Closing In

 

I am finally awakening from my winter hibernation. My spirit animal must be the grizzly bear cause that is exactly how I feel in winters, grumpy and inhospitable. Jokes apart, the very pleasant weather this month inspired me to work on my first painting of this year.

Lately, there have been too many reports of man-animal conflicts.... of animals entering human habitats. Err, wait.... or is it the other way around? Leopards especially seem to be repeatedly in the news for run-ins with humans and our settlements. And so, this piece is called 'Closing In'.

Closing in : habitats shrinking, territories overlapping, movements clashing.... just a matter of time before there's a full blown war out there!

 

I hope to use my art to give a voice to these unheard ones. So that we humans can be more mindful of the other species that cohabit this planet with us.

Check my Instagram page for more visuals and related videos.

Catty Conundrums

 

In the last couple of years, a black cat has been visiting my garden almost daily. Sometimes hiding behind the lilies, sometimes crouching under the frangipani. At other times, just passing through with a swagger and familiarity that sends the birds tittering away in fright.

Many times when I am out for a walk I notice that if a black cat crosses the path, folks ahead of me often stop for awhile or change their course. I am aware that in many cultures black cats are considered a bad omen and associated with negativity. But who can explain this to a cat lover? For the folks out there who feed black cats or own one as a pet, they are a source of joy and succour. And shall remain so, regardless of what the rest of the world thinks.

While I am not exactly a cat lover but I hold no grudges against a creature just because of its colour. Rather, I admire the sleek coat of the black cat that visits my garden often. Its fur shines in the sunlight as it swiftly darts between my plants. Its eyes speak volumes as I run to chase it away, for it digs up my plant beds.

That is why I thought of capturing this visitor in my artwork. For omens and prejudices are not worth a meow in my world. And they shall never cast a shadow on my creative outings.

The Red Umbrella Revisited

 

A recent photo of the Sunaks from their Delhi visit went viral. Yes, that rather romantic capture of the young couple sharing a red umbrella, as they walked around the Akshardham temple in the midst of a steady drizzle.

Their photo took me back some ten years or so when the hubby and I were similarly caught in a downpour and shared a red umbrella. Only that we were walking in a park, and our experience was not caught on camera but was captured for posterity in a painting.

The unifying red umbrella

The similarity between the two episodes was so stark, even though we belonged to completely diverse backgrounds - a young couple handling a less-than-ideal situation, in a public space, with many eyes on us.

It made me realize that at the end of the day, no matter who you are or where you come from, it is the fleeting fragility of such precious moments that brings us all together. This sameness of the human experience is what binds us in an indefinable yet unbreakable bond.

Think about it...

Read the original red umbrella post here

#redumbrella #sunaks #mathurs #preciousmoments #candidcaptures #creativerumblings

The Lemon Tree Studies

 

This month I'm bringing you my lemon tree studies. But first, the back story: so we have a lemon tree right in the middle of the backyard, planted by the previous residents. It has a uniquely shaped crooked stem and gives fruits aplenty in season. Though I wish the fruits would turn yellow sooner.... they remain a vibrant green for weeks, and take forever to ripen. 

But I'm grateful for the lemon tree and its bounties anyway. So I tried painting it using acrylics at different times of the day. The aim was to capture the changing light, and the various moods of our crooked lemon tree.

The Crooked Lemon Tree

The first study focusses on the unique crooked shape of the tree, and how the leaves light up in direct sunshine. Maybe we need more chairs in the shade to enjoy the balmy weather! Who all want to join me? 😃

The View from the Bedroom

This next study keeps the lemon tree as the central focus but also attempts to capture its pretty neighbours - a flowering vine, a herb, and a fruit tree. This study is my favourite of the three lemon tree studies I painted, as I enjoyed its complexity. 

In the Evening Light

The last study is an attempt to catch the fading evening light falling on the lemon tree, where some parts of it are in the direct light while some others are in a pinkish reflected haze.

Hope you enjoyed this foray into my backyard, and the various moods and shades of the lemon tree. Do let me know in the comments if any of you would like prints of these lemon tree studies.

Indian Summer Series

As the cuckoos return to herald summer, enchanting us with their dulcet calls, here is bringing you my second series of paintings.... inspired by and named after, the Indian Summer.

