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Lu's Art

@ikillpaintbrushes

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Lover of chocolate, painter of everything, writer of excessively long captions. In a portrait phase.
For sale: all
Commissions: yes
Croatia 🇭🇷

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To make this transition from monochrome to color pieces smoother, here's that cool dancing guy again that I have painted before, but in black and white. I used another reference from this great series of photos found on @pexels and shot by @yogendrasingh.in - thank you! ❤️

That last painting of this beautiful man didn't go so well here, let's see if my feeling that male physique paintings are less liked on Instagram than female could be correct...

I wish you all a weekend filled with warm feelings and some laughter to cure the heart ❤️

Painted with @royaltalens watercolors on a 19 x 25 cm page out of a @moleskine watercolor sketchbook.
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#paintingprocess #reels #reelsinstagram #artreels #paintingreel #reelsart #reelitfeelit #instareels #mymoleskine #moleskineart #M_artcollection #moleskine #watercolorportrait #watercolourart #watercolorpaintings #aquarelle #aquarelle_cafe #aquarelleportrait #watercolor_daily #watercolor_gallery #watercolor_cafe #watercolor_guide #waterblog #portraitpainting #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens #mymoleskine @moleskine @moleskine_arts @creativewomencommunity @moleskinearts by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

This was the piece that started my monochrome series, the first one I did sometime in early February, while my mindset, and also the world, were quite different. It's kind of fitting to post it last. Painting her face was a struggle, I'm not happy with the result. But I loved doing all these black and white paintings. The simplicity of not having to mix colors or think about complementaries (which I don't really do, but I hear it's important 😆) was very liberating. I'll surely be doing more of these.
But I feel it's time I add some color pieces to my grid and show you the ones that have been waiting to be posted for months now, forgotten, dusty and sad... No really, they're already covered in dust, as are my acrylic paints... 🥴

I would like to mention that I'm thrilled to see that younger generations are discovering old songs like this one, even if it's because of a popular fantasy tv series. Also, it seems to me that the music taste of Instagram reel makers has improved in these last few months. After a period of chewing on a dozen of the same melodies over and over again for too long, looks like people are discovering music again. Yay! 🎶

Oh, and I'm on Ko-Fi now! I'm still checking it out, but I'll be adding stuff there in the coming days. If you know me, you know this is a big thing for me, this spreading out to other platforms, but I have a good feeling about this, come and join me! The link is in my bio. Any kind of support will be greatly appreciated ❤️

This is acrylics on A4 paper, great reference photo from @pexels by @isroundman - thank you very much! ❤️
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#blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #paintingprocess #reels #reelsinstagram #artreels #paintingreel #reelsart #reelitfeelit #instareels #blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #acrylicportrait #acrylicpainting #acryliconpaper #acrylicartwork #portrait #portraitart #portraiture #acrylicart #artforsalebyartist #watercolorportrait #watercolourart #watercolorpaintings #aquarelleportrait #portraitpainting #contemporaryart #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

For this #throwbackthursday here's a reminder that I used to paint stuff other than people (and dogs).
These were mostly painted as parts of different, fun challenges, sometime late 2020, early 2021, that were a great way to connect with people here. Some of those connections are still going strong and I cherish them very much.
How the world has changed since then...

Thank you to all that stuck with me for all this time and a warm welcome to those that came here recently, I hope we can learn from and support each other in the years to come ❤️
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#tbt #blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #acrylicart #acrylicartist #acrylicpainting #art #painting #artworks #originalpainting #artforsalebyartist #acryliconpaper #acrylicsonpaper #artonpaper #stilllifepainting #contemporarystilllife #contemporaryart #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #figurativepainting #contemporaryrealism by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

My first soft pastels piece! 😁

I thought that trying something new would help me tackle my identity crisis. And it did. It's not much, but it felt good to get my hands dirty. As you can probably see in the video, I had no idea what I was doing.
But I learned that soft pastels are messy, that you shouldn't try to draw teeth with this technique because it's a nightmare (her teeth had to be finished with a white crayon), and that the side of your palm is your enemy. Back to watercolors now... 😁

Oh, and if the video is broken again, blame it completely on Instagram.

