Umber Stripes

9x12

Yesterday's work.Couldn't keep the muzzle as soft as I would have liked, but finished the painting anyway.

Yellow,White,Gray and Texture

7x10

Some more play with texture...another one in small animal series.

8x8

Cute little furry yellow chick in contrast with the rugged rooster!

The Lambs and Ramblings about the Paper...

10x7

8x8

Two cute little lambs I painted recently to try out different papers.

Upper one is on Langton cold pressed 140 lb block ( so far my favorite- the granulation and texture look great on it)

The first wash is very smooth and fresh but going over and darken things more than once  is not such a good idea!

The one on the bottom is on Arches cold pressed block-which was very elegant to look at but it might take some more practice to handle pigment over this surface.The color just sat on the paper and was difficult to push around.I am not ruling it out completely but a little disappointed as it was the most expensive of them all!

So far Hahnemuhle is the winner for me.This paper has texture and the paint can be pushes around quite a bit before it settles.I work on blocks to avoid stretching.Now I am in process of trying out different series blocks,So far Britannia Matt and Anniversary Series have worked great.

Hahnemuhle is cheaper than the other brands like Arches and Fabrianno.Only flaw would be the color..its not brilliant white but sort of grayish white.

Anyway, besides these small works, I have been working on a larger figurative painting,too.Our Spring exhibition is coming up and I have to submit at least two paintings by next Friday.I hope to work some more this evening!

Have a great weekend, friends.

Rough Hare!

7x10

3rd Painting

7x10 

2nd painting

Bought the rough paper for the first time.Usually I prefer NOT or Cold Pressed.

First painting was a failure as I tried to paint in the same way as I did on a NOT. Disheartened at first, I tried to loosen up a bit more and painted another one.The bottom one. All wet-in -wet and fresh; no going back and correcting.The result was not bad and today I tried one more- the  painting on the top is the one- and I like the freshness of it.

Don't use rough paper if you like small details.It works best with wet in wet technique where you do not care about details and the all that matters is the final impact.

Suave Zebra Portrait

Yesterday's work..another addition to "purple Stripes'' series.In my opinion he is by far the most handsome of them all! I manged to paint him on Sunday as hubby was out of town and I suddenly felt like I had so much time on my hands :) In fact ,nowadays  if I don't get a painting done, I start feeling cranky by the evening!

Blue Bag

A4  Watercolor on CP paper

I am pretty excited about this one...a figurative work I did after a long time! In fact I have been pondering over my collection of reference pictures for a long time and really,really wanting to paint them...but just couldn't decide how to make them exciting so I kept putting it off.

With this painting, I might have found something- because I loved painting this and please tell me that you like it too!!!

BTW its a self portrait- me and my turquoise bag- though this was an old picture, I still have this bag!

Little Birdie with Attitude

6"x6"

I have painted two birds today and loved every moment of  it!Well,a lot of work in a day, especially when hubby was at home on sick leave and I also had to take my son to the dentist !\

And now after I prepare dinner I have to work some more- a computer assignment that I have taken up...not really looking forward to it- but it needs to done! Lets hope I can paint some more birdies tomorrow...

This painting is also based on Ian Clarke's photo.

The Feast_ Bird Painting

7x10

Waxwings are sprightly berry-devouring winter visitors to England and Ireland. Waxwing is a silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, rakish black mask. This one looks quite pleased with its breakfast menu! Thanks a lot to Ian Clarke, a very talented photographer of Sufflok,UK for letting me use his picture.You may see his work here.

Purple Stripes Again...Zebra Portrait

9x12

New one in the herd...this one looks a bit sassy; though the colors look a bit off in this photo.It has been added to my ''Purple Stripes'' collection.

Wish you all a nice weekend!

SOLD

 ''Hayday Donkey'' goes home today! A buyer from Germany bought it from my Etsy shop yesterday.

