Blog

You may have heard of those fanatics who never seem content with just going to work and watching TV, or staring at their phones, as the case may be.

"Hanging out" is not a valid activity for the crazy creatives!

For example, there is a guy here on Fine Art America Jeff Folger, who builds cabins, sugar shacks and solar power systems, posts dozens or hundreds of videos about the process, and then shoots gazillions of photos about all that and a lot more to sell on FAA and elsewhere, and that isn't even his day job!

Or you've got people who'll take off on an ice breaker photo safari to the far Arctic (also someone here on FAA Vivienne Gucwa).

Or, you know, in case anyone figured people didn't have enough to do already, yet another FAA member Isabella Abbie Shores came up with the 365-day project-a-day mega project challenge.

Unbelievable. ok if you can't beat them, join them...

My humble project is to do a painting and post it up for auction every day of October. We're two days in and so far so good!

You can follow the action on my personal website auction page...

I started off looking to see if there was a way to do a blogroll in this system.

I do not see it so far. Will search the message board later.

Now let's just say I put one link in the "web link" box. Is it possible to put another link in the text?

For example, I could try my instagram link. I'll try it two different ways:

1. https://www.instagram.com/usedcanvases/
2. www.instagram.com/usedcanvases/

I pretty sure html won't work so won't try that for now...

Here goes...

In this post I thought I would try to give some insight into interpretation (or lack thereof!) of my paintings. As an illustration, I used a painting called Over Cosmic Clouds, sold earlier this year, that I have recently made available as a print on Fine Art America.

Like all my abstracts, this work is of course open to interpretation by one and all. There are feelings involved, artist's inspiration, all the circumstances that were in play at the time of painting, etc.

That said, whenever possible, I also like to offer a suggested interpretation.

In this case I've taken the title from the words of the poet Bliss Carman in his Poem Dust of the Street:

"This cosmic dust beneath our feet
Rising to hurry down the street,

Borne by the wind and blown astray
In its erratic, senseless way,

Is the same stuff as you and I—
With knowledge and desire put by.

Thousands of times since time began
It has been used for making man...."

From that point you are free again to extrapolate as you wish. As a highly visual person, I tend to see most of my paintings representationally, even if such representation was not intended. So when I look at this painting I have no problem imagining soaring through the cosmos uploading particles of inspiration to use in my next creation!!

A reminder to everyone that I welcome commissions and ship my original paintings all over the world.

Last week, for example, I finished a re-creation of my painting, "Felt the Spirit Move", in a larger size, 30" x 60". The new painting will hang in a mountaintop chalet!

You may commission me to paint a re-creation of any of my previously sold or existing works.

Also, please feel free to inquire about new compositions, whether it be a portrait of your country place or an abstract in my style using certain colors that you may have in mind.

Either way, it's always my pleasure to reply!

"...A bird-note, or a turning leaf,
The first white fall of snow, a brief
Wild song from the Anthology,
A smile, or a girl's kindling eye...."

-Bliss Carman, A Painter's Holiday

It seems like forever that I have been painting the four seasons! Even going back to my student years in Russia painting or drawing the four seasons was always a favourite assignment. Then, when I came to Canada, one of my first jobs was creating a set of four seasons paintings of Mont Tremblant scenes for a national company.

Given how much I love to paint nature, it is not surprising that I have painted the four seasons many more times over the years!

Now, just in time for spring, 2015, I am releasing a set of four seasons landscapes prints exclusively on Fine Art America. I will not be selling these prints anywhere else. Of course people are also free to purchase the prints one at a time, also only on Fine Art America. As of now, two of the original paintings, autumn and winter, have been sold. The other two, spring and summer, are still available. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing.

Please follow my blog for regular updates and information about my work and projects.

Yeah, paint is definitely a radical concept! Nowadays if we want to spam search engines we call absolutely anything a "painting".

If we want to describe an actual painting, we have to specify that it is "a physical object comprised of a substrate and an image, where the substrate could technically be anything at all but is most often a canvas, paper or board... and the image is created by application of one of many varieties of liquid-ish medium, commonly known as 'paint', by a crazed eccentric person (who may have any combination of: a mind overflowing with ideas ranging to no ideas, a lot of talent ranging to little talent, years of training and practice ranging to no training, driven by insane sexual / financial / competitive / creative / survival motivations ranging to totally undriven) literally picks up the applicator tool with their own hand and manipulates the tool in such a way to create the image.

