It’s been a while!

June 26, 2024 | Gisele

I know, and probably no one cares! Ha! But I’ve been thinking about this blog, and painting, and sharing some thoughts for quite some time now.

Nonetheless, I’ve worked on a “new” painting station, and it’s ready now, a very nice and quiet spot on my basement, where I can paint while my husband plays his video games. It’s the best of both worlds for us. We spend time together, chitchatting about what’s going on with either my paper and brushes or his controller and screen. We listen to music or a podcast, take breaks for snacks and to check on our dog. Life is more than good. We’re enjoying every moment.

So… desk set, here I go!

I don’t have much to say other than it’s summertime and I felt like painting flowers. Thing is, I get bored so easily. And I have a doubtful taste for self-challenge. And then, this happened:

…and perhaps I should just keep on dreaming!

Lord, help me. Not to be too hard on myself, remember I’ve never done any kind of painting lessons before. It’s all my eyes, my guts, and my lack of technique. At least it’s obvious this, well, isn’t a horse, but rather a picture of a horse.

I like it! I am fascinated with the fact that I’ve been able to express one of my biggest insecurities in that picture: my very fine hair and my deepest desire to have so, so, so much hair! My horse got it all.

There is an androgynous feel to this horse. Again, I like it.

I’ll be back soon. I hope you’re doing well and enjoying your time with your paper and brushes too.

Lótus, the manatee

September 18, 2022January 31, 2023 | Gisele

So much has happened in my life the last five days I honestly don’t know how I found inspiration to paint. But it happened. And I’m so happy that it did.

Let me tell you a little bit about the story behind Miss Lótus, the manatee. There is this one very important person in my life, she’s my dear friend, life coach, adventurous soul, my enchanted fairy (as we say back home “uma fada sensata”), Jacqueline.

Jacque has been one of the greatest sources of hope and optimism for me for the last many years. She’s the kind of human being that just knows what to say to you, and she does it without an agenda – Jacque is the rarest type of person, she is the type that genuinely cares. I’m so lucky to have Jacque in my life.

This year Jacque moved from Iowa to Florida, and I couldn’t be more proud of her for chasing after her happiness. Jacque is a nature lover. She loves the ocean. She loves the sun and the warmth. And as far as the animal kingdom goes, she loves them all. But one of them has a special place in Jacque’s heart. Can you guess which one that is?

So as a token of my love and appreciation for my dear Jacqueline, I made Lótus, the manatee. Lótus was painted last night while Jacque and I were having one of our life sharing moments over the phone – a call that lasted for six hours and twenty five minutes. You read it correctly.

Jacque did not know I was painting during our call, it was a sudden idea I had when we were about one hour into it. The paint took me about 2.5 hours to be finished. And I personally really liked it.

So Miss Lótus will be making her way to Florida soon, she’ll be watching her manatee fellows swimming around through the window, she’ll watching over Jacque reminding her that somewhere in the middle of a cornfield there’s a someone who adores her, who looks up to her, and who is so grateful for their friendship.

Have a great Sunday all,

Bouquet of Hope

July 31, 2022January 31, 2023 | Gisele

I’ve had the chance to touch my brushes and paint this weekend, and I’ve realized how rusty I am right now… It felt like I was wearing a cast while I was painting. Oh well, it is what it is.

‘*Bouquet of Hope*‘ – inspired by a real bouquet my significant other has given me a week ago. He’d hand picked each one of them and brought them home for me. It made my heart so full of joy. Here’s a picture of it:

The most wonderful flowers I’ve ever received in my entire life.

Here’s a picture of the closeup I used as the inspiration of my painting:

I’ve painted my favorite one by itself:

I’m not going to be much harder on myself because what’s the point? I’ll keep on painting regardless of how many mistakes I make. Painting adds meaning into my life.

Carmelitas

April 2, 2022January 31, 2023 | Gisele

I’ve been insisting on the transparency technique. It’s going to be a long way before my paintings look like what I envision them to be, again, for the simple reason that “less is more” hasn’t yet become a constant for me. But when I look at this, I can see a light shining at the end of the tunnel.

*Carmelitas – original watercolor painting.*

Not much to report on this one other than the fact that the lines are off on purpose and that I love this color combination.

Life has been hard for me lately. I will share more eventually, just not quite yet. I didn’t think I would be capable of painting at all, but I was wrong, thank goodness. Painting is not, in my opinion, an exercise to be forced to, but it should be used as a life vest as much as needed…

Hope you have a great weekend,

Tulle

March 24, 2022January 31, 2023 | Gisele

Perhaps the problem before was that I went for the whole garden when truly I should have started with one single flower.

Wet on wet freehand watercolor painting. It took me about 30 minutes from beginning to end. Inspired by the blouse I was wearing today. And it put a big smile on my face.

Note to self: less is more, at least for right now.

Buck At Dusk

March 5, 2022January 31, 2023 | Gisele

Tomorrow is the birthday of my other half, so it was a great opportunity to work on something completely new and challenging to me. He is a nature lover, so the options were endless…

Yes. The options were endless. It took me some time to decided what I wanted to do.

I knew I wanted to paint the skies, so I envisioned a beautiful sunset. I don’t usually take advantage of my flat large brush, but I did use it quite a bit on this one.

As I was working on the colors I thought many times that it would not turn out okay. Insecurities… am I the only one? But I kept on going. I used the flat brush horizontally for the skies and vertically for the field.

It was also the first time I used some help to speed up the process! No, that’s not cheating…Definitely not…!

Black paint for the silhouette – I love it!

Okay, time to paint the silhouette of the buck. I got super nervous, I knew I had close to zero room to make mistakes here. So I picked my 00 brush and began to outline it as slowly as possible.

At this point I was very happy about how its body turned out to the point I asked myself if it would be okay to just leave it headless haha!

Well, he isn’t headless. He even has points and everything. Oh.. And a tail!

After finishing the buck I felt like adding another pine tree, and that was it. Singed it, done!

There’s something special about handmade birthday cards, right? This one does not fold, I have a handwritten message for him on the back. I hope he likes it.

Have a wonderful evening,

Gisele

Carnavale di Venezia

February 28, 2022January 31, 2023 | Gisele

I’ve been missing home, as I mentioned on my last post. This time of the year, for the last fifteen years, is always hard for me for two specific reasons. First being how cold and snowy it usually is. Second being… well, it’s Carnaval. Although I was never the one into all of the heavy partying situation while I was still living back home, I always enjoyed the days off (nobody works or goes to school for about a week during the celebration), summer, the beach, hanging out with my family and friends, all of those sweet moments I could never forget.

I was never into the parades, but I have always been intrigued by the other rituals that happen to celebrate carnival in other parts of the world. Most catholic countries have some variation of carnival. And this year my dear father reminded me of probably the most ludic party of all, the Venetian Carnival. We are Italian by blood, and that inspired me for today’s painting. ‘Carnavale di Venezia’.