60 x 80 cm acrylic on canvas painting
Contact me to buy an original painting or a very high quality reproduction on canvas
If you enjoyed this post, you should Follow Me On Twitter 
and Instagram 
and Like My Page on Facebook 
for more updates.
26 x 30 cm painting on canvas
Contact me to buy an original painting or a very high quality reproduction on canvas
If you enjoyed this post, you should Follow Me On Twitter and Instagram and Like My Page on Facebook for more updates.
Contact me to buy an original painting or a very high quality reproduction on canvas
If you enjoyed this post, you should Follow Me On Twitter and Instagram and Like My Page on Facebook for more updates.
When I want something, I simply want something. No further explanations needed.
Being a bit too proud of my latest acrylic paintings and my new skills, I’ve decided it’s about time to feel bad once again, in order to motivate myself to improve even further. As acrylic and oil painting are so different, and from what I understood, it’s harder to paint in oil, I’ve decided to upgrade.
Buying my first oil set was a special moment. The only thing I could have in mind, was: my first painting has to be an old sail ship at sea. Why? No idea, but I wanted it.
As one of my friends said: “Why make it easy, when you can make it complicated?“. Most people start with a simple flower, but no, I have to start full speed, all engines running. No flower for me, unless is sitting on a sail ship. 🙂
First contact with oil paint was strange, to put it mildly. No more looking for water to quickly rinse my brush, no more finishing a painting in one go, no touching it for at least a few days. Even so, something about it fascinates me. The things you can do with oil, you simply can’t do with acrylic, and that alone is worth it, even if it means retraining myself on how to paint.
After painting one painting in 3 days, because of the different drying times, I must say I learned a lot, but what I’ve learned most of all is patience. You can’t do it all at once, but you can wait for the right moment.
And so I did, and with every brush stroke, I realized my first oil painting, isn’t a complete disaster, how I expected it to be, but it’s turning into something amazing.
For a first try, I amazed myself, and I realized I was right all along to choose a ship at sea, instead of a simple painting. Painting something I really wanted, made me even more motivated to do it right!
Sails up, engines on and full speed ahead into more unknown waters!
Contact me to buy an original painting or a very high quality reproduction on canvasÂ
If you enjoyed this post, you should Follow Me On Twitter  and Instagram   and Like My Page on Facebook for more updates.
Time lapse video of making the painting:
Contact me to buy an original painting or a very high quality reproduction on canvasÂ
If you enjoyed this post, you should Follow Me On Twitter  and Like My Page on Facebook for more updates.
Making new friends is always fun, and is nothing better than joining a group of people from all over the world, to exchange opinions, ideas and bring incredible experiences into the same room.
Only a few weeks ago I heard about the tradition of Dutch Pancake Party, which started in Hong Kong, a while back, as a thank you dinner, for the hosts of a group of Dutch students.
Starting with a nice gesture, the party became more of a tradition for Robin Vogelaar, who travels every week to a new city around the world, and organizes a new party. Meeting people through CouchSurfing and social networks, Robin finds a place to stay, someone willing to provide a location for the Pancake Night, invites as many people as possible, and gets busy cooking and making new friends.
Photo Credit – Aida Ivan
With over 90 such parties already taking place all over the world, from Europe to Asia, between 30 and 150 people present at every party, the Dutch Pancake Night became a phenomena.
When I met Robin, he told me about his idea to organize such a party in Bucharest, so I just had to join in. It was quite impressive to see so many people of all nationalities (Netherlands, Mauritius, Greece, Belgium, Albania, UK, Brazil, China, Romania), going into the kitchen, helping with the snacks, ingredients and cooking the pancakes.
Even if we had great plans in mind (making a lot of pancakes, for everyone present), with only a few pancakes going out of the kitchen door, we had to put an end to it sooner, as the neighbors got irritated with the noise. From what I understand, this happens all the time, in every location, so we really fast came up with a backup plan, and moved to a nearby pub, to continue the celebration. No one puts a stop to a determined group! 🙂
Photo Credit – Aida Ivan
The best part about such events is the cultural exchange. I always love to meet people with similar passions, skills and interests, and find out more about other cultures and traditions. Even better is to meet fascinating adventurous world travelers and start new friendships.
With the next location already in mind, so many amazing people and a few new wonderful friendships, I’m pretty sure the end of the party is only a see you later, not a goodbye. Looking forward to the next meeting!
If you enjoyed this post, you should Follow Me On Twitter  and Like My Page on Facebook for more updates.
Special thanks to Aida Ivan for the event pictures
All Right Choices 