Now comes the hard part - following through on even the three eensy weensy little "promises to self" made in the last blog. Never mind all the rest of my diabolical plans for infiltrating peoples' homes with my art!

Step one - the blog. Even if one doesn't have too much to say, the best thing is to at least put something down. That's about my status today. Just like running. I can understand if someone doesn't feel like jogging but the way to force oneself to not drop it altogether is to at least put on the sweats and go outside, even if you just walk around the block.

What I do have, of possibly more interest, is a new video. This one is a demo of an abstract seascape in speed painting mode. Hope you enjoy it!



Please feel free to mention any questions about the video(s) in the comments, either here, on Youtube or on the message board.

I did manage to lose the previous name on my Youtube channel. It is now "Tatiana Paints".

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours - have a great day!

I recently added the link to my new website under my bio info. The new site is www.tatiana-iliina-paintings.com. My former (and still existing) site did not seem to have the potential to handle ecommerce the way I wanted. Since FAA isn't really set up for selling originals, the artist website wouldn't have done the job either. I looked at several platforms and finally decided to go with Wix. I forget the exact type but one of the more premium ecommerce levels. Wix seemed to be the only one that allowed me to make custom selling pages, instead of showing all the little tiny product images that the typical ecommerce sites allow. To be honest though, I am not too sure how this is going to work for SEO. Am hoping to be able to drive that with some elbow grease! Anyway, for now I feel like it is a good start. It's been a lot of work and hopefully now that I'm nearing the end will soon be able to get back to adding images here at FAA!

"If I had a single flower for every time I think of you, I could walk forever in my garden." ~Claudia Adrienne Grandi

Like most people, I love flowers! I also love painting them.

I have made a few videos of my flower paintings. This is one of a work in progress enjoy!

Passing though... I've been a member for 2-3 years now. Have made a few sales without a huge amount of effort as my sales focus is slightly in a different direction... But can't help but comment on what a great site this is. Total win win win for artists, collectors and the site owner. Have a great creative day!

I have always gone to nature for my creative inspiration. I think this video shows a good example of why!

Great News! My mosaic classes are now ongoing at the Montreal Art Center. I have named my workshop after the area it is located in, historic Griffintown, in the downtown Montreal area.

The introductory course lasts 8 sessions of two hours each and are being held Wednesdays, from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm.

For now the courses are starting the first Wednesday of every month.

Watch this space for more mosaic news...!

(the photo shows a mosaic I did on commission a few years ago, showing a little bit of the process of choosing the colors for some of the parts)

Low Tide on Grand Pré

THE sun goes down, and over all
These barren reaches by the tide
Such unelusive glories fall,
I almost dream they yet will bide
Until the coming of the tide.

And yet I know that not for us,
By any ecstasy of dream,
He lingers to keep luminous
A little while the grievous stream,
Which frets, uncomforted of dream—

A grievous stream, that to and fro
Athrough the fields of Acadie
Goes wandering, as if to know
Why one beloved face should be
So long from home and Acadie.

Was it a year or lives ago
We took the grasses in our hands,
And caught the summer flying low
Over the waving meadow lands,
And held it there between our hands?

The while the river at our feet—
A drowsy inland meadow stream—
At set of sun the after-heat
Made running gold, and in the gleam
We freed our birch upon the stream.

There down along the elms at dusk
We lifted dripping blade to drift,
Through twilight scented fine like musk,
Where night and gloom awhile uplift,
Nor sunder soul and soul adrift.

And that we took into our hands—
Spirit of life or subtler thing—
Breathed on us there, and loosed the bands
Of death, and taught us, whispering,
The secret of some wonder-thing.

Then all your face grew light, and seemed
To hold the shadow of the sun;
The evening faltered, and I deemed
That time was ripe, and years had done
Their wheeling underneath the sun.

So all desire and all regret,
And fear and memory, were naught;
One to remember or forget
The keen delight our hands had caught;
Morrow and yesterday were naught.

The night has fallen, and the tide . . .
Now and again comes drifting home,
Across these aching barrens wide,
A sigh like driven wind or foam:
In grief the flood is bursting home.

-Bliss Carman, June, 1886

Hey it's "Meet the Artist" day today at the Montreal Art Center! Downtown at the corner of des Seigneurs and William.

