Weekend Evenings

I live for the weekend.... well, who doesn't? I love the relaxed, laid-back vibes that a weekend brings, without any tensions of waking up early or following a homework schedule. The clock takes a back seat as each of us indulges in their own favourite pastimes. Painting, crafting and music fills up our home on weekends.

While weekends give us valued family time, they are also ideal to celebrate the journey that we are together on. So many a weekend is spent with a glass of red wine, nibbling on smoked cheese and olives, with some great music playing in the background.

This collage, like its companion Mornings, is made up of handmade paper, teabag paper and newspaper scraps. In fact, as I was putting together this collage, I actually managed to include an old favourite number in the visuals (Hint: It is an English song from the late 60s). Can any of you guess which one it is? :)

 

Magical Mushrooms

With widespread rains finally lashing the city yesterday, here is the perfect drawing to celebrate the season. Toadstools or mushrooms crop up every monsoon after a spell of showers, adding some drama to our daily walk in the park.

Pity these pretty things don't last more than a day, unless they are the large variety that grow next to trees, like the ones in the picture below.

Over the years I have collected some of these dried-up mushrooms from my walks. They now liven up my terrace garden as props for the plants.

 

Birdie Drawings

When you are open to the beauty in your surroundings, you can see magic in the smallest of things.

My bird drawings come from that place of magic and beauty.

Can you identify any of the birds? And which one is your fav?
 

Lotus Pond Series

Finally I get to bring you my first painting series - 'Life in a Lotus Pond'.... Started in the summer of 2016, this is the first time I attempted a series. What is the big deal in painting a series, you may ask.... Making paintings in a series is just meant to be an opportunity for the artist to show how one can play around with an idea, and bring it to form in different ways, while keeping the essential elements intact.

I had been wanting to paint a lotus pond for a long time but not in your usual realistic style - there were already too many of those out there. So I tried a process of layering and detailing, trying to see if I could make it all work together. I didn't want the painting to look noisy and crowded, but I was a little unsure when I started as I had not done something like this before.

As my lotus flowers progressed, I placed an owl on one of the lotus leaves.... and that is where the idea for the series took off!! I wanted to have images of lotus flowers interspersed with the various creatures that one could find in a pond.

It was meant to be a fun series, and I am so happy that that is exactly how it turned out. And then, within an year, something magical happened! I showed my paintings to a dear client-turned-friend and she immediately picked up the first 2 pieces. Next I knew, she commissioned 2 more! I was on a roll... :D

So while I am juggling some more ideas and will be working on more paintings for this series, right now 4 paintings have already found a new home...

...Even as 3 finished paintings are ready and waiting for a wall.

Do let me know how you feel about this first series of mine. There is also another series waiting in the wings but more about that in a later post. In the meanwhile, if you are keen to commission anything on these lines or pick up the available pieces, write in to me at creativerumblings@gmail.com and we can discuss options.

Blue Elephants and Pink Whales

Few days back while browsing through Facebook, I came across these lines (you can read them on the left of the collage below). Fabulous expression of how we should let the inner child take over when we are working with colours.

Just reading those words made me want to work with more freedom, without a care about rules. And I simply love the outcomes! ❤💕

These bright, eye-catching drawings will look perfect in a kid's room or a play den. If you are looking for such artwork, write in to me at creativerumblings@gmail.com to discuss options.

So what is stopping you from finding red bears in purple forests? ☺

Monsoon Mornings

Hello July! But what is this....is half the year gone past already. I remember starting summer, and then everything is a blur. Happens to the best of us, I guess, especially when a teen and a pre-teen invade your space all the time! All thanks to the school vacations (exasperated eye roll please).

Anyhow, this month onwards I can reclaim some moments of peace.... And as the skies pour their blessings, my mornings will be enjoyable again.

So here's a mixed media collage that celebrates mornings spent in my garden sipping my favourite morning beverage. Though basically I'm a coffee person but my mornings have to begin with tea! Complicated, no? This was my first attempt at using teabag paper for art. It's a rage globally and works just like fine watercolour paper. Can you recognize where it is placed in the painting? I've also used handmade papers and newsprint to add to the effect.

This collage also reminds me of a sketch I did long back. Isn't it kind of amazing how the same elements crept back into this one too. Perhaps explains how artists tend to repeat their motifs throughout their artistic journey (I'm thinking of Hussain and his iconic horses). Here's looking forward to a creatively satisfying month. Though half my plans never seem to work yet hope is eternal, isn't it? Especially when gorgeous monsoon weather seduces your creative ideas!

Update: Check out the companion collage Evenings.

Bouncing Back with Red and Black

My efforts at jewellery making had to be moved to the back-burner after the challenging turn of life events last year. But perhaps it is time to pick up the threads again.... This beautiful neckpiece, sporting an elegant combination of red-black-grey was promptly lapped up by a friend last month (so quickly, in fact, that I forgot to click a picture and requested this from her).

While I have a thousand ideas swirling in my head, right now it is the paucity of time that is turning out to be my biggest bane. Hope I manage to streamline things soon; am hoping the schools reopening next month should give me more time for my passions.

With the festive season not far away, do spread the word about these customizable neckpieces. And write in to creativerumblings@gmail.com to place orders of your own.