Moving slow But Changing Fast

India Art Jornal Aug 30 by Meera Rao

 

It is not unusual to see cars and cattle sharing the road. The bullock carts have been around since ancient times and still used to transport people or cargo when modern vehicles are too expensive or even not supported by the existing roadways. Googling I discovered these are called as carretas in Costa Rica, and Mexico.  Check out this clip of Punjabi style bullock cart racing or read a delightful little story here :)  There are even schemes "Rent a Bullock cart" for farmers who can not afford a cart  but do have live stock to pull them. 

 

 

India Art Journal aug 29 by Meera Rao

 

There are some grand old houses in the neighbourhood with beautiful ornate wood decorations on the varanda rooflines, pillars, doors and window awnings. This particular house is very elegant and was undergoing renovations when I first saw it. Now it has been somewhat hastily but not completely  restored and convereted to a young boys hostel.  The blue boxes are the newly retrofitted electrical fuse boxes and did you notice a switch between the door and the window?

 

 

Below are the full journal page look at the sketches from Aug 27,28.29.30 : 

 

 

India Art Journal Aug 27,28,29, 30 by Meera Rao

 

 And one more page: ( my ancient computer here has decided it won't justify the margins nor give me a bigger size of the photo below.... sigh!  but then its letting me post :)

 

India Art Journal Aug 23,24,25,26 by Meera Rao

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.