Fish

Hello hello,

I have been working on a variety of projects. The one I've been most excited about is some christmas card designs which are currently drying so I will post very soon but for now here are some fish photos I took at a garden centre near my house of very funky tropical fish.

I must admit, fish aren't the easiest to capture on camera! This fish in particular would move as if on purpose every time I pointed my camera at her, so couldn't take a great photograph. The colours were amazing so I thought I'd share anyway.

Video//Bright Colours

Hello guys

I've been drawing a lot of animals recently for a project I am working on and I've had a lot of fun..glad I've managed to have a  little break for a few days thought.

My uncle has been putting together some snowboarding videos from last year and made me want to make one myself. The first time I attempted it I realised at the end my battery had died not long in..
My second attempt was slightly more successful!
I found it a very fun exercise, as I do tend to get carried away and this kinda loosened up my painting, I used acrylics, which I used to hate but think work well for me in this style.

 To view- 'Green' Video

I didn't get the chance to carve a pumpkin this year for Halloween..which sucked, but I did have a little visitor come and paint with me a scary halloween themed painting! 

Also check out my friend Nat Griffin and her work, she's made some pretty cute illustrations and is selling christmas cards in her Etsy shop!

Etsy Shop!

Hello everyone!

Signed Prints of 'Lova' and 'Oldskool Gaga' are now available to purchase in my Etsy shop!
Click the link here to enter the shop! It can also be found via my website.

I really enjoyed working on this commissioned piece for a very dear friend! The elements and colour palette I used are a representation of her character and I think suit her very well, she seemed to agree :D 

This month was the release of new London based Arts and Music magazine, Collision. I was asked to illustrate an article called 'The Book is Dead'. Here's my illustration !

I have been working on a new project for Xccelerate, I got to illustrate a range of subjects which I hadn't before, it was a challenge at times, but overall very fun!

Thanks for reading, more stuff coming soon!

Painting in Bulgaria and Greetings from Greece

Hi everyone,

I went to Bulgaria for the summer and had such a lovely time!..as always! As well as it being really fun, it was also very productive!

My granddad introduced me to a friend from his school years, they used to draw together back in the day, his friend kept up the art, my granddad didn't. He has been selling his paintings for years now and his wife also started painting a few years back. His daughter is also an artist! They were kind enough to invite me over and show me their work. We had a great conversation and I managed to get a few photos to share with you of their work!

His friend digged out some old sketches my granddad had done in their school years! I was so excited, as I've heard he's loved drawing in his younger years but never seen any of his stuff! These were drawn in 1961! Vintage :p

He then surprised me with this painting! Painted when he was 16, frame and all made by himself, falling apart slightly..

My granddad loved this painting, by the great Russian Painter, Shishkin. We had some long discussion about it and what the message was that he was trying to portray.

I was really inspired by our meeting and promised my granddad I'd give it a go! I based my landscape on one of his friends' paintings, roughly around the composition and added my own twist with the colour pallet and paint strokes. Took some photos of the process:

'Purple Forest'

Oil on canvas

I started a painting in May which was inspired by a classic Bulgarian film and my grandmother, who looked a lot like the actress when she was in her 20's! So I combined the two but unfortunately didn't have the chance to finish it! This time however I was home for longer so managed to complete it! Here is the finished piece:

Another painting I did in January of my nana! For this one I had the pleasure of painting her from life whilst having lovely chats!

Also, I went to Greece for a couple of days with family and friends and had such a lovely time! Took some photos, had a blast at the beach, hope you enjoy them!

Lastly I am very happy to announce that I have a website up now, with a collection of work and some more info about me.

Check it out! www.valenalova.com

Drawing drawing drawing

Hello,

I have been working on a couple of new illustrations, all at the same time, and I'll be posting the finished pieces on my website very soon, but for now I have some shots of work in progress for you all to have a look at.

This self portrait was really fun to draw even thought it took ages, as for some reason I seem to constantly create extra work for myself and do things the longest way possible.. since I don't have a big scanner and I keep drawing things to scale, for some reason, I drew parts of the portrait on separate sheets of paper and then joined them together, luckily it all fit!..But seriously, it took twice as long to complete! I did like the effect it created though. I then added some colour.

This Illustration I did for a friend's blog competition, which still hasn't been held, but here's some previous of what it's like. I've had some funny guesses of who the guy on the left is.. it's definitely not the Prime Minister.. or Hugh Grant.. so i'll let you guess for a while as I find it amusing! :D

I have also been working on a commission for a friend, adding personal elements to her portrait which has been really fun! I've started adding colour to it with colouring pencils and I'm excited to see the finished piece, hope you are too! Here's some 'in progress' photos:

Oh and I have been doing a bit of cleaning/organising of my studio and came across some old drawings..this one made me laugh!

Thanks for reading!

:)

New Designers Exhibition!

Hello!

Yesterday was lovely! Met up with the girlies from Uni and went to the New Designers show. It was really inspiring, so many talented people! Had the pleasure of listening to 3 very talented illustrators talk about the industry, how to make it as a successful illustrator and their careers! Check them out,Gemma Correll, Dan Mumford and Sneaky Raccoon, all with completely different styles but all absolutely great!

The girls and I really loved this illustrator! Her name is Jessica Hogarth and her work is lovely! I really like her use of colour and quirky architecture designs, it's so bright and cheerful!

We went to grab some lunch in Angel. Found this really cute american diner which made cool milkshakes and ice cream sundays! I had a hotdog melt toasty, it was soo good!!

We all loved the freebies! :p

Last week after work I went to a 2 year old's birthday party where I got covered in paint, jumped on a trampoline for too long, gave way too many piggy backs and played a lot of hide and seek, but had a great time! I even got invited to this cutie's 7th birthday party!

I have been working on a few new projects all at the same time, so it's taken me a while to complete, I will be posting them soon, but here's a little preview of one of them!

I just wanted to show everyone what summer has been like in england..Today has been nice actually, even though it rained a lot it was really sunny! In bulgaria we say a bear is getting married!haha

Enjoy!