Art Is Everywhere

My college friends Leo (from Brazil) and Ana (from Equador), who both now live in London, were here in Bulgaria for a quick vacation. We traveled around for a couple of days, visiting cities, nature reserves, monasteries and old towns, but throughout the trip, the one trend that emerged - apart from the nice weather, good food and great company, of course - was the beautiful art we encountered everywhere. Whether it was frescoes in a church or graffiti on a wall in the neighborhood of Kapana in Plovdiv, I soaked it up and enjoyed it all. I am loving the way street art can transform a place; the kind of art that embraces the city and is embraced back by it. I get quite annoyed at the aimless scribbles that vandalize buildings, but these works of art are something else.

It's interesting to go from street art to religious art, but they are both gorgeous in their own way. I'd been to the Rila Monastery and Bachkovski Monastery back in the day, but I'd actually forgotten how beautiful these places are. The frescoes are exquisite, and as an artist, I couldn't stop looking. It was a feast for my eyes!

Long Time, No See

So I've been gone for a long time...I know...

Every time I fail to update my blog for an extended period of time, I usually excuse myself with my job, but this time it is only partially my excuse. I did get a big promotion, so work is taking up quite a lot of my time and, what is more important in this case, a lot more of my mental energy. But it's not just that; it's my personal life, too. Things are a bit messy, and if I'm honest, I feel like a bit of a mess myself - curly hair straightening and emotions flying everywhere. Add that to the fact that I just turned thirty, and you get what I'm going through :)

Actually, my thirtieth birthday bash was a lot of fun - three bars in one night to celebrate the fact that I've made it through three decades. It was a black and red theme, and as party favors to all those brave souls that joined me on this epic bar crawl, I made small abstract paintings in red, black and white. In fact, they turned out really great, so I am thinking of making a series of different colors and maybe turning them into an art show some time in the future. Check them out below, and wish me a great 30th year :)

My Art Shelf

I have been looking around for artwork for my house ever since I moved in a few years back, and I never seemed to have any luck. Rarely did anything catch my eye, and if it did I usually found some small detail that I didn't like or the work was simply too expensive. As much as I would like to, it would be hard for me to pay thousands of dollars for a painting. I have also browsed Etsy for hours at a time trying to find something for my living room to no avail...until this past December.

It all started with the painting in the middle, an abstract ink on paper, that I randomly saw on Etsy and loved at first sight. Because my living room is in coffee, chocolate and cream colors, this work fit perfectly with my decor and the other pieces that I have painted myself for the room. After that, it seemed that great pieces of art were simply falling into my lap from Etsy's pages, and I ended up with this small collection at very reasonable prices. I am very pleased with my new art shelf, so I thought I'd give a shout out to the artists:

from left to right

Forest - art print by Schall Eszter
https://www.etsy.com/shop/schalleszter
This shop has really cute art by the Hungarian illustrator Schall Eszter - birds in the forest, drunk foxes singing, elephants jumping rope, orange frogs and Eskimos fishing. I chose this adorable print of a bird near a cherry tree to keep up with the bird theme I have going on at home.

Autumn Treescape - linocut by Giuliana Lazzerini
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBluebirdGallery
I took some printmaking classes in college, so I couldn't pass up on a hand-pulled linocut with tiny birds hand-drawn in ink. Another must-have for my bird theme. There are also a lot of fox and hare prints on her Etsy shop as well.

Moon and Stars - watercolor by BluePalette
https://www.etsy.com/shop/bluepalette#
This is a real favorite of mine. I have worked with watercolor since my first art class when I was four, so I can appreciate the delicate beauty of this technique and the craftsmanship it requires. BluePalette's shop has these amazing circle watercolors that are truly great finds. They are little gems, and I wish I could buy a bunch of these and make a whole gallery wall with them. Not saying I won't at some point :)
I love the night sky, especially in the summer when it is full of stars and everything is quiet in the dead of night, but you are awake and basking in its serenity. This is what this painting reminds me of, so I had to get it. At 20 dollars, I think it is a bargain.