I'll be there from 4-8 or later. If you think the kind of painting I do (see the video) looks like a lot of fun, come on by and muck around!

The person in the painting in this video has never been revealed. Not even the buyer of the painting ever asked me - so I presume they probably don't know either. Can anyone guess who it is?

Now that my appetite has been well totally stifled after dining on flamingos over on Krista May's blog, I'm ready to share something wet.

No I'm not talking about (that!!) shedding a tear over years of my life wasted be it either because of hitting "breaktime" while standing in line at a government office back in the U.S.S.R. and losing my place in the line, no, nor trying to connect with ~anyone-at-all~ (especially a bank or someone who is supposed to provide a service) by telephone here in Canada.

No. I'm talking about "Wet Canvas".

Who remembers "Wet Canvas"? It is like a community of artists with a huge conglomeration of message boards, which many, or most, artists are probably familiar with.

I was a member there so long ago I forgot the user name, so today I rejoined. Wow - if you want to get a look at the entire history of the internet on one site, Wet Canvas is the place to go.

It's still fairly active, though I get the feeling I'm peeking around in a ghost town in there. Still some interesting info - but watch out! The thread you're reading might be from 2002!

The following video has nothing to do with anything and is made available purely to provide some entertainment after reading this lame blog.

In some of my videos, I'm trying to evoke a feeling that might be complementary to the painting or paintings featured.

So, is my future as a video producer about to transform into a beautiful butterfly...

Or is it more of a moth?

I did this painting over this past Christmas and into the New Year. It could probably be almost anywhere in the U.S. or Canada but I imagined it in a particular valley in British Columbia. I've heard about how there used to be "barn-raisings", where all the neighbours would pitch in to help a farmer get a barn up quick. I thought that would be so cool to see. I would love to be there for one! I guess the only thing that beats it is an artist putting up a barn!

It is one thing to get up to speed just with what it takes to put up a video on youtube or another service. It is something else yet again to find the ways to put up videos that will be fresh, interesting and perhaps even have the potential to go viral (or even get in the 1000s of views). For an artist, the first two or three videos / slideshows are relatively easy to find content for - we all have the content on our computers already! It's after you have already done those first few videos that the more challenging part comes up. I have had a few videos that have been somewhat successful - but I still have a long way to go. Anyone want to share ideas?

Over the past week the number of views I've been getting on my Youtube videos has been dropping precipitously!

Whereas I was getting from 1000-2000 views per day, this seems to have dropped suddenly to a few hundred.

I have looked around at Youtube forums and have come up with the following news: Apparently, Youtube has changed its algorithm for calculating which videos get "suggested" when someone is watching another video. Now there is going to be much more weight given to viewer engagement. So, I guess this is something we're going to have to deal with... the trouble is, we don't necessarily know whether it's our videos that aren't engaging the viewers well, or is it the videos that we were previously getting referred by that have dropped off the face of the earth?

I must admit - by the time you get through 3/4 of one of my videos, you probably aren't dying to find out what is going to happen! LOL

Only a week remaining before I start missing #BWELA, otherwise known as BlogWorld & New Media Expo in L.A. Nov. 3 – 5, 2011. Not that blogging isn't of interest... Nor should it ever be overlooked by artists as a valuable tool. In fact, between my partner, Offroad Artist, and myself, we have been blogging for years, literally since you had to explain people what a blog was. But, even though we have had something like 30 different blogs all told, I will say that we have never taken it to the next level. Basically have just taken the approach of "write it and they will come". And, even at that, we have had a few blogs that were non-starters, a few that got dropped for various reasons and a couple that got nuked for no obvious reasons and, tragically, several that went down the drain with a blog service (Modblog) that went belly up after building up a great community.

Anyway, since joining FAA, or beginning maybe a few months earlier, I have been getting more interested again. As much as we were quick off the mark with blogging, we were Johnny-come-latelies to Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Now that I'm getting out there in all these media, - surprise, surprise! - it is becoming vividly clear that blogs can be the glue that you put your whole social media strategy together with.

So, you know what? #BWELA and dozens of other media conferences may come and go without me. And I may never attend. But I do keep one eye open on them and would love to go sometime. Blogging is an artform, a means of expression, a way of communicating your art with a greater audience and a serious shelf in any artist's toolbox.

The following poem is by Bliss Carman, one of Canada's leading 19th and early 20th century poets. Not many have heard of him now but I find his work inspiring, vivid and "visual".

