artbymeera

Remembrance, The Lasting Perfume

2012-02-11T10:13:00.001-05:00

Memories of a bloom 2 watercolor on Yupo 5x7"

Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume. ~Jean de Boufflers

I saw these stalks with dried out flower pods, petals, leaves still attached while on a walk couple of years ago in Colorado. This painting is the second in the series capturing the memories of that cold crisp morning. I used the same techniques in this painting as in the earlier one. My plan is to change or add one color to each of the painting to give each painting its uniqueness as well as making it a part of the series. They are small paintings but take time to complete since each layer has to dry completely before I lay the next one. You may check out the first painting here.

Talking about memories I recently came across an article highlighting the fact that memories are not fixed but flexible and can be manipulated very easily: "....memories are surprisingly vulnerable and highly dynamic. In the lab they can be flicked on or dimmed with a simple dose of drugs. “For a hundred years, people thought memory was wired into the brain,” Nader says. “Instead, we find it can be rewired—you can add false information to it, make it stronger, make it weaker, and possibly even make it disappear.” Nader and Brunet are not the only ones to make this observation. One of the scietinsts, Nader further wonders: "What actually happens when we recall the past? Does the very act of remembering undo what happened? Does a memory have to go through the consolidation process again? "

A little further the article points out a fascinating point: "While neuroscientists were skeptical of Nader’s findings, cognitive scientists were immediately fascinated that memory might be constantly revamped. It certainly seemed to explain their observations: The home run you hit in Little League? Your first kiss? As you replay these memories, you reawaken and reconsolidate them hundreds of times. Each time, you replace the original with a slightly modified version. Eventually you are not really remembering what happened; you are remembering your story about it. “Reconsolidation suggests that when you use a memory, the one you had originally is no longer valid or maybe no longer accessible,” LeDoux says. “If you take it to the extreme, your memory is only as good as your last memory. The fewer times you use it, the more pristine it is. The more you use it, the more you change it.” We’ve all had the experience of repeating a dramatic story so many times that the events seem dead, as if they came from a novel rather than real life."

So I wonder, how much do I change my memory when I sketch and paint things I encounter?

Dewy Feathers

2012-02-05T09:17:00.000-05:00

Dewy Feathers Digital Photography

Last week one morning when I went to get the paper, I found these beautiful dewy feathers strewn around our driveway and lawn. It looked like there was some kind of struggle wherein a few feathers were lost ! I didn't see any other signs or bird parts and am hoping the creature escaped worse fate from whatever that was after it! When something like this happens, I always wonder whether I notice things around me since I took up photography or did I start toting a camera because I see things around me that I want to capture :)

These beautiful feathers reminded me about something I read a while ago: 'feather money - tevau' from Solomon Islands. We are familiar how Native Americans, Indonesian Islanders, and many many others hold feathers in high regard and use them in rituals. But in Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands, feather is currency! As many as 50,000 feathers from smallest scarlet honeyeaterer birds are fashioned into coils and used 'as a form of currency for settling important obligations' . Check the link to see a photo of the coil in the British Museum website. In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal bird's tail feathers were used as currency and hence the Guatemalan currency is known as 'quetzal' ! Its amazing how many little beautiful birds have been sacrificed not for food but for their treasured feathers by various 'collectors' all over the world.

A Grand Little Bundle of Joy

2012-01-30T18:31:00.000-05:00

Kallie watercolor study 4x6"

On Jan 26th we became grandparents for the first time - we now have precious little Kallie. The very next day I did the small study above --didn't think I could do a watercolor portrait but this little piece seemed to painted itself :) I forgot to take the final photograph -after I cleaned up some lines (by the nose bridge) etc before I framed it and gave it to the new parents ! Its been wonderful to hold, cuddle and love the little bundle of joy.

Cooking Up a Painting

2012-01-25T09:11:00.000-05:00

Fruity Goodness watercolor 5x3"

Last week we bought some apricots and a week later they were still hard, not ripening and sour :( So two days ago I chopped them up, added pulp from one mango tucked away in the freezer last summer, mixed in pomegranate juice, a bit of sugar, ginger and red pepper flecks. A few minutes in the microwave gave me a bottle full of delicious chutney to be savored for a few days !!!

As the jar sat on the kitchen counter basking in the sunlight, I quickly painted this small watercolor. I used my water brush and the small field paint kit with mostly transparent colors. The glass jar was a bit daunting to capture but I am pleased with both my cooking and painting --a day well spent :)

On the Train

2012-01-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

Now Serving.. (Brindavan Express -somewhere between Bangaluru and Chennai) digital photography

“How do they taste? They taste like more.”
- H.L. Mencken

Wabi-Sabi

2012-01-15T20:38:00.001-05:00

Lily Pond color pencils 8x10

Today I came across a Japanese term wabi-sabi. And it couldn't have happened at a better time. 'Wabi-sabi is the quintessential Japanese aesthetic. It is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and humble.' Wikpedia explained 'Wabi sabi can change our perception of the world to the extent that a chip or crack in a vase makes it more interesting and gives the object greater meditative value.' It further explained that 'In art books, it is typically defined as ″flawed beauty.' I am going to fully embrace that word!

The 'Lily Pond" was framed and hanging for a number of years. A few days ago, I took it off the frame and reworked it some, deepening the colors, mainly the darks and the shadow areas. I see compositional and technical flaws. But I am going to embrace the philosophy of 'wabi sabi' as well as the "How innocent" outlook of my wise old Sumi teacher from a one day workshop long ago as she urged me to accept my art work with open arms and move on. :)

Spicing Up the Sketch Book

2012-01-11T12:36:00.000-05:00

A Day in the Life - Sketchbook project page 25 color pencils

The spice box has a place of honor in an Indian Kitchen and I treasure mine :) I knew from the beginning that I wanted to include it in my sketchbook project.

I approached the subject with lots of anxiety but really loved sketching my special shiny Indian Spice Box, its contents as well as the red peppers, tomatoes, lemons, chilies etc. The different textures, colors, sizes and shapes were fun and a huge challenge to sketch. The decision to just sketch the objects and not worry about background was freeing. I learned that paying attention to the mass of each variety of spice and hinting about the space between most individual mustard/cumin/coriander/dal gave the finished image more unified look. Spraying the finished sketch with Krylon Kamar varnish was a good idea too. Even though better quality paper might have made a difference, I am glad I put forth a lot of effort and time into this particular sketch :)

Fleeting Patterns

2012-01-05T10:35:00.000-05:00

Fleeting Patterns digital photography

I wonder if the little duckling was aware of distorted reflections, colors, and patterns around it as it swam about that particular morning few months ago in San Antonio, Texas! Do ducks see color? depth? patterns? They must - because drakes - Mallards, Mandarin and Wood ducks are colorful and patterned. And I see duck hunters wearing camouflage and hide in covered boats. Anyway, I am really grateful I was in the right place at the right time to capture a fleeting moment in time.

Cheers to Potential and Possibilities!

2011-12-31T17:17:00.000-05:00

Hofbrauhaus at Dusk watermedia 12x9"

Sixty posts, twenty plus paintings, thirty some pages of color pencil 'sketches' and narrative to go with them for my sketchbook-fiction project "A Day In The Life -In Blue Jeans with Gold Embroidery" and more on-the-go pencil sketches than any previous years makes me content with 2011 art-wise :) This surely has been a year of experimenting for me with finishing an illustrated sketch/fiction book, yupo, deliberate washes and paint mixing, water brushes, field kits and working on patience!

I am pleased to post this painting - done mostly with watercolors except the sky part where I used acrylics mixed with watercolor. The watercolor paper was a 'test-paper' for colors by a young friend of mine who wanted to paint with me sometime ago. I pulled this paper out waiting for washes to dry on couple of Yupo paintings I was working on. I needed to keep my hands busy and away from the wet yupo. Using Masquepen Supernib I sketched free hand and then proceeded to play mostly with transparent watercolors in between the washes on Yupo. The reference was a photograph I took in Munich years ago. The underpainting worked quite well, and I felt little stress since I was really only 'playing' around. I am totally ignoring any problem areas in the painting and enjoying the smug feeling of rescuing a good paper :)

before

So, here is to a brand New Year full of potential and possibilities !

Shifting Perspective

2011-12-26T19:47:00.000-05:00

A Day in the Life -sketchbook project page 24 color pencils

All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow

-Grant Wood, painter.

From the book 'The Creative Spirit' by Daniel Goleman, Paul Kaufman and Michael Ray ( companion book to the PBS special from early 1990s with the same title) on the importance of being 'open to insights from the unconscious mind in moments of reverie, when we are not thinking of anything in particular' :

News of the Creative Past: Well, the creative spirit has struck again, this time on a cool evening in 1865. The chemist Friedrich Kekule has just discovered the elusive structure of the benzene molecule, a major breakthrough in organic chemistry. Kekule credits his breakthrough - and we will have to take his word on this- to a day dream.

Mr. Kekule reports that after a long day of thinking, he was relaxing in front of the fire, just watching embers fly up in a circular patterns. He says he then became transfixed and fell into a reverie, and as he half dozed, he began to see the sparks dance in a snakelike way. Suddenly, the sparks formed a whirling circle as if it were a snake biting its own tail. Kekule says he then awoke in a flash with a new, accurate picture of the structure of a benzene molecule: a ring!

So, is there a better way to solve my problem than stretch on the sofa, put my feet up and daydream?

A Magical Thing

2011-12-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

Sunrise on the shortest day digital photography

Today is the first day of winter in the Northern hemisphere. But I like that today is the shortest day too :) I shot this photograph through the window pane with raindrops giving it a surreal feeling.

Patience Is Not Passive

2011-12-14T18:26:00.000-05:00

memories of a bloom watercolor on yupo 7x5.5"

Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength.

~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton

I have to fully agree with that quote! The little painting on Yupo took a couple of days and lots of determined patience on my part as I layered paint and waited; used a tooth brush to splatter some paint and waited; dabbed with a wet tissue and waited; added paint in one section and took away paint in another. And repeated the process a few times! I think finally I see the little plant in the sunshine with dried twigs and memories of a lush little field around it.

Incubation Of An Idea

2011-12-08T10:20:00.001-05:00

A Day in the Life page 23 Sketch Book Project color pencils

Another sketchbook page to the rescue for this post. Picking up on the text of that page - how do you solve problems? When do you get your best ideas?

I read today about 'Bed, Bath and Bus Theory' -" ....it’s the notion that the best ideas come when you least expect it, such as in the bath/shower, lying in bed or waiting for a bus." The article further stated that "we need two characteristics in particular to make incubation successful: patience and belief. Both of these are necessary for you to walk away from a problem that means a lot to you, that you really want to solve or that has a deadline." The author of that article Lucretia Torva concludes "One last thing to do. Assign this project to your subconscious. Literally tell your mind to take care of, then let it go. "

I am glad to know that my coping mechanism of moving away is in a way looked upon as 'incubation of an idea' :)

The Mirror never Changes

2011-11-30T22:57:00.001-05:00

Near Anish Kapoor's 'Cloud Gate' Chicago Millenium Park Digital Photography

The mirror never changes, but everybody who looks at it sees something different.

-Harold Kushner

Inadvertently Omitted...

2011-11-27T07:10:00.001-05:00

A Day in the Life..... page 22 Sketchbook Project color pencils

'not intentional, not on purpose, not conscious' -- it is the definition 'not conscious' that stings! And it is not the first time this has happened - and not just in art either. I felt so very disheartened. It truly represented a 'Day in The Life'. I decided to force myself to consider this as a set up for a new twist in my Sketchbook Project ! This time my 'inadvertent omission' had created three empty pages right in the middle of a book with a planned narrative and a challenge for me to somehow resolve it and to incorporate new ideas into the story line. I did not want to just tear the pages - a self imposed constraint to be a bit creative to compensate for my slip; to be grateful that it is a small mistake in the scheme of things, a way to assuage my guilt for not being mindful....

