Let there be flowers

 Честит Имен Ден, мили дами с имена на цветя!

Happy Easter!

Tulips, watercolor 25 x 22 cm

Panoramic landscapes

Potato field, watercolor 30 x 22 cm

 A few loosely painted landscapes inspired by views of the valley between the Rila and Vitosha mountains in Bulgaria.

Panorama, watercolor 30 x 22 cm

The valley, watercolor 30 x 22 cm

Bird-watching

Morning Dove, watercolor 22 x 30 cm

The lazy way to do bird watching - fill up a couple of bird feeders, hang them on a tree outside a window. Then sit inside and sketch...

So far I counted seven different species of birds, a few of them are quite rare and I only caught a glimpse of them, like the red cardinal and his wife (no, not the Borgia one) and the house finch. whereas the gold finch in its more subdued winter coat as well as the ordinary sparrow are the most common visitors. Of all, I keep being surprised by the multitude of soft pastel colors present in the plumage of the morning dove. The colors on the ones I painted are naturally exaggerated.

Dark-eyed juncos, 30 x 22 cm

Morning Doves, watercolor 22 x 30 cm

Tunnel of Shade

Tunnel of Shade, watercolor 28 x 25 cm

This view attracted me with its light and contrasts, but all attempts to paint it ended up too overworked, or lacking the proper range of values. Today the irony occurred to me: I've been trying so hard to depict a dark tunnel leading to the light :) Maybe this isn't the right way to find inspiration and it's time to change the subject.

Two of the previous attempts:

Happy New Year!

It is winter. Everything outside is covered in snow. The temperature is -20 C. But the beauty of painting is that it can take us to the warm sand of a sunny beach. We can go  where we want to be, or change things as we like them, today...

Let it be a Happy and Sunny New Year!

Bird on the wet sand, watercolor 26 x 23 cm

Wet Sand 2, watercolor 26 x 23 cm

Wet Sand 1, watercolor 21 x 26 cm

Playing in the sand

Playing in the sand, watercolor 30 x 20 cm

Sunset at the beach

Sunset at the beach, watercolor 28 x 20 cm

... memories from a trip to the Caribbean last winter

The Rose Valley

Rose Valley, watercolor sketch

The Rose Valley is the name of a region in Bulgaria, at the foothills of the Balkan mountains. The valley is famous for its rose-growing fields. This is a centuries old industry that makes Bulgaria one of the major producers of rose oil.

This year I happened to visit this region during the rose picking season, when the fields were in their full glory. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the landscape with lush green valleys, surrounded by rolling hills and framed by the high peaks of the Balkan in the background.

These are a few sketches I did on location, while enjoying the lovely spring weather.

Balkan Mountains, watercolor sketch

Panitsite Valley, watercolor sketch

Kalofer, watercolor sketch

Pelargonium, watercolor sketch

What to do during a flight

Required materials:
- a thin sketchbook
- a water-brush
- a former eye-shadow palette turned into a mini-watercolor box
- an apple core.

Who raided the minibar?

Who raided the minibar?, watercolor 30 x 23 cm