Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Moon Shine - Baby Elephant in Watercolor

12"x16"
Recently got myself a new shade of Daniel Smith W/c, '' Moon glow". As I was expecting a rich, granulating color, there was some disappointment initially..the color looked rather flat.But then I decided to explore it further and  painted this baby elephant with it.No points for guessing that I am liking it now! This elephant was created using Moonglow,crimson with just a hint of Prussian blue in one or two places.Background was added later in cerulean blue. I am rather happy with the overall effect.

Friday, December 18, 2015

The Blues

The Blues
22x15 Fabriano Artistico
Here is a new one...a large family of elephants in shades of blue.I have painted it on a 300lb paper as I really hate stretching paper every time the inspiration strikes!Thick paper is trickier to handle but more convenient, all the same.
My days have been quite busy lately and I have been fortunate enough to sell a lot of my paintings this season. I did well in last few months at ArtFinder.com as well as Etsy and Daily Paintworks. As I have my work uploaded on many sites now, its now a struggle to find time for everything.Painting daily combined with uploading,checking and updating each of them takes up a lot of time and I do miss my blog buddies.Feels good to be here today..just hope that I don't fall into the same rut again!
To all my friends celebrating Christmas, I wish you a Merry Christmas and  happy New Year!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Back

Glad to be back.I hope everyone has been doing fine.As for myself, I have been working all this time...just fell into the trap of putting off a thing too many times and then feeling embarrassed to come back to it! I have had too many things on my plate...just hope to keep on blogging.
Time to check upon my blogger friends x
Greetings to all with this cute guy recently done.


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Elephant in Purple

9"x12"
Loving my new Saunders Waterford CP block-- first page done.I wish I had taken work in progress pictures ! I started with a loose, mingling wash, followed by some detail in the trunk and around tusk.Then I let it sit for a couple of hours.Finally some dry brush detail was added ,so were the shadows.I am quite happy with this one.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Ostrich Day

11x14
Used Bockingford 200 lb.for the first time.Heavy paper, so it did not need any stretching.Another plus- I could lift color without much difficulty. I might test it a bit more before declaring it a new favorite; but I liked the texture and strength - it works well with my loose style.Hope you enjoy this sweet little guy!

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Sunflowers


A watercolor sketch I did yesterday,of some gorgeous sunflowers on my window sill. I started out real cool..thought that I could do it in detail and what not...but as soon as I put the first mark on paper, my mind subconsciously counted all those petals( !) and decided that the best approach was to paint fast, to capture the essence of the scene.


Monday, June 29, 2015

Pencil Sketches..

This sketch was done to get a good understanding of a horse's head structure. I had planned to do at least six, but here I am ; with a single head to show for! Anyway, the days are finally getting sunnier and I did venture out to a nice park recently to take a shot at sketching people on the go.There was a paddle pool for toddlers and I sketched some of the mothers as they sat sunning or watching their kids.Toddlers were not easy to draw-constantly moving about!I will take a good picture of the work tomorrow to post. Also in the middle of an old guy's sketch, will post it if it ends up decent enough..hope you all are enjoying summer and keeping safe.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Intense Blue Zebra

Intense Blue
9x12
So we are back to Zebras again! And somehow they always turn out to be blue.I promise next one is going to be in warmer shades..may be red/burnt sienna.Hope you are having a great weekend.

Friday, June 12, 2015

A few little ones...


 I have been painting,drawing,studying and experimenting a lot lately.Sometimes the results are not good enough to share, so I am absent from my blog for long periods..but believe me, I am still out there,and I do intend to visit all of you to see whats everyone up to! .Meanwhile I have painted a few little pieces that keep me sane during this process.Two of them are on auction at Daily PaintWorks among a lot of beautiful,beautiful paintings. Bidding ends soon :)

Golden Rooster
5'x7"
Click to bid on DPW  here 

"Birdie" 5"x7"
Click to bid on DPW Here

Camouflage Hare 7"x10"
( This one is not on auction , he is a new one I painted recently.)
Just thought I would mention, I am thinking of going back to pastels.Try some low-key, intense colored works.It would be a contrast to what I do right now, but should be fun! Lets hope I can produce something that leaps out to the viewer.

Friday, June 5, 2015

sketches...

This lady was done from telly as I wanted to sketch people but didn't have any models available!Hopefully I will go out and sketch people from life sometime soon.This is so much fun..

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Sienna Hare

Sienna hare 10x14
Another hare in sienna tones.Somehow they are real fun to paint!

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

A Happy Day

9x12
I painted this cute donkey after a few days of inactivity. I have spent these days doubting my skills and way of working; as well as my choice of subjects. (is painting animals a lesser form of art?..was my basic question. Do people take you seriously if you paint animals?) Of course nothing good came out of it.At least painting this donkey made me happy!

