Friday, August 30, 2013

Standing Tall -Portrait of a Giraffe

9"x12"
After a week of being busy elsewhere,I enjoyed painting this one today.Feels good! Looks like I will be painting some more giraffes-they are cute :)

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Caricature Art


This is Alex, a colleague of my husband and an avid Beatles fan.It was his 40th birthday and I was given the task to paint a caricature of him in John Lennon style.It took some work but turned out well...Alex seems quite happy with it!It was done on Pastel Mat with soft pastels and pastel pencils.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Crimson Crown Rooster

9"x12" Waterolor
Last 6-7 days have not been good to me... had a sore throat with a lot of coughing and hardly any sleep at night.With this the old cough has returned,it seems.The specialist's appointment is still a good month away.So all I can do is drink a lot of honey-lemon-water/tea. But painting always takes a hit when I am not feeling 100% well.Did not paint at all for last whole week- this morning I decided to break the dry spell by painting some loose pieces.This rooster is the only one who made it to my blog post! 
The focus was his crown so I kept the background and even the feathers at minimum with some salt texture thrown in.What do you think?

Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Gentle Giant_ Elephant Portrait

21"x14" Arches NOT Paper
Going big again, painted on a half sheet of Arches.The composition was powerful so I thought that the impact would be greater in a larger size.I am more or less happy with this one, though the palette was not planned and I floundered a bit ...but all is well that ends well! 
I am loving painting elephants:)

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Blue

8" x 8"
Now,a blue cow :) Art is like therapy to me, helps alleviate my mood when I am feeling blue...the day was stressful, my mind full of doubt, fears of having made some wrong decisions- but since I could not change that in any way, I painted.And painted... already feeling better!


Friday, August 9, 2013

Black Sheep in Watercolor

"Not Sheepish..."
10"x 8"
Last afternoon's work...I am still looking for a perfect plan to handle animals with fur- but that hasn't happened yet.Till then it's 'trial and error 'method. Even this piece was brought back from the brink of disaster- just in time!
This black faced sheep looks quite confident, not 'sheepish' at all!
By the way, this painting was done on a new paper that I ordered recently, Hahnemuhle Anniversary Watercolour Block 425 gsm.I have used this brand for the first time- and I must admit it was a great paper to work with.Textured, but did not 'drink' the paint like some others do.I think I am in love with this paper.Just hope they keep producing it.

I am kinda stuck with this purple- need to experiment more.Can anyone suggest a Blue to try?I have cerulean, Ultramarine(green shade),Turquoise,Cobalt deep for now- anything else that I should try? All suggestions welcome.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Pastel Portrait of a Little girl in White Dress

Soft Pastels 12"x 16"
This is what I have been busy doing lately- a portrait of my lovely little niece.She is a hyper active three year old and you almost never catch her sitting still! Her mom clicked a picture of her in one such rare moment -and finally I got one to paint!Well she looks like a very quiet little girl here, but looks are deceptive :)