Paper Poppies

Playing around with bits of paper - and that includes newsprint, cardboard, bread backings, and what have you! The poppies in our garden are full of buds, and I can't wait for them to burst into blooms. Till then, let us be happy with this version. :)

Try making some yourself - stain your papers with watered-down poster/tempera/acrylic colours and let loose your imagination.... some magic is sure to unfold!

Abstract Landscape: Up There Somewhere

This is what happens when you turn into an armchair traveller! Others travel, you dream, and then create.... Inspired by pictures of the Tiger Nest monastery in Bhutan comes this painting of the location (with some artistic licenses, of course).

Don't know if I'll ever make it to this place myself but painting it was surely an enjoyable experience. More so because instead of braving chilly winds and a steep climb, all I did was discover a new painting technique that helped create those gorgeous textures you see on the mountains. Aren't they beautiful? And to think that all I had to do was play around with loads of paint and then wait for the magic to happen!

I am bringing you a framed version of the painting with the help of online editor Lunapic. Super easy to use but doesn't allow much playing around with the frames. Just wish I could give the painting a wider mount; that would have added to the depth. Anyhow, hope you like my version of the famed Tiger Nest monastery.

Bangle Bottle

I created this bottle with bits of broken bangles and other glittery thingies some time back.

Now that the garden is getting its blooms, the Nasturtium plays the perfect foil to my bangle bottle!

More Flames!

In my explorations on the internet, I have recently come across the concept of Tactile Art, or art that you can 'touch and feel' apart from enjoying visually. Such art is usually framed without any protective glass covering so that the viewers can touch the surface of the painting to enhance their experience of the same.

The concept itself wasn't really new to me but the way it had been incorporated into paintings was something totally amazing. So I decided to try some myself. And keeping in mind the Valentine's Day spirit, here's presenting a red floral..... one of my favourite flowers - Gulmohar or Flame of the Forest.

See the crumpled petals? If you see from a distance, the petals look almost real because of the texturing on them. Can you guess what material I used to get that effect? Sometimes the most mundane things give us gorgeous results!

Abstact Landscape: Countryside

Carrying on my romance with the landscape, captured in an abstract/semi-abstract style.... this one is inspired by a road trip taken a couple of years back.

Great expanse of fields, trees, and barren patches, interspersed with water bodies full of water lilies and hyacinths - something I saw while driving down in eastern Rajasthan. Rather different from the desert and forts we usually associate with the state.

I am especially happy how the lilies turned out. The more I'm working on canvas, the more I'm realizing how much I love the buttery smoothness of pre-primed canvas. Ideal medium for flowy landscapes!