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The Art of Lavina Marie

Orchid Blooms
Watercolor and acrylic on paper
29.7 x 21.0 cm

I nearly gave up on this painting; firstly, I didn't know what to do with the background, and secondly, the paper was irritatingly difficult to work with - it absorbed water and paint too fast, creating ugly splotches here and there :\ Good thing I was able to salvage the painting with acrylic paint; acrylic paint seems to have a consistency that watercolor paint lacks. Or it might be just the case that I had/ have no idea how to work with watercolors. Either way, I'm not very proud of this painting, but I think it turned out okay. The colors are much lighter and softer in real life, though.

This is still for available for sale if anyone's interested. :)

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Intermission between Chapter Senior Life and Chapter Graduation Day: summer vacation and the listlessness that inevitably blankets this time lag that otherwise calls for partying, exploring islands, or some other exciting adventure-like thing. As for me, I am spending this time quite contentedly with the loving family back in the sandlands where I grew up - Dubai - and I've been doing the same routine every day: sleep, eat, watch my baby niece, play Persona 3 on PPG (my PSP; yes, its name is the acronym for Powerpuff Girls; it's a long story), eat, sleep. Only occasionally I do some art:

This is taking forever for me to finish, haha!

As of today, I have decided to burden myself with a challenge: draw and paint random faces from imagination every day. I used to when I was still in my awkward years (I even created comics) but I stopped when I discovered I copied better. This challenge is to compensate for all the time that I did not spend doing art when I swore I would, but largely it's to find that 'one thing' (cue One Direction) that makes my art mine. I hope I find it ♥ 

In other news, I want to share that I recently found an oval-shaped canvas in Carrefour, and it was so lovely and so inexpensive (Dhs 12 or $3), I had to buy it. I don't know yet what I'm going to paint on it, but the shape calls for some still-life or portrait I think. I'll see if my challenge strikes a bolt of inspiration sooner or later. 

Anyway, so I'm off to hunt for some quality art materials; I accidentally left my watercolor pencils back in Manila, and any decent drawing paper, so I'll be searching for some here. 

Toodles, dear world!
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Ten Confianza
Acrylic on canvas
18.5" x 23.5"

Omigosh, I am finally done with this painting! *cry* This is, as I mentioned before, by far the first landscape painting and the largest painting I've ever done. It's a copy of a scene on a postcard that my grandmother particularly liked and asked me to reproduce; at first I thought of rendering it in chalk pastel, but it turned out to be such a mess that I scrapped it and began a new one in acrylic. 

The title is actually the first few words of the text written on the postcard, which says, "Ten confianza en el Señor y Él te dará lo que desea tu corazón" (Trust in the Lord and He will give you what you want in your heart [from Psalm 37:4]). I'm not sure how it applies to the landscape, but it's a beautiful quote. 

In the future I'd love to try painting en plein air, that is, open-air and on-the-spot, but I'm not if my methods will work; I'm sure I'll be too focused on getting details in that I'll end up painting a single scene for days on end! :[ This alone took me a couple of months, hence I'm so happy/ relieved I finally finished it! I just have to varnish it, then present it to my grandmother. :)



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Yay, my flower fairy painting's done! That's one of many down, haha.  I actually lost interest in it for a while, because I wasn't sure if it was turning out okay, but anyway, here it is (I apologize for the slight haze; my camera didn't take this photo so well):




So, about two-three weeks ago, I came across another treasure in Booksale: a pretty box full of pretty stationery! For its sheer prettiness, and its insanely cheap price (it was marked at only 120 pesos; about 10 dirhams or 3 US dollars), I just had to buy it. 


As an afterthought, I figured maybe it could inspire my art in some way, and it did, because I set to painting flowers as soon as I could. I realized that painting on paper allows for the vibrancy of the colors to show without the distraction of surface texture, which is normally the shortcoming of canvases. I can't blob color over color too much, though; the paper's much too thin for that. Anyway, this is what that flower painting looks like now:




It looks nowhere as pretty as the stationery, and I actually have no idea how this painting will turn out; I'm making up the composition as I go along (which isn't exactly the ideal way of painting for me, since I'm more calculated, but somehow this painting calls for spontaneity).
       On a side note, I just finished the worst hell week of my life; hopefully things won't be so hectic in the upcoming days, so I can just work on my art without any danger of anxiety attacks. Also, I'm looking into local university websites for a possible Master's Degree in Fine Arts... I just hope I'm qualified for one!

