Miniature mermaid paintings in watercolours and ink

I’ve been delighting in one of my favoutire subjects: Mermaids.

I cannot get enough of these sensual fantastical creatures; I am sure most girls at some point in their lives believed they were a mermaid, trapped in a human body….

I’ve been using some lovely 300gsm heavyweight textured watercolour paper to make these little miniature mermaid paintings.

I am also using pen & ink, watercolours from tubes as well as Derwent watercolour pencils for highlights.

I’ve been selling them on Artfinder, a wonderful site where you can buy a diverse range of original art, sculpture and photography, from all over the world. It’s a great way to meet fellow artists, too!

I am also currently working on a study for a new romantic painting of a Mermaid and her Lover….please check back for an update with pictures for that soon ~

Thanks for stopping by….!

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Sketch of the Day

Recently I bought a beautiful sketch book from Barnes & Noble – just the right size not to be too daunting to work in, with lovely ivory coloured paper. I’ve been sketching away, and putting some on my new Instagram account @lizapaizisart . I have been neglecting my sketching practices of late, so this is good motivation! It also reminds me of a wonderful book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron in which we are reminded how therapeutic daily creativity is….

Today, I just felt like the first sketch needed to be a heart design – perhaps a tattoo design. The world definitely needs more love, and beautiful hearts right now….

I used a nice new Galaxy Marker for white highlights, and one of my favourite Caran D’Ache colored pencils, for this Filigree Love Heart sketch .

Humminbird tattoo design sketch, inspired by the hummingbirds outsude my window :

Red Dragonfly tattoo design sketch :

– hope to see you on Instagram, and thanks for stopping by!

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The Owlings portrait of two sisters in watercolor : Magical Realism painting

This is my new painting, titled “The Owlings”

This lovely whimsical painting was inspired by a folk-style portrait of two girls I saw from the 1800’s.

It was a tradtion in former times for parents to place a coral necklaces on children as coral was thought to protect the wearer from ill health and harm.

I love the style of Magical Realism painting, where is the subject matter is often blurred between realism and a strong nuance of the quirky or magical.

This painting is primarily done in watercolours, with touches of gold, silver and coloured pigment ink.

I particularly enjoyed painting the two sisters, as it is a dedication to my own sister and the beautiful spirit of sisterhood…

….who knows what they, and their little totem owls within their arms are thinking?

Paintings like this one are so very special that I only release a small amount of print reproductions of them. The edition of this size print of the painting is only 50 prints and is available for sale here.

The original painting is also for sale – please contact me for more information. Thanks for visiting !

Whimsical Mermaid painting : Ulysses Muse !

My latest painting springs from the imagining of a wonderful and epic story of a voyage in Ancient times. Ulysses – known as Odysseus in his Greek persona –  is a mythological sea-faring hero and warrior who managed to hear the seductive song of the devastatingly beautiful but deadly Sirens whilst avoiding being drowned by them.

He was on his way back home to his Grecian island kingdom of Ithaca in the Ionian sea after fighting in the Trojan War, and his incredible adventures have become legendary. My interest in this story, which may have very well been based on factual events in prehistory, stems from the fact that my Greek ancestry goes back just two generations to this beautiful little Greek island. It was from there that my grandparents immigrated to South Africa in the 1930’s, and my great-great grandfather sailed the surrounding Mediterranean seas right up into the Black sea as a merchant sailor, captaining his very own ship.

In this watercolor and pigment colored pencil and wax resist painting, I’ve depicted one of the Sirens as a mermaid, who has Ulysses’ soul in her heart as she sings her exquisite song to him ~ perhaps she is in love with him…perhaps it is she who inspires him to keep going on his voyage home despite all the trials he endures. I imagine her as being almost doll-like, as a marionette mermaid…

As always in my paintings, there is much expressive movement, along with little details hidden away for the viewer to discover. For the colour palette I enjoyed using corals, salmon pinks, tones of blue grey for the stormy sky and highlights of creamy yellow. These colors are very inspired by my own visit to the Greek islands, where everything is imbued by a mystical, magical hue that is timeless.

I wanted to keep the feeling of this magic, with a whimsy that always surrounds mythological tales, especially ones about mermaids, the sea, heros and the longing of love….

The original painting is for sale here.

Stunning archival art prints are for sale here.

Tree of Life tattoo design and other unique tattoo designs, and copyright laws

I have been doing a lot of tattoo designs over the last two years, as outlined in a previous post. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I have opened up an Etsy store selling my own original tattoo designs.