Abstract Ink Drawing - ink drawing by ComArt
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ComArt
This is the painting that started it all, and I still love it. Some people have asked me what is it that I see in it, since it is basically a splotch of ink, but I tell them that it is beautiful. I don't know what it is, but I find it truly beautiful and harmonious in its composition. This artist has some great stuff.

Minimalist Modern Linocut - linocut by Toni Point
https://www.etsy.com/shop/printwork
If you are looking for something minimalist, this is the place to go. I really like the play of shapes and positive-negative space in the print I bought. It is dynamic and simple at the same time. This goes to show that linocuts don't have to be ornamental, but they can play in the abstract realm as well.

Watercolor Illustration- glicee print by Victoria
https://www.etsy.com/shop/VictoriAtelier
There was no actual title given to this piece by the author, as far as I've seen, but I call it my "Sun painting", so that in my collection I have a sun and I have a moon (the little round watercolor). This abstract piece also looks great, and it has an incredible richness of colors. The fact that it's not all bright jewelled tones makes the depth of hues even better - the neutral background in beige, cream and cappuccino flows to beautiful little speckles of gold, navy, sea blue and aubergine. I would have loved to own the original, but since it was not available, I decided to get the glicee print and enjoy the painting anyway.

So there it is, my modest little collection, but one that I now love to look at every day. As an artist myself, I find that having art in one's home makes it cozy and unique, and I hope that you all can find something that you like out there - there are great little galleries around Sofia and abroad, and there is always Etsy.

The Good Life: Wedding Gift Abstract Collage

I was at a lovely wedding in Arbanasi yesterday, a mere day after Pavel and I got back from our Thessaloniki-Lefkada-Meteora-Paralia Katerini Greek trip, so it has been an eventful two weeks. Just before we left for Greece, however, I decided that I had to add a little something to the customary money envelope that everyone gives at Bulgarian weddings (for those of you who don't know, pretty much nobody here registers for gifts when they plan their wedding, so guests usually contribute money instead of presents at the celebration in order to avoid a "two juicers and three toasters" situation). I was rummaging through my tempera painted paper stash, and I found such a vivid piece with a warm orange and magenta base and violet and green accents that I decided it was perfect for a wedding gift collage. I added another fiery orange piece and a green accent, and the end result is below.

I called it "The Good Life" because it is colorful, dynamic and rich, and I hope that the bride and groom enjoy the best life possible together. If the wedding is something to judge by, I think that they will do just fine. I think that the guests, and especially the best man, who danced away the night and even took a dip in the pool with his clothes on, had tons and tons of fun.

Here is "The Good Life" again:

Poetry: Commissioned Original Artwork

Some time ago I sold my painting Beginning through my Etsy to a woman in the US. Little did I know that this client was no other than the Baltimore-based art consultant Robin Bozzuto. Later she and her partner Lexie Greene (Bozzuto Greene Art) contacted me to discuss the opportunity to paint commissioned works, which, as you can imagine, I was very excited to do. Luckily for me they had a client who was interested in my work, and this is how I landed my first big commission, a large painting with dimensions 132 x 66 cm.

The client wanted the painting to have a color scheme similar to a painting I sold a while ago (Back to Life), so I the work turned out really beautiful with its pale yellows, whites and fresh blues. I added a touch of pale pink here and there for visual interest, and I am very happy with the way it turned out. It reminded me of morning light through the branches of a blooming tree, and the mood the artwork creates when placed in a room is very serene, yet cheerful. Packaging and shipping the work was quite the interesting experience, but thankfully I had Pavel and his Toyota 4Runner to assist me in the task :) I’m not sure I would have fit the package in my car. As you can see on the photo below, it is pretty much as big as I am.

I really hope the client likes the work; I have certainly enjoyed painting it.

You can read more about Robin Bozzuto and Lexie Greene here and at their official website.