What do you do when mistakes 'happen' in your work? Do you despair and scrap the whole project? Do you change it? Do you cover it up? Do you start over? Do you call it divine intervention and move on?

Fall Colors

2011-11-21T11:51:00.001-05:00

Persimmon watercolor sketch 3x5"

Persimmon another view watercolor sketch 3x5"

My neighbor has a persimmon tree that I can see from one of our windows. Over the past few weeks, the persimmons turned deep juicy orange and now the leaves are gorgeous yellows and oranges. She gave me four fruits last week and I really wanted to paint them. I even took pictures to capture their fresh ripe colors. But before I realized, three disappeared as after dinner treats :) The leaves on last remaining persimmon have dried and almost fallen off! So this morning I quickly sketched and painted the last remaining persimmon in my little sketch book with the Aquaflow waterbrush pen and transparent colors (top) and a mix of transparent and opaque colors (bottom).

I read that in Chinese culture when the persimmon appears as a symbol, it denotes an energy which would remove the obstacles and allow things to proceed smoothly. I definitely need that energy now! I have not been painting much these past few weeks as we are getting the inside walls of our house painted (almost done!) We had to move furniture and other belongings from all the rooms, shifting them from one to another and back again. Now I am trying to wade through the 'stuff' we have accumulated over the years as I decide which ones should be put back. The plan is to cull clutter and give away as much as possible -- which I am finding out is a lot easier said than done. And I just added two more paintings to my stack!

Attach A Silken Thread

2011-11-15T21:20:00.001-05:00

Pomegranates and Spider Web digital Photography

Natural History

E.B. White

The spider, dropping down from twig,

Unfolds a plan of her devising,

A thin premeditated rig

To use in rising.

And all that journey down through space,

In cool descent and loyal hearted,

She spins a ladder to the place

From where she started.

Thus I, gone forth as spiders do

In spider's web a truth discerning,

Attach one silken thread to you

For my returning.

My heart felt ' Thank You ' to all my 'blog friends' who return and encourage my efforts in my art, my photography and writing as I finish three full years of blogging. Tomorrow will be my blog anniversary and I am grateful for your support :)

Playful Art

2011-11-10T17:53:00.001-05:00

A Day in the Life -sketchbook project page 21 color pencils

I always wonder how and who came up with original recipes and cooking methods for various dishes. How and who concocted the very first delicacies? or the herbal remedies? The cough syrup herbal remedy that my aunt made for me was a wonderfully powerful one that relieved me of my incessant hacking during my trip to India in January. I do hope that these recipes and knowledge don't get lost as the world moves towards new and improved technology.

Speaking of innovations and creations, I watched TED fellow Aparana Rao talk about her unique interactive art projects that are steeped in surprising, playful and humorous ideas. Check it out and see why I want one of her high tech art installation 'shy pygmies' ! I am totally fascinated by her mix of art and technology - her fun 'uncle phone', delightful 'drunken man', the intimidating expanding cube, and cute tired oil blob. Actually I am in awe of her imagination and innovation! What a wonderful way to infuse art with 'humanity' that begs one to respond and interact.

Stash and Search

2011-11-04T11:32:00.000-04:00

A Day in the Life - Page 20 Sketchbook Project Color Pencils

"The great question is not whether you have the best nut, but whether you are content with your nut." (Bill Squirrelspeare)

I hoard quotes and am so ecstatic when I can pull out a perfect one from my stash :) I also have over 15,000 photos in my newest laptop, similar amounts an older desk top and too many prints from 'film' years. With a digital camera I take way too many photographs with abandon and am very hesitant to delete the so-so ones. Quite often I know I have a reference photo I have clicked for what I want to paint. But when the best cataloging system I have is 'I know I took a picture....' , I think I am like the squirrel who finds something wherever she looks :) Usually, in my photo-album searches, I stumble across something else I like and the next thing I know I am off with a new idea.

By the way, check here and here if you are curious about squirrels and nuts :)

Dancing in the Light

2011-10-31T14:15:00.000-04:00

Dancing in the Light digital photography

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

-Albert Einstein

Making Waves

2011-10-23T22:01:00.000-04:00

Making Waves watercolor 4"x4"

Unruffled watercolor 4x4"

Splash of color watercolor 4x4"

These ducks were entertaining a toddler who was shrieking with joy as the birds swam gracefully in circles in a small fountain early last spring. I watched the birds and the child for a long time and took many photographs. Later, it was pure joy for me to paint the colorful ducks and the water using watercolors. The challenge in the paintings was to capture the different textures of the birds, the fluidity of the water and a hint of reflection. My aim was to make the ducks sparkle with color. Each painting was a unique discovery of beauty of nature, of colors and patterns.

These are miniature paintings and the top two - "Unruffled" & "Making Waves" were selected for "Small Works" exhibit at the Charles Taylor Art Center in Hampton, VA along with my other miniature "Slow Sunny Day. The show opened today and will run through December 4.

Bobbing colors and Shadows

2011-10-16T10:25:00.000-04:00

A Day in the Life - Sketchbook Project page 19 color pencils 5x7"

I see this little shed with these colorful buoys behind a high fence everyday as I drive or walk by it near the end of our street. The arrangement and number of buoys keeps changing - yesterday there were only a few but this past winter when I was on my walk, the sun was at just the right angle on the full display of vivid objects. Through the seasons, I observed how the number of buoys, angle of light, the time of day changes the shadows making for exciting shapes and colors. All this helped me change the arrangement the way I felt comfortable with as I sketched.

I had an 'ah-ha' moment when I realized that I 'draw' outlines of the objects but I have to 'paint' shapes and values! Shapes in right color & value with lost and found edges essentially complete a painting save for a few accents! So now I know to focus my efforts in future paintings on the refinement of interlocking shapes in my composition, making highlights blend, anchoring the shadows so objects pop out. Most of writing and painting is observing and thinking and seeing the relationships :)

The Surreptitious Scion of Summer

2011-10-10T19:11:00.001-04:00

Mushrooms Digital Photography

These gorgeous mushrooms are some of the specimens I photographed a few days ago on my walk. I was trying to ID them and was sidetracked when I came across two wonderful TED talk videos on mushrooms, their usefulness and their new role in the modern technological developments. Paul Stamet holds numerous patents and in his TED talk, outlines six ways mushrooms can save the world. He has fine tuned cleaning polluted soil, making insecticides, treating smallpox, ridding carpenter ants and termites etc. using mushrooms. His 'Life Boxes' are a surprising way to renew the soil! He 'seeks to rescue the study of mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords.' It is a treat to watch his talk . I am amazed by the potential that is hidden in these life forms! I also found out that 400 million years ago they were giant three feet tall mushrooms called Prototaxitis and their fossil can be found in Saudi Arabia!

"Are the mushrooms the new plastic?" is the title of the TED Talk by Eben Bayer. ' Eben Bayer is a product designer and he 'reveals his recipe for a new, fungus-based packaging material that protects fragile stuff like furniture, plasma screens — and the environment.' I have new respect for these nature's wonders and recycling system.

And if you can name these mushrooms, please leave a comment and let me know :)

Bursting Colors

2011-10-05T11:59:00.000-04:00

Bursting colors watercolor on Yupo 5x7"

For the past few days, after the relentless rains finally stopped, my walks on the trail have been especially delightful with mushrooms of all sizes, colors and variety popping up just about everywhere! These colorful ones were peeking out through a mess of twigs, grass blades and rotting leaves. I put my small camera below the mushrooms close to the ground to capture the colorful specimens! I am grateful that I slip my little camera with me whenever I get out. I did not want to disturb them or pluck them out even though I would have liked to sketch them from life. Upon a bit of research I think they are a variety of Hygrocybe punicea and probably not poisonous.

I was not planning on filling up the paper with color but somehow got carried away! I loaded my brush with transparent colors, and used, brushstrokes, crushed paper tissue, and misting for texture.

Poetry of Lines of Shapes

2011-09-28T16:35:00.000-04:00

A Day in The Life.... Sketchbook Project page 18 Color pencils

Our little town still has above ground telephone and electric lines and there are always mourning doves or purple matins etc. sitting on the wires - quite often a conference of them! I love to watch them as they fly away and come back following some private code of their own. I was very pleased to draw a simple sketch of those birds and incorporate them into my Art House Co-Op Sketchbook-Fiction project narrative. While working on the project I really learned the poetry of lines, forms, shapes and colors in sketches. And I realized that to be a true artist I need to follow Irwin Greenberg's advice, " Draw everywhere and all the time. An artist is a sketchbook with a person attached. " :)

Different Perspectives

2011-09-23T16:45:00.000-04:00

Hanging Beauties 6x4" watercolor

Delicate Beauty 4x4" watercolor

Lately I have been hearing again and again how we should shut off all the technological distractions like cell phones, computers, iPads, television etc and concentrate only creating. But is artistic creativity only confined to the traditional platforms? In today's society, what is the artist's responsibility for showing different perspectives; for using various newer media in creative ways for making a statement; for helping the world learn to empathize? A TED Talk by Artist Raghava KK "Shake Up Your Story" shows off his children's book idea for iPad. The brilliant creativity he displays showcases how to expose children to various perspectives on morality, culture, religion etc in a playful, kid-friendly way. What a wonderful way as an artist to open minds.

First Light of the Day

2011-09-20T08:48:00.000-04:00

Sunrise By The Water Digital Photography

“He who is here in the human being, and he, who is there in the sun, are one and the same.” (sa yas-cayam purushe, yas-chasavaditye, sa ekah).

Taittireeya Upanishad

Summer Dreams

2011-09-15T17:44:00.000-04:00

The Day In The Life...sketchbook project page 17 color pencils

My Fiction/sketchbook project The Day In the Life -In Blue Jeans with gold Embroidery is digitized and online at the Art House Co-op website :) I will still slowly put the pages on this blog too but this lets you look/read the whole thing with one click.

Now, looking at all the scanned pages in one place, I really long for another goal to work towards! These days I find between catching up on housework, some garden tending, getting the house repaired, repainted and rearranged, my art time has really eroded. I also have a few wonderful new art books that I am thumbing through that have ideas and techniques that I can't wait to try! And then there is the new Adobe Photoshop that I just purchased and waiting to be mastered. I have to find some extra time - any ideas and tips for me?

Rideable Art

2011-09-12T08:56:00.001-04:00

Rideable Art digital photography Mysore Aug 2011

Think of bicycle as rideable art that can just about save the world

-Grant Peterson

Field Experiments

2011-09-05T11:50:00.002-04:00

Watermelon and berries sketching with Aquaflow brush with watercolor tube paint

At the Gate sketches with Aquaflow brush, tube paint, Pilot G-2 pen

Ready to Board sketch with Aquaflow brush, tube paint, Pilot G-2 pen

I had purchased a Aquaflow waterbrush just before my unexpected trip to India last month. I made myself a small field box by putting a blob of paint each of cool and warm reds, blues, and greens, aurelion yellow, raw umber, burnt umber into an old small flat Celestial Seasoning Tea box measuring 3"x2"x1/2" . The brush, the box and my sketch book (5x3"), a Pilot G-2 pen were packed into a quart size ziploc bag and fit in my purse neatly.

I really enjoyed trying out my 'field sketch box kit' at the airports mostly and found it fun. It took some practice to get a feel for the brush which has a store of water --to figure out how much to squeeze as you paint and how to blend the colors! I also now know to add a sponge or couple of paper towels to the kit. I played around with sketching first and then adding the colors as well as putting down the colors first and then defining with the pen. Except that by the end of the trip, some of the paints mixed with each other (airplane pressure issue?) and there was a small mess in part of the box, the kit was a successful experiment.

