That what happen today.

When life is not perfect, you just make every moment beautiful. 

Israeli.

Ink and mixed media. Shimmering stuff I used, doesn't scan and gold glitter also doesn't show, but it's here. I met this young guy and we had interesting conversations, he recommended me few pretty sharp music groups, which I added to my iPod playlist. He is a modern young boy, but he knows how to talk to G-d. Amazing. Modern and ancient. Young and wise. 

Happy San Patrick's Day from Chicago River!

Chicago River turning green for this holiday.

I got flowers.

I got flowers for March 8. I love Hyacinth, they smell so nice, so strong. Here is a painting I am doing for someone. It is far from being done. I will need some hint of wings. The cat died, so early, young, he was loved very much. 

I got myself some art materials to brighten up my day 

and start using it right away. Brush turned to be a bit too 

soft  for my liking, but inks are gorgeous.

Selfie with the toothbrush.

It is sort of a self portrait. Artists look so serious when painting self portraits. I was not joking. I was thinking if my inner pain ( and artists always full of that inner pain, because they constantly searching for ways and answers, so I told my daughter don't ever get involved with artists, :) one in the family is more than enough), so if my inner pain is looking at me in the mirror.
I used ink and Kuretake on Arches paper.

Breakfast under the sky.

One of our beautiful breakfasts outside. Drawing to follow.

Bloody Mary.

One of the brunches with my daughter, we had the best "bloody mary" drink, it was a little bit unreal, for some reason reminded me the atmosphere of 60s, may be her retro dress and red lipstick?
By painting this I stopped the time and I can feel the sun on my skin, remember that turquoise Florida sky, hear clicking of glasses somewhere on the background. Anyway, I used ink and Kuretake and touch of Artist Pitt pens.

Cool bracelet is our future Iphone?

Interesting idea to use your skin instead of handheld.

Amazing bracelet!

Everyday is something exiting about life.  Yesterday saw a program on TV about dogs able to detect cancer cells at the very beginning of deadly disease. Dogs, able to feel level of blood sugar and worn people before it become too dangerous.

Textures, who knows where it may end up.

Interesting, sort of woven texture. It could be for the focal point in the living room, combined with glazing, glass and leather.

Seems simple, but really cozy on the wall, also for main wall in the room.

Here is organic metallic texture with couple of glazes.

A little different, with grainy background.

3D Texture, pretty cool for a bar or a nice modern living room. Anything against it would look sleek and pleasant, but has to be simple, like metal, glass or leather.

This one still wet, but promising. Should be antiqued and glazed.
Really like to play with different materials, experiment and get inspired by nature.

Painting Sukkahs and a big challenge.

Painted few Sukkahs on panels for Holiday Sukkot. Here is Tomb of Mother Rahel, the Mother of Sorrows.  I spent a day for each painting, in one day I did 2 paintings, crazy long days. Panels are pretty big, walls for Sukkahs. On the top going bamboo branches, so you can see stars through the roof, while celebrating holiday.

The City of David, was pretty challenging, to build all this structures in perspective and in proportion.

Kotel was the first I did and I struggled a lot, to keep all this lines dancing on panels.

This was big and fiberglass bumpy, so paint was sliding like crazy and lines danced, pretty hard, so almost with my eyes closed I finished it.

Also on fiberglass panel. This and a previous one I did in one day. It was useful experience and big challenge. I had shawarma twice, it was not as amazing as in "Olympic Pita", our favorite shawarma and falafel place, also I ate it alone, but still it was a small  highlight of the day.

Andy for my friend.

I did this for my friend, who lost her beloved dog, a member of the family. I used ink and Kuretake.

 For me it was also a little bit coming back to myself. Somehow I didn't notice, how I am going further from the life around me, may be because it is hard to agree with something being so far from perfect. May be because I can't find an explanation for the happening in Ukraine, where regular people and their children dying in horrible deaths.  May be because I got into animal rescues, by befriending people who do it every day, and by adopting a little cat from Moscow (yes, she flew to me from Russia), who was in a death row, saved and terribly injured in a pot of boiling water and than nurtured back to life by a very brave woman, who became my friend?

Yellow sunrise and pencil sketch.

Getting inspired by completely different palette of the sky every morning (I don't know how it is possible, such an amazing variety). In my mind I am painting it with the big flat brush. In reality...

Sketch at the doctor's office. Drawing with "perfect pencil" Faber-Castell, I like it dry lines, reserved touch, matching with my own today's feelings, to close tighter endings of my shell.

Crazy day in emergency room and few scribbles  managed.

Concert and sketches.

Sketched on the Subway on the way to concert of Federico Aubele in Brooklyn. First was young group from Montreal, so I sketched them a little, than it became too dark.

Federico Aubele was amazing, he mixes sounds of the street with traditional Argentinian tango and longing guitar. It is especially touching for me, because I am on the 3-d book of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and my heart is connected to Barcelona for now. Aubele from Buenos Aires and lived and created music in Barcelona, and so is Natalia Clavier, the magic voice of many of his songs.
 Here is one of his songs from new Album, I bought there.

Carrousel

I could not help it swaying along with music.

 A bit rough, on the way home. Came home around 1 am, what a youngster. I will draw my impression in ink, as soon as I'll gain a bit of freedom.

Sketching with watercolor.

On Sunday morning we got Maggie's breakfast from Krooked cafe in Tannersville, the best breakfast in the world. Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, a little bit of home fries, salad and few slices of fruits.

Sketched on the porch  with watercolors while waiting.  Struggled with small water brush, wishing I'll have my regular brushes with me.

We had a little sketch crawl afternoon. Lake was beautiful and all sad thoughts vanished for a while.

Here is my sketch. Really need to carry with me bigger brushes.

Yesterday running around with brush and without.

Sample on the wall for lobby, love working with plasters.

Drew vines on few floors, patches of grass and path with flowers, few blue puddles.
Met interesting woman. During lunch on the floor behind piano (cold russian kotleta with Dijon mustard and buckwheat, and not a bad coffee) spoke about art, Amsterdam, russian art teaching, my first lesson in art school about composition (thanks to my teacher, who I disliked, who is probably dead for at list 20 years, he was old then, as it seemed to 18 year old me, in his late 40ties, but who gave me guidance in that complicated world of building composition and it unspoken rules), about Mixol tints, we used and I am thinking to buy for myself.
 Nothing will follow, probably. It is not easy to make new friends, when life is so hectic and I am loosing my old friends and have no time to be with myself.

Old work and insomnia.

Battling with insomnia again and feeling under the weather.
This photo shows old work, landscape in the pool room, did touch ups on this some time ago.

Bottom part done on broken pieces of tiles, to make it more durable, where most touch ups occurred.
I really miss drawing and mainly seeing things in that artsy way, when everything magically turns into a painting. Now I am, sort of, afraid to loose control and gripping to constantly changing reality, bumping into new people and situations, demanding solutions, feeling more and more tired and detached.

Speed of life is crazy.

I am really afraid to forget how to draw in ink. So much going on, so many people to coordinate, talk to,  so many people want me to make them happy, and immediately. So many people make mistakes. I feel bad for them. I am, probably, one of them.

I put one more day, I ate their chollant, I came home around midnight, because till noon was battling with Ikea on the phone.
The guy asked me is I was born with a brush in my hand. I used both hands. Today gotta plan brook for staircase, for tomorrow, he wants more and more, curving on second floor.

Here would be mirror with intricate golden frame.
Yesterday bought tiny liquid tints, Mixol, for another client's work, love it, gotta get a set for myself. Premixed colors, awesome palette.