Preparation

I was painting furiously for my show these past couple of months and left a mess in its wake. So yesterday I spent the day clearing all the clutter as much as possible from my 'studio'. Now the mat cutter and its parts are stored away for next time. All the mats and frames I didn't use gathered and put away so I don't trip over them. Color Pencils and paint tubes are back in the appropriate boxes and sorted out just so. I have to organize my things often since I am never successful in maintaining order. Everything somehow gets out of its place and spread out in no time at all.

I am back to searching for new subject matter for painting. Its always exciting and frustrating and a bit scary - expectations for the next painting are always high. I love to read and research besides going through my photographs and sketches when I am deciding and preparing. Here is an article I came across yesterday about Art and Visual Research : "Scientists did not invent the vast majority of visual illusions. Rather, they are the work of visual artists, who have used their insights into the workings of the visual system to create visual illusions in their pieces of art. We have previously pointed out in our essays that, long before visual science existed as a formal discipline, artists had devised techniques to “trick” the brain into thinking that a flat canvas was three-dimensional, or that a series of brushstrokes in a still life was in fact a bowl of luscious fruit. " And then there is M.C. Escher's art.

While I contemplate my next piece, I have selected a painting from one of my previous shows to share (thats the point of this blog anyway!) Bullock was painted a couple of years ago in color pencils. His serene expression and resignation to his lot in life was a challenge to capture on paper. I found him in IIT Chennai doing the rounds delivering water in the campus still decked up in paint after the 'pongal' festivities.