Fig Salvia sketches with Sakura waterbrush Koi watercolor field sketch box

The sketches of the fig and the Salvia was done at home couple of days ago with the Koi Watercolor Field sketch Box and the Sakura waterbrush that came with it. The field box has 24 mini pans of paint, 2 sponge strips, a mixing tray that fits neatly to the side when opened, and room for the dis-assembled brushpen. The lid can be used as a mini easel for the watercolor paper that I cut fit into the space between the lid and the mixing tray. I could hold the field box in one one hand and paint with the other, making it a neat field box. The box measures 6"x4"x1" when closed. I am not too happy with the waterbrush that came with as it kept loosing hair and it took me a while to figure out that I had to twist it to the right to loosen it as opposed to turning to left as I instinctively do ! I was afraid I was going to ruin the brush even before I had a chance to paint with it!!! I am really looking forward to using my field kits regularly and hope all the sketching will make a difference in my studio paintings :) Please let me know how you approach sketching on the go.

the set ups :)

Messages for Life

2011-08-29T17:43:00.000-04:00

A Day In the Life -sketchbook project page 16 color pencils

Once again, I am given a new perspective on life - life that is exceedingly fragile, unpredictable and where change is the only constant. We were away in India coping with the untimely, unexpected loss of my husband's beloved brother when we read about the earthquake that shook our area. Two days later, it was hurricane warnings and evacuation orders for our area as we landed back in USA, hours before the airport closed due to inclement weather.

We were lucky to wait out Hurricane Irene at our son's house just far enough from the dreaded path. I fretted and watched the Weather Channel with memories of Hurricane Isabel's destruction too clear in my mind, bracing for the worst but hoping and praying for a miracle. I am thankful for our wonderful neighbors and friends who generously secured our house and yard as Irene furiously spiraled her way up the Eastern seaboard. In the end, Irene spared us - our town, our house and our yard is intact. We drove back home on bright beautiful dayafter and now only have to clear a bit of debris. And we did not loose power, water or gas service.

For days, sorrow, worry and fear has gripped my heart as I struggled with the uncertainties of life. Now, I am forced to learn to appreciate every single moment; to not take anything or anyone for granted; to be just grateful.

Foliage for a Dream

2011-08-22T07:21:00.002-04:00

A Day in the Life... Sketchbook Project page 15 color pencil

In the peak of summer if trees look like these, it is definitely cause for worry! When I was working on my Art House Sketchbook Fiction Project earlier in the year, the trees were still bare and looked nothing like the lush green ones I see outside now. From my first Fall and Winter in the USA many many moons ago, I have never ceased to be amazed by the bareness of the trees when the temperatures dip and seasons change. I still wonder if the very first people ever knew that the trees would burst back into life in a few months.

'The place is all awave with trees,

Limes, myrtles, purple-beaded,

Acacias having drunk the lees

Of the night-dew, fain headed,

And wan, grey olive-woods, which seem

The fittest foliage for a dream. '

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Balcony Seats

2011-08-17T06:56:00.003-04:00

Balcony Seats Digital Photography

'Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.'

Rabindranath Tagore

Mini Sacred Pause

2011-08-12T09:52:00.002-04:00

Slow Sunny Day watercolor 2.5"x6.5"

When I was in Istanbul two years ago, this scene by the square near the Blue Mosque caught my eye. I can't remember what she was selling as she sat there on that very sunny hot hot day. The square was quite crowded with pilgrims and tourists but I saw how the lady watching the child and the child joyfully chasing after the flock of birds were each in their own world. In this miniature, I choose to paint just that. It was a challenge to paint small and only some of details but I loved the process.

I read the other day in a article "Sacred Pause" written by Hugh Bryne and Rebecca Hines :"In the midst of daily life there are simple ways to take a “mini sacred pause,” bring awareness to what is alive here and now, and relax into presence" Doesn't it look like the lady and the child know how to integrate those mindful principles? As it is life is very fragile - we definitely need to take and appreciate these 'sacred pauses.'

The Seven Links Project

2011-08-03T18:19:00.000-04:00

Hanging Fire watercolor 16x12

Here it is, 'Hanging Fire' selected by my husband as my most beautiful painting for my Seven Links Project. As mentioned in my previous post, The Seven Links Project is courtesy of Crystal Cook who tagged me to post seven links in my blog for

Your most beautiful post

Your most popular post

Your most controversial post

Your most helpful post

A post whose success surprised you

A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved

The post you are most proud of

The idea behind the project is "to unite bloggers(from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of the day again"

I could never settle on any of my paintings as my most beautiful one (being partial to all of them (-: ), so, I finally asked my husband for his pick. I agree with him that the peppers in Hanging Fire look gorgeous in their luscious red. Please let me know what you think is my most beautiful painting -- I know that is a very subjective selection !

Resplendent Watercolor on Yupo 11x14"

Resplendent on Yupo is definitely my choice for 'your most popular post' if going by the number of hits it gets every single day. The blogger picked it as my most popular post for the side bar! This painting gave me confidence to continue my experiments on Yupo paper.

Ignorance mixed media 12x15"

'The post you are most proudest of ' has to be my mixed media painting Ignorance. That particular day I had picked up one of my failed paintings of a street scene of a town in India to see if I could salvage it. Listening to the news about wars in various parts of the world, I started a collage on it from torn pieces of rice paper from another failed calligraphy attempt about "Truth alone triumphs.' I was guided by a photograph from one of the newspapers from couple of months before that had etched in my memory - even today I see clearly in my mind's eye the dark figures in a chaotic city scape with blue smoke from a bomb blast. I am proud of how I channeled my frustration with the violent world out there, my failed paintings and brought together various mediums and styles to express myself. I am also proud that my daughter within minutes of my posting the painting e-mailed me to ask me if she could have it!

Collateral Damage water media 9x12

'Collateral Damage' surely qualifies for the 'your most controversial post'. I consider it controversial for the artistic liberties I took in painting the disaster caused by the Gulf oil spill. The scene is from my imagination and I closed that post with the thought : 'My hope is that the message doesn't get swept away in the debate about realistic depiction'.

Sketch of a sculpture, white Prismacolor pencil on black paper

The honor for 'A post whose success surprised you' goes to Negative Drawing showing the sketch of a sculpture done with white Prismacolor pencil on black paper. I am pleased that I was successful in sketching the sculpture from Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA as well as how according to Stats it has become the second most popular post on my blog!

'A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved' goes to Show-off time :

Bangle Pedlar color pencils 14x10"

I wavered between Bangle Pedlar and Mandala Meditation - both color pencil portraits. I settled on Bangle Pedlar from my second blog post but very first post of a painting -a portrait in color pencils. I guess it is understandable that I never got any feedback on the painting as my blog was still very new :) The painting hangs in my living room and always elicits a happy reaction from all who see it.

At the Art Institute of Chicago digital Photography

As for the 'most helpful post', I would like to think that all my posts are helpful in some way as I strive to include a link or two or some information that one might find useful or worthy of contemplation :) I consider my post on 'Universal Acceptance' most helpful - as my attempt at shining a light on how important it is to accept one and all and find unity in all our diversity.

Now, I pass the Seven Links Project challenge on to :

Teresa Sheeran Houstan

I really enjoyed doing this challenge - wonderful way to go back and see how my blog and my artistic abilities have evolved :)

Unexpected Pleasures!

2011-07-28T08:09:00.001-04:00

A Day In The Life... sketchbook project page 14 color pencil

I had a pleasant surprise last week when the talented artist Crystal Cook tagged me in her post The Seven Links Project , which is "to unite bloggers from all sectors in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve the light of the day." As a result, my Seven Links Project - which is in the making right now - will be revealed in my next post :) In the mean time, please do check out her project and admire her beautiful sensitive paintings!

Regarding page 14 of my Art House Co-op's Sketchbook project "A Day In the Life - in Blue Jeans with Gold Embroidery" : it is the first time I had sketched a heron in color. I always hesitated to paint the big beautiful birds because I didn't think I could do justice to their grace and elegance. The surprising reward of the sketch book project is that it has been wonderful for my skills and self confidence. It forced me to tackle subject matters that I kept putting aside and pushed me beyond my comfort zone just so I could fill the book up!! Now, my newest resolve is to just sketch everyday without regard to subject matter and to paint some of those sketches from my book "A Day in the Life -in Blue Jeans with Gold Embroidery " on bigger sheets of watercolor paper :)

Want or Need?

2011-07-19T08:44:00.000-04:00

A Day In the Life ..in Blue Jeans with Gold Embroidery - Page 13 (Sketchbook/fiction Project )color pencils

Do I call this co-incidence? This page done months ago was next in line to be posted. And as it happens, I just returned from a week of retreat at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam where the teaching is all about how to deal with desires, aversions, dispassion, work with the attitude of worship and to accept everything in the spirit of blessing. This teaching more than anything reinforces how I should put forth my best effort, enjoy the process of painting and not get hung up on the final product. Over the years I have realized that it really frees up the creative process when I do the preparatory work, trust my instincts and let things just be. I read and hear again and again that meditation and mindfulness will take creativity and life to a different level - hope to be able to follow that advice consistently one of these days!

What philosophy nourishes your artistic endeavors?

Framing Nature

2011-07-08T12:12:00.000-04:00

Framing Nature : A Window at San Antonio Museum of Art - digital photography

I think most of the time it is hard to improve what nature has to offer. Copying nature is challenging and I often feel humbled as I sketch and paint. Nina Tandon in a TED talk experiences this in a completely different way in what she calls 'Biomimetic Paradigm" - as she copies nature in the lab. She engineers artificial tissues for transplants and therapies. Watch her short video as she talks about this amazing process.

Taking Liberties

2011-07-01T20:27:00.000-04:00

Pause watercolors 12x9"

Taking liberties with color and composition is what I aimed for in this painting. I had taken a photograph many years ago at Colonial Williamsburg of a costumed interpreter taking a break. As soon as I asked permission to take her photograph, she straightened up and posed in a stiff stance.

This past week I played around. I changed and simplified the background colors. I managed to give her back the look I had wanted to capture on that particular day. I observed a few ladies carrying babies on their hips and chatting - that helped me to paint her this way. I was pleased to be able to make the changes and complete the painting. When I straddle between realistic and conjured depictions, I feel a different sense of accomplishment as I finish the painting.

Artistic Impulse

2011-06-25T16:44:00.001-04:00

A Day in The Life page 12 color pencils

As an artist you are always told to develop your own style. Well, I just watched a TED talk by Shea Hembrey -- he became 100 artists with hundred different styles for his own 'International Biennial Show!' He made up artists from different counties, invented bios, wrote one hundred different artist statements and created different styles, forms of art in all different sizes too - paintings, sculptures, performance arts, installations, movies/documentaries. He was even his own curator, Gallery director --but of course, you know by now that he came up with names and positions and bios for them too.

There is a huge debate going on in TED site about what all this means. I am impressed with his audacity, creativity and sense of humor. It tickled me that he has hundred different artists in him and now I feel comfortable to carry on with my varied styles and choice of mediums without feeling compelled to choose one or the other. Does this mean I may end up not mastering any one style or medium? Probably so but I may never grow as an artist if I don't keep experimenting and pushing my limits. When it comes to creativity, I think it is a fine line between being focused and spreading yourself thin! Check out the hilarious and creative talk and a sample of his hundred of artists in the TED-video. Please leave a comment and let me know your opinion about it.

Perfect Patience

2011-06-20T14:12:00.000-04:00

Perfect Patience digital photography

We often think that it is impossible

to develop perfect patience; however

if we know our nature and our qualities,

and if we train ourselves in them,

it is completely possible to do it.

