Friday, March 22, 2013

Little paintings


Here are two little paintings that I recently finished. First is my MicroVisions piece which I call “Frightened Monster”. The second painting, named “Night Knight”, was done for a quilt project. Both paintings will be auctioned (the Knight painting as a part of the quilt) and the money will go to the student scholarships.
Sometimes I wish these kind of scholarship projects existed when I was a student, so that I could at least buy a proper oil paint, instead of having to use the cheap little tubes of oil color manufactured in China, that I used to buy in Prague, Czech Republic. But on the other hand, I often wonder if better circumstances and more stimulating surroundings would help me become a better artist…well, maybe…I don’t know. It’s also true that when things get tough, we get to know our deeper Self and often get better and tougher, for if you are not tough enough and always need somebody or something to lean on, despite of all your great talents, you might not make it as an artist. In my opinion talent and skill need to be accompanied by a set of other qualities within the personality that have nothing to do directly with the artistic abilities, things like perseverance, courage, a certain amount of boldness and even stubbornness. One does not develop these qualities if the surroundings are too supportive. On the other side, the lack of support can have a devastating impact on the psyche, as we all know.

Anyway, that Chinese oil paint from Czech Republic was not that bad after all. At least it had a very pleasant and natural smell that stayed with me forever, and that I still associate with good old days marked by happy enthusiasm, blessed lack of life and professional experience and above all my burning love affair with painting.


Frightened Monster


Night Knight
 

6 comments:

  1. Those are neat, I love the brush work.

    -Jeff

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  2. Been on a Ape binge recently with Lancelot Link and several documentaries, and that frightened monster is fantastic. Lovely work as always Petar.

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  3. Really great work Petar. I am curious about the size of the Frightened Monster painting.

    Also, your statement really hit home for me. I remember getting out of college looking for work, and the struggle I had to endure in those early days. Fortunately, things worked out well enough for me. As much as I would like to go completely freelance, I have a full time position as an illustrator and designer for a Museum in Chicago, with some additional freelance work on the side. When I look back at those early days, it seems that in addition to all of those characteristics you mentioned, I also benefited from a fair amount of luck - something young artists have no control over.

    Anyway, excellent work Petar and I can't wait to see more.

    Phil

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    Replies
    1. Hi Phil,

      Frightened Monster is 5 X 7 inch.

      Yes, you are right, although I did not mention the concept of luck in my post, it is indeed an important element. But we hardly can control much of it, at least it seems so, and that is probably the reason I skipped it. Being born under a lucky star, or having a good karma, being lucky…is definitely important. But on the other hand, there is space for improvement, I believe. One has to invite luck into his life by being active, working hard, making clever decisions.

      By the way, where can I see your work, Phil?

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    2. Hi Petar,

      I don't have much of a presence online. However, I posted a couple images on deviant art that are pretty representative of the majority of my work. Since I work full time, I haven't really needed one, but it's something I should probably work on.

      http://phil0923.deviantart.com/

      I am a scientific illustrator of flora and fauna mostly - at least that is what I am always asked to paint. I work mainly in acrylic. It is not very creative work, but I guess I shouldn't complain. However, it is the main reason why I admire your work so much. There is so much creativity and fire in the way you paint, and your subject matter. In my work, the less creativity, the better.

      The other half of my portfolio is graphic and exhibit design. So that means designing my illustration into a graphic panel that explains a little bit about the animal, and so on. My exhibit design work is mostly 3d models of museum spaces before they are constructed, etc.

      In any case, your little paintings are gems, and the owners will be very lucky to have them.

      Best,
      Phil

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