Thank you, Isidora for giving me a sunshine award, “an award for bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world“.
Getting the award also includes answering some questions, here are my answers:
I pass this award to Lana and Lilla Indigo.
I have a couple announcements to make: a super sweet print sale starting next week on my blog and a new illustration book!
Both Lilla Indigo and Tina invited me to accept a game called Izazov (Challenge).
The point of the challenge is to write down 3 tools I use the most in my creative work and 3 tools I need or would like to have (but haven’t got yet 
)
So, my top three most used tools currently are:
1. CAMERA(S)
I use my Canon 450D with a 50mm lens attached to it everyday, and my Olympus E-510 with an ultra wide angle lens on a weekly basis. I also shoot a lot of film, currently mostly with Minolta and a Lomo SuperSampler. I have quite a few rolls of film that need to be developed right now and even more photos to be scanned.
2.PENS
When drawing I use only two type of pens (since I color my illustrations digitally most of the time). One of my favorite pens is uni-ball eye micro Mitsubishi pen which is waterproof/fade-proof and affordable but my absolute favorite is roller gel PILOT G-TEC-C4 ultra fine. It’s an amazing, high-quality pen that I absolutely adore (note to Pilot pen company: yes, you can send me bunch of free pens, I will shamelessly praise them on my blog, I really do love that pen). Unfortunately, there is only one place in Zagreb that has that particular beloved tool.
3.PHOTOSCAPE
I downloaded Photoscape more than a month ago just so I can make gifs but now I use it almost everyday for batch resizing and editing photos. It’s so practical, easy to use and free!
You can download it here.
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Thinking of 3 tools I need or would like to have wasn’t as easy as I thought it would because I actually don’t need anything right now, I’m all set! But, there is always something to wish for, right? So here is what I would like to have:
1.WATERCOLOR PENCILS
A girl can dream, right?
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I invite anyone who is interested to play this game to join in
This week, just like the last one, turned out to be very busy for me. I’ve been working hard on several projects and I might even have some results to show next week
But, before that would you fancy taking a stroll around Zagreb center with me?
Hey, look! There’s a little Fićo, how retro and cute that car is? This particular one looks really loved and cared about.
For some reason, I love taking pics of trams.
Street musician taking a break and checking his messages.
Hipster spotting on Main square!
Here is a photo for Bob: Scottish tourists in Zagreb!
…and here is one photo for Isidora. When I saw this old sign in Obrtnički prolaz I instantly thought of her and her lovely pics of old (and often funny) signs in Varaždin. This one says: Institute for decontamination of apartments and selling products.
Also, Isidora is currently having a GIVEAWAY on her blog. She’s giving away one of her crocheted hats, so hurry and check it out!
I discovered that behind every fancy, recently restored facade in Zagreb there is an old, unloved often deteriorating backyard . Here are examples of few prettier ones.
Zagreb city blues.
Urban shapes and (mostly warm) colors.
Hanging glittery shoe display in front of Ulični ormar (Street Closet ), a second hand shop.
A detail of front of the said shop. I like the white picket fence.
Spring is here! Flowers on Cvjetni trg.
Somebody dragged a Trojan horse on Cvjetni trg. I wonder who’s hiding inside of it.
Decoration on one of the outside tables of one of the restaurants.When I downloaded this photo from my camera it reminded me of Ines Perković photography. Her work is beautiful, check it out if you haven’t yet.
Orange chairs are photogenic!
An obligatory selfie in a shiny silver ball.
And, for the last photo of this week’s photo diary I saved something special for you, a capture of an awesome art piece displayed in one of the photo studio windows
I hope you’ve enjoyed our stroll around Zg downtown. I wish you great weekend!
I’ve been very busy last week and couldn’t find time for taking personal photos as I usual do for the love of photography and for the love of documenting my life
However, I did find a little time on Tuesday to take a walk in Zagreb downtown and take a few shots, casual impressions and details some of which you can see above and they officially make this week’s installment of photo diary.
I wish you all fun, exciting weekend!
Potaknuta nedavnom Isidorinom razmjenom pomislila sam da ne bi bilo loše da i ja ponudim neke stvari na razmjenu. Naime, nedavno sam počela snimati seriju portreta i autoporteta i stalno sam u potrazi za rekvizitima za fotke, tako da mi je palo na pamet da ponudim neke stvari za koje vjerujem da bi vam se mogle svidjeti u zamjenu za handmade rekvizite točnije handmade nakit koji mogu korisiti na fotkama
Dakle, za razmjenu nudim: smeđu kožnu torbu. Torba je iz njemačkog second hand shopa, ali po svoj prilici nikad nije nošena i u savršenom je stanju. Ja je imam više od godine dana i nikad je nisam nosila jer u nju ne stane veliki DSLR fotić kojeg uvijek teglim sa sobom. No, zato u nju stane puno drugih stvari. Dimenzije torbe su 36×26 cm. Nisam sigurna koje marke je torba , ali na prednjem dijelu je sitnim slovima utisnut logo Santa, pa postoji mogučnost da je došla iz radionice Djeda Mraza
Druga stvar koju nudim za razmjenu je tamno crvena Moleskine teka. Naslovnicu sam oslikala akrilnim bojama. Dimenzije Moleskina su 13×21 cm, stranice su prazne i idealne za crtanje, skiciranje itd.