-Bokar Rinpoche

Spectacular Images

2011-06-15T07:28:00.002-04:00

A Day In the Life..Full of Surprises page11 color pencils

I am waiting for The Art House Co Op to finish revamping their website and for my project A Day in the Life -in Blue Jeans With Gold Embroidery to be added to their digital library. I am also hoping their scanned online versions are better than mine :).

Even as I am pleased to have completed writing and illustrating a small book for the Fiction Project, I am fascinated by what I read and see on their site about how some artists challenged themselves to take their art to new level by changing the paper in the moleskine journals or turning it into an accordion book etc., transforming the materials they were given. I just watched a TED talk by artist Janet Echelman on 'Taking Imagination Seriously.' I am in awe of her creativity and drive to pursue her unbelievably big imagination! I also really like how she combines science and art in her work. Having just returned from Chicago last month, where Anish Kapoor has his sculpture the Bean/cloud, I wonder how does one come up with work of art that scale and magnitude that boggles the mind? Is it a different level of risk taking, resourcefulness, determination, tenacity combined with the serendipity of being in the right place at the right time and to know to seize upon the opportunity presented? And does it have to be really spectacular or it is not imagination taken to the edge?

Sixteen Rules to Forget

2011-06-09T19:28:00.000-04:00

Koi (final) watercolor on Yupo 11x14

A month and a half ago when I was getting ready to frame the paintings for my show at the library, I had to stop and go back over my earlier version of the Koi painting, further deepening the shadows (the photograph unfortunately still doesn't capture the darks well enough) and adding some more details to the fish and the water. I like this newer more vibrant version :). Under glass with 'museum white' double mat really gives the painting a wonderful 'finished' look. I can never get over how matting and framing dresses up a painting!!!

I must admit I have been washing, painting, rewashing and painting again on regular paper for a few years but its easier on Yupo. Yupo paper has helped me be bolder with trying out various options for a painting --especially going darker, then coming back and saving the whites. It has helped me take chances and try out different solutions on the same painting till I am satisfied. I play with shapes, values, colors or other elements with abandon. Recently I reread Arne Westerman's book "Painting Watercolors Filled with Life and Energy." and it reaffirmed for me the method in my madness. At the end of the book he has a chapter on Six Things to Remember and Sixteen Rules to Forget (my favorite)! I am sharing shortened versions of both below (and that will also help me remember better .)

Remember these:

1. Paint only those things you feel connected to.

2. Consider the uniqueness of your idea.

3. See your work as a rectangle -not a person or a thing in the middle of a rectangle.

4. Simplify.

5. Use light like a film director.

6. Use color with boldness.

Forget These Rules: Rules (in italics) and my summarized version of his refreshingly candid comments/explanation (not in italics)

1. Be careful to avoid "ouzles" in your painting. -Don't worry-its one of the exclusive qualities of watercolor.

2. Design is simply a matter of picking the right formula. Not really. Just keep it simple.

3. Watercolor is an unforgiving medium. Nonsense. You can paint, wash it off, restate and wash again.

4. Expensive brushes are better and last longer. Not necessarily. Experiment and find brushes just right for you.

5. Paper must be stretched before painting. Not true.

6. Don't use opaque white paint. Thats cheating. A silly rule aimed to prove how difficult it is to paint 'transparent color.' The Old Masters used white paint. Cerulean blue, red & orange cadmiums, and yellow ochre are as opaque as white.

7. Always erase your pencil lines. Not necessary. It adds interest and texture.

8. Be careful with the paper's surface. Good watercolor paper takes a lot of abuse and its the results that count.

9. Be neat and tidy. Wrong.

10. Don't waste film, paint, paper and other supplies. Better to waste than lose a great opportunity.

11. Don't paint from photographs. Paint on the scene or work from photographs. Go either way without guilt.

12. Always work light to dark. Not true. Develop as you go.

13. Make every brushstroke count. No. You will play it safe and go nuts.

14. Watercolor requires tremendous control. Not true. If you don't like it wash it off.

15. Don't paint a vertical subject in a vertical format. Not necessarily.

16. Always stay inside the lines. The term "crossing the line" suggests adventure.

I close with these words from Arne Westerman: "You are an artist. Go to work."

Beauty, Shadow and Reflection

2011-06-04T09:26:00.000-04:00

Beauty, Shadow and Reflection watercolor 9x12

I saw this tiny colorful beauty drinking from a puddle on a cold January morning when I was out on a walk. I stopped to admire. I am also drawn to shadows and reflections and I was immediately attracted by the three shapes that intersected as the bird cautiously watched my movements. I, as cautiously and slowly, took out my camera and managed to capture the moment as he/she continued to survey the scene. Finally this week I painted this as a reminder of that wonderful encounter. I used my favorite Canson Montval cold press watercolor paper, a small brush along with lots of patience to complete the painting :)

Shadow Play

2011-06-01T10:06:00.001-04:00

A Day in the Life page 10 color pencils

At the rate I am posting the sketchbook pages from my book A Day In The Life for The Fiction Project, I will have fodder for my blog for a couple months :) As with the reflections, shadows also intrigue me. A Conrad Hall quote says it eloquently: There are infinite shadings of light and shadows and colors... it's an extraordinarily subtle language. Figuring out how to speak that language is a lifetime job.

I came across some beautiful shadows that were artistically created by manipulating various objects and light. The creativity behind these shadows is mindbogging! These are a long way from the wall shadows my brother and I did as children with flashlight and fingers on our hands on rainy mansoon nights when there was no electricity and we were looking for entertainment!

Always Reflecting

2011-05-27T15:48:00.000-04:00

Reflecting watercolor on Yupo 7"x11"

I, like countless others, have a fascination for photographing reflections. I am intrigued how the reflections are sometimes mirror images and other times diffused and forming beautiful abstracts. To me, the play of light, color, patterns echoing the reality in its own terms - when an object is reflected off glass, mirror, water or any other shiny surface - is a mystery and miracle at the same time. Fortunately or unfortunately, quite often I find I become aware of the beauty of the surroundings as I catch the reflections.

I enjoyed working on the yupo and now I want to explore this same image on a larger size regular paper soon!

Growing Art

2011-05-21T22:21:00.000-04:00

A Day in The Life. Page 9 color pencils

One of the things that fascinates me is how ideas and creativity come about. I especially like the instances where science and art collide to produce the most wonderful discoveries and artwork. More than ever this illustrates that we can all learn techniques- be it scientific methodology or how to lay down paint but to have a breakthrough, to make big discoveries seems to require something almost magical! I came across three different stories about Alexander Fleming and his discovery of penicillin. There is much more there than simply happenstance.

A Smithsonian article explained that long before Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotics, he was a painter, a member of the Chelsea Arts Club. He used watercolors, but that was not his favored medium. He painted ballerinas, houses, stick figures fighting and other subjects by using bacteria! The article says :"He produced these paintings by growing microbes with different natural pigments in the places where he wanted different colors. He would fill a petri dish with agar, a gelatin-like substance, and then use a wire lab tool called a loop to inoculate sections of the plate with different species. The paintings were technically very difficult to make. Fleming had to find microbes with different pigments and then time his inoculations such that the different species all matured at the same time. These works existed only as long as it took one species to grow into the others. When that happened, the lines between, say, a hat and a face were blurred; so too were the lines between art and science." Further down the article is the revelation :"On that fateful morning, what Fleming actually discovered was, in a way, a version of one of his paintings. Each of the colonies of Staphylococci bacteria that he had inoculated on the plate had grown into a small shape resembling a planet or a star in a night sky. But there among his wild planets was something else, a larger, lighter body at the top of the dish, the Penicillin fungus. Around it the sky was dark, where the bacteria were dying. It was his masterpiece, his “rising sun,” the painting that would save more lives than any other discovery."

Read the Smithsonian article: Painting with Penicillin: Alexander Fleming's Germ Art and then listen to PRI's Studio 360 story : Godfather of Bacteria. On PRI's link Painting with E.Coli, there is also a photo of one of Flemings paintings :)

A blog Growing Impressions-Gulden/Baldwin records the collaboration between artist Amy Gulden and scientist Dr. Kristin Baldwin :"...we have enlisted a natural organism, E. coli bacteria, to generate images that resemble paintings or prints, but that have a unique set of patterns that could not be generated using non living materials. We hoped that by letting nature generate its own patterns we would trigger the interest of the eye and the visual brain, which has evolved to pay attention to the irregular patterns generated by natural growing objects." There is an amazing collection of 'paintings' in that site!

This goes to show that we definitely need to nurture curiosity. Arts and science is a very artificial seperation of knowledge!

In Search of Beauty

2011-05-16T16:12:00.001-04:00

A Day In The Life - page 8 color pencils

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." Ralph Waldo Emerson's words ring in my mind quite often, especially when my wants and needs rear up their heads! This past week in Chicago was no exception. These days though, finally, more often than not, I use my camera to bring home the beauty. (The airline luggage restrictions help too!) And, more importantly, I understand what he meant.

In the past couple of days there have been two stories on NPR about art, beauty and collecting- 'World's Richest Man Opens Flashy Museum in Mexico' and 'Chasing Aphrodite and Other Dirty Art World Deals.' The stories mentioned 'object lust', 'because they wanted it', 'they lose reason', 'minor and mediocre pieces by big name artists.' When I finished listening, I was quite disillusioned by the elitist mindset of some of the museum directors, curators, professors and one reporter whose tone I definitely did not care for. I realized how easy it is to judge another or lose one's way when dealing with issues of ethics, art, culture, and greed. I love going to the museums, admire the collections, but, I was once again wondering about the ethics, pros and cons of collecting, standards of beauty, value of art pieces etc.

On a much simpler note, having just completed my sketchbook Fiction Project for Art House Co-op, A day in the Life, I was also very excited to see on display, "Color and Rhythm: Henri Matisse's Jazz " at the Art institute of Chicago.

As I had mentioned before, working on my book has given me a new appreciation for others' efforts and I marvel at the end results!

Completing the Circle

2011-05-10T09:35:00.000-04:00

Poquoson Public Library Artist of the Month May 2011

I am always excited to exhibit my paintings at our city's Public Library. It is a wonderful opportunity to display a collection of my paintings. I get a sense of how all my paintings look framed and next to each other. I am really grateful to have a venue to just show my work and for a very compelling reason to keep painting, knowing there is one place once a year I may have my month of audience :) Please swing by the library if you are in the area. I would love any feed back!

This my 200th blog post and my heartfelt thank you to all who visit my blog. Your interactions have helped me grow and evolve! As the artist Anish Kapoor said: There's something imminent in the work, but the circle is only completed by the viewer.

Comfort or Boredom?

2011-05-04T10:10:00.000-04:00

A Day In the Life.. Page 7 The Fiction Project color pencils

I completed the fiction project last week and mailed it off to Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, NY. In the end I filled 30 pages with sketches and writing - that includes an author page, and two pages of tid-bits and explanations. I had initially torn off two pages to experiment on, and another three pages when I had difficulty with the page with the rangoli. I scanned the pages to my computer so I will be posting them slowly on my blog :) I sprayed the completed pages with Krylon acrylic clear coating so the color pencils will hold up and not smudge on the remote chance that it will be handled and looked at a number of times!

The project was exciting, fun and stressful all at the same time. I was sketching, drawing and thinking about the book every single day and I felt daily practice definitely improved my skills. I am looking into another project to keep up the daily practice :). Giving my best and not being hung up on perfection freed me to enjoy the process. The project pushed me to sketch things I would have overlooked or afraid to tackle. I hope to give some of the sketches full treatment in larger versions. I was excited to see the end product - a book authored and illustrated by me - not perfect or amazing, but a small accomplishment! Strangely, I did not mind mailing it off.

