Three Postcards, Giveaway and Ranting.

Today I finished the third of the three post cards and will be mailing them to a gallery in the next few days. If you would like to see the originals in all their beauty, you'll have to take a trip to Italy since they will be in a permanent collection in Siena Art Institute. They will be first displayed during the inaugural exhibition, 24th Sept 2011. After the exhibition they will remain in the collection of the Siena Art Institute library.

Now for the Giveaway. I'll be giving away 3 prints, one of each of these cards. One lucky winner, whom I will randomly pick (have I mentioned I use good old playing cards to pick winners?), will win them all. Now for the rules:

To enter giveaway you can:
Subscribe to this YouTube channel and comment on my video
Subscribe to my blog and comment below

Bonus entries (bonus entries will not count unless you have done one of the above) are:

Like me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ArtofArmadaVolya (1 extra entry)

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/ArmadaVolya (1 extra entry)

Tweet about this giveaway or post about it on Facebook (1 entry each)



Comment on this FB post http://www.facebook.com/ArtofArmadaVolya/posts/118662708229832 (1 entry)

Or join my mailing and email lists by emailing me at armadavolya[at]hotmail[dot]com with your mailing and email addresses (1 entry each)


And just because of the inspiration for my ranting: Listen or read to one of the stories from Escape Pod, Pod Castle, Pseudopod or any other short story available free on line and come back here and tell what site you found the story on, the name of the story and what you liked or disliked about it. (5 entries)

Please, please please leave separate comments for each entry.

Giveaway ends on 8/15/2011

Abstract Watercolor Painting, Memory

Memory is a funny thing and this painting was my attempt to capture the complexity of it. Hope my explanation of it makes sense.

Now, the giveaway. I'll be giving away an 11x17 print of this painting. You can enter this giveaway by 8/22 11:59pm and I will pick a winner on 8/23

To enter giveaway you can:

Subscribe to this YouTube channel and comment on this video

Subscribe to my blog and comment on this post

Bonus entries (bonus entries will not count unless you have done one of the above) are:

Like me on Facebook  (1 extra entry)

Follow me on Twitter  (1 extra entry)

Tweet about this giveaway or post about it on Facebook (1 entry each)


Comment on this FB update

Or join my mailing and email lists by emailing me at armadavolya[at]hotmail[dot]com with your mailing and email addresses (1 entry each)

Surreal, Watercolor and Ink Painting, Savage Nature

This surrealistic watercolor and ink painting is of an alien who unlike humans live in harmony with nature. They understand nature and respect it's laws. Biologically they are very similar to people. I will turn this story into a comic book/ graphic novel, I promise. Just have to get through the gallery season first. Once winter hits I will be able to get some writing done.

I will be giving away a print of this painting, so if you'd like to win one, feel free to enter. This giveaway expires on 8/29 at 11:59 pm

To enter giveaway you can:

Subscribe to this YouTube channel and comment on this video

Subscribe to my blog and comment on this post

Bonus entries (bonus entries will not count unless you have done one of the above) are:

Like me on Facebook  (1 extra entry)

Follow me on Twitter  (1 extra entry)

Tweet about this giveaway or post about it on Facebook (1 entry each)

Comment on this FB update
Or join my mailing and email lists by emailing me at armadavolya[at]hotmail[dot]com with your mailing and email addresses (1 entry each)

Watercolor and Ink Abstract Painting and a Giveaway

To find other creations by the maker of the Scrabble Tile Pedant can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ladyhawkeoriginals

To enter giveaway you can:
Subscribe to this YouTube channel and comment on the video
Subscribe to my blog and comment on this post
Bonus entries (bonus entries will not count unless you have done one of the above) are:

Like me on Facebook  (1 extra entry)

Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)

Tweet about this giveaway or post about it on Facebook (1 entry each)

Comment on this Facebook Post

Or join my mailing and email lists by emailing me at armadavolya[at]hotmail[dot]com with your mailing and email addresses (1 entry each)

Please, please please leave separate comments for each entry.

