FINISHED-Oil Painting “Novak Djokovic on Alps”

Roland Garros French Open, a major (grand slam) tennis tournament... Novak Djokovic, Serbian, NO1 tennis player and from "the greatest" white sport tournaments misses only Roland Garros. Knowing that I've decided to paint Novak Djokovic in a combination with a painting by a great French old master Jacques Louis David "Napoleon on Alps" (with some modifications of Malmaison version) Size: 120x100cm (47.2"x39.4") Oil on Stretched Canvas Before we star with a descriptions... idea to finish painting was "simple" (Drawing, Burnt umber, Umber 2, Nole in neutral layer, color layer/layers)... Or to combine approaches…continue reading →

Finished – Raphael’s Angels

Raffaello Santi - Rafael - The Sistine Madonna - with angelsRaphael’s Angels are a famous duo by Raffaello Santi (1483-1520) or simply Raphael. Raphael was an Italian Renaissance artist and considered one of the greatest artists of all time. He is part of the Trinity of Great Masters that includes Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Raphael’s Angels are also known as ‘The Sistine Cherubs’ and ‘Raphael’s Two Putti’. Raphael’s Angels are seen at the bottom of Raphael’s great masterpiece ‘The Sistine Madonna’. The Sistine Madonna depicts Mary with Christ child and two Saints, Sixtus and Barbara, in the clouds with the two Cherubs looking up at Madonna with Child. This legendary Sistine Madonna (also called La Madonna di San Sisto) is large oil on canvas 265 cm × 196 cm (104 in × 77 in).  This painting was created between 1512 and 1513 on a flax covered wall in the Benedictine monastery church of San Sisto. Finished a few years before his death, ca. 1513–1514, as a commissioned altarpiece, it was the last of the painter's Madonnas and the last painting he completed with his own hands. It was later sold to The King of Poland by Monks in 1752 for 25,000 Scudi. Enough to build a whole town at that time! Later during World War II the Sistine Madonna was taken by Hitler and vaulted to protect it from Allied bombing. After the war the Sistine Madonna was taken to Russia where Stalin had it vaulted as well. In the late 1950’s, the painting was returned to Germany where it resides to this day in Dresden, in the Old Master Gallery (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister). The painting has been highly praised by many notable critics, and Giorgio Vasari called it a "a truly rare and extraordinary work". It’s amazing to see that even Hitler and Stalin recognized it as a great work of art or at least of great value. (more…)

Finished – L’Amour et Psyché, enfants

L'Amour et Psyché by William-Adolphe BouguereauL'Amour et Psyché, enfants (translated: Cupid and Psyche as Children, 1890, Salon of 1890, No. 330) is one of William-Adolphe Bouguereau's most famous paintings. It is incorrectly known as Le Premier Baiser (The First Kiss, 1873). The painting is an oil on canvas, 119.5 x 71 cm (47 x 27 7/8 inches), and it is housed in a private collection. The subject of the painting stems from the story of Cupid and Psyche told by Lucius Apuleius in The Golden Ass (2nd century AD). (more…)

Finished – Dragoljub “Draža” Mihailovic – Version 2

A Year ago I've finished oil painting on HDF canvas panel of Dragoljub “Draža” Mihailovic (or Draza Mihajlovic see it here...)
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailovic (also known as "Uncle Draža"; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslav Serbian general during World War II. A staunch royalist, he retreated to the mountains near Belgrade when the Germans overran Yugoslavia in April 1941 and there he organized bands of guerrillas known as the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army. The organisation is commonly known as the Chetniks, although the name of the organisation was later changed to the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland (JVUO). Founded as a royalist/nationalist Serbian resistance movement, it was the first Yugoslav resistance movement to be formed, followed shortly by Josip Broz Tito's Partisans. Initially, the two groups operated in parallel, but by late 1941 began fighting each other in the attempt to gain control of the area following the end of the war. Many Chetnik groups collaborated or established modus vivendi with Axis powers. After the war, Mihailovi? was tried and convicted of high treason and war crimes by the authorities of the People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and executed by firing squad. [source wikipedia]
From all available Mihailovic photographs, and not many, two are the most famous. One is inspiration for previous portrait in sepia, and this one. (more…)

Finished – 007 Ursula Andress

Ursula Andress - The First Bond Girl as Honey Ryder in Dr. No Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss actress and sex symbol of the 1960s. She is known for her roles as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, in 1962, for which she won a Golden Globe... [source wikipedia] Beautiful scene of Ursula with a seashell... I've painted that oil 2 years ago, and published painting process at my blog. Painting is oil on Canvas, 20x 28in. (50x70cm) Finished painting is also at…continue reading →