Now, about page 7: on a daily basis, I do not care for chores - will gladly by-pass them whenever I can! Over the years I have noticed how my elderly or unwell relatives and friends have fiercely insisted on doing the daily little chores as they negotiated their days, and that made a great impression on me. I wonder, why, when, how or if, the perspective will change for me.

Circles on Wheels

2011-04-23T20:33:00.000-04:00

digital photography

To understand is to perceive patterns.

-Isaiah Berlin

Drawing Fire

2011-04-18T20:51:00.001-04:00

Delicate Dance watercolor on Yupo

Last summer we enjoyed many Calla Lily blooms in our garden. This past week, I finally got around to painting one on yupo sheet many times before I was satisfied. It was a tremendous learning experience to try out different colors and varying backgrounds simply by repeatedly painting and washing off until I settled on this rendition. I am experimenting using only washes and water for texture.

I borrowed the title of the post from a series of articles in New York Times by Michael D. Fay. On June 6 2010, in the introduction to the series, NYT explains: 'In 2005, then Chief Warrant Officer Michael D. Fay traveled to Iraq in his capacity as official Marine Corps artist. There he fought with Marines engaged in Operation Steel Curtain against insurgents along the Euphrates River, and documented the events in sketches, photographs and audio recordings. Mr. Fay describes that experience here in “Drawing Fire,” to be published in five consecutive parts this week in Home Fires. It is based on material from his memoir, “The War Artist,” (earlier drafts appeared on his blog in January), and includes artwork and photographs from his time with Marine units in Operation Steel Curtain.' His accounts of the war and the accompanying sketches paint the horrors that is deeply riveting and moving. Check out his blog 'Fire and Ice' and also the Joe Bonham Project, where you will find more sketches by 'group of illustrators dedicated to recording the faces and experiences of America's returning wounded warriors.' Kandhahar Journal has sketches and accounts by war artists in Afghanistan. The artist soldiers give a different picture of the war.

Happy Vishu

2011-04-14T08:44:00.000-04:00

A Day in the Life-page 6 color pencils and pen

Happy Vishu - New Year to all. Today is New Year for most of the people in southern India. I did this page in my sketchbook for the Fiction project 'A day in the Life - in Blue Jeans with Gold Embroidery' a few weeks ago and waited to post :) The entry describes a ceremony from most Hindu households in the south on Vishu-Ugady day.

The copy reads:

I light the lamp on my altar. A mirror is the latest addition -a reminder of a special kind. In southern India where I grew up, the New Year is ushered in with a ceremony many centuries old. The night before, a special shrine is assembled in prayer room/corner with season's first fresh vegetables and ripe fruits, arranged around a mirror draped with fresh flowers and gold jewelry. The next morning, each family member is led to the shrine with the eyes closed. We open our eyes in front of the shrine looking into the mirror, now surrounded by lit lamps. shining in the midst of this beauty and abundance is our own face in the mirror. It is a beautiful reminder of the divinity in each of us. The same divinity that pervades all. I wanted to have that reminder everyday of my life.

I did assemble the special 'kani' shrine last night and looked in the mirror this morning :) And a mirror has been a permanent addition in my altar since January 1 - the new year in the western calendar.

Lines or Forms?

2011-04-11T12:25:00.000-04:00

Skylight at National Gallery of Art Washington D.C. digital photography

Always lines, never forms! But where do they find these lines in Nature? For my part I see only forms that are lit up and forms that are not. There is only light and shadow.

- Francisco de Goya

Ideas and Doubts

2011-04-05T21:17:00.001-04:00

A Day in the Life - Swirl of Doubts page 5 color pencils

Generating ideas for the sketch book has been an interesting process. The challenge has been to have continuity in the theme and connecting one page to the next. Frustration with the paper has translated into not looking for perfection in my sketches or in the writing. Letting go of the fear of failure is very liberating and I am somewhat enjoying the process of filling up the sketch book. I read somewhere that Pablo Picasso once said "You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea." Seems like I have taken that to heart. I have completed fifteen pages so far and have a few more to go. I am looking forward to see what I will come up with next :)

Patience and Possibilities

2011-03-28T11:10:00.000-04:00

Patient Pelican Watercolors 6"x7"

I have been rereading (or rather re-looking at the illustrations/paintings from) Jeanne Dobie's Making Color Sing. This was my very first purchase when I started painting in watercolors many years ago. Two days ago, her chapter on 'Mouse Power - achieving luminous grays' prompted me to finally paint the photograph of this pelican I had taken a while back. According to her 'mouse colors are like the bit players who support the stars.'

I didn't quite follow her instructions or do the exercises, but selected a transparent red, aureolin yellow, cobalt blue and viridian to make my grays, and used the grays to paint everything but the little yellow and orange patches on the bird :) A smaller brush than I normally use and waiting patiently for the paint to dry between the layers helped too.

Reading parts of the chapter while waiting for the paint to dry showed me the weakness in my usual method of studying only the pictures in an art book rather than reading the chapters in detail! I guess I need to change my ways a bit and not try to reinvent the wheel on my own!

I had moved away from her suggested rose madder genuine a few years ago since it had been rated poorly for color fastness in "The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints." While linking her book to amazon.com, I noticed that there is a newer edition of her book- hope she has replacements for the fugitive colors in the new version.

Meandering Lines

2011-03-25T09:20:00.002-04:00

A Day in The Life - Rangoli doodle pilot G-2 pen

I am not sure cleaning up my doodle when I transfered it to the Fiction Project sketchbook was a good idea. After tearing off a couple of pages (now I have fewer pages to fill!) because my freehand doodle was not going the way I wanted, I realised forced doodling is not going to have a free flowing feeling to it!!! I have a weakness for rangoli doodles so I can free hand a rangoli when I have to and not check any rangoli design books. Rangoli with these continuous lines are my favorite - I try to see how long I can go on with the line before it meets the starting point. Some traditional rangoli start with even or odd numbered dots and you weave the lines around it. How you place the dots, how many dots in each subsequent rows, and how many rows of dots all lead to different designs. With regard to the sketchbook, I have decided to draw only on the right hand side of the book, not fight the thin papers and just accept imperfections.

Did you know Google has special doodles of its logo to celebrate important dates in a calender year. Check out their Google doodle art!

Spring Signature

2011-03-18T20:29:00.000-04:00

Dandelion digital photography

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. "

Henry David Thoreau.

Magic of Coffee

2011-03-14T19:58:00.001-04:00

A Day in the Life - First Sip colorpencils

South Indian Kaapi is very special and a matter of pride in that region. I had never known coffee was not native to India until I came across its origins in the menu-card in an Ethiopian Restaurant in New York many years ago. Imagine my surprise-especially since my grandparents are from Coorg, the coffee capital of India :) I spent many a vacation with them and trips are all full of memories of fragrant white coffee flowers and red berries under a canopy of rubber trees. I often wondered about the coffee's debut in India since then but never pursued it.

Today I finally went sniffing the coffee trail. I came upon the story of Baba Budan, a Sufi Muslim from India who brought back seven seeds as a souvenir from his trip to Mecca in 1720 and planted them outside his cave in the hills now known as Baba Budan Giri. The coffee plants and the drink took a foothold in the area. The Coffee plantations soon became an industry under the British.

I brought with me from India the traditional coffee filter to make the 'kaapi' and for many many years now my day has started with the ritual of drinking coffee in the special stainless steel 'lote'. My hubby grinds the coffee beans fresh every time just before making the 'decoction' and that adds to the flavor :) For the curious, check here for recipe and ritual of south Indian kaapi.

Meditation on Light

2011-03-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

A Day In the Life colorpencils

The Fiction Project, A Day in the Life is slowly taking shape. I am learning as I sketch and the most important lesson seems to be to keep it simple which obviously is not as easy as it sounds! The quote in this sketch is an ancient chant "Gayatri mantra" from the Sanskrit Rig Veda to the Sun diety, the giver of light and life. Whenever I see a sunrise, I am moved by the beauty and reminded of this chant. The English translation reads: We meditate on the beautiful light - may it guide and inspire our intellect in the right direction."

In Blue Jeans with Gold Embroidery

2011-03-04T14:04:00.002-05:00

A day in the life- In blue jeans with Gold Embroidery

color pencils 8"x10"

I have been nervously working on The Fiction Project and it is taking me a lot lot longer to complete each page than I anticipated. When I was testing the paper I was mainly concerned with how much of the work was going to show through on the reverse side of each (thin) page. I discovered it is much more than my experiments showed -especially since I find myself coloring in layers. To my dismay, the colors tend to smudge on this paper and I am spending more time than I care to, cleaning up the mess. But, as I struggle with the narration and the illustrations, I have developed an enormous respect for writer-illustrators. What was I thinking when I signed up?

On a much happier note, I have been tagged by Sanctified Spaces with an award and I am deeply touched. I extend my heartfelt 'thank you' for the honor :)

The rules of this award consist of revealing 7 things about myself and then passing the award on to seven others.

1. I think I already reveal too much about myself in my blog :)

2. My list of books to read is too long and the stack by my bedside is too high. I know I will never catch up!

3. I have way too many art and craft supplies (and books).

4. I am always in awe of all musicians, artists and dancers.

5. And athletes!

6. I like to go on walks.

7. Chocolate rules!

And my nominees are :

1. Green is My Valley

2. Katherine Thomas Pencil Painting

3. Katsart

4. Of Peacocks and Paisley

5.Photography Shutter Bees

6. Rice N Spice

7.Wading through Words

Memory in the Raw

2011-02-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

First Glimpse Digital photography

Long Day Digital photography

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.

~Eudora Welty

Last month, while visiting family in Coorg in southern India, I stopped by to see the Golden Temple at Namdroling Monastery, a Tibetan Refugee Settlement in Bylakuppe. Its been impressive to see how the settlement has grown and thriving over the years as they have added buildings and expanded. I was glad to capture a few more moments in the monastery with my camera and add to my collection from previous visits :).

A Day In The Life

2011-02-20T10:38:00.000-05:00

A Day in the Life- Sketchbook Fiction Project 2011 cover w-i-p

I signed up for the Fiction Project/sketchbook project by the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, NY. My moleskine cahier journal arrived about two months ago but my travels, the big bad flu and of course my worries of 'how am I going to fill the book with some kind of an illustrated story?'- kept me from working on it. I spent a few days researching and experimenting on the paper with different mediums, pens and pencils and have decided color pencils work the best for me. I am not brave enough to change the look of book or papers completely, so will have to contend challenging myself with filling up book with some drawings and words. The theme I chose is "A Day in the Life" and I have the first few pages percolating in my imagination. I finally started on the front cover today working with color pencils. Wish me luck --I have to fill up a book of 40 pages.

Nostalgia

2011-02-05T04:50:00.002-05:00

Urwa Market pencil sketch 3 1/2 x5"

Urwa Market Digital Photography

Last week I made a trip to my home town Mangalore after many years. Parts of the city were changed beyond recognition- gone were the paddy fields that littered the city, the old landmarks, the independent small houses and in their place were high rises, shopping centers and apartment complexes. Here and there I recognized a building or two from my school days. I was totally lost in the city until we came to my old stomping grounds, where the house I grew up still stood, the small market that served the community, the temple by the house, the little algae filled pond, the fields and the coconut groves beyond that -- here the time had stood still. I know this pocket will soon be gone too so I got very busy with my camera -- I needed help to tuck it all away in my memory!

The sketch is of the market that still looks exactly like it did when I was growing up. Even though I had visited my city before, it had been 30 years since I last went to this market and I was tickled to see it looked the same! The only change I noticed was the ad for the cell phone service provider. I think there were a few more plastic baskets piled high with fresh produce and fewer cane baskets. Alas, there were also a few plastic bags flying around too. The fish market side is to the right of the camera and I was happy to see the cats were still there enjoying the morsels from the fishmongers :) Having grown up completely vegetarian, it was my first time going near the fish market -to capture the fishmongers as I remembered seeing them from afar!

