The Blue Table

Worked on a few still life studies recently. Just put random things lying around together, and proceeded to capture them on paper.

The attempt was by no way to be realistic, no. It was more of my prespective of what I saw before me. So the finished paintings are more expressionist than realist, I'd say. And yes, I did play around with colour schemes. So the blue of the table is entirely a figment of my mind, and not something that we have around the house.

Nevertheless, in this painting I'm pretty happy with the way the fruits got done, especially the bunch of bananas. The ceramic jar could surely be bettered though. Was a good exercise on the whole.

Day & Night Bottle

Worked on a bottle after a long time. Enjoyed it thoroughly, of course.

Turn it one way and you see a glowing sunrise, with the sky painted in mutiple hues. The neutrals of the mountains in the foreground offset the brilliance of the sunrise.

Turn it the other way and the blues of the night sky greet you. As a buttery yellow moon hangs in a star-spangled sky.

Fiery and cool at the same time! Like it? Do let me have your comments; it feels good to hear from my readers!

Camouflage

As the crop in the farmer's fields grew lush, a lot of birds would frolic there in search of food. Robins, mynahs, magpies, doves, even a pheasant (so I think) made its home in the dense undergrowth.

But the most fun to watch were the parrots, as they sat swinging on the long stems, their green almost merging with that of the crops.

This painting is inspired by my daily watch of the parrots' antics. Every time I tried to photograph them, I would lose them through the viewfinder, so beautifully were they camouflaged!

An Eye On The Okra

My mother hates them, my daughter loves them, and I chop and cook them!! (other than getting inspired by them, that is). Wonder what I'm talking about? - the humble ladyfinger, or okra, as the new breed likes to call it.

And what is the chopped okra doing on a creative blog?? Well, telling you how to turn the tedious task of veggie chopping into a fun creative session. The only catch is to keep an eye open for the awesome design potential most veggies offer.

I sat with a pencil and paper, and had 4 new designs within minutes, all thanks to chopped ladyfingers!

I can now use the designs for my bottles and they'll make great print motifs too. What do you think of these?

Bouncing Back! :)

My mind is at peace again, and I am slowly but surely crawling back to normal. A huge change was pending, and I guess all my inertia and insomnia was arising from that. But the dust has settled now, and I feel calm enough to think creatively again.

Phew! It is such a relief.... my thanks to all those who egged me on with their encouraging words.

Thanks also to all those lovely readers who regularly drop by this blog. Now that my head is cleared up, I promise to resume regular posting very soon.

Down & Out :(

I haven't been in a happy place lately. As an artist being unproductive is one of the worst things that can happen to you. Though there has been no dearth of inspiration, but I have just not had the enthuisiasm to work. A sense of inertia has kept me away from my brushes and paints. And whatever little work I did has not been satisfying.

Perhaps the change in the situation has gotten to me, perhaps the lack of direction has left me feeling lost. But whatever be the reason, the output has surely suffered. If any of you have been through a similar predicament, I'd love to hear from you. For I believe that shared experiences lead to shared growth and learning.

On another note, this blog turns 3 next month! And I'd obviously like to do something special to celebrate.... any ideas, dear readers? Maybe your funky suggestions will help get my spark back! :)

Kashmir Diaries

Don't know why I have been thinking of the Kashmir valley a lot lately. Perhaps the searing heat of the plains makes me subconsciously think of the cool environs of the valley, with the majestic Himalayas in the backdrop.

I visited Kashmir many years back, when "terrorism" was a totally unfamiliar word, and one visited the valley only to figure out what earned it the name 'Paradise on Earth'. I was too young to remember the details of the breathtaking beauty, but some images stay with me till date. Today I bring you two of them...

One was of the colourful shikaras lined up on the Dal lake. Bobbing cheerfully on the edge of the lake, with their typical name placards and the boatmen calling out to us to take a ride.

Waiting Shikaras - charcoal and acrylic

Another was of the flower seller going from one houseboat to the other in his little boat, handing over a fresh bouquet to each, and exchanging pleasantries with the regular customers. I was so awed to see this unusual way of selling that it stayed in my memory.

The Flower Seller - mixed media

Alas, I have never been to the valley thereafter. I remember reading somewhere that the houseboats and shikaras can no longer be seen on the Dal, as security issues override tourism concerns. The price we pay is too high sometimes....