Merry Christmas 2023 or How I Turned a Hungarian Poppy Seed Roll into a Cheesecake

 

Nothing can beat the smell of baked sweet bread (baigli and cozonaci) in preparation for Christmas, but what if they don't turn out to your taste? I am quite a fussy eater and although these delicacies are highly appreciated in my culture, I never really fancied them too much, unless they had a lot of filling to make up for the dough in between. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, here is a photo from last year with the traditional poppy seed roll that turned out exactly how I liked it. 

Before, After, After-after or How I Revived a Forgotten Painting

 

This colorful semiabstract painting featuring a bouquet of textured roses didn't always look like this. I quite liked the very first version (as seen below) but the shadow was a bit off. I don't paint realistic, but I like to respect some kind of likeness even though it still isn't 100% true. I started with creating the shadow and the light in the right place of the painting but after finishing it, the composition was a bit off (view the second picture below).  

Colourful Gift Boxes for Art Lovers and Crafters

I am happy to be back with some pretty gift boxes that I painted recently and I would love to share with you. I really enjoy painting these trinket boxes in different colours with various floral patterns and I always have a recipient in mind: gift for girls, gift for mums, gift for gardeners, gift for art lovers, gift for crafters, and many more. They are small-ish and cute and you can keep many items in them from jewellery and hair ties to sowing kits and seed packets. 

July Patio and Allotment Bringing so Much Joy

 

I love the idea of having an allotment and growing my own so when I was accepted three years ago, I was absolutely thrilled. I had to start everything from scratch as I had limited knowledge of how to do it and what to grow. Starting from the premise of growing what you eat, some of the produce that I make sure I have every year are beans, courgettes, cucumbers for pickling, some seasonal salads, and herbs. 

Easter 2022

 

Easter has just gone here in the UK but as I am originally from Transylvania (Romania), we celebrate Easter on a different day, normally a week later. But because I have been living in the UK for the past 17 years, we celebrate both Easters. Not to mention that this always falls around my husband's or my birthday thus making April a celebratory month in our household. Posting this blog between the two Easters and the two birthdays seems like a good fit. 

New Contemporary Floral Paintings using Palette Knives

Not sure if 2022 will be a change of direction for me, but the latest floral paintings are a bit different than my usual paintings. I still created my signature roses using think paint and a stick to create texture, but the artworks are made using mainly the palette knife technique. 

Eclectic Style Art Studio in Devon

 

The first blog of the year is about yet another studio makeover. It is not a new one as I have done this last year, but I just didn't have the time to update my blog. 

I never thought I could pull off such a colourful decor without being over-the-top or kitsch. Not sure I managed to avoid these, but I really like how all the colours come together. This is how I actually imagined my studio from the very beginning but I just wouldn't dare to put all these colours together - blue, green, pink, yellow, and everything in between. 

Hand-painted Christmas Decorations Part II

 

Throughout the years, I have created quite a few Christmas decorations in my own style, from using art prints after my paintings to actually painting the baubles. They were well received in both my Folksy and Etsy shops so I decided to create some more. 

Easy Halloween Cookies

 

As an artist, I have never created anything specifically for Halloween as I don't know how my style would fit with this celebration. However, some of my hanging hearts can be hung with other Halloween and/or autumnal decorations, especially the orange ones. I put some in my autumn tree in the street-facing window and they look rather nice with other handmade items.