I would also like to mark a three month 'anniversary' of my decision to at least post something here every Monday 6 PM and have at least one story for the weekend, and acknowledge that, since I decided that, it didn't happen once. I did make a few very late Mondays, but doing it on schedule is a mission impossible for me. I don't know how people do it 🤷 I'm even having trouble with checking all of the wonderful art you good people are posting, this premature summer heat, along with the scary feeling that the world is going backwards into some kind of a new version of the dark ages, are draining all my energy... So, if you see me bulk liking your posts I missed, bear with me, I'm trying 😊

Done with @royaltalens soft pastels on a 25 x 19 cm page out of a @moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

Lovely photo reference photo from @ pexels by @george_bogomolov_ - thank you! ❤️
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#blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #mymoleskine #moleskineart #moleskine #softpastels #M_artcollection #moleskinearts #sketchbook #sketchbookart #watercolourart #watercolorportrait #portraitart #portraitpainting #aquarelleart #aquarelleportrait #aquarelle_cafe #watercolor_daily #watercolor_gallery #watercolor_guide #waterblog #watercolorpaintings #watercolorbeginner #contemporaryart #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens
@moleskine_arts @royaltalens by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

Here's a pretty dog for this #throwbackthursday
It's my friend's Weimaraner, those dogs are gorgeous 😍
It's here because I want to make more of my grid colorless for no understandable reason. Well, except for that blue wall, can't go without blue... 😁

So, I'm posting three filter and adjustment free photos taken in the same room, in the sun, in the shade and with a white background. I used to try to color match my photos for Instagram posts. I don't anymore. This is a two colors acrylic painting on paper. As you can see, the photos all differ from each other. But not one of them looks like the real painting. It's impossible to make a photographed painting look exactly like it does in person, in front of your own eyes. Besides the different environments that affect the appearance of the painting, those are your eyes, it may look different in front of someone else's eyes and in someone else's space. People's screens are also different. This app also tends to mess up the posts. Don't bust your heads over color matching photos of your paintings for Instagram. If someone likes your painting and wants to buy it, they're not likely to do it because it's a perfect color match with their couch or a coffee table. If they're looking for a match like that they'll probably buy something from Ikea. They're buying your artwork because of what it makes them feel when it catches their eye while they're scrolling.

Thank you for reading ❤️

This oldie was painted with various brands of acrylic paints on 19 x 25 cm (7,3/8'' x 9,7/8'') coarse canvas texture Figueras @cansonpaper for oils. And yes, it's available 😁 by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

Judging by my last two posts, I'm starting to suspect that male physique is not especially well received by Instagram, be it presented as a still or as a reel... 🤔
Here's a woman then, let's see how she does...
Of course, it might just be me and my art. As I mentioned before, I'm having a sort of identity crisis. In a few months it will be two years since I joined IG. When I started, I gave myself a year. To try it, to learn stuff and maybe find a sense of direction. Time has passed and I did learn a lot and I met a bunch of great people, which I didn't expect at all, but I'm no closer to finding what is called 'a style'. I've watched many wonderful artists that started arount the same time as I did, doing their thing, finding their mojo and becoming successful, at least according to IG standards. And I have a feeling I'm stagnating. Anyone else feel that way, sometimes? Lately I've gotten on this human portrait train but I keep asking myself, does the world need another portrait painter? Who even buys portraits of unknown people to hang on their walls? Are commisions then the only way to monetize someone's portrait painting skill? Also, I've tried stills, I've tried reels, I've tried fun, I've tried series, I've tried different subjects and mediums etc... After all that, the only conclusion I can draw is that what I do is not interesting enough... I just can't blame IG for everything.
I have come to terms with all this over a year ago, I'm just putting it in words now.
I am so, so grateful for all the support I get here, all the help and kind words, I can't even describe it. Good people are good people, with or without this whole art thing ❤️ .
Thank you for reading my ramblings ❤️ And if you feel like getting something off your chest too, this post is made for that 😁

