the livingroom of my grandparents house. It was just a replica of a seascape. Although, it was so dark and troubling. I could hardly look at it. So it is great to see such an inviting seascape of color. Later, my grandmother would join a local art guild. And her art became more of the wild flowers and cacti of the hill country in Texas.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the wonderful post. Such great captures you have created. And I know I would be stiff and in pain from all this diligent passion, but it is so rewarding.
So cool that your grandmother joined an art guild and did wild flowers and cacti. Plants are a great subject for painting!
DeleteGorgeous photos and great artwork :-D
ReplyDeleteThanks
DeleteEs una bella pintura. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDelete<3
DeleteYou are a talented painter!
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteYou are very talented, I admire you! Greetings from the rainy city. Have a good new week, Ivana.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Greetings from sunny Mostar!
DeleteThank you for your comment on my blog and your kind words, it means a lot to me. Warmest regards, hugs!
DeleteI love how you captured the reflection of the sky on the sea and the waves. Seascapes really are your forte, Ivana! xxx
ReplyDeleteI do love seascapes.
DeleteFantastic pictures Ivana! As Always 👏👏👏👏🫶
ReplyDeleteThank you Lion!
DeleteBeautiful landscape. You have a huge talent, your work is amazing! I can't stop admiring it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm happy to hear you enjoy seeing these landscapes.
DeleteI think it's always a risk to write or paint and put that online, because it might be copied and reproduced without permission. Spooky, that AI is trained also through art. On the other hand it would be such a pity if you decided not to show your paintings, because they're really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLike this one, I love how light the mood is, and especially how you painted the moving waves. I also find it very interesting, how you painted it! :-))
So I hope that your information about AI doesn's keep you from sharing your art with us! <3
Thank you Maren. AI training worries me in more ways than one.
DeleteYou have captured the water beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteHello! Your TRAVEL WITH MY ART series sounds wonderful, and I’m excited to see your painting inspired by Split, Croatia. It’s great that you’re sharing your personal connections to these places through your art. I completely understand your concerns about how art and personal content are used online. It’s important to keep sharing what brings you joy. Happy new week. Read my new blog post: https://www.melodyjacob.com/
ReplyDeleteI do agree. We must look for joy where we can find it.
DeleteComo me gustaría conocer Croacia 🤩 muy linda entrada.
ReplyDeleteUn beso desde Plegarias en la Noche
I hope you get the chance to visit Croatia!
DeleteHello
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed seeing your artwork under the microscope! I liked the details of the painting and your description of how you worked with the colors and how you interpreted the photograph! I'm glad you've brought this section back to the blog! I still don't have a final opinion on AI, but if everyone kept their knowledge to themselves, we wouldn't be at the level of development we have today.
I love the colors you used! And I also love seeing the process! Hugs!
It's a complex subject. Thank you! When painting are small, one cannot focus on details too much, but still when we look from afar, the painting can look realistic. When we come up close, it doesn't look realistic. This always fascinates me!
DeleteYour talent is amazing. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
Thank you dear!
DeleteYour art is just stunning, Ivana. I love seeing the "real" vs. paintings together - and I like that you change up the composition to make the final painting more balanced. As I always say, your water is so beautiful.
ReplyDelete