Still Life with Cantaloupe

12" X 16", Acrylic on Canvas

This is done for the PADT challenge.  Its from the photo posted by Lela Stankovic which I found to be beautiful with many reflections bouncing to and fro. It seemed intimidating at first and the more I thought how to approach it, the more difficult it seemed. But when I dived into it, the going got comfortable. Capturing the subtle reflections and value changes was challenging.  Lela's detailed instructions on how to approach the subject proved very valuable. Overall, I'm happy with the outcome, especially because, I didn't spend more time fixing it. This time, there was an urgent sense to wrap it up quickly

Dutch Countryside

14"x10.5", Acrylic on Canvas



Off and on, I enjoy using Google street view to gather some good scenes from different places to paint. This is one of them and I had painted this in early Jan. This is somewhere in Holland and I  loved the serene locale. Yes, there are many things going on here, and as you may know me by now, I like putting in details. :-) Whenever I look at this, I wonder about the family living here. How lucky they are! Their lifestyle- peaceful and idyllic! One of the joys of painting landscapes is the feeling of actually having gone there, spent some time wandering and returning after you have done with the painting.

Windmill at Norfolk, UK

6"x 8.5", Acrylic on Canvas

Windmills make interesting subjects for painting. I painted this from one of the many artist reference photos available for free on the net. When it comes to landscapes, I usually paint on bigger canvas sizes. I realised it was difficult to paint small, especially on canvas, given  that I tend to put in details. Maybe  painting smaller landscapes on smoother surfaces will give good results. A lesson, learnt. :-)