Winner will be picked at random on 8/8

Giveaway of Painting Joy and My First Youtube Video

It is finally done, my first youtube video is up and running. Hence the giveaway. As I promised a while ago, it's up for grabs.This Painting would normally be $50, but since I love you guys so much...

The rules are simple, for each entry leave it's own comment here on my blog. Make sure I have some way to contact you (email, etsy shop, twitter, Facebook, YouTube, some place I can send you a message if you win). I will draw the lucky number once my YouTube channel hits 500 views, so the faster it'll happen, the faster the painting will be sent to the winner. The ways to enter are many.

Mandatory:
Subscribe to my Youtube channel and comment on the video. (1 entry) 

Additional:
Follow Armada Volya's Art Corner and From the World of Art (1 entry each)
Favorite Armada Volya etsy shop (1 entry)
Follow me on Twitter (1 entry, please give name in the comment)
Like my Facebook Page (1 entry, please leave name in the comment)
Post about this giveaway and the video on twitter, Facebook, and/or blog (1 entry each, give links in your comment)
Join my mailing list. Email me at armadavolya@ hotmail.com with your mailing address. I don't send emails more then once per month and I don't send mail more then twice a year. Information will not be sold or shared (2 entries, one for email address, one for mailing address. Be sure to leave 2 separate comments)
And just because I really love the print I got, visit Jessica Lopez's shop and tell me what item you like the most there

The winner will be picked using www.random.org
Good luck.
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Sorry guys, forgot to do my usual apocalypse update, so here it is for both days. Yesterday- more of the same. Today- there is no rain, it's horrible, all day it was really hot and then there was no rain... now I'm going to have to water my plants myself... now that's very close to the end of the world as far as I see it.

Ancestors' Spirits Giveaway

Ancestors' Spirits paintings were done in ink, watercolor paint and watercolor pencil. This series was inspired by Native American art.
To enter giveaway you can:
Subscribe to this YouTube channel and comment on this video
Subscribe to my blog and comment on this blog post

Bonus entries (bonus entries will not count unless you have done one of the above) are:

Like me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ArtofArmadaVolya (1 extra entry)

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/ArmadaVolya (1 extra entry)

Tweet about this giveaway or post about it on Facebook (1 entry each)

Or join my mailing and email lists by emailing me at armadavolya[at]hotmail[dot]com with your mailing and email addresses (1 entry each)

Please, please please leave separate comments for each entry.

If you like the necklace, please visit http://SatinDollCo.etsy.com jewelry there is great, honestly, Monkey approves.

Not Black, Not Square not by Malevich

This video was born into this world because 1. I was too lazy to do crazy make-up and 2. because a cheap shot at Malevich's "Black Square" is always funny. If however you would like this print as a reminder that bad art is bad, no matter how famous the artist who did it is, you can enter this giveaway here.

To enter giveaway you can:
Subscribe to this YouTube channel and comment on this video
Subscribe to my blog and comment on this post

Bonus entries (bonus entries will not count unless you have done one of the above) are:

Like me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ArtofArmadaVolya (1 extra entry)

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/ArmadaVolya (1 extra entry)

Tweet about this giveaway or post about it on Facebook (1 entry each)

Or join my mailing and email lists by emailing me at armadavolya[at]hotmail[dot]com with your mailing and email addresses (1 entry each)

To purchase this and other prints by Crazy Tatyana please visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/ghostlydigital

Palm Trees, and Monkeys. Painting of a Beach

In one of the art teams on etsy we have these challenges. We pick a topic and try to paint it. This time the topic is beach/ocean. Well, I must admit, this was actually challenging. Mainly because of all elements in nature, I never got special attachment with the beach. I lived most of my childhood ether close to the forests or mountains. We had rivers and lakes, but they were small and never inspired that great of an ow in me. I only saw sea for the first time when I was in my teens. The earlier memories were much more important to me as far at loving elements in nature goes. Plus, I'm really not "painting the beach" kind of girl.