This series celebrates the associations I have made with the summer season over the years - a riot of red gulmohars, competing with the bright yellow of perfumed laburnums; a flurry of activity amongst all our avian friends as they woo their mates, build new nests, and raise a brood; occasional dark clouds overhead as sudden gusts of wind bring in some much needed rain to soak the parched earth. These are the images I have tried to capture in this series.

My daily walks in the park made me observe the little details - like the cuckoos and crows chasing each other all over during the nesting season, the sudden appearance of the grey hornbills as their shrill calls caught our attention. Since all these activities came alive right before my eyes, so naturally they flowed out on to my artwork.

The series is still a work-in-progress, as I add more pieces to the story. However, since my pace is slow, I thought of sharing the outcomes midway.

Right now I'm finishing up the cuckoos and gulmohars, and plan to move to the hornbills and laburnums. So do keep checking back for the updated artworks.

By God's grace, two of my pieces from the series are already adorning a dear client's walls.

In sharing this series with you, I am also celebrating another achievement - of marking 10 years of this blog - a huge personal milestone for me. When I tentatively started writing Creative Rumblings, it was only meant to be an online journal of the teeny-weeny arty efforts I made around the house. But it is with nothing less than amazement that I see how it has grown over all these years.... Not only has it turned me into an artist, but it has given me the wings and the confidence to display, showcase, and sell my artwork.

So a big Thank You to all my readers, followers, and well-wishers. Your encouragement has brought me this far, and I know your good wishes will take me further. If anything from the Indian Summer series interests you, or you would like to commission something special, write to me at  creativerumblings@gmail.com and we can work up some magic together!

Happy Thanksgiving

India has been making news globally but not always for good things. Earlier this month, the episode of the horrendous Delhi pollution that left us choked and coughing, covered in a blanket of yellow-grey smog, really made me worried about the planet we are leaving behind for the generations to come.

This is not the Earth we inherited.... then why are we ruining and vandalizing it? Do we have no responsibility towards our children; how will they survive when the very air they breathe is poisonous! 

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for we still have much to be thankful for - the rising sun, the spells of rain, the growing greens, the chirping birds, and everything else that is bestowed upon us by Mother Nature.

Only, we have to learn to respect, preserve and nurture these gifts. Especially in a day and age when our kids are getting pollution holidays....

Hope you liked this gratitude postcard. You can see some of my earlier ones here.

Flashback!

This month, last year.... was such a super busy time. I was in the midst of preparing for my very first exhibition (you can read about that here) and neck-deep in work.

As the rains poured outside, I poured out my creative designs inside. :) Here are some moments capturing the action behind-the-scenes.

Yes, that is yours truly working on multiple bottles simultaneously. Half-finished bottles and glass pieces lay strewn around on all tables at home for a whole month.... LOL. That isn't a mean feat when you have 2 kids at home!

But when we finally lined up the finished bottles together, how gorgeous they looked...

 

As did the glass paintings...



So happy that most of my creations found new homes, and are now bringing joy and adding colour to the lives of so many others. Feel immensely grateful to have been gifted with a creative mind and an artisan's hands!

As I relive last year's journey, here is to many more to come!
 

Bharatpur Diaries

We visited the Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary at Bharatpur more than 5 years back. Ever since I have wanted to capture the sights and sounds of the place. The many animal and bird species we encountered, the stillness of the forest as the sun goes down, the nesting habitats and young ones that we were lucky enough to see right before our eyes. But somehow I still haven't managed to put together a composition that works.

Instead, here's sharing with you my attempt at catching a couple of foxes, as they sauntered out of a grove ahead of us. The experience was scary and fascinating at the same time.

I am not too pleased with the result though; more so since this is created in an experimental style that was adopted. Now I seem to have found a better style of representation that is my own voice. Hope to capture the vistas of Bharatpur in that style soon.

Nature Journal: The June Page

Presenting to you all the June page from the Nature Journal. This was one page that was ready much before the month ended.... perhaps because I chose to use a picture this time and that covered up quite a bit of space on the page.

