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My painting Love Light Lemon became an American Art Award winner in 2012 competition in Realism Category (http://www.americanartawards.com).
Judged by 25 famous galleries across the country and competing with more than a thousand artists from America, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Mexico, New Zealand, North Korea, Poland, Romania, South Korea, and Taiwan.

No need to explain my love to Paris and traveling to Europe. OK, to a traveling in general. I love it! First time I've visited Paris in 1995. That time I lived in Saint Petersburg, Russia; and, a week in Paris was beyond my dreams. A travel company I worked for offered a super cheap deal (though for me it still was 4 times of my salary) and I took off. Next time I went their seven years later. My friend and I celebrated my 38th Birthday.. One evening we were heading to our hotel. It just stopped raining and setting Sun hit the loud streets with the last beams of that day. I lifted my head and all of a sudden saw that Eiffel Tower disappeared. Only top of the construction was clearly visible. Thank God I had my camera with me.

In this painting of Paris street I wanted to portray that feeling I had when I saw the Eiffel Tower in the sun light. Maybe it is not traditional view as all posters in the world would want to picture Eiffel Tower in full its glory. Oh well, I saw it floating in the air.

The girl on the front is just a random Paris visitor. She is rushing home and doesn't even know what's happening behind. I gave her my hairstyle and dressed in my coat and a scarf. I also wanted to put some story into my painting of Paris as I think this city (no matter what they might say) is romantic. Here is my story:

"It was nice fresh evening in Paris. Only a second day and She was already in love with the City. Heading home that night and dreaming of quiet dinner she heard a loud boom. The motorcycle broke the murmur of Rue Saint Dominique and made Her turn the head toward the noise. He takes his helmet of and looks in her direction. Her face is lit by the evening Sun and with astonishment of the beautiful Eiffel Tower disappearance..."

You feel the romance here, eh?! :0) .. finish the story yourself..

Okay, back to the Paris paintings. All what you see on it is only artist's imagination, with exception only the Eiffel Tower, Paris, The Sun. Feel my love to that romantic city. I've even created a Gallery that called My Paris Mania where you can find dozens of impressions from my Eiffel Tower and Paris paintings.

This morning the curiosity led me to find a website with 360 degree photos of Paris streets. I loved placing Full Screen feature and look around as I am there in Paris right now:
http://www.paris-360.com/panoramic-photos/paris.html
Happy Traveling!

And I also found an interesting article posted by Fox News on Ten Things You'd Never Guess About Paris. It was an opinion of one writer who came to Paris from America and settled down there. Per his point of view, as an example:
- the less French you speak than better you are
- the French people appreciate American culture more than we think
- the French like tourists
- but French people in general sometimes don't like Parisians (read why)
and much much more :0)

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Original Painting Rue Saint Dominique is 22"x18" on 140lb Arches Cold Pressed

Red Poppies are common image that inspired a lot of artists.

But did you know that there are hundreds of other uses of the Red Poppies? Here are just a few of them (courtesy of Wiki):

Most species of poppies are attractive and are cultivated as ornamental plants.

Papaver somniferum poppy is so widely used in medicine.

Poppy seeds for use in cooking and baking, and poppyseed oil for culinary and other uses, and is also cultivated as an ornamental plant.

The California poppy, Eschscholzia californica, is the state flower of California.

In Mexico, Grupo Modelo, the makers of Corona beer, used red poppy flowers in most of its advertising images until the 1960s.

A poppy flower is depicted on the reverse of the Macedonian 500 denars banknote, issued in 1996 and 2003. The poppy is also part of the coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia.

The powerful symbolism of Papaver rhoeas has been borrowed by various advocacy campaigns, such as the White Poppy and Simon Topping's black poppy.

The girl's given name Poppy is taken from the flower.

Poppies (Amapolas in Spanish) are commonly featured as the central flower in Puerto Rican weddings.

Artificial poppies (called "Buddy Poppies") are used in the veterans' aid campaign by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which provides money to the veterans who assemble the poppies and various aid programs to veterans and their families.

Canada issued special quarters (25-cent coins) with a red poppy on the reverse in 2004, 2008 and 2010. The 2004 Canadian "poppy" quarter was the world's first coloured circulation coin.

A watercolor painting? Does it look like an Old Masters Still Life? Yes, I kept that style, but used the medium of my passion. Garlic and Olive Still Life. I have carefully observed the object before painting, then drew the outlines covering with making and worked first on the background giving it a good wash of the grand mixture of Burnt Siena, Raw Amber, Ultramarine Blue, and Violet Winsor&Newton Artist grade watercolor. After the background dried I worked on the objects employing my favorite techniques: first wet-on-wet, then wet-on-dry, and at the end dry brush applications. This helped to achieve a maximum potential for this realistic painting.