After thinking about this challenge for a few days, I finally figured out how to combine this topic with my painting style. I finally cracked it, I'm doing it and I'm loving it. This picture shows it as it is so far, I have to put another day into it before I can say I'm done, but so far I think it's going well.

Now, here is how I managed to get this to the point where I can actually enjoy doing it. First of all I needed to figure out how to do it in abstract, more importantly my style of abstract. I googled "abstract beach" images and saw how other people did it. This started bringing me in the right direction. I figured out what I wanted on the painting plus I got the boost of confidence that I can indeed do it. Then I remembered all those cartoons I watched when I was little and how small islands were depicted in them. This helped me develop it further. Now add a simplified version of my crazy lines and here it comes. Beach painting that is my very own and that I can relate to. Now I just have to finish and hope I wouldn't mess something up in the process.

The whole time I was painting, Monkey wanted to be close to me. After trying to get comfortable on the drafting table where I was painting, he figured there was too much water and paint, plus I was moving things around too much. He changed his position by switching to the table just an arm length away and of all places, he went ahead and fell asleep on the printer.

-Monkey, can you print out last month expenses?
-Mew, give me catnip

Oh, and the spiders... I hate spider... For some odd reason they seem to like the idea of moving in with us though. Killed one of them myself (after screaming like a little girl) and Vincent killed the other (after I screamed like a little girl.) Now, this is how the conversation went between Vin and I after I screamed
-Vincent, there is a spider in the bathroom, can you kill it?
-Nah, it's going to keep the flies away (he has a thing against killing things, even spiders)
-No, it's going to keep me away
Anyway, after threatening to spray the spider with chlorine so that it would die a terrible and painful death without me getting near it, Vincent agreed to catch it and release it outside. Killed it in the process of catching though.

Don't forget about the giveaway btw, it's still on at http://artofarmadavolya.blogspot.com/2011/05/giveaway-of-painting-joy-and-my-first.html

Apocalypse update: Good news, it cooled down a bit over here. It was so much nicer today, I didn't even have to turn on the AC. Though I still have to water the plants myself :(
Darn, this end of the world is very sneaky, you can't even see it coming.
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Update: 3 spiders... 3... One of them snack up on me while I was typing the blog post for From the World of Art. My arachnophobic mind can't handle it. Perhaps this is the way the world will end... it'll be huge aggressive spiders... they will scare us all to death...
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Another quick update, there is another giveaway I'm sponsoring. If you would like one of my Ancestor's Spirit paintings, I'm giving away the largest, the most expensive and the one I like the most. It's an $80 painting, so don't miss out

Fire Butterfly Jewels and a Giveaway

Wanted to leave a quick note about another giveaway I have going on. This one is for one of my letters. It's on Fire Butterfly Jewels where all of it will be nicely taken care of for me, so I'll just quickly retire and get back to my painting... the procrastination will kill me one day...

Almost forgot, the apocalypse... I think pastafarians are starting to loose, because it was way too hot today. and yes, I actually had to water my plants today since the rain never came. It's so humid out, I really wish we had some rain, but alas, Yahweh decided I should suffer for my sins and bake alive. Must be because I worship animal idols. 

Abstract Painting of a Giant Snowflake, Giveaway and Super Duper Hair

OMG, IT'S A GIANT SNOWFLAKE PAINTING!!! I know, I know, I had a rough few New Years Eves.