Surprisingly, June brought with it quite a few showers that dispelled the searing dry heat of May. And gave us gorgeous evening skies to celebrate! Believe it or not, one evening also brought a full grown peacock, sans its long tail but strutting around our terraces just as proudly. Such a feast it was to watch the magnificent creature from up close.

June was also dedicated to seeds and seedpods. As the storms ensured that a lot of seed dispersal happened successfully. So it was only appropriate to stick on a pretty pink seedpod collected by my daughter from the neighbourhood park. I have no clue what tree that belongs to; anyone out there knows?

Crane Spotting at the Pond

Last week I worked on a bottle again. After 6 long months!.... Yes, if you scroll down this blog, you'll see the last bottle I did was back in November last year. I wasn't even sure I'd pull this one through but once I started, there was no stopping me.

This time I thought of extending my bottle design oeuvre, and worked on a large water bird motif, painting a scene that any birdwatching enthusiast would identify with.

A crane or egret walking slowly with its long legs, amidst lotus blossoms and reeds in a pond, searching for food. A slight sound, and it looks up, startled for a bit. Then, assuring itself that all is well, the bird goes back to its search. Yes, that is what I tried to capture - all on a round bottle.

The finished bottle is one of my personal favourites. And I'm sure all birdwatchers will enjoy this one! The bottle has a broad mouth, and will work very well as a centrepiece on a table. Use it simply as a vase or to hold straws at the next dinner party. Heck! you could even prop up tissues in it. 

Meanwhile, I'm already dreaming of the next bird I want to put on my bottles....

Elephant Trio

Another brush-less attempt at capturing figures.... this time an elephant family gently ambling through the grasslands.

Made this sometime last year and really enjoyed doing it because despite not using a brush, I could depict the form and movement that this piece demanded. Hope you like it too!

Sea Gulls

Drive along a river or go down to the beach and you cannot miss them.... Standing at the water's edge, rummaging for food in the wet, marshy soil. The bright yellow of their beaks in sharp contrast to the white and black feathers. No coast can ever be complete without these gulls and their loud, screechy calls.

My inspiration to paint seagulls came from two close encounters with them. One was years back on the Pacific coast in California, where I spotted them atop a beach shed, perched in an orderly queue. I remember clicking a picture that must be tucked away in my albums somewhere (digital photography was still very new back then). The second encounter happened last year during a vacation to Goa where I spotted hordes of them on a drive along the backwaters. Anyhow, this painting was another satisfying attempt at my new brushless technique.

I haven't been painting much lately; am going through a creative impasse of sorts. Hope relaxing over the upcoming long weekend puts my mind back into the creative mode.

Abstract Landscapes

I have been working on a series of abstract landscapes, the kinds that begin with a blank mind and a mark on the paper. You have no clue about what is going to emerge, where you are headed. You just make a random start and then go as your instinct guides you.

The first one started with sticking bits of plain paper on the sheet at random. I had no specific scheme in mind.... just tore and stuck those bits wherever I felt like. Then I picked up some black paint and laid down a few casual strokes in between those paper bits. It looked a bit dull, so I added red to spice things up. Still nothing emerged.... Next came the printed paper bits, followed by the orange streaks and bubble wrap prints. Then I was on a roll; added all the other colours and finally stepped back to have a look. To finish off, added the scratches with my knife at the bottom and there was a landscape ready before my eyes!

The second one started by making black marks with the sides of a bottle cap..... yes, those marks that now appear as tree trunks. Then came the plain paper bits, followed by arbitrary strokes in blue, green and mustard. Still I was clueless as to where this piece was heading, so I picked up my knife and scraped on some purple paint. Added the blues and then I suddenly knew how I wanted to end it all. Added the greens with a sponge and the whites, and another landscape emerged.

This process is so magical that you actually have to try this yourself to understand the surprises it holds. Go on, make one yourself.... and remember, you don't need brushes or a good hand to create an abstract. Anything can be used as a tool; all that matters is a passionate heart!

Cabin By The Lake

Another landscape inspired by my visit to an agricultural research centre. The campus had many beautiful lakes though in my short stay I only got to see only a small one near my guest house.

But the calmness and beauty of the lakeside was something amazing, especially for a city weary person like me. The joy of spending a couple of evenings sitting on the banks of this lake, with only the gentle breeze ruffling my hair and the sounds of birds for company, was unparalleled.