Pink Umbrella

2011-01-27T12:34:00.001-05:00

Somewhere between Chennai and Bangaluru digital photography

Half the fun of travel for me is the unexpected surprises I find as I look of the window of the car, bus, train or plane. What do you think is the story of this man with the pink umbrella who is sitting on the train tracks? I couldn't stop my imagination from running wild the rest of my train ride :)

Magical Bloom

2011-01-20T12:24:00.000-05:00

Christmas Cactus in Bloom, Digital potography

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope" wrote Lady Bird Johnson in 'Public Roads:Where Flowers Bloom.' Last month, as if on cue, soon after christmas, when we were buried in a snow storm, this plant in our sunroom gave a spectacular display of beautiful deep pink blossoms. Was nature laughing at her own wonders? No matter - What a treat for us to see the magic outside as well as indoors!

Making Art is Discovering

2011-01-11T12:26:00.000-05:00

China Town Gate, Washington D.C.

I have been down with fever. So, a sketch from a few days ago to the rescue :) I also want to share a saying that I think fits my feelings about making art:

I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering. -Robert Frost, poet (1874-1963)

Starting Right

2011-01-04T04:43:00.000-05:00

Sunrise digital photography

Airplane Seat back

Yet Another Sleeping passenger in the Transit lounge

New Year started with a most gorgeous sunrise. Later in the day more time was spent in the airplanes and airports. After delays, long flights and missing luggage everything is back to normal. Time to get back to more sketching and painting.

Universal Acceptance

2010-12-30T08:02:00.005-05:00

At the Art Institute of Chicago, digital Photography

Newly opened in May 1893 as the Permanent Art Palace, now known as the Art Institute Chicago was used as the World's Congress during 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The World Parliament of Religions opened on September 11, 1893 with Swami Vivekananda from India giving one of the inaugural addresses in the Hall of Columbus. In the next two weeks Swami Vivekananda drew the largest crowds of the World Congress 's meetings. 108 years later, on September 11, 2001 another key historical moment shook the world. Jitish Kallat's Public Notice 3 a site specific installation at the Art Institute of Chicago connects the two historical events. The Art Institute web site explains : With Public Notice 3, Kallat converts Vivekananda’s text to LED displays on each of the 118 risers of the historic Woman’s Board Grand Staircase of the Art Institute of Chicago, adjacent to the site of Vivekananda’s original address. Drawing attention to the great chasm between this speech of tolerance and the very different events of September 11, 2001, the text of the speech will be displayed in the colors of the United States’ Department of Homeland Security alert system. Opening on September 11, Public Notice 3 explores the possibility of revisiting the historical speech as a site of contemplation, symbolically refracting it with threat codes devised by a government to deal with this terror-infected era of religious factionalism and fanaticism.

I shot the photograph above showing the staircase as I walked away from it towards the Asian Gallaries -- I loved how the words and statues of Buddha reflected on the glass doors. Below is Swami Vivekananda's speech that Jitish Kallat converted to LED display on the stairs:

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me." Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

I pray for peace, tolerance and universal acceptance in 2011 and beyond. Happy New Year !

Home For the Holidays

2010-12-25T11:31:00.002-05:00

Home For the Holidays watercolor on Yupo 14x11"

And the rug was vacuumed just in time :) Our suitcases all have a red ribbon to make it easy to identify them. So, for me it is really very appropriate: any time we go home to India to visit our family there, return from India to our home here and when our kids come home - thats all a precious gift! This holiday season I wish everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous and peace filled times with your family and friends!

Grand Spaces

2010-12-22T05:45:00.000-05:00

Sketches from a lunch time concert in Chicago

The Tiffany Dome at Chicago cultural Center

Chicago Cultural Center interior

I had ducked into the Chicago Cultural Center to warm myself up on my way to the Chicago Art Institute from my hotel on that bitterly cold morning last month but ended up spending most of the day there exploring the art that hung in the galleries and corridors and stayed on to listen to a lunch time concert of Jazz songs. The impressive building completed in 1897 was originally the public library as well as a memorial to Civil War Union Army Veterans. The rare imported marbles, polished brass, gorgeous hardwoods, and sparkling mosaics of Favrile glass, mother of pearl, gold leaf, and colored precious stones bring to mind palaces but themes relating to books, printing and authors in various vast light filled spacious rooms remind you that this was really built as a temple of knowledge! I was also dazzled by the third floor - most dramatic place with walls covered by sparkling mosaics and topped with the world's largest Tiffany Dome of 30,000 pieces of glass!

The exhibits that were showcased there for December were impressive too. Polaridad Complementaria: Recent works from Cuba had cutting edge paintings, drawings, sculptures, video etc from Cuba's contemporary artscene. Another exhibit by Chicago artist Jeff Zimmermann : God particle was large scale murals of pop culture and dramatic portraits. The artist had spent a month publicly painting the murals on the walls of the Gallery!

It doesn't take much for me to plunge into existential angst about my art and after seeing all the creativity there I had a hard time opening my sketch book but I did and filled a few pages with my humble drawings.

Science, Math and Art

2010-12-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

Mirror #10 Sketch Mirror

Snow Mirror 2006

Darwinian Straw Mirror 2010

Each of the above photograph is my portrait -amazing interactive imagery with custom software, video camera projector and silk screen courtesy of "Contrast: Interactive Work by Daniel Rozin" - an installation at the Chrysler Museum of Art at Norfolk, VA. The museum web site explains : "Daniel Rozin's work combines art, technology — and the viewer — to create a distinctive artistic experience. Though computers and machinery play a key role in his digital interactive installations, the science behind the work is seldom visible. The idea is to create works that not only incorporate change and movement, but that also respond to viewers in real time. Thanks to the use of video projection and sophisticated programming, visitors can become part of the art, or the art can change based on the movements or perspective of the viewer. Part sculpture, part mirror, part screen, his works often defy easy categorization," It was truly a surreal experience to see my image emerge, change, and dissolve and emerge again as I moved about. And there was so much laughter, excitement and child like sheer pleasure at the gallery as each of us -viewers- discovered we were the ones creating 'art' in there :)

Speaking of science and math and art, two days ago I watched a Nova program on PBS on Fractals and once again mesmerized by the beauty in math, science and nature. I have been googling Fractals to learn more about it - I had come across it a few years ago and continue to be fascinated by the phenomenon and the designs they create :)

And one more link : check out some wonderful quirky artsy math doodling of Vi Hart and explore her website.

So, naturalists observe, a flea

Has smaller fleas that on him prey;

And these have smaller still to bite 'em,

And so proceed ad infinitum.

—Jonathan Swift, from "On Poetry: A Rhapsody"

Drawing on the Go

2010-12-13T22:15:00.000-05:00

view from the bus pencil sketch

Foot-rest pencil sketch

Sleeping Passenger pencil sketch

Trips - planned as well as unexpected ones left me with not much time to paint. I managed a few sketches here and there. I sketched a few sleeping passengers on train and on planes -but, was excited when I found an empty seat right behind the driver on my way back home! Finally a different view to draw :) Other than the cars on the road and the wind shield wiper, things stayed the same long enough for me to put it down on the paper. The sketch looks darker on the right hand corner because of the creases caused when I tried to rescue the small sketch book that was slipping off my lap as the bus bounced along! The lady in the next row shook her shoes off and kept her feet on her suitcase just long enough for me to draw them. I am pleased that I found some different things to sketch this time.

Negative Drawing

2010-12-03T19:51:00.001-05:00

sketch of a sculpture; white prismacolor pencil on black paper

In the sculpture galleries at the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, I came across a drawing station that had a supply of black paper on a clip boards, a box full of white prismacolor pencils and an open invitation to draw the the sculptures. I couldn't resist it. So here is my rendition of Little Peasant or First Grief a sculpture by Erastus Dow Palmer (1817-1904). I loved the beautiful girl and the haunting expression on her face. I was curious as to why the sculpture was titled First Grief and research revealed that : This statue, also known as Little Peasant, depicts an incident in the life of one of the sculptor's daughters, who had avidly followed the hatching and rearing of a nest of birds, only to be overcome with grief when the fledglings departed. Palmer, who was self-taught, was among the first American sculptors to break with the prevailing neoclassical style and adopt a more naturalistic approach. Here is an article on the Erastus Dow Palmer that appeared in New York Times in 1896 when he was seventy nine years old.

It was pretty challenging to draw with white pencil on black paper and I had to make a conscious effort to reverse the normal way of drawing, remembering to draw the light and highlights and leave the shadow areas black :) I enjoyed the impromptu exercise very much and hope to go back and sketch more of the sculptures.

Appropriate Subject for Work of Art

2010-11-28T21:31:00.001-05:00

The Stacks digital photography

I went to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA to see "London Calling: Victorian Paintings from the Royal Holloway Collection." It was a wonderful treat to see the paintings in the collection -most by painters who were unfamiliar to me. Here is what the website said: "The collection on display at the Chrysler ranges from wall-spanning masterpieces to contemporary street life scenes; from landscapes or marine studies to great historical events. It's an exhibition of great depth and scope, and it's the first time it has been on display outside of England."

Some of the sixty or so paintings touched my heart more than the others. 'Applicants for Admission to casual Ward ' 1874 -(oil 95.8" x 53.9") by Sir Luke Fildes is about poverty that was the result of Industrial Revolution in Britain. I was taken aback when I read the curator's notes next to the painting : "Although Filde's painting created a popular sensation at the Royal Academy in 1874, critics were divided as to whether so direct a confrontation with human misery was an appropriate subject for work of Art." I am glad artists don't think so and Goya, Picasso and many many others felt a moral obligation to record the atrocities big and small. Paintings by Sir John Everett Millais of very young princes and princess caught in the middle of fierce politics or of the young girl being punished in Sympathy by Briton Riverie are indeed gems that evoke a strong reaction from the viewer.

I also became aware of the dark periods in history that I had not come across in my readings until now: in John Baghold Burgess's Licensing of Beggars in Spain, Edwin Longsden Long's The Supplicants: Expulsion of Gypsies from Spain and other paintings by various artists about prison life, of Babylonian marriage market, of kidnappings of young males for the army etc.! It was interesting to read about another painting An Anxious Moment that critics of Briton Riverie accused him of 'anthropomorphizing' the animals in his works! There were a also few stunning landscapes and marine paintings. I wish I could write about each of sixty paintings in the show because of how they opened my eyes to history, hardships, beauty and nature. My knowledge about artists and critics is surely much broader than before.

On lighter note, as I was leaving the museum just before closing, the Court area near the entrance was being transformed to host a wedding. The setting sun was streaming over the chairs stacked up high ready to be taken down and lined up for the guests. Of course, I couldn't resist whipping out my camera.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T12:40:00.000-05:00

Aspen on Asphalt color pencils sketch

Giving thanks for the moment is the only way to glimpse eternity.

-Meditation from Seville, Spain

Moral Function of Art

2010-11-17T22:02:00.001-05:00

Last off the Vine watermedia sketch

Artists make pictorial records of events, emotions, feelings. Some of us try to sketch the simple beauty of mundane, everyday things. But today, I read an article and saw a slide show of something that moved me beyond words. "When he was only in his 20s Ernest Cole, a black photographer who stood barely five feet tall, created one of the most harrowing pictorial records of what it was like to be black in apartheid South Africa. He went into exile in 1966, and the next year his work was published in the United States in a book, “House of Bondage,” but his photographs were banned in his homeland where he and his work have remained little known." Thus began a article in New York Times : Homecoming For Stark Record of Apartheid. The accompanying slide show of Mr. Cole's black and white photographs are so very powerful- they shock, anger and deeply distress the viewer. And as the author Celia W Dugger writes, 'Mr. Cole’s captions and photographs are imbued with wrenching emotions.' On checking his biography I discovered that he dedicated his life to record and show the world the injustices and exploitation of segregation. But he paid a heavy price for his work and died young, a homeless man and in exile.