Treća stvar koja ide na razmjenu je print, verzija moje ilustracije Flawed koja mi je posebno draga jer jer je svojednobno bila pick of the week na Illustration Friday Print je velićine 28×23 cm i isprintan je na 200gms photo papiru.
Što bih voljela dobiti za uzvrat? Voljela bih dobiti veliki handmade broš u obliku cvijeta i ogrlicu koja također ima nekakav cvjetni motiv (ali nije nužno). Nakit namjeravam koristiti na portretu na kojem bi trebale dominirati žuta, plava i zelena pa bi bilo idealno da je nakit u istim bojama, ali , naravno ne mora biti.
Dakle, ako ste zainteresirani za mijenjate handmade broš i ogrlicu za retro torbu, customized Moleskine i print pošaljite mi fotku onoga što biste mijenjali na asja@asjaboros.com i javit ću vam se što prije da dogovorimo detalje.
Wow! I can’t believe it’s Friday already! Time flies so fast, I’m almost ready to believe in all that “2012. time is speeding up phenomena”, hehe. Anyway, here is a second installment of my photo diary:
Last weekend Winter was still in full force, it was freezing cold and snowing like mad. Walking outside felt like taking a stroll inside of a snow globe. It was so beautiful!
Even though everything looked so pretty covered with snow, a true Winter Wonderland, it was also extremely cold so a lot of time was spent inside. I worked on some more demanding drawings but also did some casual doodling in my Moleskine and on card paper which you can see above.
At the beginning of the week sunshine lured me out. Again, it was so beautiful, surface of snow sparkled like millions tiny crystals! I love this kind of weather and as you can guess I don’t mind the cold much
We went into the nearby woods to do a little photo shoot that you can see in my previous post!
Yesterday I got super happy to get this amazing package in mail! Last year Christian Papazoglakis asked me if he could use some of my textures on his upcoming comic book project and of course I said yes. He promised to credit me in the book and to send me copies when they’re out and he stayed true to his word. He sent me copies of Harry Octane and Chapman, both of which you can see above.
…and how awesome is the way he autographed the books for me? Seriously awesome, I’d say! It really made my day!
You can see more of his work here:
I wish you all wonderful weekend! I will spend my weekend drawing, shooting, photo editing and generally being crazy busy (but in a good way!!). What are your plans?
Sometimes I feel an inexplicable sense of longing. An unexplainable, irrational longing for something (or someone), elusive and mysterious that continually slips away from me, always keeping me a step behind from feeling entirely satisfied, complete and centered in present moment even though I am generally happy person and love my life.
This sense of longing is hard to define. Sometimes it manifests itself as a feeling that “something is missing in my life”, a piece of a puzzle, so to speak that, if found would make my life more meaningful.
Often this irrational longing makes me pick my camera and take hundreds of random pictures as if some secret knowledge is locked within my camera and it can only be discovered by pressing a shutter button over and over again.
Every once in a while, a feeling of longing, this subtle yet persistent force makes me go outside to wander and photograph the world as if whatever is I’m looking for will reveal itself to me through images of misty roads, Autumn leaves, parks, beautiful afternoon light…
Often it makes me take self-portraits and look at them as mirrors reflecting back to me insights into my own psyche showing me that answers to my longings already lay within me just waiting to be discovered.
This feeling of longing can at times be described as an insatiable desire, a constant restlessness of spirit, a need for change just for the sake of it but sometimes it can be very motivating, pushing me to create, learn and explore the world through camera lens. Even though I might never feel fully satisfied or complete, on one level I am grateful for it
Since I take a lot of snapshots of my daily life, I thought it would be appropriate to post some of them here every Friday, in a “this was my week in pictures” manner. Here is the first installment of my photo diary (after all this is my personal blog):
This week cutest dog in the neighborhood came to visit!
It snowed. A lot. But I didn’t mind. Everything looks nicer cover with virginal white blanket, to say it poetically
It got cold. Extremely cold. I did mind it and I wasn’t the only one.
Hot coffee was necessary for my well being this week, but it seems it usually is.
Mr Dean who came to visit recently(!!), among other things brought a Minolta and a role of expired film with him. After walking around in crazy cold weather for 2 days in a row we finally purchased matching batteries for the camera and started shooting. Can’t wait to get the film developed.
Sunshine+snow=a perfect reason to go out for a walk and take pics.
How was your week?
Sometimes I catch myself thinking how wonderful it would’ve been if I lived in one of past eras which art, photography and design I admire . “It must have been so exciting and interesting to live back then, if I could’ve only experienced that particular time in history my work would have been so much better.” Then I remind myself that, the reason a particular era looks so appealing, magical, inspiring in photographs and art is not because it actually was that way but because photographers and artist of that time were talented, skilled and driven enough to recognize beauty, magic and power in world that surrounds them and transform (quite often grim) reality into something meaningful and beautiful through their work.
That thought makes more motivated to live in the present moment, to be fully aware of my surroundings and to push myself harder to develop ideas and skills.
I choose to embrace the present moment as it is and to recognize beauty and potential in often distressing circumstances that surround us. I choose to accept this (seemingly difficult) moment in history as it is and I choose to find beauty in it and strength in me to transform it into something positive and inspiring through my work.
After all, all we have is here and now
Hello and welcome! My name is Asja, I'm an illustrator who loves to take photos. This is my personal blog, a place on web where I share my drawings, photos, various creative projects and experiments and write about my interests which usually revolve around inspiration, art and leading more creative life in general.