The headband is from Rouge and Whimsy on etsy

To enter giveaway you can:
Subscribe to this YouTube channel and comment On this video

Subscribe to my blog and comment on this post

Bonus entries (bonus entries will not count unless you have done one of the above) are:

Like me on Facebook  (1 extra entry)

Follow me on Twitter  (1 extra entry)

Or join my mailing and email lists by emailing me at armadavolya[at]hotmail[dot]com with your mailing and email addresses (1 entry each)

You need to leave a comment for each entry on either this video or on the blog post
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Just a quick Apocalypse Update: It's been 1.5 month since the end of the world begun, don't see that many changes though, other than funky weather that is. Last year it was a lot hotter. Other than that, same old, same old. Was also wondering about the whole end of the world in 2012. How can the world end in 2012 if these 6 last month are going to run out in 2011? Hmm... too many ends of the world in too short of a time...

Watercolor and Ink Paintings

Arts and Drafts festival went really well, it was fun as always. I've painted a few small painitngs specially for this occasion and these two watercolor and ink paintings are the last two from those paintings.

I especially like the profile, it's an experiment gone right. I did enjoy doing other paintings with these lines, but lately it just wasn't cutting it. I wanted to use them for something new and so I did. I haven't even hoped that it would end up as well as it did, but alas.

While at an art show I have talked to a few people that inspired a couple of Tatyana skids, so the insanity of that character will continue.

You can enter to win prints of both the flower and the male portrait.

To enter giveaway you can:

Subscribe to this YouTube channel and comment on this video

Subscribe to my blog and comment on this post

Bonus entries (bonus entries will not count unless you have done one of the above) are:

Like me on Facebook (1 extra entry)

Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)

Tweet about this giveaway or post about it on Facebook (1 entry each)

Comment on this FB update

Or join my mailing and email lists by emailing me at armadavolya[at]hotmail[dot]com with your mailing and email addresses (1 entry each)

Alter Ego, Art and Giveaway

Some time ago I wrote a blog post about these super-fast digital paintings I did and how I was wondering if they would sell. Well, I wanted to add some humor to my YouTube videos, so I developed an alter ego named Tatyana. She is a crazy woman with fake Russian accent and she is convinced that she is the best thing that ever happened to this world. She will be the one responsible for these digital paintings. She is so in love with herself that she sells her prints for $1000 each and thinks it's cheap. She is being generous enough to give one of the prints away though to one lucky winner. The print that will be given away is of a painting "The Healing Spirit" that is created on this video.

To enter the giveaway, you need to go to and subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave a comment on this video.

There will be more of this crazy Tatyana every Friday, so stay tuned and catch some artistic craziness. For those who wonder:she is based on the overwhelming ego of some of the artists I've met in my life.

Ornate Letter Frenzy

I have been posting the rest of the letters on etsy yesterday and today, there is a lot more to go, but I figured I'd mention it here. I'm planning to sponsor a giveaway on a different site, and the gift will be one of these letters.

A strange thing, I slept for only 4 or 5 hours and don't even feel it. I have to stop staying up till sunrise.

Now on the brighter side, it hailed last night, those darn pastafarians must've overdone it... However it's nice and sunny today. It's OK though, we have the whole 6 month before the end of the world ends.  What kind of sicko said that the end of the world, the total destruction of everything we worked so hard to achieve is a good news anyway? Now that's the kind of people you don't want to have an atomic bomb.

How to Decorate a Frame with Magazine Pages

Today I was doing everything BUT what I was supposed to do. Today is the day I'm supposed to read blogs, haven't even started yet. What I did do though is talk to other bloggers and arranging a giveaway for one of my paintings. It should be up and running in a week or so. I also got offered to be a guest blogger and do a tutorial. Now I can't even find a link because my mind is slowly melting. I'll post it as soon as I will find it though. Oh yes, and I'm also a regular guest blogger for The Art Inquirer, I'll be writing for it once a week or so. Anyway, with doing all that, 8 hours went by and I have only read one blog so far. On a brighter side, I now have a step by step tutorial for my frames. So, here it is:

Take a frame that has flat front (or top if it's laying on the table).

Take some magazines, cut pages of magazines into strips that would fit well on the frame.

Roll strips of paper into little rolls

Glue rolls onto the frame (I used Mod Podge for it, cover them with Mod Podge to make sure they are glued togather and have shiny look as well as protected from some of that damage.

