tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2010:/blog/3 2010-05-25T16:17:35Z News and updates from artist Irina Kovnacka Ashcraft Movable Type 3.34 tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2010:/blog//3.209 2010-05-25T15:38:23Z 2010-05-25T16:17:35Z

My first “Teach me 2 Paint” class took place yesterday night. I had two very enthusiastic students, Marilyn and Laural, who fearlessly dove into exploring oil paints and all the beautiful colors that can be mixed up and applied on...

irina Getting close to being done... Can you believe this is Marilyn's first ever oil painting?! ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2010:/blog//3.208 2010-05-05T17:46:06Z 2010-05-05T17:51:54Z

My students and I have been involved in a Memory Project, which is a national organization that facilitates pairing student artists with orphanages around the world. The students receive a photo of a child and then draw or paint their...

irina I am mailing this and nine more pieces next week—they all go to Peru! Here is a web site for the memory project if you would like to find out more: http://www.thememoryproject.org/ ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2010:/blog//3.206 2010-04-13T19:52:35Z 2010-04-13T19:55:04Z

Strawberry season is still going full speed here Florida, and this means a trip to a local “u-pick it” farm. Before we know it, our box is full with ten pounds or more of bright red and juicy berries…can’t eat...

irina …it was actually done from a photo that I took in my mom’s garden in Latvia last summer…the flower pot is actually from my art college days, I made it when apprenticing with a potter—and now I’ve painted it, too! ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2010:/blog//3.205 2010-03-24T13:06:15Z 2010-03-24T13:08:29Z

A few months without entries…life is moving too fast—we’re in a new house, I have set up my studio and had two art shows. The weather is beautiful here in Orlando, so I had my first outdoor paint out the...

irina this is me painting along with a fellow artist, Patricia Byron. ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2010:/blog//3.203 2010-01-07T19:43:07Z 2010-01-07T19:51:04Z

I am finally getting to post my last painting of the decade (he he!)--I met with my former art student for a paint out over the holidays, and we had a great time catching up while also getting some plein...

irina ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.202 2009-11-10T19:16:55Z 2009-11-10T19:21:00Z

My painting a day project stumbled a bit over the weekend, but I was able to get back on track with this piece today...I had fun painting all the relfections on the blue teapot!...

irina ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.201 2009-11-06T19:32:04Z 2009-11-06T19:36:16Z

Day 10 flew by too fast, with no time to sit down for a painting...so, thinking that something is better than nothing, I did this sketch Today was a slower day, and I took a short stroll down the Lake...

irina Today was a slower day, and I took a short stroll down the Lake Burkett right after my last class ended; I painted a close up view of the water. It was great to sit in the sun and ejoy the breeze...and a few minutes to myself ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.200 2009-11-04T19:39:24Z 2009-11-04T19:42:26Z

My painting a day project was endangered today...no time to spare to get outside my classroom, and I am tired of looking at the student still life and out the window...well, had to settle for a 10-minute sketch of these...

irina ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.199 2009-11-03T20:29:04Z 2009-11-03T20:35:58Z

Another day, another piece--since I ran out of stuff to paint from the window, I took a short trip outside my room...had only about 20 minutes to spare, so the both walk as well as the painting session were very...

irina ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.198 2009-11-02T19:22:09Z 2009-11-02T19:24:59Z

Ta da! Freshly painted today--yet another view from my classroom...used an old canvas board that one of my students gave up on...some of the reds from the old painting are showing through--I love working on color backgrounds, it's less intimidating...

irina ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.197 2009-11-02T14:45:43Z 2009-11-02T14:51:18Z

Here is what I’ve been up to during the last few days… Day 3 piece…still life that I have set up for my students in the art room at school Day 4…looking out the window in the classroom…quite an overcast...

irina Day 4…looking out the window in the classroom…quite an overcast day, not at all typical here, but I like the moodiness of it. Day 5…well, I skipped this one, I have a lame excuse of hosting a Halloween party and all…that’s why I call this challenge doing a painting ALMOST every day. Day 6—realized I didn’t have all the paints and canvases at home as it’s been a while since I actually had time to paint at the house. Well, wanted to keep up with my challenge, so I used my 2-year old daughter’s water paints and her drawing block… we worked on our paintings together on the back porch…this is what I managed while also keeping an eye on Ally; she actually contributed to this piece by adding a blob of black in the top left corner, no worries, it all worked out fine, ha ha! ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.196 2009-10-30T17:14:57Z 2009-10-30T17:20:31Z

I recently stumbled upon one artist’s blog that has taken a challenge of doing a painting a day…so it gave me an idea of trying it myself…so far so good… Day 1 Day 2 Today is day 4…Let’s see how...

irina Day 2 Today is day 4…Let’s see how long I can last  ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.195 2009-10-05T19:10:36Z 2009-10-05T19:16:56Z

I had a meeting with the new book author last Friday, and we were discussing the color options for cover. We started with this sketch… And then this one… And this one seemed to have good light but a bit...

irina And then this one… And this one seemed to have good light but a bit too mysterious looking… And even though this one is my favorite one when it comes to color, it is a bit too edgy for the type of book that it is (gentle read literature). We actually ended up choosing the original color version—well, at least we made sure to explore other options! ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.194 2009-09-29T17:42:58Z 2009-09-29T17:46:27Z

Last Friday night my dad, daughter, and I spent some time at the art show opening in the Historic Center in Sanford, FL. The works of 25 artists, including me, were showcased. Here’s a picture of us next to my...

irina This piece is of a view off of Highway 50 when heading towards Titusville—do you know that area where airboat rides are? And this one is just an interpretation of what Florida heat looks to me in color, titled “Hot Day’s End.” ]]> tag:www.artworkbyirina.com,2009:/blog//3.193 2009-09-22T20:10:32Z 2009-09-22T20:15:12Z

For the past few days I have been finalizing my sketches for the book cover that a new author commissioned me to paint. The book is a gentle read genre about a woman who is a Christian Science practitioner who...

irina Now how about this one? Or maybe this one? And the winner is… I am excited to keep refining this sketch and eventually making it an actual painting.]]>