This was done with @royaltalens watercolors on a 25 x 19 cm page out of a @moleskine watercolor sketchbook.
Wonderful reference photo from @pexels by @hebertsantos_retrato , thank you! ❤️
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#reels #reelsinstagram #artreels #paintingreel #reelsart #reelitfeelit #instareels #blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #mymoleskine #moleskineart #M_artcollection #moleskine #watercolorportrait by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

Male body again... 😁
This was a nice excercise for me because I had to lay thin layers and try not to overdo it. But, being me, I felt it was too pale and added a dark background. I'm not sure if that was a smart move... You can see the original version if you swipe. I have a few more of these monochrome pieces to show you and then, I promise, I'll add some color to my grid. Also, the photos were taken in the shade, with a lighter background and in the sunlight. They're here because I plan to talk about the futility of color matching your photos for Instagram in one of my next excessively long captions, stay tuned.

The weather here has been crazy hot 🥵 I'm nervous because I hate summer in the city. I'm also not built to live through a four month long summer... And all these weather changes are making me nervous too. Although it might not be visible everywhere, the climate is definitely changing. I can confirm that first hand. I wonder what will our beautiful world look like in 20-30 years, if we make it...
And yes, I'm a worrier. I try to fight it with humor so I'll tell you what happened to me a few weeks ago. I was walking over a zebra crossing and I fell. I tripped over that white line on the street! You know, that thin, white coat of paint! 🤣 I injured both of my knees and boy, did they hurt... 😫 Yesterday I managed to scratch off the last of my scabs, that, in the meantime, got infected and took forever to heal. And you know what? I appreciate my knees much more now, I didn't realize how important knees are until I was unable to use them as I usually do... 😆

So, do take care of your knees and take care of our world...
And have a great weekend ❤️

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#blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #mymoleskine #moleskineart #moleskine #M_artcollection #moleskinearts #sketchbook #watercolourart #watercolorportrait #portraitart #portraitpainting #aquarelleart #aquarelleportrait #aquarelle_cafe #watercolor_daily #watercolor_gallery #watercolor_guide #waterblog #watercolorpaintings #watercolorbeginner #contemporaryart #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens
@moleskine @moleskine_arts @royaltalens by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

Hey, lovely people! My time of short captions is over 😁

I have so many things I want to talk about here, but first, let me ask a question - do you read captions? And do you read long captions or do you just skip them once you see a lot of text?

This piece is about celebrating a male body.
I've noticed that there are so many portraits of women all over. Not so many portraits of men. As I'm sure everyone will agree with me when I say that women are awesome, their bodies are fantastic works of nature and the essence of a woman absolutely deserves as many paintings as can be done. But I do really like painting men too.

So here's this beautiful, powerful, dancing guy, painted with @royaltalens watercolors on a page out of my @moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

The cool reference is from a series of photos found on @pexels taken by @yogendrasingh.in - thank you very much! ❤️
I intend to paint more of this guy 😁

You may have noticed that I post less and less here. Between my job, my justified worrying about the future, my painting, trying to lose my Corona weight (wich, so far, is going pretty well, thank you 😎), and also going through fifth grade all over again with my daughter, I don't have much time left to participate in this community. But it's mostly because I'm going through a sort of identity crisis that will probably get it's own long caption...

Thank you for being here with me ❤️
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#reels #reelsinstagram #artreels #paintingreel #reelsart #reelitfeelit #instareels #blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #mymoleskine #moleskineart #M_artcollection #moleskine #watercolorportrait #watercolourart #watercolorpaintings #aquarelle #aquarelle_cafe #aquarelleportrait #watercolor_daily #watercolor_gallery #watercolor_cafe #watercolor_guide #waterblog #portraitpainting #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens #mymoleskine @moleskine @moleskine_arts @creativewomencommunity @moleskinearts by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

Look at that face! ❤️

I can't quite make out if he looks sad, annoyed or just burdened by his wisdom.
Didn't really pay much attention to brushstrokes when I was painting this, it was sort of a therapy piece, hence the messy look, but it still looks like a dog, so I'm satisfied 😁

Done with @royaltalens watercolors on a 25 x 19 cm page out of my @moleskine watercolor sketchbook.
Can't remember where the photo came from, but yes, I used a reference.