Stardust Original Artwork

I love giving red paintings as gifts to friends because they are vibrant and full of life, but last week I decided to break out of this tradition. This time when I decided to paint something as a birthday gift for a friend, I thought I would do a piece in dark blue. I kept picturing something fresh and crisp, with a sort of "starry quality," which I ended up calling "Stardust." It has a new home now, and I hope its new owner likes it.

Also, stay tuned for more artwork news from me. Just last week I finished my first big commissioned work, which is now drying and waiting to be shipped. Fingers crossed that everything will be fine! I will post the image once I mail the canvas.

So here is "Stardust":

One Design Week 2014 - Design Bazaar

Every year the Design Bazaar at the end of One Design Week becomes better and better. This year there was some phenomenal stuff by local artists and designers working in Plovdiv, as well as by some design studios from Sofia. I ended up spending quite a lot of money there, but it was all worth it, I think. I love having handmade stuff, and I also love giving handmade objects as gifts. I think that it is very nice to know that you've been given something that's one of a kind. I have always loved handmade jewelry as well, so I ended up getting a couple of items from a very cute local shop, which was not really a part of the bazaar but had interesting stuff all the same. Since brooches are my new thing, I got an earrings and brooch set in beige and green, as well as a bird brooch (I am obsessed with birds, yes).

So here are some highlights from my design shopping experience:

Piron 
http://pirondesign.com/bg/

This was by far my favorite booth at the bazaar, and I ended up purchasing one of these flower trays for my mom. The trays and coasters on the photo are made of pressed flowers covered in transparent resin with a wooden frame and beautiful decorative handles. They have such a rustic charm, and they were so fresh and lovely that I couldn't resist getting the one with the purple and yellow flowers on the photo below.

HandДжоб
http://www.handdjob.net/
http://knitrebel.blogspot.com/

The way I first got introduced to this interesting brand was by standing in line to get a croissant at the One Design Week Forum breakfast bar, and I saw that the girl in front of me had this really cool leather bag with a funny tag saying HandДжоб on its little pocket. I thought that the name was quite clever and funny, so I looked it up online, and I decided that I might buy a bag once I get back to Sofia. To my pleasant surprise, the designer had a booth at the bazaar, so I bought a bag there! It's the red one form the photo below.

evgeniya tsancova contemporary jewellery 
http://evgeniyatsancova.blogspot.com/

This jewelry designer makes really cool necklaces, bracelets and rings of knotted cords or laces (not sure what to call them). Head over to her blog for some more designs.

Photos from http://evgeniyatsancova.blogspot.com/

I also bought a very cute "KoseBose" mug (meaning it has a cute birdie) and a very vintagy black-and-white polka dot brooch that I can't wait to wear. They are by artist Albena Djokova (https://www.facebook.com/AlbenaDjokova) Here they are:

There was much more to see at the bazaar, of course, and also in the Kapana neighborhood, but I can't possibly write about it all. Here are some other interesting shops, designers and their work:

https://www.facebook.com/find.ser/
https://www.facebook.com/whatamonstar
http://viktorpavlov.jimdo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Rakodelnicata
http://malukindian.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/yana-tankovska-design/236167473120229

And just a few words about Cable Lovers: awesome light fixtures! Both retro and modern, and very interesting! Check them out here: http://cablelovers.com/en/

Photo from http://cablelovers.com/en/

FRAMED PAINTING "THE LAKE"

Just last week I sold an abstract landscape that I had painted back in my Colby years, so I am quite excited. This is an oil on canvas that was a plein air assignment for one of my painting classes, and I painted this view of the Colby lake in the spring. By the way, I guess I should give a shout out to my painting professor at Colby, Bevin Engman. Her classes were hard and a ton of work, but it is her classes that got me started on the kind of abstract art that I do and sell now. I would have never followed such a path in art if it was not for her and her encouragement to study color carefully. I think I've come a long way by taking her class and continuing to paint after college. Still, I quite like how this painting turned out back then, and it seems that people liked it enough to buy it. The frame gave the work a finished look, so I thought the final product looked great.
Stay tuned for more art news to come!

