Frizzy Hair

14"x10"

Graphite pencil and charcoal

Taking a break from pastels and going back to pencil for a while.This is also a revisited piece.Did it again, using different paper, different approach.Pencil work needs to be pretty realistic for it to be noticed...and it needs a LOT of patience to achieve that.I still lack that patience as it is in my nature to rush things ( ask my husband!) You would wonder why I draw,then? Well ,first, because I have to draw! Teaching myself to be patient would be another bonus.

Have a great weekend, you all!

Wrinkled- Pencil Portrait of an Old Man

Pencil on Paper

17"x11" Strathmore Bristol Paper

This is the drawing I have been working on since last week.It took me about 16 hours of work, but I enjoyed every hour!The reference picture was taken about 3 years ago, in my hometown Rishikesh, which is  a spiritual town of India.There are many,many of them, like this old man here, sitting around on the banks of the Ganges river; spending their time in a blissful inertia.

A Beautiful Start_2012

This is one of the 12 sketches that appear in the Desk Calendar 2012 of my sister's company 'MediaGuru'. We did it last year,too; with my 'Faith' series. This year she commissioned me to do a series about children, youth and dreams.I have spent two months on this project and I am happy that its finally out! Waiting for my copy, though...will share it with you once I receive it.
This time these calendars have become something like a collector's item; everyone wants one!
Have a Happy New Year, all of you :)

Pencil on paper
A3 sized

Vivacious

A pencil portrait of my friend Harmeet, who has wanted one for a long time! She is a beautiful and self confident woman with a vivacious personality; a teacher by profession.I hope these traits reflect in this portrait.
The photo was provided by Vikram who happens to be my friend, and her husband :)
Pencil on paper, 16"x12"1

Dreams_Pencil Portrait

The exhibit is still going on, I thank you all for your whole hearted support.To see some pics, CLICK HERE.
I haven't been sitting idle,though .I have drawn two more portraits, again the reference were provided by my photographer friend Vikram. Sharing first one here,You may find it a bit different than my previous works; the reason being a new,smoother paper resulting in smoother skin tones, and use of charcoal for darker areas.
I do hop,that you like the 'new look'!
Have a nice day.
Pencil and charcoal, A3 sized 200 gsm acid free cartridge paper.

Exhibition Time!

I have not mentioned it so far, but I am going to have a little exhibition of my pencil portraits in September, in Fairfields Art Centre, Basingstoke.The director of the centre is an FB friend ( whom I found when I moved here) and he invited me to have this exhibition. Isn't that great!........
There will be about a dozen portraits -this is another one which will be added to the show.
The woman in this portrait is the mom of a friend.She also taught him and my husband in high school where they went together. She is a strong willed and self assured woman- the traits which I have tried to capture in this portrait.She is also a warm and lovely person to be with.
P.S. I have been really busy in last few weeks.. have been ignoring my blogger friends, I know! Please bear with me for some time :)
Pencil on paper 16"x12"

Grandma

This is a portrait of the granny of my friend Vikram.She has a beautiful face and is quite vivacious for her age!It was drawn from a photo taken by him. Her flowing white hair made this imade a perfect choice for a black and white sketch.I did it more like 'negative sketching'...the hair strands were created by erasing only.
Graphite pencil on A3 paper

The Intense Gaze

I have been working on this sketch during past few days. I guess total time involved was around 10-12 hours.

This lady  happens to be a devotee who was busy reading her holy book at the 'Ganga Ghaat'( At the shores of the Ganges) in Rishikesh.She looked up when my husband clicked her picture but didn't mind much! Her gaze was intense and deep, so I was fascinated by her face.
Hope you enjoy this.
Pencil on paper, 16"x12"

Autumn- The sketch of mom

 This is my mom...the sketch was sitting on my drawing board when I left for my vacation. I can say my hands were itching to complete it - and that's what I did last night! Although the 'finishing up' took more than five hours....I am generally happy with it.What do you think?
Pencil on paper 30cm  X40 cm

Faith 2- Old Man Offering Prayers

Its the same old man whose sketch appeared on my blog sometime ago.This is another image, here he is offering sacred water to the SunGod, standing on the steps of the Ganga river. This ritual is observed by many devotees in Hindu religion.It comprises worshipping the rising sun with water from the Ganga, flowers and other holy items like kumkum, chandan and dhoop.One can See hundreds of people going through this ritual in the spiritual towns like Haridwar, Rishikesh and Varanasi.

This drawing was done on full sheet, my first in this size.Thus it took a bit of time- I couldn't calculate the hours ; I would say it took me about 7-8 days to finish. ..And lots of work:)
The photo is not very good as the paper I used had a yellowish tinge, it was to big, and there is very little sunlight today.Sorry about that!

Graphic pencil on paper, 30"x22"

White Rose in Pencil

The rose is beautiful in any form, so I though it would look good in pencil drawing,too! Started this drawing about two months ago, than abandoned it halfway (too much work, and my patience was thinning!) But finally decided to push it - and here it is!The background has multiple layers of grapic pencils, so that the flower stands out.Pencil art is a lot of hard work and I am finding it more and more tough to handle since I started watercolors--as watercolors are instantly gratifying .
.....Anyway, pencil drawing has its own charm, and like a mother of two, I can't really say which one is my favourite:) I can't recall how many hours were spent on this piece- may be 20 or more!
16"x12" Graphic pencil on cartrige paper