"A Painter's Holiday"

We painters sometimes strangely keep
These holidays. When life runs deep
And broad and strong, it comes to make
Its own bright-colored almanack.
Impulse and incident divine
Must find their way through tone and line;
The throb of color and the dream
Of beauty, giving art its theme
From dear life's daily miracle,
Illume the artist's life as well.
A bird-note, or a turning leaf,
The first white fall of snow, a brief
Wild song from the Anthology,
A smile, or a girl's kindling eye,—
And there is worth enough for him
To make the page of history dim.
Who knows upon what day may come
The touch of that delirium
Which lifts plain life to the divine,
And teaches hand the magic line
No cunning rule could ever reach,
Where Soul's necessities find speech?
None knows how rapture may arrive
To be our helper, and survive
Through our essay to help in turn
All starving eager souls who yearn
Lightward discouraged and distraught.
Ah, once art's gleam of glory caught
And treasured in the heart, how then
We walk enchanted among men,
And with the elder gods confer!
So art is hope's interpreter,
And with devotion must conspire
To fan the eternal altar fire.
Wherefore you find me here to-day,
Not idling the good hours away,
But picturing a magic hour
With its replenishment of power.

Conceive a bleak December day,
The streets all mire, the sky all gray,
And a poor painter trudging home
Disconsolate, when what should come
Across his vision, but a line
On a bold-lettered play-house sign,
A Persian Sun Dance.

In he turns.
A step, and there the desert burns
Purple and splendid; molten gold
The streamers of the dawn unfold,
Amber and amethyst uphurled
Above the far rim of the world;
The long-held sound of temple bells
Over the hot sand steals and swells;
A lazy tom-tom throbs and drones
In barbarous maddening monotones;
While sandal incense blue and keen
Hangs in the air. And then the scene
Wakes, and out steps, by rhythm released,
The sorcery of all the East,
In rose and saffron gossamer,—
A young light-hearted worshipper
Who dances up the sun. She moves
Like waking woodland flower that loves
To greet the day. Her lithe, brown curve
Is like a sapling's sway and swerve
Before the spring wind. Her dark hair
Framing a face vivid and rare,
Curled to her throat and then flew wild,
Like shadows round a radiant child.
The sunlight from her cymbals played
About her dancing knees, and made
A world of rose-lit ecstasy,
Prophetic of the day to be.

Such mystic beauty might have shone
In Sardis or in Babylon,
To bring a Satrap to his doom
Or touch some lad with glory's bloom.
And now it wrought for me, with sheer
Enchantment of the dying year,
Its irresistible reprieve
From joylessness on New Year's Eve.

The third Artprize just wrapped up in Grand Rapids MI a couple of days ago.


ArtPrize 2010 Retrospective from Paul Moore on Vimeo.


Artprize is the unique visual art competition that takes over the entire city of Grand Rapids MI and awards a $250,000 prize for the winner. The winner is selected American Idol style by the general public from amongst 1,500+ artists.

This year's winner was Mia Tavonatti, who entered a monumental 9'x13' stained glass mosaic entitled Crucifixion.

Here's a vivid example of the economic impact, one restaurant alone was conservatively targeting to increase its sales by more than $300,000 over the course of the two weeks of Artprize. Phenomenal! One single restaurant brings in enough revenue to pay the cost of the grand prize.

For the 2010 Artprize, economic impact estimates were in the $7 million ballpark. This year a more in-depth study will be done.

All this only grazing the potential benefit of converting this mixed economy city, known for furniture manufacturing, Amway and religious publishing and a few other industries, into a high quality, profile cultural center to be reckoned with.

Back in the 1980s, Chemainus, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, demonstrated that a small town could leverage art and creativity to literally turn its dying fortunes around with its innovative mural program. That success spawned dozens, if not hundreds, of copycats. Most likely the same will hold true for the Grand Rapids Artprize.

Before long, there could be an "Artprize" type event in every state, province and country. Hey, I've got no probs with that!

This contest has been a novel experiment in many ways. Not only a wake-up call for the many naysayers who fail to see art and culture as an economic engine - people who would rather spend money building jails - it has also been a lesson in humility for the art establishment, many of whom see themselves marginalized in all the hoopla, as they are left on the sideline to whimper about what they refer to as "poor quality" of the work in general, or of the 10 finalists, etc.