Two Paintings Sold

Sooo...Long time no posts! It's the usual reason - all work and no play. The good news is that I am about to finish my MBA by the end of December, which will hopefully lighten the load for me. I miss my weekends, what can I say.

In the meantime, I have actually sold two more paintings. The cool part is that I sold one of them, Kaleidoscope Heart, here in Bulgaria. It is a very vibrant, while kind of eccentric work, and I wasn't sure if it wasn't too crazy to be purchased, but it turns out that there are people that it calls to. It is very interesting to discover how each painting affects different people and all the images and diverse reactions and associations it evokes.

The other work I sold, Peony, is on its way to its new owner in New Orleans. It is so great to know all the different places where your art is hanging :)

Here are details of the two works:

Kaleidoscope Heart

 Peony

Two of My Paintings Now Sold on Etsy

I just though I'd brag a little bit and write a nice self-congratulatory post about how I sold not one, but two of my abstract paintings via Etsy in the last month! While I was on vacation in the US I was pleasantly surprised by someone inquiring whether I ship to the USA, which eventually resulted in my first sale. My favorite work, Lilly Pond, was bought first, which I think is very cool. About a week after I made a second sale (of another of my favorite paintings - Lilac Blossom.) What is also cool about this second sale is the fact that it is bought as a wedding gift. I kind of like the idea of a couple enjoying my painting at the beginning of their official journey together!

Here they are, the paintings that I have sold...and more works are now available on my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/kosebose

Kaleidoscope Heart Original Painting: Coming Soon to My Etsy Shop

Here is a sneak peak at an original oil abstract painting called Kaleidoscope Heart that is coming soon to my Etsy shop. It is very much a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors that is fiery and unique.

Check out my store here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/kosebose

Original Oil Painting Lilly Pond Now Available on Etsy

The abstract painting Lilly Pond is actually one of the first works that I painted after I came back to Bulgaria, and it is probably one of my favorite abstract works. I like the fresh liquid and floral feeling that it conveys, and I enjoy the gentle colors reminiscent of springtime days. The painting is now available on my shop: KoseBose's Etsy Shop

New Oil Paintings Available on My Esty Shop

After close to a month since my last post (wow, long time), I finally found the time to add a couple of oil paintings to my Etsy shop. I have added my Nocturne paintings, which consist of Nocturne: Ocean and Nocturne: Woodland. Here they both are:

I have always loved nights and the specific kind of quiet they bring about, which is not even quiet at all, but a kind of chorus of crickets, rustling of leaves, and the movement of the clouds. I am not an early bird, and I am rarely ever wide awake enough to enjoy early mornings properly. I am more of an owl, and I have often found myself wide awake at the wee hours of the night marveling at the feeling of peace that it can offer. Indeed, a lot of my artistic inspiration comes at night, perhaps simply because the world is asleep, and I can think without the phone ringing or without worrying about all the errands I have to do right now. These paintings were a way of trying to put these feelings on paper through color and stroke. I named them Nocturnes  after Chopin's nocturnes, which are some of my favorite pieces of classical music ever. They are beautiful, and even though I used to listen to them a lot while I was going through a rough patch, they don't necessarily carry a sad feeling. Instead, they are like an embrace, rocking you to sleep.

I hope you enjoy my art, and I also hope that some lucky person would buy the pair and enjoy these pieces of the night in his or her home.You can purchase the paintings here at my Etsy shop.

My Etsy Shop

Hey everyone! This is just to brag a bit at the fact that my Esty shop is now live at http://www.etsy.com/shop/kosebose. Right now there are only five items, but there are more coming soon, in fact as soon as the end of this week. I have matted and photographed some of my larger oil abstracts, and I plan on uploading them to the store by the end of this week if all goes well and I can spare some time from Financial Management and Business Strategy assignments.

Here is a sneak peak at my upcoming works for sale: