Showing Tricolor Pride

Showing Tricolor Pride watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

Come festival or national holiday, the tiny Mom and Pop stores that line the narrow roads near the local market come to life with the colors of nick knacks and sundry items for the occasion.  On this particular day the tricolor flags and banners and streamers were flapping in the wind in this little store in anticipation of the Independence Day celebrations. The little girl was looking at the items for a long time - I am not sure if she bought anything in the end! Cars, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, tiny tricycles, rickshaws  doorways and storefronts are all decorated with flags or banners celebrating the day. Even though a holiday, this store was open for business for last minute shoppers !

Showing the Tricolor Pride 8x5.5" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Water Break

Water Break watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

Selling fresh betel leaves directly to the customers at the street market, this lady seems to have a good business sense for displaying her goods and controlling her expenses. All she needed was a small blue stool to sit on and a big basket  of fresh leaves stacked in neat piles! Behind her were clay pots balanced carefully and the rickety table held small clay pots etc. The Betel leaves are important in Hindu religious ceremonies, a main ingredient in 'pan' for chewing pleasure, and also used for medicinal purposes. So the business is usually brisk for leaves and the pots as it’s much simpler to stop by a stand while commuting to work or running errands than to plan a special trip to the store.   

Water Break  5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Textures and Colors of Life

Textures and Colors of Life watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

A side alley with a bicycle; the buildings, walls, doors - all textured with neglect; colorful water pots waiting to be filled were hard to ignore!  Sketching, painting and photographing almost everyday when I was India, was a valuable experience. I developed a curiosity and great respect about my surroundings and learned to savor life. 

I was torn about just recording the scenes I come across,  but I also felt an urge to capture the fast disappearing lifestyle as India is hurling itself towards things more 'modern'.  I also found myself attracted to the special beauty in the simple surroundings --always colorful and full of textures. I know my sketches and paintings only give a glimpse of the country showing an extremely incomplete picture. 

Last week when I went to the preview of the opening exhibit of the brand new MET Breuer Museum in New York, I was struck by how architecture and surroundings influence an artist. Drawings and photographs by Nasreen Mohamedi, captured the geometry and abstraction from her surroundings. She saw only the beauty of lines and minimal color! 

It was also wonderful to see the 'Unfinished - thoughts left Visible.' on its third and fourth floors - unfinished paintings of artists over the past few centuries. I was excited as if I was peeking over their shoulders while they had paused and were mulling over the next brush stroke.

From the museum's website: Celebrating one of the most important artists to emerge in post-Independence India, and marking the first museum retrospective of the artist’s work in the United States, Nasreen Mohamedi examines the career of an artist whose singular and sustained engagement with abstraction adds a rich layer to the history of South Asian art and to modernism on an international level. The retrospective spans the entire career of Mohamedi (1937–1990)—from her early works in the 1960s through her late works on paper in the 1980s—exploring the conceptual complexity and visual subtlety that made her work unique for its time, and demonstrating why she is considered one of the most significant artists of her generation. Together with the thematic exhibition Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, Nasreen Mohamedi inaugurates The Met Breuer, which expands upon The Met’s modern and contemporary art program.

Here are Google images for Nasreen Mohamadi's art 

Check out the NYT review of Unfinished here 

Textures and Colors of Life 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Neighborhood Klatsch

Neighborhood Klatsch  watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

India Art Journal 2015 

Most afternoons, these three neighbors sat on the varandah chatting away while waiting for their children to return from school. I could watch them from my balcony but could not hear their conversation.  They were always glad to see each other and have their thirty or so minutes together. I wonder if they noticed me and what they said to each other :)  

Neighborhood Klatsch 5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

A Sale!

A Sale!  watercolor and ink by Meera Rao 

In Mysuru, southern India, even now the peddlers load up a cart with sundry items and push it around the neighborhoods looking for buyers. I saw many different peddlers pushing a variety of things - pots and pans, plastic housewares or  sarees and other clothing items, sheets and blankets, balloons and toys etc everyday through the streets.  This one stopped around long enough for me to photograph as the lady was taking her own sweet time deciding what to buy.  She inspected various items from his cart and finally settled on a dust pan. 

I read that in 2013 the Karnataka state government launched a program to try to replicate the success of Bangaladeshi banker and Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus extending micro credit to street vendors. It launched Mysore City Street Vendors Multipurpose Cooperative Society, which had a seed money of Rs 5 crore to attend to the needs of street vendors in the city. The society, which is to be developed as a cooperative bank later, to lend small loan to the street vendors who are too poor to qualify for bank loans. The society's office was located close to my daily runs during my stay and I hope that this initiative is a success. 

A Sale!  5.5x8" watercolor and ink on 140 lb Strathmore visual Journal

Thirst

Thirst Watercolor Pen and Ink sketch  and collage 2015  5.5x7" by Meera Rao

India has made great strides in supplying water to most of her citizens but the population growth, weather patterns and climate change/global warming issues continue to challenge her efforts.  And the thirst among the people also extends to educating the children.  These two issues consume the average Indian.  

When I saw the water pot, with its exaggerated shadows by a wall with  peeling posters on 'coaching' on various subjects, I knew I had to capture the scene.  I enjoyed combining pen and ink with watercolor along with collage of torn ads from the daily newspaper. 

India sketchbook/art Journal 2015,  Strathmore watercolor 140lb Visual Journal 

Cool Blue

Cooling Off  Ink and Watercolor sketch 2015 5.5x8" by Meera Rao

Your acts of kindness 

are iridescent wings of

divine love  

which linger and continue 

to uplift others 

long after sharing.

~Rumi~

It was one of those very hot summer days.  I was hurrying home to escape the heat from an errand that had taken longer than anticipated. On one of the side streets outside a marble warehouse, I was most impressed by what I saw: someone thoughtful had filled  a big old blue bathtub with water for anyone who wanted to cool off by splashing water on feet or face ! 

Chilling the pulse points by running cold water over the wrist for a minute or so, splashing water on the temples or face are age old ways of combating the tropical heat. The amazing thing is that bath tubs are extremely rare in India but somehow one was out there propped up on old tires, filled with water !  Many men stopped by, scooped out water on their face and feet to cool off before continuing on their way.  Since then I have noticed the bathtub leaning against the wall dry and empty on other days when the temperatures were bearable.  

Sketching it later was very gratifying and even now the memory of the blue bath tub brings a smile to my face. 

India Art Journal 2015- Strathmore Visual Journal, watercolor 140 lbs, 5.5x8"   

Lost In Time

Lost In Time watercolor sketch 2015 8x5.5" by Meera Rao

It was a tiny tiny shop. There were clocks and watches in various stages of repair on the work surfaces and walls.  He was totally absorbed in his work.  I had about half a dozen wrist watches that had stopped working and wanted to check if any could be revived.  I had been told they were not worth the time and trouble in my town in USA.  He had worked his magic on all except one when I returned to pick them up a week later.  He was so humble, unassuming and hesitated to charge next to nothing to have them ticking again. He was someone who was at peace tinkering with the clocks and watches!!! Please check here for another sketch of a different clock repairer in a similar tiny shop from my 2013 sketchbook.  

His sketch is the first one from my trip to India this summer. I am finally getting around to photographing and uploading the sketches.  I used a 44 page 5.5x8" Strathmore Visual Journal with 140 lb watercolor paper.  I sketched on one side only and needing more than a day or two to sketch and color each one as my days were quite busy.  Soon after I returned, I had to make another trip back as my Mother-in-law passed away. She had lived a full life for 93 years. And, I would have never discovered the joy sketching and keeping a journal daily had it not been for my stays with her every summer for the past four years to take care of her. I hope to pick up the habit of daily sketching once again  - may be make it my New year's resolution to get back into wonderful world of creativity.

Time changes everything 

except 

something within us

which is always surprised

by Change.

~Thomas Hardy~

A Way of Life

Embracing The Ephemeral India 2014-15 Moleskine Japanese Album(large) Sketchbook By Meera Rao  

"The real voyage of discovery consists not on seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes"

Marcel Proust. 

So here is whole book in all its glory :) I am very pleased with the way my second sketch book from last year's India trip turned out. Took me a while to post them!  Ever since four years ago when I decided to keep a sketchbook/journal while I spent time in India each summer taking care of my mother-in-law, I found life and surroundings reaching out to me in generous ways.  The daily vignettes I sketched and painted helped me remember more than what I saw every day with my new 'sketching eyes' ! The sketches are not perfect - I found remembering a quote from Salvatore Dali : "Have no fear of perfection, you will never reach it!"  let me just enjoy the process! 

The format of the Japanese album let me decide how many panels to devote to each idea as I sketched along.  The cream color of the paper did not bother me but I did not like the feel of the paper- it did not take watercolor washes well. My first sketchbook from last year was a smaller Moleskine Japanese album which I posted from July 29 2014 to November 30 2014 in my blog. This year I used Strathmore mixed media journal with 140lbs watercolor paper for one sketch book which I will start posting once I get back to US.  I hope to fill up a second book this year - a multimedia 340 gm USK Sennelier accordion book -- may be then i can decide whats the best sketch book for me or my favorite way to sketch :) 

Anticipation

Waiting - India Sketch Journal 2014-15 by Meera Rao

Quite often while the main streets are congested and busy, the side smaller streets are quieter and hold unexpected scenes! The 'jataka' - quaint very colorful, highly decorated horse drawn carriages can still be found in cities like Mysore and are loved by the tourists ! I love to photograph and sketch them.  The side streets are where they rest and recoup between rides. I have not ridden on one since I was a child and just might try again soon! This was a windy day and the two ladies were trying to hold on to their flying/flowing sarees and hair !

Anticipation - India Sketch Journal 2014-15 by Meera Rao

The lanterns for the festival of lights "Deepavali" were crammed into this tiny store.  There were all different sizes, colors, hanging, stacked one top of another, in boxes, bags, in every nook and corner of this store.  They were also a few traditional clay lamps in boxes as well, along with packets of sparklers or firecrackers.  There was so much color, shapes and textures,  I had a hard time deciding where to start - it was indeed a challenge to sketch it!  

This is the last panel of my second, larger accordion sketchbook - and the scene is from my unexpected short trip back to India last year. This is the only panel from that trip and it was a few long months before I picked up the sketchbook again to finish the coloring, tinting and lettering etc. (hence 2014-15). 

The sketches are done in Moleskine Japanese Album(large) in watercolors and pen. 

Service to the Devotees

For Sale - India Sketch Journal 2014-15 by Meera Rao

Festivals and devotees means an opportunity to sell - from beetle leaves for 'puja' or pleasure to colorful plastic pots, earthenware and sundry household goods galore. The streets are lined up with vendors who anticipate a brisk business around holy days. 

Devotee will get Hungry! India Sketch Journal 2014-15 by Meera Rao

And of course, there has to be freshly made mouthwatering delicacies! A simple stove, couple of gas cylinders, a big black cauldron with hot oil, a pot or two and some utensils are all that was needed for this enterprising cook to open a stall by the footpath! The smell of hot 'pakodas' was inviting and a line was forming even before the first batch was out of the oil! If only I could have scratch and sniff strip right here to complete this vignette!  

Mehendi For the Lady - India Sketch Journal 2014-15 by Meera Rao

A few tubes/cones of 'mehendi' paste and this fellow was in business drawing beautiful elaborate designs on the hands and arms of ladies eager for the stunning look.  I stopped to chat and found out the girl was a muslim bride happy to be taking advantage of the opportunity around a Hindu festival to have 'henna' done couple of days before her marriage ceremony. 

The sketches are done on Moleskine Japanese album (large) in watercolors and pen. 

Joyous Festival Processions

Musicians Heralding A Parade watercolor sketch by Meera Rao

Street parades and processions during festival season is a common sight.  In the southern India it is often lead by musicians playing Nadaswaram or even saxaphone,  mridanga and dolu -drums playing joyful hymns. The ensemble is called 'valaga.' They are followed by elaborately decorated floats carrying various deities. 

Hitching a ride with the Deity watercolor sketch Meera Rao

Children enjoy riding on the back of the ornate floats and being a part of the parade.  Prominently displayed on the floats are the names of the sponsors.  The floats are called 'vahana' and they carry the images of  deities. Devotees sing and dance as they slowly make way thru the streets. Here a vehicle is decorated with a pair of 'swans.'    

Vahana with Ornate silver Horses watercolor sketches Meera Rao

'Silver horses' decorated with flowers, silky materials and ornaments hide a car/truck that is carrying another deity! The sponsors take great pride in making sure their 'vahana' stands out in the procession. On the whole it is a fun diversion and joyous occasion for kids and participants and but a major traffic headache for some others :) 

The sketches are part of my sketchbook "Embracing the Ephemeral" done on Moleskine Japanese Albums in pencil/pen and watercolors. 

Umbrella Fun

Umbrella Fun sketch by Meera Rao 

As I was getting ready to post this sketch of my granddaughter in her brand new rain gear, I began wondering if the umbrella was first invented by whoever  to protect against the sun or the rain as I used the umbrella often this summer when I was in India to shield me from sun as well as rain.  

Of course, I googled the history of umbrellas. According to that article: "The origins of the umbrella are most probably China in 11th century B.C. although ancient sculptures have been found in Nineveh, Persepolis and Thebes (Egypt) depicting the use of umbrellas. There is also evidence of Umbrellas or Parasols being used at the same period in India. I don't think anyone really knows whether it was first used to hide from the heat or the rain, but I found lots of interesting information about them.  Do click on the colored links and enjoy the history :) 

sharp focus

Sketch of my thumb reflected on a shiny knife blade as I cut a mango

 by Meera Rao

The mind of the painter must resemble a mirror, which always takes the colour of the object it reflects and is completely occupied by the images of as many objects as are in front of it.

Leonardo da Vinci

Earlier in the year looking for ideas for daily sketching I came across many suggestions : draw your thumb, a reflection, sharp edges, a fruit etc.. Of course I could not make up my mind. As always, stalling the decision making I stepped into the kitchen.  Cutting a mango  for lunch suddenly I knew what to do :)

A Long Journey

View From Balcony Sketchbook India 2014 June 4-7 by Meera Rao

View From Balcony Sketchbook India 2014 June 6-8 by Meera Rao

"Then India, everyone has his own idea of India"

-Milton Hays.

I have been here in India almost two months and yesterday I did the last sketch in the small Moleskine Japanese accordion style sketchbook.  I have finally figured out (for now!) the quirks of the computer and the programs here and been able to successfully post the first two photos from my sketchhbook :) 

First few sketches in a new book are always tentative in nature as I am learning what will work best. On the opening page (which I forgot to photograph) I tried out color pencils, watercolors and Faber-Castell Pitt basic color  brushpens. I mainly used Prismacolor Verithin color pencils, Prismacolor fine line marker pens and micron pen on these four pages. The hard lead color pencils are good to sketch with but difficult to color and shade on the slick beige Moleskine paper. I may build color with my regular Prismacolor soft pencils once I get back home! The background washes are watercolor (Koi watercolor field kit) and I am yet to master using them on this paper! The accordion style sketchbook gave me freedom to sketch wide and an opportunity to link these different sketches.  The idea was to have continuity though here I may be only partially successful as I don't plan ahead of time and am not sure what my next day's sketch will be! I sketched everyday but often took a couple of days to complete a panel - so it has taken me almost two months to finish 30 panels in the book that opens into one long 5.5" x 105" page  :) 

About the sketches: As the title indicates its the view from second floor balcony. I was excited to see the papaya tree top laden with fruits of various sizes right by the balcony, the collection of little lamps, the electric pole with its wires and a branch of "Kadam" /Adina Corifolia tree sporting a badminton ball like composite flower mass.

Today I will start using the large Moleskine Japanese album sketchbook  (5x8" when folded). It has 48 accordion pages. If anyone reading this has suggestions, constructive criticism and helpful hints on using these sketchbooks please feel free to pass it on in the comments section :)

Passions

My Passions sketch by Meera Rao

I want to sketch something everyday but there are days when my muse doesn't show up or sometimes life gets in the way! Once in a while I will check daily painters lists for ideas.  'My Passions'  came about when I combined two different such lists. One listed sketch your hobby; sketch an heirloom said another . I decided to combine the two :I would sketch an heirloom and add my camera review pane around it ! I am feeling very clever and pleased  :)  

This sketch was done in couple of months ago and I did not post it then. I am in India now, my annual visit to take care my Mother-in-law.  I am unable to post the sketches done here as google platform and microsoft PC seem to be at odds when it comes to posting photograpahs :(  Blogger won't recognize crops and edits done in Windows and I can't seem to import into Picasa to do my edits there to upload to the blog!!! I hope I will find a solution soon or I will have to wait till I get back to my own computer to post my sketch book.

I am trying something new this time - using  Moleskine Japanese style accordion sketchbooks in two different sizes.  The smaller  one that folds into 5.5x3.5" is almost full.  I love how it unfolds and I can vary the width of my sketches depending on the subject and how the sketches are not in isolation but run into each other reflecting life itself. I am excited about how it feels and can't wait to post them. I hope I will know more about how to work this computer  soon!!!!   As the saying goes :Thunderstorms are as much our friends as the sunshine.” ― Criss Jami  Challenges make life interesting and I am banking on being a bit more computer savvy by the end of it!!!

Sketching Outdoors

"Matteson Trail" En pleine aire sketch by Meera Rao

One beautiful day early in spring, during my daily walk I was inspired to stop and sketch the scenery. I usually carry a small 4x6 book of Arches post cards with me and on that day I had a pack of brand new Faber-Castell 6 PITT artist landscape pens that I wanted to try.  The trail was quiet with not too many walkers.  I leaned against a tree and spent a few minutes taking in the scene and then set to work. I was somewhat satisfied with my results. I later gave it a watercolor wash for sky and water -mainly to test and see if the pen marks would bleed. 