If and when there is an American tour of Cole's photographs, I hope to be able to view it in person. Coincidentally, over at Katherine A Cartwright's blog, there is a lively debate going on the 'moral function of art.' She has been reviewing John Dewey's 1934 book "Art as Experience." She writes that 'it all began with a statement by John Dewey: the moral function of art itself is to remove prejudice, do away with the scales that keep the eye from seeing, tear away the veils due to wont and custom, and perfect the power to perceive.' I think Ernest Cole's photographs do all that and much more.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-12T15:10:00.001-05:00

To Friendship Digital Photography

On Nov 18, I will mark the second anniversary of my blog - two years of sharing my art. Posting my art this way has forced me to paint & sketch more often and much more regularly than before. But the unexpected benefit has been the friendships I have formed. A big heartfelt 'Thank you' to all who have visited the blog, to all who have taken the time to leave comments, to everyone for giving me encouragement, support and inspiration :) - I am grateful!

And a special thanks to Patricia Torres, who today has featured my artwork in her blog Colours Dekor. I am happy to be a small part of her wonderful efforts. I was truly flattered when she asked :) Please click on her name or the blog for a look at how she seeks out color, beauty and creativity from all corners of the world.

"I can no other answer make, but thanks and thanks! " -William Shakespeare

What Matters Next

2010-11-10T10:52:00.000-05:00

Color Burst watercolor 12x9"

Last thursday was TEDxNASA at Newport News, VA which I attended- thanks to good friends who helped us get the tickets. It was such an inspiration to hear speaker after speaker with all the wonderful ideas. I came back charged with enthusiasm and motivation. But, having not painted for close to a month because of trips, Deepavali Celebrations, mundane catch-ups, etc.. I realized my painting muscle memory was missing! This is my third attempt at painting the same flower in one day - the flower that had graced our garden this summer and gave me so much pleasure. I was frustrated by the difficulty I was having in moving paint. The montval paper I usually enjoy painting on was not behaving in its usual way - I found the paper tearing very easily. I am wondering if it is the temperature fluctuations in my over the garage studio or if I had purchased a bad lot. At the end of the day I was glad to have persevered and put in a few solid hours of playing with my brushes, paint and water. In a way, the theme of the TEDxNASA - 'What matters Next' seemed to resonate- what matters is that I keep painting, sketching and doing art :)

Magical Beauty

2010-10-29T16:42:00.000-04:00

Rainbow Sendoff Digital Photography

Flight delays were worth it when I looked out the window soon after settling in my seat - double rainbows actually - and I was able to capture at least one by the time I fished out my camera. I love the image with the blurry colors and shapes and the rain drops on the window pane.

I have been home for a week now, enjoying the trip all over again going through the hundreds of photographs. As I was looking at the pictures, I was reminded of artist and photographer Vik Muniz's words in a New York Times article Where Art Meets Trash and Transforms Life I had just read couple of days ago : "The real magical things are the ones that happen right in front of you. A lot of time you keep looking for beauty, but it is already there. And if you look with a bit more intention, you see it." Vik Muniz's exceptional creativity, art and photography are legendary. The article talked about his newest project "Pictures of Garbage" series -monumental photographic portraits made from trash, and a documentary "Waste Land" about making of the series- -a collaboration with the garbage pickers of Jardim Gramacho, a 321 acre open-air dump outside Rio that is one of the largest landfills in Latin America. I am very touched to know that he has devoted his time and money to non-profits that provide education and job training for street children and was recently honored as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. A clip of the the documentary in the NYT website shows the scale and the unusual and surprising materials he uses to make the portraits. It was International Artists Day on Oct 25 (Picasso's B'day), and I celebrate it by giving a shout out to artist Vik Muniz.

Art Surprises

2010-10-25T20:38:00.000-04:00

Partial view of Bellagio, Las Vegas 3.5"x11"

Waiting for the spectacular water fountain show in front of Bellagio I sketched the wings of the massive hotel/casino building from across the body of water. I have a small sketch book (3.5x5.5" )which easily fits into my purse and is handy for fast little sketches, even though, as I recently discovered, it is difficult to photograph. Still, I love it because I tend to pull the book out more often as I find myself getting a little bolder about sketching in public. Next step is to equip myself with a small watercolor field kit and try my hand at doing small studies -until then I will happily play with my camera :) The Bellagio also has a beautiful glass ceiling installation by the artist Dale Chihuly in their lobby and a chandelier in the casino area. I also saw an exhibit there : 'Figuratively Speaking: A survey of the human form' showcasing about 30 paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture by artists from 1800 to present day. I enjoyed the unexpected opportunity to see the works of Picasso, Renoir, Degas, Hockney, Lichenstein, Chuck Close, and others.

Closer to home, I have two color pencil pieces - Hot Shadows and Reflections in the 'Small Works : Miniatures by Hampton Roads Artists' at the Charles Taylor Arts Center/The Hampton Arts Commission, Hampton, VA. The opening yesterday was fun and the show will run through Dec. 5.

Gambling Life

2010-10-20T10:49:00.000-04:00

Casino sketches

Rather than play and gamble at the casinos in Las Vegas, I sat just outside the halls and spent a little time sketching the slot machines etc and as usual clicked away merrily with my camera. May be, if I wasn't so terribly allergic to cigarette smoke and perfumes, I might have spent more time and money inside the casinos:), but this gave me a chance to wander around the strip with my camera outdoors. It was my first visit to the amazingly surreal city where it is a fine line between what is real and make-believe; where Italy, Paris, New York and Treasure Island all are right next to each other; where Michael Jackson, Wonder Woman, Elvis and space aliens roam the streets making you wonder if you are in a dream!!!. We enjoyed a couple of amazing and excellent shows - La Reve and The Jersey Boys. My body being in Eastern Standard Time, woke up every morning to breathtaking view of desert sunrise and distant mountains in the background and I had to make an effort to stay past 8PM there to see the city-lights and life at night :). I could see the truth in Artie Lange's quote: " Vegas means comedy, tragedy, happiness and sadness all at the same time."

Determination and Perseverance

2010-10-15T12:24:00.000-04:00

Chicago Maraton Runners Digital photography

I remember reading a running poster that proclaimed " The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running." (google search said it is by Nike). That was true this past Sunday in Chicago, as the temperatures soared to 90F during the marathon. Once again, I am extremely proud and in awe of my son and daughter-in-law, who despite the unseasonably hot day, ran and completed their second marathon! They ran, and we cheered - cutting across to various points along the course to catch up with them - at one point even taking a cab to beat them to the 21 mile marker :) - and of course, took too many photographs!

Shadow Ladders

2010-10-08T22:54:00.000-04:00

Shadow ladder digital photography

Between the idea

And the reality

Between the motion

And the act

Falls the shadow

-T. S. Eliot

Vibrations in the Soul

2010-10-03T09:33:00.000-04:00

Vibrations in the Soul watercolor 12x9"

"Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul. " -Wassily Kandinsky

Recently I read about Kandisky and loved what he had to say about color, art and music. Kandinsky felt "music is the ultimate teacher" and thought of art and colors in musical terms calling his paintings "improvisations" and "compositions." He said he heard chords and tones as he painted colors - a condition known as synesthesia. For him "color yellow was middle C on the piano or a brassy trumpet blast; black is the color of closure, end of things.." and "white acts like a deep and absolute silence full of possibilities."

There is a fascinating article in Discover magazine from some time ago that asks "Are We all Synesthetes? - Hear a painting, taste a symphony, and smell a color - is that what we do subconciously?" I like that :)

During the summer, I attended a concert where the musicians were making music under a tent on a very bright beautiful day. I could only see the musicians near the edge of the tent and catch glints of sunshine on the instruments deeper inside. "Vibrations of the soul" was painted with memories from that day.

Right Brain, Left Brain

2010-09-30T14:12:00.000-04:00

watercolor on 140lb cp 9x12"

watercolor on Yupo 7x11"

I often switch between left brain and right brain ways when I plan and paint trying to find order as well as spontaneity. In that vein, I did a side by side comparison of watercolor on cold press and Yupo. Layering paint is fun on cold press where as it is very difficult and slow process to layer on Yupo. The colors dry lighter on cold press and hues are pure and brilliant on yupo. It is very easy to take off paint from yupo since it is a non-absorbant surface. I washed the paints off three times before I settled on this Yupo version (half heartedly). On cold press, it is crucial to plan and save the whites early on. The slick surface of Yupo requires different techniques than the regular watercolor paper. I discovered erasing on yupo paper makes it harder for the paint to adhere. Another difference is yupo needs to be on a flat surface while painting since the paint moves freely-which also means that one can tilt the paper to get different mixes and effects. I have to use thick paint with little water to have definite detailed shapes on yupo and spraying with water mist gives it wonderful textures. For other kinds of texture I have also tried laying balled up plastic wrap or blotting paper towel on wet paint. Removing or adding paint by using stencils, cheese cloth, gives beautiful shapes. I can see myself continue my experiments and playing around with resists etc. :)

Deconstructing and reconstructing art work is a preoccupation for me as I try to figure out the artistic and technical aspects to help me with creations. I happened upon this quirky TED video of Ursus Wehrli sharing his version of cleaner, more organized 'tidier art' in a very funny unconventional way :) Enjoy a different take on creativity :)

Each to Her Passion

2010-09-28T10:44:00.000-04:00

Pandora Sphinx Moth digital photograph

A few mornings ago I found this beautiful moth on the our front porch wall when I went out to get the paper. I had never seen anything like it before and watched it mesmerized. I then ran inside to grab my camera hoping it will still be there when I got back. I loved the combination of olive green and the pink and the beautiful delicate markings. Googling moths, I discovered its name and information. The adults feed on nectar and prefer flowers that open at night and are sometimes seen on petunias. That explained the moths presence - there was a basket of petunias by the door :). Apparently the larvae feed on grape leaves and virginia creepers --and we do have virginia creepers in our yard. Their coloration is so much like camouflage military fatigues that I am sure its very easy to not 'see' these in the garden. In fact I think their shape resembles one of those military aircrafts too! The scientific name is Eumorpha pandorus and whatsthatbug.com informed me that 'eumorpha' in Greek means 'fair of form' and the species name pandorus means 'giving all' or 'given all.' Apparently the larvae look like sphinx -now I am really curious - I will have to look harder in the garden. As artists, I think our obsessions, compulsions and how much time and energy we devote to art, seems to have something in common with the moths, as expressed by Helen Hunt Jackson:

Bee to blossom,

Moth to flame,

Each to his passion.

Reflections

2010-09-24T12:53:00.000-04:00

Reflections color pencils 4x4"

I have been planning and sketching. I discovered those sketches don't show well in photographs. Fortunately I still have a couple more finished pieces from way back when -except they are under glass, framed and sealed :( These wooden spoons and tin mugs with reflections caught my eye in Colonial Williamsburg 'market place' many years ago and I tried them out in color pencils on tinted paper. It is a small piece framed and under glass-too well sealed- which once again I had difficulty photographing. I welcome any suggestions, tips and tricks from fellow artists - what are your experiences and solutions for photographing issues?