Stripey Zebra off to a Journey

                                                        Stripey Zebra Finds a new Home

SOLD

This Zebra was a favorite of mine; which sold last night on a DWP auction.Today as I took a last look before packing it to ship, I experienced a strange moment of sadness ..do we all get attached to our work at some point? Well I am happy that it has found a new loving home.Just wanted to share the good news with you all...

Also wanted to apologize for not visiting many of you,though I really want to!...Too much going coupled with a few exhibitions coming up...hope to catch up soon! 

The Hermit _ Sold

18"x24"

Soft Pastels on Pastelmat

SOLD

I am happy to share this piece of news with you all.This Hermit from India is going to a UK household today.

Frankly speaking, I never thought it would...It is a very peculiar subject ;and not many people would buy portraits that are not their own/family.

But yesterday the CEO of my husband's firm asked to buy it when he saw it at 'FineArtAmerica' website.

So I think I sold my first portrait today which is not a commission! 

Hare is another one...portrait in watercolor

SOLD

Its Spring time here, after a long spell of cold and rainy weather- I can't help feeling sugary sweet. Last five days have been full of sunshine and I manged to send three artworks to new homes..gives me a reason to be happy! I hope all of you are having something to be happy about.

This is a Brown Hare ( a Native British Hare I think) painting him was fun;and I will be painting more of these beautiful and agile creatures...brace up for some serious cuteness!

Elephant in Purple _SOLD

The Purple Elephant I painted some time ago has now been sold at DailyPaintWorks...

Elephant in Purple
SOLD

Hare they Come...

Latest small paintings of  Hare.Springs is here so they can't be far away. These Brown Hare are mostly found in Europe; and a common sight in British countryside.They are Brown with white belly, but I have made use of some artistic freedom and added pink and blue to the brown- even made bottom two white!

After the long winter months there can be few sights more uplifting to the human spirit than the spring-time antics of these delightful creatures. 

They are up for grabs at ETSY as well as DWP for anyone who might be interested.

Watercolor Portrait Painting

12x9

I have been working on a few commissioned portraits in pastels for past few weeks...can't share them until they are delivered to the client.In the meantime I was itching to do one in watercolor.A new watercolor block had just arrived and what would have been a better way to break into it! This portrait was just to check out how the paper behaved- but I went on to 'complete' it..as I always do.

I like this new Hahnemule  Britannia matt paper, it took all my overworking kindly, texture is good.

I am beginning to like this brand.

 I would love to paint this on a bigger scale, she is so beautiful. It was painted from a picture taken way back; of a fellow artist in my life drawing session.

More Elephants

I don't want my elephant population to decline, so each time one sells, I paint two more!These two were painted together, using different color schemes.Blue one is more loose, I used salt texture and wet in wet to create some blooms, not much brushwork.It looks fresh!Gold one is more restrained, but the colors are still whimsical.Hope you all had a nice weekend;I had a great one!

Woodlands Watercolor

9x12

My baby steps with tress..I love to paint all living things..so trees also qualify!Though I would love to be able to paint them perfectly someday..well, this one turned out not so bad after all, and I am posting it here.Next time I will be trying to achieve the effect with even less brush strokes.I want my colors to merge effortlessly into each other..actually I am striving for 'no brush' effect ; just colors dropped into each other.Lets see...

Seeking Greener Pastures- SOLD

SOLD

I received this happy news this morning that my latest elephant was favored by a buyer in the UK.

I had joined this gallery not so long ago, hoping to break into UK market.Though their commission is steep, on top of annual membership fees; the gamble paid off :) 

Working on a couple of commissioned portraits right now- will share soon.

The weather here is terrible; storms are lashing the whole of the UK ...I just hope everybody stays safe.

'Hayday' Donkey Portrait

9x12

A slight deviation,but we are still in the same company! I love these peace loving, cute animals.This one I saw in a local farm sometime ago.I have painted the background this time...do they look better on white or with a background..whats the vote?

Zebra Stripes

9" x 12"

Another gray day, another zebra painting.Though I have added some color into his otherwise black stripes.