Handpainted Keds

Sonny has lately been on a growing spree, standing taller than his mommy already. So no wonder he outgrew his school keds (white canvas shoes) in a span of a few months. The shoes were in fairly decent shape despite his using and thankfully, at that point of time, our shoe sizes matched. So thrifty mommy carefully put away the keds, planning to refurbish them at a later date. And now the results are for all to see... TaDa!!!! (drumroll please)

Some freehand drawing with pens, some dabbing of acrylic paint, and some final outlining to highlight parts.... and we were done.

It is such a simple project that just about anyone can give it a try.

And keds are by far the most inexpensive variety of canvas shoes available in the market. So even if you goof up, you won't have much to lose.

I loved painting in the flowers and the birds, especially the cute lil' owl. Here are a few tips from my first-hand shoe painting experience:

• Use pens with permanent ink for the outlining. You don't want those lines getting all runny.
• Do not mix too much water with the acrylic paints else you'll land up with faint coloured water spill-over marks the way I did in places.
• Again, final highlights are done best with permanent markers or pens.

Hope these tips and pictures encourage you to try your hand at handpainting canvas shoes. I can't wait to wear mine!
 

Old Or New

While cleaning my supplies cupboard, I came across my old sketchbooks. And the drawings I had made some 6 years back! At that time, I was trying my hand at a number of different painting mediums, and watercolours were one of them.

I decided to redo these yellow bougainvilleas in acrylics and ink, and now they look so much more vibrant and lively.

I also love how the background has turned out. Back then, I used to feel stumped by backgrounds - didn't know how to handle them well. Now I am confident; so much so that even if I mess things up, I can salvage the situation with some paint trick or the other. Mixed media and acrylics are definitely more forgiving than watercolours. (You can read the original post here.)

Now when I look back, I realize a few things - the quality of those watercolour tubes was rather shoddy (even though it was Camel; artist quality watercolours must be in a different league), and as a newly-minted artist I was using very little paint (the brush should have been definitely loaded better).

One learns so much with time and practice. But I would love to have your opinions on this, dear readers.... which version do you like better - old or new?

Collaged Ladies

Inspired by something I came across on Twitter, I decided to try my hand at making these collaged beauties. A lady in repose, and another admiring herself in the mirror. A celebration of female vanities! And an occasional indulgence in abstract figurative work.

I must put in a word here for my fascination to use regular magazine or newspaper sheets for collaging over those fancy patterned papers available at craft stores. In my opinion, using patterned paper is like sharing your creative output with someone else; like two or more different people working on one piece. Whereas using regular paper that is easily available, or even creating your own patterned paper, opens up unending creative possibilities.

And yes, I especially love the peachy pink, flesh toned paper of the Economic Times! An artist can have idiosyncrasies, after all.... :) This artist has no qualms being called quirky!

Jest Like That

This is a fun post to celebrate that most important annual event in a school mom's life - the summer break. Never mind that it gets shorter every year and the brats get more difficult to handle. Just that freedom from the daily routine, without any stresses of daily homework, are enough to pep up this mom!

So here comes a doodle bird to cheer you all up, and wish you wonderful vacations. How I wish we could go back to those times when we would let our kids just be themselves during the holidays instead of rushing them off to some camp or class all summer. Or let them do as they please around the house.

Like my son, whose idea of getting creative meant giving the dashing Irrfan (a popular actor) these googly eyes! Kids will be kids after all.... hahaha!!

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.

April Bouquets

So that special month of the year is here, my birthday month. That calls for celebrations.... and all special occasions deserve some bouquets. Sharing with you these collages of floral bouquets made in the abstract style a few months back.

These flowers are not still life portrayals of real flowers. Rather just a pure play of colours leading to imaginary flower groupings.

An exercise in loosening up, a slapdash style that focussed on negative painting and was fun to try out.

 

So which one should I place on the table on my special day? :)

 

 



Book Charms Earrings and Necklace Set

For those of you wondering why I had done the disappearing act, I have been nose-deep in maths equations, computer jargon, grammar and likewise. Phew! just got over with the exam season and I sure am a happy mommy. Browsing through some old pictures on my desktop, I came across this little project I did last year and forgot to share with you. So here goes....

Someone approached me to create a sample set of handmade jewellery featuring tiny book charms. It was meant for members of a book club and the client wanted to have paper as the medium. However, we finally settled on polymer clay as a more sturdy material and I created a pair of danglers and a necklace. Must say it was a fun diversion from my usual line of work.

And polymer clay is such an addictive medium. As one gets used to it, moulding pieces becomes that much easier and you can create innumerable designs with it. Needless to say I am already hooked, and have created a few more neck pieces. Watch this space for a reveal soon!

If you are looking at a book charms jewellery set, do write in to me at creativerumblings@gmail.com and place your order. The set is completely customizable - the beads that you see in the pictures here can be replaced by a colour or size of your liking, and the book covers can be changed to your favourite ones too. These jewellery sets will make ideal gifts for young girls, and can even work as return gifts.