Beneath the Pond

Acrylic on wrapped canvas, 12"x16"

This is a whimsical art and I enjoyed painting this under-the-pond scene. Its fun once in a while to break all rules of reality :-). This was a commissioned work.

Yumthang Valley

Acrylic on Canvas, 12"x16"

Got this painting done today and creating this scene on canvas was such a joy. Yumthang valley in the state of Sikkim is a picturesque place situated in the north eastern part of India. We visited this place couple of years ago in May, and I was in awe of the beauty of the Himalayan mountains all around. Come spring, the valley is laden with the vibrant rhododendron flowers which come in an array of colours such as pink, red, purple and white.

I took many pictures here, and this scene was chosen for my painting. Here is the reference picture.I added in the rocks,more flowers, clouds and did some colour shifts. What is satisfying is, since I intended this as a small study before doing a larger one, I did not get worked up, was not afraid to experiment and got done very quickly in about three sittings.

Morning in the Woods

Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x 36"

Since a month, painting has been keeping me busy, for a change :-). Got done three of them. One of them was my first commissioned painting, which I shall post later.
I enjoyed painting this scene from a reference photo. Added in the deer and experimented with the foliage.  In my opinion, painting bigger just feels visually better, especially landscapes. This was also a learning experience in terms of adjusting the values. Achieving the right values when there are many colors in the painting is tricky in the beginning. Its easier when you have just two or three colors to play with. 

Ships Ahoy!

Acrylic on Canvas, 24" x 36"

I enjoyed painting this fantasy scene for my 11yr old son. He loves drama on high seas involving ships and pirates of the bygone days.

Its the first time I'm painting a fairly big size (24"x 36"), which required me to stand and paint for the most part. The process of conceptualizing this painting was interesting.  Each of the elements was referred from various photographs and putting them all together was the challenge. Deciding the color scheme, painting the choppy sea and bringing out the lights and darks in the painting were the other challenges. Overall, it was a fun project and my son is eagerly waiting to hang it in his room.

To give you an idea briefly, here is how I achieved my composition-

Kayaking on Lake George

Acrylic on canvas, 12" X 14"

This is from a reference photograph of Lake George, NY, that I had in my collection. What drew me to paint this scene, are the colours in the foliage and the Kayakers seeming to have a carefree time on the lake.

Art Exhibition and Musings

Finally, for the first time, my paintings stepped out of my house and got showcased. :) :)  This happened on the occasion of Women's Day which was celebrated in our apartment complex yesterday. Here I am at my stall with acrylic paintings on display. I enjoyed the whole time, and to my happiness, four of my paintings got sold with a few more in waiting list. A small step in the art world, but a boost to my confidence. The plusses were great- got many appreciations, got to know many other artists in our community, some approached me for commissioning big pieces for their homes, many mothers approached me to start classes for kids etc.. etc...I felt a bit overwhelmed. Got me thinking after I came home. There were so many opportunities beckoning me in this field! Should I paint to sell or to please myself? What I like to paint as an artist need not necessarily be liked by buyers. Should I paint big or small? Many people preferred large size art for their drawing rooms!  I'm not sure yet.  One day, I know I'll have to strike a balance... But as of now, I will paint for the joy of it and will be happy if something good comes out of it in the process.

Here are a few other pictures and peek into my stall...

Organising everything before the programme

Alpine Glory

Oil on Canvas, 19" X 14"

I just finished painting this scene today. Yay! this is my first oil painting and am quite satisfied with the results.This scene was referenced from a photograph taken by me from the train ride to Jungfraujoch (top of Europe) in Switzerland during my trip to Europe. I have to admit, personally, that oil painting is a messy affair, what with the smells of  linseed oil and turpentine right under your nose! Nevertheless, I enjoyed painting with the satisfaction of the beauty of the Alps slowly unfolding on the canvas.The beauty of Alps is truly mesmerising and I felt I had taken the trip again during the whole time I was painting. I have many more photos of my trip and plan to do some more in the course of time.

Here is me, enjoying the train ride :)

Fenced in

Acrylic on canvas, 18"x13"

After seeing so many beautiful snow paintings lately, I felt like painting a winter scene too. And here is one, from one of my handy references. Alas, it never snows in my part of the world, but, painting this scenery did help get into the mood. One of the joys of painting! :)

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.

Farmstead

15" x 10.5", Acrylic on canvas

Painting Barns and  pastoral scenes is a landscape artist's delight! And, doing this one brought so much joy to me. Posted this painting for the Green Palette Challenge for this week's topic-"Homestead". Painted this from a reference photo that I have been having for quite some time. I wish I knew the name of the photographer who captured this beautiful scene somewhere in Canada. With due credit to him, I post this. I added the sheep to create interest.

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. :-)