I came across a very interesting story in the blog "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. She calls the story a Koan on creativity and credits it to Arthur Koestler's book "the Art of Creativity' : " An art dealer (this story is authentic) bought a canvas signed "Picasso" and traveled all the way to Cannes to discover whether it was genuine. Picasso was working in his studio. He cast a single look at the canvas and said:"its a fake." A few months later the dealer bought another canvas signed Picasso. Again he travelled to Cannes and again Picasso, after a single glance, grunted "Its a fake" "But cher maitre" expostulated the dealer, "it so happens that I saw you with my own eyes working on this very picture several years ago" Picasso shrugged: "I often paint fakes"

Gretchen's comments in that blog really resonated with me. She asks- "Do you know this feeling, feeling of painting your own fake?" I always worry about painting pieces that don't quite feel authentic or that I did not perhaps give my best. Now I know the perfect answer for those doubts :). Of course, that question will be included in the ones I often ask as I evaluate my finished painting. I am also eager to read Koestler's book "the Art of Creativity"

Courage to Transform

2010-09-17T09:31:00.000-04:00

Koi watercolor on Yupo 11"x14

I have been wanting to paint Koi for years. I find myself watching them for hours whenever I see them in a pond and admire their shape and colors! I also have way too many photographs of them :) It was a lot of fun to paint the koi because the Yupo paper easily duplicates their bright colors. Surprisingly this time, I found myself working hard to tone down some of the texture in water in the composition so it won't compete so much with colorful koi yet would show movement. I think I need to work on couple of paintings at a time when painting on yupo -that will give each piece time for the paint to dry before I put the next layer! There is a shine to the paper, and I find the photographs do not do justice to bright colors!

As I was researching information about Koi in between painting them I found myself torn between really keeping to a particular fish's colorations and markings or mix them up(-which is my usual way of painting). For Koi collectors and breeders the markings and color are extremely important. The Koi carry a lot of significance for the Japanese and Chinese representing passionate love, courage, strength, friendship and wealth. According to a legend of those countries, if a koi fish succeeded in climbing the falls at the point of Dragon Gate in the Yellow River then they are transformed to dragons, signifying overcoming life's difficulties. According to Buddhists, the koi represent a person courageously swimming through 'ocean of suffering.'

Its a bit too late too adhere to realism in markings and color but I love the symbolism behind the fish :)

Amazing World

2010-09-10T12:22:00.001-04:00

Sunset by the Pier digital photography

With the Labor Day behind us, summer is officially over. Luckily for us, hurricane Earl hurled by last week without causing much damage or rain. As I watched the scenes of fierce wind and rain battered Outer Banks of N. Carolina, I didn't mind one bit that we had spent a couple of days preparing for the onslaught that fortunately didn't materialize. Now, the temperatures are down with a slight chill in the air and color on leaves. As we walked past the pier one evening by the beach, I caught the setting sun at the end of the pilings, happy to see the calm sea. My photographs probably fall in the category what David Griffin, photo director for National Geographic calls 'nothing more than isn't it an amazing world.' In a TED talk, he shows how photo journalists for National Geographic strive to create a visual narrative and often tell a powerful story in photographs that connect us to the rest of the world, move the rest of us to take action, and not just marvel the underlying soul and spirit. I think we need both kinds and I will continue to add to my collection of the 'isn't it an amazing world' section :)

After being somewhat slack in terms of sketching, painting and posting during the summer and I am eager to pick up the pace a bit in the next few months. Right now, I am pleased to have my painting Mandala Meditation in the show "Portrait of the Artist: Self Portraits and Portraits by Hampton Roads Artists" through oct 17 at The Charles Taylor Arts Center in Hampton, VA.

To Simply Paint

2010-09-07T15:28:00.000-04:00

Blue Crab Special watercolor 24"x18"

This painting is from about fifteen years ago when I learned to paint wet on wet and also to bring abstraction to a painting. Jan Ledbetter whose class I was attending then, in preparation for a workshop 'Watermedia Encounter' by Doug Walton, gave us her version of a set of steps of his style of painting. Doug Walton was a student of the renowned watercolor painter Ed Whitney and he passed on some of Whitney's wisdom. The one I remember the most: Any teacher can teach how to begin a painting but you have to be the one to finish it. Some other things that stayed with me from that time are : to let go and not be afraid of drawing and painting instinctively, having dark darks and white whites in a painting, touch a point optimally once and no more than 3 times, paint shapes, have big readable nouns and most importantly you don't have to paint or fix everything!

Domes of Blue

2010-08-31T22:58:00.002-04:00

Entrance to Blue Mosque, watercolor on Yupo 14x11"

All over the world, throughout history, various absolutely grand and architecturally unique and beautiful places of worship have been built. Is it to glorify God, or to indulge the person who conceived and bank rolled it, or to admire the talents and skills of artists and artisans who built it, a testimony of what man is capable of creating? First look at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul last year during our trip was through the massive doors. I liked the multiple blue domes - the repeating shapes and colors with sunlight streaming in. Looking at all that marble all around, I was suddenly reminded of Rabindranath Tagore's quote: While God waits for His Temple to be built of love, men bring stones.

The look of marble was ideal to paint on yupo -- layering paint and creating texture by dabbing plastic wrap and paper towel. I had to repeat the process of adding and lifting paint several times on the outer walls by the doors to make them darker. I also tried several times in the past couple of days to photograph the painting and this is the closest I could come to duplicate the actual paint colors.

Bug Art

2010-08-28T21:54:00.000-04:00

Bug Art Digital photography

When five billion trillion keep munching each day,

It is a wonder the world isn't nibbled away!

-Ethel Jacobson

Color Abstraction

2010-08-24T21:15:00.000-04:00

Grand Cycle color pencils 13x16"

This was an exercise in color theory and abstraction that I started in one of the classes I attended when I first tried my hand in art about fifteen years ago. We had to bring a picture of a landscape to class and then proceeded to strip it down to the most basic shape and form. Then starting with warmest red to the coolest violet, we had to color the forms from foreground to background in order of the warm-cool scale regardless of what color the object was in the reference picture. Of course, having chosen color pencils as my medium to do the exercise, I was too slow to complete it in class. Many years later I went back to it and finished it with a modified version of the instructions as by then I couldn't remember much about the rules we were supposed to follow.

Recently, I came across a quote by artist Marc Chagal that explains the color theory succintly: All colors are friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites. I also just now discovered that googling 'color theory' yields a wonderful collection images and information! So off I go to explore :)

Celebrating the Impermanence

2010-08-16T11:01:00.001-04:00

Celebrating the Impermanence Digital Photography

The Monks from Drepung Loseling Monestery in south India have been visiting every year for the past eleven years and this year I needed the timely reminder about the big picture, the impermanence of life and not to sweat the series of incidents that seemed to have piled on in my life this past month with no regard to the inconvenience and stress they caused :) Watching the monks take days to construct a beautiful mandala with a meditative concentration and then sweep it up only hours after completing it by pouring the sand from the mandala into a nearby river is indeed a very healing experience. They always inspire me to look at my creativity with new eyes. I am now eager to get back to sketching and painting with a fresh perspective on art and life. On a lighter vein, but sharing the same big picture philosophy, check out Stefan Sagmeister's talk about happiness and design.

Language of the Soul

2010-08-06T11:29:00.000-04:00

The Dancer watercolor on Yupo 14x11"

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music " - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzche

I am really enjoying painting on Yupo - learning with each new piece. In The Dancer I played again with just paint, water, brush. Yupo surface was perfect to bring out the silky transparency of the bellowing skirt and the veils. I used a bunch of photographs taken many years ago at a dance demonstration and added my own background of veils. I finished the lady more than a week ago and then waited for inspiration to resolve the background. Since this is yupo I may yet come back to it after a few days :)

Over the years, every time I saw those photographs, or I see someone totally absorbed in creating art, music or anything else, I am reminded of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of 'Flow.' According to Mihaly, Flow is completely focused motivation. It is single minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing emotions in the service of performing and learning. Check out this video of a TED talk by Mihaly on 'Flow' - creativity and happiness.

Summer Special

2010-07-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

Sunflower watercolor on Yupo 11x14"

One more Yupo experimentation. I used only watercolors, brush and misting with water (thats the summer special!) this time for this painting. Blotting with balled up paper towel I had on hand to remove excess water or paint also added some interesting textures and lines. The center of the flower was fun to create by dropping a color, misting and dropping another color and watch the textures happen . I was able to lift the color to show the sunlight streaking between the petals and the flower head. Next time I hope to come up with a composition that will lend itself even more to the mingling of colors and challenge myself to find ways to make textures :)

Glow in a Glass

2010-07-22T09:41:00.005-04:00

Lemon Glow digital photography

Last week, this glass of water with a slice of lemon caught my eye as I sat resting my feet towards the end of fun wedding reception I was attending and out came my camera as I clicked away merrily catching the glow in the glass. The digital camera with its ability to preview helped me play with the composition and settings until I was satisfied.

Check out some beautiful photographs in the online exhibit of Princeton University's Art of Science 2010 Gallery. Since the first exhibit in 2005, Art of Science showcases stunning and simply amazing photographs that were captured in the process of scientific research and not as 'art for art's sake'. The web site says that the 45 winning images from 115 submissions from 20 departments by students, faculty, research staff and alumni were 'chosen for their aesthetic excellence as well as their scientific or technical interest.' This year's theme is "Energy." And of course, according to an article in physorg.com the odd amounts in 'cash prizes were derived according to the Golden Ratio a mathematical proportion that has been found in aethetically pleasing designs from seashells to Ancient Greek Temples" Be sure to check their archives of previous years' exhibits for some most extraordinary and stunningly beautiful images.

Resplendent on Yupo

2010-07-16T11:15:00.007-04:00

Resplendent watercolor on Yupo 11x14"

Last week I tried out watercolors on synthetic Yupo paper. It was a fun experience full of surprises. The water flows and just 'sits' on the slick surface so I could tilt, push and let the watercolors mingle and produce or lift patterns. I did minimal sketching and had to learn by trial and error how to work the paint on the very smooth surface and how much water to use. It was easier once I discovered that watercolors flow better if I first paint with water and then drop the colors. I had to watch out and not overdo patterns with brush strokes. The paint could be easily removed which was both a plus and a disadvantage since I could easily takeout deliberately or inadvertently what I had already painted with a swipe of a damp brush! I found it hard to paint details. I also learned to be patient and wait. It was important not to disturb an area I liked till it fully dried. I really like how the colors seem to be brighter and bolder on the Yupo paper. Looking at the painting now, I realize I only used brush, water and paint and really did not make full use of the surface to mingle the colors or get free flowing patterns and also use plastic wrap, salt or alcohol for textures. I also see that I need to give up my urge for control and let the surface do its thing :)

In my research about working on Yupo paper I read that once I know I have 'finished' the painting it should be sealed several thin coats of a fixative spray. A quick search on Google produced a wealth of information on how to paint on Yupo including video clips on YouTube. I really enjoyed my first experience and excitedly looking forward to playing more with yupo!

p. s: please do not click on the 'link within- you may also like' - that does not have a title/or the one that says tattoo --its spam --I can't take it off and I don't want to give in and take the widget off completely :(

Lost in Notes

2010-07-09T06:35:00.004-04:00

Melody Meditation watercolor 12x9"

I did a detailed sketch of this musician on a full sheet of watercolor paper and it has been waiting to be painted for a couple of months now. Before that, I sketched him on full sheet of drawing paper trying to work out the composition. But I am still hesitating to start the painting. So a few days ago to shake off the reluctance, I did a fast and loose watercolor of just his head in under an hour to see if I can capture his 'lost in notes' expression.

I saw and heard this musician one late night on the streets in India last year as he played his instrument along with a host of others in a procession. They were all accompanying a parade of people taking a icon of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god to be immersed in the lake after a month long festivities. I was impressed by his total immersion in the music even as he was in the middle of huge noisy street jamboree. Indian music traces its origins to the vedas and is seen as the pathway to reach higher consciousness. He seemed to embody how music touches the heart and elevates the mind.