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Sketch in Charcoal

12x16
Picked up charcoal after a long time and did this sketch in the morning session.I have missed doing portraits and would love to do some more..This sketch reminded me how much I loved drawing- without the pressure of thinking of converting it into a painting!May be I should keep them separate.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Teal Tusker _Watercolor Elephant

16x20
Having recently acquired a couple of sheets of Two River NOT paper, today was the day to put them to test. I was stalling this for quite some time- the paper being pricey and I have not really been in my element lately.But  the 'test'  went well, after all.I chose a subject that was close to my heart; which I can paint without even thinking(though you can see- I went a bit too wild!)
This paper has a lot of texture and tooth- more towards 'rough' than a "NOT"; but it responded very well to my 'fast and furious' approach. The weight was 300 lb so there was no need to stretch.I am definitely going to use it again.Try out various styles and techniques.Lovely paper.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Portrait Study in watercolor

Page from my sketchbook 10"x 8"
I am thinking about converting this into a bigger painting.. maybe with some dramatic background.
This little sketch was based on a photo that I took on one of my trips to countryside in Hampshire.This elderly gentleman was admiring the garden while I admired his white hat and large sunglasses.The sunlight bouncing off his face makes him a good subject. It has been a long time since I have done a proper portrait and it kind of feels scary! 

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

watercolor sketch _ man

Study from sketchbook 10x8

Going back to faces, a study in my new sketchbook.Thinking about adding some more character to it but here it is, as of now.I really enjoyed it and may be I will do a few more.
Also working on a large elephant portrait.I have taken a few work-in-progress shots,so that  if I mess it up, at least I would know where things started to go wrong! I am using this old paper, don't even remember which one is it.But it is acting rather dry.Not very encouraging...
Well I think I will post more shots tomorrow.Even if the outcome is not all that exciting.Its a learning curve..earlier I used to work on the whole painting at the same time.With this one I did an initial wash over the whole thing but then divided the work to specific areas; for better control. 
Here is the first shot, the scary stage!( I swear, I did stretch the paper!)




Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Zebra Watercolor

A4 Watercolor  on Arches Hot Pressed paper
I have been absent for quite some time from my blog. It might be due to that fact that I have been feeling rather uninspired lately.May be because of a few disastrous paintings..I really don't know why. I have been experimenting a lot but not quite getting there.Still hopeful, though that there might be light at the end of this tunnel. Trying hard to get to a place where I feel satisfied with what I have done. In the meantime I painted this zebra at the request of a lovely lady who bought it as well.
I know this is something that I do well, but what I want is to be able to tie all this up with a nice background so that it looks like a painting, not just an 'animal portrait' - if you know what I mean.
Well I hope all of you are doing well.See you soon!

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Mousebird Watercolor

9"x7"

A small work from this morning.First wash was loose and then I finished it up with some fine feathers!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Ladies....WIP

W I P 1
W I P 2
Yesterday I did some more work on this painting, it has been gathering dust for past month or so, but I intend to complete it now.Top image is where I left it the last time.Contemplating about what colors would look good on these ladies garments. Right now I am thinking light blue on first lady's cardigan- may be a darker blue on her skirt.Will decide about the others later!
W I P 3
OK so now we have the third W I P picture as well.So far worked a bit on the background,going from top to bottom.Also started the two women's dresses and worked more on each one's faces.Hope I am not going too far here.Keeping their clothes in shades of blue.the third one could be  more vibrantly dressed..may be some pink and violet.So far so good ;)

Monday, April 13, 2015

 I spent the whole of this Saturday in London, starting at 5.30 in the morning as I had another exam at about 8 am.That went quite well (and I am happy to say that now I feel quite relived; free of any worries and ready to indulge big time in to painting!) after finishing with it we( me and hubby) still had a whole day ahead so we decided to go to central London and were lucky to catch the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 203rd Watercolor exhibition on its closing day at the Mall Galleries
There were numerous wonderful works from artists all over, many of them so meticulously painted- actually most of the works on the display were quite large scale and very detailed - I am now left questioning my own ways. Am I too relaxed? Do I rush my paintings? Is my work good enough to hang in a gallery like that?..well, this visit has done what it should have done; got me thinking again.Time to take my art to another level,may be? 
I am not talking about changing my style, but definitely thinking about being a bit more thorough.
I might start one or two ambitious paintings very soon and see where it takes me!

Monday, April 6, 2015

Purple Panda III

9x12
Dabbled with some more blue and pink to create another "purple Panda"! One of my works this weekend.Hope you all had a Happy Easter.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Baby Ele

Baby Pink Elephant
9x12
 I am back to my easel..well; at least for the time being.Painted a lot this weekend as the weather did not permit to make any plans to venture out-- all dark and cloudy with rains off and on. Painted this little guy on my new Saunders Waterford block and LOVED the paper.This one is 'high white' 140 lb and just perfect for my style of painting; I used lots and lots of water as it was a great block, no loosening/buckling of paper at all.You can see me going overboard here; dropping all kinds of colors into this cute baby elephant..I enjoyed this painting so much!
Next one is a giraffe and it will make an appearance soon .Happy Easter, everyone.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Guilty Pleasure..