Watching the sun go down, as the sky and water changed colours every minute, was an experience that will stay with me for quite a while.

Nowadays am swaying in the direction of florals again.... after all, what else do you expect when the blooms of spring are all around us!

p.s.- I think I'm still quite a novice at clicking pictures of canvases; this one has turned out even more grainy than the one in the last post. Any ideas or tips, dear readers? As a policy, I do not use the flash while taking pictures of my artwork.

Down The Road

One of the first landscapes I painted this year, inspired by a recent visit to an agricultural research centre that had acres and acres of soothing green fields gently swaying in gusts of cool, fresh air.

The road in the middle of the greens in this piece has some gritty sand particles mixed in with the paint, as you can see clearly in the picture on the right. Apologies for the rather grainy looking upload; I can't seem to figure out why the picture is not showing up too well.

On another note, I visited some awesome exhibitions this month at the National Gallery of Modern Art. I seriously consider myself lucky to have seen almost the entire official collection of Amrita Shergill and some interesting Subodh Gupta installations, all at one go!

Abstract Landscapes

I was always a huge admirer of landscapes, given the inherent nature lover that I am. Lately I'm leaning more and more towards semi-abstract and abstract depiction of landscapes.

Trying to capture the beauty of the world around us using the fluidity and freeform of abstracts is very liberating. There are so many different interpretations you can give to the same scene, thanks to the boundless quality of abstract and mixed media art.

Nah, what you see here is not an actual canvas; it is just a rough sketch I made on a 1"x1" square card. But I am currently working on a series of landscape abstracts, in small format (10"x10"), both on paper and canvas.

Some of my landscapes are derived from my own recent journeys, and some from pictures and settings that have left an impression on me at some point of time. Hope to share the results of my efforts soon.

On another note, I'm really enjoying the balmy weather these days. As the days get warmer, it is so obvious that my favourite season Spring is just round the corner. There is a song in my heart and a spring in my step that is making me want to paint more and more!

On The Waterfront

Another of those innocuous pictures in the newspaper that makes for a great painting inspiration. Yes, this one is derived from one such picture I came across recently. Water and boats hold a great fascination for me somehow.... just cannot seem to bypass an opportunity to paint them.

Also ran a teaser on my Facebook page for this painting while it was in the work-in-progress stage. And got all correct answers! :)  That was some fun....

I also loved doing the little details on this piece - things like the chairs and tables lined up in front of the café, and the green vine climbing up one of the houses. Such details add to the general aesthetic and character of a painting. And yes, enjoyed doing the water as well; it is always a favourite thing to paint because of all the colours that you can play around with!

In The Wilderness

Pretty poppies bobbing their heads in the wild.... reminding me of stray fields of glorious colour I'd come across in the suburban area I stayed in earlier, or even the hillsides where such flowers pop up miraculously by the wayside when you least expect them.

Painted on gallery-wrapped canvas (12"x10") for the first time, and loved the experience. The pre-stretched fabric gave me the liberty to do a lot of texturing on the surface, as you can see from the close-ups below.

It was fun to paint around the edges - so you can approach the painting from any side and still get the same kind of view. Also, wrapping the flower petals and stems over the sides gave the piece a nice, realistic feel. Now I want to paint on a bigger size, at least a 36"x36" if not more. Would be such an exhilarating experience.... Any ideas where in Delhi I can get pre-stretched canvases of this size?

Glassy Landscape

As I told you all a couple of weeks back, I had been working on a piece of cut and shaped glass for a friend. The glass had quite a few peaks, with a broad bottom half leading up to a narrow top. It was difficult to handle because of the jagged edges, and yet it was the ideal shape for a soothing landscape.

I really enjoyed doing this piece because it challenged me to think up new ways of depicting the obvious. So I mixed colours, used the process of stippling, and worked keeping in mind the tenets of reverse glass painting.

The end result is this gorgeous piece.... pity the camera doesn't quite do justice to the varied hues of  blue, especially used in the river. I can only give you a stilted, lying-down view but when you stand it up, the colours look amazing! Sharing with you a part preview for now since the friend has not yet seen the finished piece, and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

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.