The Lacemaker

Acrylic on Canvas, 13"x13"

Johannes Vermeer's "Lacemaker" (1669-1670) is a charming little painting displayed in Louvre museum, Paris. I was fortunate to visit Louvre three years ago and admire many beautiful paintings, but this one missed my eye.This is my version of the same done for PADT challenge. While it seemed a little intimidating to attempt, the subject was so pretty, I went for it. This is the first time I'm painting a human face and I'm happy with the results, more so because I completed it in less time. Importantly, it has given me confidence to attempt old masters' paintings in future. Also, doing this painting was a good exercise in studying values and tones. Here, of course I couldn't muster enough courage to keep half her face in shadow as in the original. I preferred to lighten her.



Joy Ride

Acrylic on Canvas, 12"x10"

This fantasy painting is done for the "Traveling Chicken" Blog that features a small ceramic chicken which globetrots to meet different artists who host Ms. Chicken to paint it in their style and setup. This is a fun project to do and I enjoyed having her over here, in India, to pose for my painting.
I kept the piece colourful and cheerful with the intention of highlighting India's current festive mood during Dussehra and Navratri (celebrated this month). I challenged myself to project the city I live in and at the same time, showcase to some extent the culture and traditional artforms of  diverse India. To know more about this painting, you can visit the blog where it is published- http://travel-chicken.blogspot.com.

Doing this painting was a shift from my usual style wherein I got a chance to incorporate both-realism in the background and kiddy art in the foreground. My kid gave me a thumbs up and this probably will go to his room. :)

Flower Maiden

Acrylic on Canvas, 11"x15"

I haven't painted any sculpture before, until now. Painting this Flower maiden was a good experience. I decided, if I get the sculpture right, then I'll paint the rest of it. So I first painted the maiden before anything. I later realised the result would have been better if it had been painted in oils, especially with regards to the folds of the fabric. But since I don't have much patience for the slow drying oils, I stuck to acrylics. Anyway, I think on the whole, it has come out okay.The toughest part was getting the face right. I'm happy with that one coming out well. This goes as a submission to Artistic Sentiments Challenge. Here is the ref photo posted by Dana Marie.

Thai Farmscape

Acrylic on Canvas, 9"X 9"

I was lucky to spot this beautiful farm in Chiang Mai province of Northern Thailand. After travelling virtually for hours in Thailand via google street view, this scene caught my eye. It looked complicated to paint the whole scenery, but I liked a bunch of things here... the background slopes overlapped in different hues of green, the little houses dotting here and there, the ploughed farm, and of course, the yellow floral foreground! I wanted to capture them all on my canvas. I made small changes by popping up the houses a bit and color them red, and brightened up the greenery to contrast the dark areas. Here is the reference scene from google. This would be my submission for the July-Virtual Paintout challenge.



Good Ol' Barn

Acrylic on canvas, 15" X 7"

I feel good posting again after a real long break! Summer vacation, my son's Olympiads, school projects etc etc..kept me away from painting, these past few months. At last, the school has reopened and its back to routine with some free time on my hands :-)

This painting of an old Barn would be my submission for ADNW challenge. Here is the ref pic taken by Lee Brown. I love barns and pastoral scenes and I just couldn't miss painting this one. 

Winter's Blanket

Acrylic on Canvas, 16" X 12"

This winter scene is from Summit County, Colorado. I painted this for Bill Guffey's Virtual Paintout. This time, it was very interesting to virtually travel all over the county which was in snow. Thanks to street view for capturing the beauty of winter in this place.The search was long and I finally settled in for this peaceful scene somewhere on Highlands drive, Breckenridge, Colorado.  Made small changes from the reference scene.

Fearsome, yet Adorable!

Acrylic on canvas, 16" X 12"

I loved painting these tiger cubs for the Green Palette Challenge for this week's topic- Wildlife.

I'm quite happy with how the painting turned out. I painted this from a reference photo, on wrapped canvas (with all sides painted).

My closest encounter with a tiger in the wild, was in Kabini Tiger Reserve near Bangalore, India, 4 years ago. It was an awesome sight from our open safari jeep, and the tiger stood about 100 feet away. We halted there for about 5 minutes and those were one of my most nervous moments! :-)

Berries and Bowls

Acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

It seems like ages since I last painted. Few things kept me away for a while, primarily, helping my son prepare for his various Olympiad exams. Although I was free after that, somehow it seemed hard to start painting again. I had lost the rhythm, and it did take a lot of effort to pick up the brushes! Anyway, it feels great to be posting again. :-) Hopefully, I'll be more committed to painting this year.

This painting is done for the Rookie painter challenge. I definitely wanted to try the strawberries, since I never painted them before. I guess the fun part is putting those reflections.