Life has taken me on a busy road again; have two exams to  clear in coming two weeks.Till then, art is a 'guilty pleasure' like the chocolate that I am not supposed to touch when I am on a diet!
I did sneak in a couple of small painting one evening- after I got really fed up with all the studying. A bright looking bird; its an African native,called oriole. Lovely color combination of black and yellow.


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

More work in progress and a beautiful Hare

Here is another bunny to lighten up the mood as I work upon the larger painting along the way.

5"x7"

SOLD
Morning has been quite productive today.I started the basic wash on the Three Ladies painting and as it dried, painted a dog and a cat! ( they will feature in tomorrow's post) a good way to use all the paint on my palette ..and practice never hurts!
Here is the progress on Three Ladies...


I have used some masking fluid on the parts that need to kept light- don't want to break the flow of paint in order to save the whites here. Basic wash was meant to be neutral but I jut can't help dropping in all those lovely colors...so it was a mix of burnt sienna, burnt orange, french ultramarine, a little bit of yellow ochre and on the lower art-- Payne's grey mixed with a little opera rose. I don't mix my colors on the palette- though I have heard that its a good practice.I like to drop them individually and let them find their own place on paper.



Saturday, March 14, 2015

Blue Hare

SOLD
This little one is just an explosion of colors- I didn't even draw him in pencil properly - I know them so well now :) Thought of using blue and yellow instead of browns.He turned out alright, vivacious and cheerful looking - what do you say?
Now I think I will be working on a couple of large pieces- people painting time!
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours just to get this drawing right on paper- a part I hate most.I like to dive in straight with colors, usually. Sometimes these large paintings fail- and it annoys me to have spent that much time on drawing for nothing! 

I saw these ladies sitting in a bus shed with their shopping all around them, catching their breath.The picture was quite small as  I had taken it from far away and I see not much detail.Still trying to capture this scene in color.Wish me luck!I do hope I do not abandon this one.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Owl Alert

7x10
Another owl..I did spend some time on this one, using first a basic wash and then adding the detail in various colors and etching out the feathers with a rigger. The paper was langton cold pressed which allows time to add detail.I have used mostly cobalt blue, opera pink, a bit of sepia for darker areas and yellow ochre for base.For his eyes I'v  used Indian yellow- though opaque, it still is quite a vivacious color..I like the way it uplifts the artwork when used sparingly.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Dairy Milk


16" x 12" Saunders Waterford Paper
Falling behind in posting, again! Well this one is the latest from the herd. I admit that I love painting the snouts so cows will start to appear more frequently now.I really enjoyed painting this one.Mostly its just cobalt blue and some pink rose mixed on the paper to create the effect of purple.And a bit of  yellow ochre on the rest of the body . A friend of mine mentioned that she looked like a ''Cadbury's cow" as she looks perfectly purple like the brand color of Cadbury.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Barred Owl

Owls are fun to paint,,usually I like painting the ones with long, tufted ears- but this time I decided to try this round headed, barred owl.Next time i might try them in colors other than the ( natural) brown!

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A couple of Elephants

12x16
SOLD
A loose rendering this time...subject is my all time favorite!Somehow they look even better when they are not alone.I have tried to keep myself from going into too much detail here, thus; retaining the freshness of this piece.

Monday, February 23, 2015

The Ostrich that Stayed

12x16
A sharp looking Ostrich; I am liking them quite a bit. Interestingly, my husband liked this one as well and agreed to keep it at home!So now it has found a place in the hallway; first addition to my new home.I have painted another one after this,will post is here soon.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The Meerkat and the Raccoon


Something in the Air
12x16

Masked Bandit II
A4
Slipping behind again,,but trying to catch up. Did manage to paint these two cuties recently.Looks like I have a new fetish...to paint these black eyed little devils!Hope everyone is in high spirits..x

Friday, January 30, 2015

Bronzai...

12x16
SOLD
Chaos still reign at home, still I try to find time to paint.Definitely, painting is more fun than hemming a large curtain! ( which took up almost whole of my yesterday) well you got to do what you got to do...

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Golden Bear

10"x14"
 A golden grizzly bear in soft yellows, painted this morning.I have always loved painting animals with fur.Grizzly bear are just perfect as subjects, with lots and lots of long and luxurious fur. I have started with my morning sessions despite the other obligations around the house, hoping to achieve at least one painting each day.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Getting on with everything new...

It has been quite some time since I posted anything here.As many of you already know, I have been busy in house move which is now complete; though settling in will take many more weeks.Still, tonight I feel free enough to type in a few words, may be visit a few of you :) It will be our first house in the UK- a nice way to start off a new year- isn't it!Now all I have to do is clear up the clutter -sort out all the stuff that has been packed away for weeks- and make space for working! Till then I will be using my dining table as my studio again...hopefully start a painting soon :)
I do hope all of you are having a nice and bright new year,too.