This is a watercolor painting in Old Masters Still Life style. Red Onion, Lemon, and Ginger. I have carefully observed the object before painting, then drew the outlines covering with making and worked first on the background giving it a good wash of the grand mixture of Burnt Siena, Raw Amber, Ultramarine Blue, and Violet Winsor&Newton Artist grade watercolor. After the background dried I worked on the objects employing my favorite techniques: first wet-on-wet, then wet-on-dry, and at the end dry brush applications. This helped to achieve a maximum potential for this realistic painting.
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The Original Painting Still Life With Onion Lemon and Ginger is 10"x14" on 300lb Cold Pressed Arches

http://www.irinasztukowski.blogspot.com/ here you can find Watercolor Step-by-Step paintings, Marketing hints, and watercolor Artist's diary

Lately wherever I go and whatever I do the Dutch Still Life is following my art journey. Two weeks ago we started studying Dutch Art in my Art History class. Week ago I went to the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco to see Dutch private collection. And last week my husband and I were traveling to Washington, DC and happen to come to the Smithsonian Art Museum; and, guess what, we crashed into a Dutch Still Life there, surprise! I can look at the still lives painted by old masters forever and ever and never get tired of them. The professionalism, the symbolism, the details! Incredible!
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The still life that you see in this post has it's story as are all paintings (usually). The coffee pot was brought by my extended family Great Grandpa from Poland when immigrating to America in the beginning of 20th Century. The G-Grandpa is long time gone; but the coffee pot is in our family. One day I was sitting in my studio and winter sun hit the old table with the cup of coffee on it. The light was so sudden and so inspiring that I've grabbed what we had in the kitchen and dining room and started setting up a still life before the sun beam disappears. Lemon, Rose and Grandpa's coffee pot won the prize.
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The dark background reminds me Dutch Still Life style. I didn't think about symbols when setting it up, we can just have a brainstorm and come up with many. I named this still life painting Love, Light, Lemon! as it seemed to be very poetic and implies some kind of song.
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20"x16" Watercolor on 300 lb Cold Pressed Arches, Winsor & Newton Watercolor

I have never been to Italy; but my friend has. She took this beautiful picture of small Italian town called Positano. This town was noticed by John Steinbeck in 1953 who wrote: "It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone." I loved to paint the rocky walls and small buildings clinging to each other so close that you barely can see the streets in between.

One of my favorite artists showed her studio in her recent post and I had an idea that it would be so great if all artists will do the same independently if you work in a small room or in spacious studio. We all know of course the art that comes out of it is that what counts. And studio is the place where the art gets born. I see my studio as a sacred place, my castle. I dream there and make my dreams come true. And like another of my favorite artists said: Yesterday's dream is Today's truth and Tomorrow's reality. My studio brings it all together. Although, sometimes I look at the clutter there and think: “Oh Gosh! It is hard to believe that art can find some free space and miss Muse won’t step into the glue or paint here” ; )

San Francisco was always a very interesting subject for me to paint. And lately I’ve got an opportunity to express my admiration of the Bay Area to the paper. My client asked me to paint a piece for her wedding anniversary from the picture where she and her husband had a wonderful time playing in the city and resting at the beach by Golden Gate Bridge. I fell in love with the idea immediately as it was a great romance there. Although the original photo was a little bit on a grey scale, therefore I felt it would be great to add a few shades of the blue, fading pink and yellow to the sky and a little burned sienna to the hills. When I’ve researched the picture before painting, I’ve noticed how so Red Golden Gate Bridge is not any red when you look at it from the distance. Besides, it is almost grayish pink at the far end. That what Miss Perspective does to the colors.
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There were a few people fishing on the wave-breakers. I eliminated them giving my couple some privacy. Instead, I’ve placed two tiny egrets on the rocks (the sub name of the painting is Two Love Birds)... A few English Daisies on the front added a little romantic mood (there was a dead grass on the picture that did not feel right for the idea of the anniversary gift).
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My client loved the painting, but she didn’t want to frame it. She loved it on a wall unframed. I’ve got a cradle board and mounted painting on it; and I’ve painted the sides with white acrylic to give a completed look. Using Watercolor Fixative will protect the painting from the moisture and I hope the painting will last to the family to at least their 75 wedding anniversary and beyond J
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