Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

I hope the New Year will bring happiness, new memories and successes for you and your family and friends.

It is common to wish all the best in New Year, however all the best begins now.

I am grateful for all the successes this year has brought me, but also for the things that did not work out, because they gave me the opportunity to stop and think. I have a lot things to  love, and I am happy I have the opportunity to share this love with others. I am fortunate enough to do what I love and provide for my family and friends, but also do something that others enjoy and want to explore and learn more about. I have been blessed to meet people who have warmed my heart. I am sure that next year will be a source of new things to be grateful for.

And now pictures and how they were obtained.

So, take watercolor, paper and brushes, as well as a simple pencil, masking  tape of different widths and wax crayons. You can draw what you want. Leave what has to be white, white. Wet the colors with water and dance with a brush on paper. Yes, your brush can dance, my students know what that means. It's boring to tell that there are rules and techniques for working with a brush, so we teach our brush to dance. At first, of course, the result may not be perfect, but with some practice ...

We  mix colors and use the process called monotype, then look at them and create an image by adding some details.

You can make an illustration from a fairy tale, for example, Gerda from "The Snow Queen"  (H.C.Andersen). This painting contains, warm and cold colors, patterns, brush work, but most importantly: imagination.

More watercolor paintings can be viewed in the Gallery

Happy  holidays!

Sincerely yours,

Alla

November. Watercolour.

We learn how to use brushes, when make white spots with different art supplies., wet paper, dry paper...

More pictures in Gallery

Sincerely yours, Alla

October.

October is a season full of colors.
 Colors are everywhere -
Whether its the fall leaves in the park,

Or the veggies and fruits at the farmer's market,

 Even the sky and land is colorful,

Its very important for the children to pay attention to the different colors of the world around them.

The visual experience helps children to see the beauty of the created drawing, they start to use their  imagination. The children were very surprised when I suggested that they should first color the paper  with oil crayons, and then draw something. 

"You're joking, you're mistaken, you draw first, then color it," - they said, but then they joined the game, and were surprised with the results.

For more pictures you can view the Gallery

Sincerely yours,

Alla

Summer time.

Summer this year was surprisingly long and hot  in Calgary. It is September, however, it is hot like in July.

 All my students are busy for first days of school as well as their parents to organize everything
The schedules of art classes you can see here. There are many changes and some spots and time are available.

There are some news, I have been taken as an instructor in Art classes with children aged 6-9 years at St. Mary's University. Click: (St.Mary's University). The Group still has some spots available..

In August, we were near  Okanagan Lake. It was a wonderful weather and we used every moment to enjoy it. What a unique nature is in this place!

Unfortunately, we also could see and smell  the  smog.  

Mountains that are different! Each of it is different at any time of the day! 

We were hiking.

I am waiting for my students to share our impressions with each other.


Sincerely yours,

Alla

The exhibition.

Last week we had an exhibition for the students.They chose their favorite picture that they have created this year, framed it and brought it to display at the exhibition. If you are interested in some projects that the students have created, check out the Gallery .

 The exhibition gave an opportunity for the students to be proud of their work. It also gives them a chance to see what others think of their work and we must not forget it is a great way to make friends outside of their groups.

Thank you for another amazing year. Have a great summer!

Sincerely yours, Alla

Course of Iconography.

Last week I participated in an iconography course

The instructor of the course was Philip Davydov (St.Peterburg, Russia):
http://sacredmurals.com/

It was a very productive time for me. Egg tempera painting is an old and one of very complicated techniques. However more and more people are starting to learn and use it. I learned  how to organize the working process step by step, and how all those steps make the image work. It was also a very interesting teaching process that made us, as students, not only to see, but to also deeper understand the Image as a message.

Sincerely yours,

Alla

Gouache

We continue to work with gouache.

Some of students practice with brushstrokes.

Some of students exercise by coping pictures made by camera.

Mono-type helps them to see beauty in colorful spots.

  

We are almost ready for the exhibition! More pictures that you can see are in the Gallery

Sincerely yours,

Alla

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, my dear friends!

As we say 
adieu to the silver of Winter
And welcome the 
brightly blooming Spring
As the earth is refreshed with 
the joys of Easter
Here's wishing you every happiness 
the season can bring! 

Happy Easter! 

More pictures you can see in Gallery

Sincerely yours,
Alla