Red owl tattoo design

It is a work in progress, so I am hoping to create an add more this year. It takes a lot of time to create a tattoo design, and often people don’t understand the level of work involved in drawing up a unique image, whether it is for a custom tattoo, or an original drawing, painting, logo design, all artists invest a huge amount of time, energy and skill into creating original artwork.

 

Fairy tattoo design

My original Tree of Life drawing has been used numerous times as a tattoo design. This is a great honour for me when someone loves my art so much as to place it permanently onto their bodies. However, it is very disheartening when my image has been taken off the internet without my permission, and has been used as a tattoo or any other reproduction. All artist’s original work is protected by copyright laws, and to use an artist’s original image in any way without their permission is illegal.

 

Tree of Life tattoo design

The Tree of Life drawing is a very unique image I created; Trees are for me one of the most beautiful of Nature’s creations to draw – you can see a woman in this tree, and the sun and moon on either side of her with little creatures in the branches. She is this tree’s soul…….This image is available as a print here,  or you can buy it as a tattoo design here.

Often artists who have their work on the internet protect it by using low resolutions and/or copyright text over their images. Again, purchasing artwork from an artist does not mean the buyer has the copyrights to use that image except what the artists has expressly allowed them.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to add any comments you may have !

Dachshund Painting, and other Animal Portraits

“Simon”

As I had mentioned in a previous post, I love to do portrait commissions.

I am currently working on this little painting of a Dachshund, done in a whimsical Folk art style, for an upcoming exhibition at my local art gallery. It is based on a wonderful dog my family owned called Simon, who loved to run outside and chase all sorts of creatures in his path. He was a very special pet, and this is my tribute to him.

I have done a few animal portraits in the past, and am always inspired to capture its spirit in a style that reflects its uniqueness. Here are some of them – and I do have a penchant for owls and cats! I do custom commissions for any kind of portrait, painting, tattoo design etc – please contact me if you are interested.

 

Watercolor portrait painting completed…

My portrait of Maggie is finished !  As described in my previous two posts, after sketching the initial outlines in pencil, I free-formed the rest of the composition, continuing to layer the watercolours, working around the dired pressed flowers,  adding more detail to the peony fairy and the hair, more flowers, and brushstrokes reminiscent of those of Vincent Van Gogh, whose artwork Maggie loves.

Below is a detailed excerpt of the painting – please click on it for a larger view – it is a blend of watercolor, dried flowers and s mall touch of Caran d’Ache colored pigment pencil for highlights. The paper is Stonehenge smooth textured paper. I mostly use Rembrandt or Van Gogh watercolors, with touches of Chinese white for highlights. I am looking forward to my next painting – please keep an eye on my blog for my next project. You can purchase a beautiful print of this painting from my shop here.

Thanks for visiting!

Leda and the Swan : a new watercolor painting

I have finally completed this painting, which I’ve been working on over the year. You can see its progress here. It is based upon Leda and the Swan , the ancient Greek myth of Zeus disguised as a swan who seduces the innocent mortal Leda.

I wanted an African nuance, but ethereal too, with allusions to flight and feathers; the dreaminess of Leda’s imagination as she ponders Zeus’s love…This painting was done in watercolor on my favourite Stonehenge paper, with touches of gold paint, coloured pencil and ink.

I have gorgeous art prints for sale in my online shop, and the original is also for sale here.

Dragonflies ~ and more dragonflies !

Since moving to America, I have had little time to paint much new work. I have been setting up business here in beautiful Iowa, on the Mississippi river, getting my art and jewellery into local galleries, selling my products on various websites, and also doing a large number of tattoo designs.

I have also sourced some lovely new pieces for my jewellery making, including these cute and delicate dragonfly charms which I have made into earrings. I am fascinated by dragonflies, as are many other people. In all the places I have lived and sold my work, dragonflies remain consistently one the best sellers, whether it be necklaces, pins, earrings, t-shirts, prints, paintings earrings. Midwest America is no exception, where I have had a great response from customers who have bought my work at the wonderful local galleries.

Here are all the dragonfly drawings, paintings and jewellery I have produced over the years, most are available online from Etsy, and my Website :

Dragonfly brooch

Having fun with Tattoo Design

The reason I have not posted for ages is because I have found a new creative passion : Tattoo Designing!

I have been designing tattoos for people on and off for over a decade now, but since moving to America,  I have found that this versatile and very personal art from suits my artistic style perfectly. In the past, tattoos have often been associated sub-cultures, but these days many people get tattoos to commemorate the loss of loved ones, or to mark an important event in life, or as a personal statement.

 

 

I have been learning a lot about different styles, and have tried my hand at a Japanese style Koi design for a half sleeve.

I love doing any design work, and welcome any commissions for tattoo designs – I am always very honoured to custom create a permanent piece of art for someone’s body.

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