I wish you all of you a happy May Day (or Labor Day) weekend, appreciate whatever you do/make/create and demand to be appreciated back ❤️
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#blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #petportraits #mymoleskine #moleskineart #moleskine #M_artcollection #moleskinearts #sketchbook #watercolourart #watercolorportrait #portraitart #portraitpainting #aquarelleart #aquarelleportrait #aquarelle_cafe #watercolor_daily #watercolor_gallery #watercolor_guide #waterblog #watercolorpaintings #watercolorbeginner #contemporaryart #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens
@moleskine_arts @creativewomencommunity by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

Portrait paintings look so awful before they come together, don't they?! 😱😁
Her terrified, unfinished and ridiculous looking face, tense while I'm stroking her hair with a paintbrush, looked so funny to me, I just had to share it 😂

Done with @royaltalens on a 25 x 19 cm page out of my @moleskine watercolor sketchbook.
Wonderful reference photo from @pexels by @avonnephotography , thank you! ❤️
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#blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #paintingprocess #mymoleskine #moleskineart #moleskine #M_artcollection #moleskinearts #sketchbook #watercolourart #watercolorportrait #portraitart #portraitpainting #aquarelleart #aquarelleportrait #aquarelle_cafe #watercolor_daily #watercolor_gallery #watercolor_guide #waterblog #watercolorpaintings #watercolorbeginner #contemporaryart #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens
@moleskine_arts @creativewomencommunity by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

Here's one that's less serious, with spring being in the air and all... And I love this song, it's such a pick-me-up.

As you can see, I've discovered that I can paint with white watercolor too, if I paint with proper watercolors and not that tiny, cheap set I started with 😁

Enjoy! ❤️

Done with @royaltalens on a 25 x 19 cm page out of a @moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

Cool reference photo from @pexels by @vlad_film, thank you! ❤️
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#blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #paintingprocess #mymoleskine #moleskineart #moleskine #M_artcollection #moleskinearts #sketchbook #watercolourart #watercolorportrait #portraitart #portraitpainting #aquarelleart #aquarelleportrait #aquarelle_cafe #watercolor_daily #watercolor_gallery #watercolor_guide #waterblog #watercolorpaintings #watercolorbeginner #contemporaryart #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens
@moleskine_arts @artists_hidden @artist_helping @artunitedinsta @artworkpromotion @creativityexplode @creativewomencommunity by @ikillpaintbrushes

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4 years ago

Sometimes I try to paint, and sometimes I just enjoy playing with watercolors on paper. And sometimes it turnes out nice and I'm happy.

Done with @royaltalens on a 25 x 19 cm page out of a @moleskine watercolor sketchbook.
Used a lovely reference photo from @pexels by Suzy Hazelwood.

Just to let you know, whenever you see a short caption from me, it's because there are so many things I want to say, this space is not enough. Maybe next time.

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#reels #reelsinstagram #artreels #paintingreel #reelsart #reelitfeelit #instareels #blackandwhiteart #monochromeart #mymoleskine #moleskineart #M_artcollection #moleskine #watercolorportrait #watercolourart #watercolorpaintings #aquarelle #aquarelle_cafe #aquarelleportrait #watercolor_daily #watercolor_gallery #watercolor_cafe #watercolor_guide #waterblog #portraitpainting #contemporaryrealism #figurativeart #royaltalens #mymoleskine #suzyhazelwoodphotography @moleskine @moleskine_arts @artists_hidden @artist_helping @artunitedinsta @creativewomencommunity @moleskinearts by @ikillpaintbrushes

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5 years ago