Sketch with ink and some sparkly inks.

Sketch after breakfast while waiting in my new Venezia Art Book by Fabriano. I added more sparkling inks a bit later, plus shimmer is not readable by the scanner.
I am losing my head over inks. Getting so many interesting inks from all over the world: Poland, France, England, Germany. Many with metal particles, interesting colors and organic smells.
 This little sketch goes home to England.

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.

Early morning sketch Upstate.

Was exploring shades of white and had fun mixing my pens and pencils early in the morning, around 6 am.

I used Wink of Stella pen by Kuretake, so the white is sparkling, but photo doesn't show it.

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.

Pumpkins.

Pumpkins. Experimenting on plastic paper. Pretty strange, ink doesn't stick to it, but I fought to the end, just to understand, I don't like it.

Rabbi.

Rabbi. Ink and Kuretake.

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.

Greenwich Village.

Greenwich Village in ink and Kuretake.
I am still digging out pictures from Art folder for 2014, meanwhile it is February of a new year.

Pumpkins on Yupo paper.

A little experiment with ink and Kuretake on Yupo paper. Stubbornly I screwed up the paper, it is plastic, so I can't scan it, but whatever, at least I stuck to my plan. And I was able to draw.

It was a very hard year for me, 2014 and I need to survive another year.
I soaked and washed some of my brushes and pens in a hope that drawing will help me to think positively. 

Charm City Burger. One of the electric nights in Florida.

I used ink and Kuretake. Used a lot of texture, trying to depict broken light from passing cars (it was outside), street lamps, moonlight, late meal, scattered conversation. It was one of the best burgers ever, I asked to go there twice.

Here is my little helper, Lucy, since she came to me from Moscow, she learned how to use scanner (she really likes the sound and blinking light), printer (printed my entire mailbox), she likes to watch me draw and thinks that I am coming to sit near computer just to be with her. She goes in front of the screen and stares at me.

Just like that. Isn't she adorable?

Breakfast in Naples.

Creating memory. Birthday breakfast in Naples, Florida. Experimenting with inks. Ink and Kuretake.
When I asked if it is Ok to stay and draw after the meal, the waiter said I will pay you a million dollars for the portrait of your daughter.

Musicante.

I guess, I forgot to post it, when finished. Scanning and etc. became not interesting, or may be too much to do or no energy for it. Sometimes simple things become to overwhelming. Ink and Kuretake. Subway musician.

Sketches on NY Subway, few new tools and very uneasy day.

I was lucky to have a seat, so was able to relax unnoticed. This sketchbook is not laying as flat, as my previous one.

3 women, 3 different personalities. Even pencil felt it.

Awesome to have such different characteristics, not only ethnically, but different mood too. This is New York!

Here is my new tools from JetPens (the best shop in the world!), I decided to spoil myself, in secrecy, and got few amazing things, like sparkly brush pen "Wink of Stella", acrylic based watercolor by Rohrer & Klingner, few white pens, interlocking pencil caps, 2 mm lead sharpener, very thin black ink pen. All laying on the top of my drawing of a Subway musician, which is still in a process.

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?

Portrait with the wine glass.

Little trick with the wine splashing beyond the shape of a glass is a little hint about youth and femininity, which is impossible to control and regulate, this reflection of wine colors on her finger, textures on the background, all that gave me fun doing it.

She liked it, I heard. I am happy when my work finding new home.  I used ink and Kuretake on Fabriano Artistico.

Winter in my soul or overpass in Sheepshead Bay.

This winter was impossibly too long and too freezing, but aesthetically white made regular urban scenes very appealing and less ordinary. I used ink and Kuretake.

Here is my memo for making your own ringtones for iPhone.
I made a few from the songs I like, because it is annoying that everybody have the same sounds. I like to have special ring for the people I love. And searching online I didn't find the full and easy tutorial covering all problems, so combined a few into an easy explanation for myself. :D

One of those days.

I experimented here with the size, did bigger than usual, it is about 17, 5" X 12, 5". Took longer to draw, or may be because I got interrupted, did a portrait for someone, which can't show it yet, till its taken and presented.
What is really strange, that I used the same paper for the last few drawings, and it behaves differently with the same materials, so no matter how hard I will search for "perfect paper" it will always be the chance that it will be unpredictable.

West 72 street in Manhattan.

We've been having pretty brutal winter. Every day below freezing point for days and days. Snow, ice. In many states. I am not leaving home unless I have to. Here is West 72 street in the City with snow, dirty roads, train station in the middle. Ink and Kuretake.

Portrait of a Young business woman.

I used ink and Kuretake. She is in business, connected to education, this why the book is here.

Marie.

Someone, I met and wanted to say thank you. It is so hard in this hectic life to stick to your word. I used ink and Kuretake.