Frame whatever you wish in them.

This is a simplified version of the tutorial. I'll post a link to the full tutorial as soon as it'll be posted and as soon as I'll find the address of that blog again. I'm too disorganized today...

Oh, almost forgot, the end of the world update... It was nice and sunny all day, then it suddenly got dark and started raining (well it looked more like someone was hosing the windows, less then a minute after it started pouring rain, it also started hailing, large chunks of frozen slush. It didn't damage any of my plants though, so I'm happy. This is not that uncommon here in Erie, I mean, it is Erie after all. It's not even that uncommon in the rest of the world. When I lived in Kyrgyzstan for example, we had hail every spring, not long after all the fruit trees would bloom. Trees got used to this and ended up blooming twice every spring. Nonetheless,  I'll go ahead and say that pastafarians are doing a great job and managed to counteract this Yahveh sent disaster in less then 30 minutes. In less than half an hour the sun came back out and everything looked beautiful again. It's been raining on and off though, but that's to be expected from such epic battle between Yahveh and Flying Spaghetti Monster's chosen people.
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Update: I did it!!! I found the blog where my tutorial will be posted... it's My Hobby Shop. The frame decorating tutorial is up and running

Joy, Abstract Painting.

Just finished this abstract painting today. This is a small one, 5x7 inches done in watercolor and ink. I wanted to do a few small paintings for giveaways and post cards, so I did this one. Thought it would be a quick painting I can do in a couple of hours, turned out I forgot how long those lines take. Well, no matter. I got one done so far and will make it into a post card. I would normally sell the original of this size for $30, but I'll be giving it away for free. Haven't figured out the time and what people need to do to enter into this giveaway yet, but I'll be posting it soon, so stay tuned.

I'm thinking about starting a youtube channel where I'll be talking about my art as well as about other artists, so I was thinking about giving away this painting to celebrate. What do you think? Anyone who subscribes to my future channel can enter and once the first video gets 100 views this painting goes to the winner? Should I throw in a few more gifts for say 2nd and 3rd places?

Crazy Video Day and Nothing to Post

Today was supposed to be my youtube day. I was supposed to work on my first video, get it ready, post it and enjoy. Well... first I found out my microphone isn't doing too good, so I had to run around the mall in search of a new one. Found it. Works just a little bit better, but I figured it's good enough.
Sat down trying to figure out what I have to say. Wrote it all down, practiced. Spent a few hours trying to record, rerecord, rererecord a 5 minute video. And I thought I'd have some time left over to read blogs. It's almost 3 in the morning now and I just finished with the recording part. Will have to edit it and post probably tomorrow. If that's the case, my giveaway for the Joy painting will be posted tomorrow as well.

For those who are wondering, there was a spider on that tree, that's why I have this funny face. Spiders love my, I don't love them back... They love biting me way too much...

Oh and I had something super good happen today. I did a feature on this awesome artist, Jessica Lopez a few days ago on my other blog. Well, she sent me one of her prints and it's beautiful. It looks really good up close, you can really appreciate all the inking she did on it. You can't really see it on the photo on line, but when you see the print itself, the inking is beautiful. She also gave me a coupon to use and to share. It's good for 2 purchases, so if anyone wants it, it's AVBLOG. I was going all out promoting her on every networked I knew today. I think I tweeted about it 3 times. Jessica is so talented, and her work is so good. Oh, I'm too exited, I have to wrap this up before I go too far with this.

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Apocalypse Update: Nothing new, same hot weather all day, same rain at night. Oh and Monkey tried to commit suicide yet again. I went into the other room for a few minutes and all I heard was some woman saying "don't jump, don't jump kitty." He actually wasn't going to jump, he is just living on the edge and loves walking on it too. Crazy little Monkey. If he would've fallen though and I couldn't find him (I don't think he'd die after falling from the second floor) it just might've been a mini end of the world for me.