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Last week, I was scanning the crowded shelves of Booksale at SM Mega Mall when the gilded title of a certain green book caught my eye: Painting Acrylic Flowers A-Z. With no hesitation I tugged at the book until it pulled free from its tight wedge, and flung it open on my lap. It was love at first sight, my dear. 






Authored by Lexi Sundell, the book is a simple but thoroughly comprehensive manual regarding the task of painting flowers using acrylics as medium; it includes a detailed introduction to painting in general, floral structures (basic shapes and such), as well as an entire directory of paintings of beautiful flowers... I'm so happy I own such a book; I feel like I want to own more art books like this, it may help to improve my technique.

I've always loved flowers, but it was only recently I actually resolved to paint them more. Case in point:




I admit this is a more of a fruit fairy than a flower fairy, but she's based on a plant, nonetheless. This is a cape gooseberry fairy, or Cape Goosefairy, as I like to call her. Completed last summer, this was actually my first attempt to perform watercolor techniques using acrylics. It didn't turn out so well, since the paper I used was severely inadequate (you can see the dark areas where the paper dried in bumps), but I do like the overall outcome, more or less (she looks a bit dead though). I had initially planned for her to be a simple flower fairy, but then, browsing through the internet, I discovered that little curiously-shaped fruit with the precious name. 

The next few flower paintings I plan to do will be on canvas already, since canvases really pick up the vibrancy of acrylic colors. Let's hope I can get started on them soon!

On that note, have a pleasant day ahead, everyone!
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It's always been my dream to hold an exhibit of my works, so, lately, I'd taken to painting on canvases. However, time doesn't really permit me to really do so, because for one thing, I'm absolutely anal with details, and it takes me, without exaggeration, forever to work on a painting because of that. Moreover, it takes me a while to mix my acrylics to get a particular hue, and then there is 'the mood'; I have to be in a certain mood to do canvas painting - maybe because of all the effort I put into it. I wonder what that says about me as an artist.

In my entire lifetime, I have only ever finished two canvas paintings; both had been made into gifts, but the more recent one, which I finished earlier this year, was one I am still proud of; and which I think will reflect the styles of future canvas works:



I gave the painting above to my boyfriend's mother (she had requested that I paint her something; if anyone cares to know, it's this painting that serves as the backdrop to this blog's title); it was the first time I painted flowers and leaves on canvas, and I had so much fun working on getting the petals and twigs and veins right. I absolutely love painting flowers; I can't wait to paint more!

Currently, there are two canvas paintings that are on my list of works-in-progress: a personal painting, and another gift-to-be:


This is a small painting, just a couple of inches in length and width... that I started three years ago. That darned mood. I should really finish this one.

This is the first landscape painting, and by far the largest painting, I've ever attempted; it's literally a blown-up version of a postcard my grandmother asked me to copy.


Graduation, come fast already so I can work full-time on my paintings. I'm considering, however, buying an easel before that happens; I'm just having difficulty deciding on whether I should get a table-top kind, or a standing one. As it is, I'm not used to painting on a vertically inclined surface, and I'd much rather paint on a slanted drawing table, because the way I paint is really much like the way I draw with a pencil. Drawing tables are much more expensive than easels are though (at least, the one I have in mind is), but I would so love to have one. One more reason to save money!

On a side note, I just realized that I have so many pending works. I'm such a disorganized artist. It's just that I have so many things I want to draw/ paint, and I'm impatient to get them down on paper already. Oh well, at least I'll always have something to return to. 

Here's a pleasant day to you all!
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So this is it, my first and hopefully official art blog! I'll try to update it as often as I can - given, of course, that I draw as often as I can; right now, my free time is being pushed over the edge due to the intense workload of senior year. For now, here's a peek at the paintings I've been working on (rather sporadically):




My dad gave me cold pressed watercolor paper a long time ago, but I never did get to use it until recently, when I discovered that most of my paintbrushes were more suited for watercolors than acrylics (my usual medium of choice). So, in the hopes of defining my style, I decided to experiment a bit with the watercolor effect, still using acrylics. Hence you can see certain areas in the paintings are more opaque than others, but I think I like the effect (although I do think I'm botching the watercolor technique). Here's another that I practiced the technique on:


Both are unfinished, quite obviously... I just hope that I can get back to painting them soon! This shall be all now for my first post, a lovely day to you all!
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All images displayed, artwork and non-artwork alike, belong to Lavina Marie Verdolaga unless stated otherwise, and cannot be used or reproduced by any person or company without permission from the author.

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