Here is a shaky photo I took with my phone before I continued with my walk -it was a challenge to hold the camera in one and the sketch in the other and manage to click :) 

  

I just finished reading an article 'From sketchbook to Studio"  by Iain Stewart in the June issue of Watercolor Artist. I like what he has to say about sketchbooks : "A sketchbook has no other responsibility than to serve you. It is completely private unless you decide to share. Safe from the critical eye of jurors, it is a place where you can explore with abandon all your ideas. It's also the best tool I can think of for preparing to work in the studio. "    His advice is to be 'an observer, an editor and a recorder'. He writes: " When I return to the studio, I find that those observations can serve as well or better than any of my photographs"   

Most importantly he states :"Don't let anything you do early in your process limit what decisions you make later in your painting. Be willing to change anything, but remember your game plan." 

Extensions of the Heart

Journal Page March 23-30 2014 by Meera Rao

Last week was filled with days that I wanted to remember and mull over. It started when we returned from the Flamenco Vivo, Carlota Santana - The Soul of Flamenco show at the American Theater in Hampton. I just wanted to capture the feelings, attitudes and expressions of the dancers and the singers before it faded away. Then there was the blue bird visiting the new feeder for the first time this spring, colorful Clivia blooming indoors and the yellow orange daffodils bursting outside.  Four days of rainy weather ended with a brilliant rainbow. I could not forget how reluctantly my grand daughter wore her raincoat and went out but then fully enjoyed playing in the rain and the puddles :)  And there is a special story about that can of Vodka from Russia! 

I am playing with  size, format for my sketches and have not found the right one yet. But I know I want to try bigger full page sketches soon.  I am reading Qu Lei Lei's "The Tao of Sketching" and like what he has to stay about drawing and sketching: 

"The brush or pen is the extension of the heart: We see everything in the world through the eye, feel it through the heart, and think about it through the brain. All of these are combined and transferred to the paper through our hand and brush. Therefore, every stroke of the brush is actually an extension of the soul." 

Making Art and Viewing Art

Art Institute of Chicago -watercolor sketch on Arches postcard by Meera Rao

"Making art and viewing art are different at their core. The sane human being is satisfied that the best he/she can do at any given moment is the best he/she can do at any given moment........Making art provides uncomfortably accurate feedback about the gap that inevitably exists between what you intended to do, and what you did. In fact, if artmaking did not tell you(the maker) so enormously much about yourself, then making art that matters to you would be impossible. To all viewers but yourself, what matters is the product: the finished art work. to you, and you alone, what matters is the process: the experience of shaping that artwork. The viewer's concerns are not your concerns (although it's dangerously easy to adopt their attitudes.) Their job is whatever it is: to be moved by art, to be entertained by it, to make a killing off it, whatever. Your job is to learn to work on your work "

~Davie Bayles & Ted Orland in "Art and Fear" 

"Art & Fear - Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of ARTMAKING"  is a book I read often. Today as I am trying to get comfortable and not let the shingles that showed up on my abdomen consume me, I am reading it again. The book always inspires me and motivates me to keep on working. I am convinced in the end to give my best shot -as the very last sentences in the book declares: "It becomes a choice between certainty and uncertainty. And curiously, uncertainty is the comforting choice. "

Co-incidentally, I sketched the Art Institute of Chicago building while waiting for the exhibits to open one cold morning in Dec, looking out the glass window of a coffee-shop right across the road.  I was hesitant to take out my sketch kit in the crowded shop but the desire to sketch to kill time till the doors opened won over my fear.  And I am glad I gave in to the urge to draw. 

"Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgement difficult" - Hippocrates (460-400B.C) 

Everyday is a Celebration

2013 India Sketch Journal page 39 by Meera Rao 

"There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate"

~ Robert Brault~ 

A small celebration as I post the last page of my 2013 India sketch journal. It was my second year of  doing the sketch book. I am amazed and tickled to see over 200 sketches of everyday scenes and incidences in the two years.  I hope some of them will end up as full paintings soon. The biggest lesson I learned is to just plunge in and draw rather than try for that perfect sketch. As I have mentioned before, the best thing I discovered is looking at everyday things with new sketching eyes as I look for ideas. I became adept at squeezing sketching time when I was in India.  Now to make that happen everyday the rest of the year ! 

2013 India Sketch Journal Aug 23 by Meera Rao

The wedding venues are usually a riot of colors elaborately decorated with fresh flowers and foliage. The creative and labor intensive designs are often awe inspiring - sometimes bordering on gaudy. I definitely did not do justice in design or perspective when I sketched this one and as I was finishing it by memory, my skills lagged behind :) 

2013 India Sketch Journal Aug 24 by Meera Rao

Basava - decorated bullocks and his master go house to house asking for alms in -between farming seasons. The bullock's bells and the woodwind instrument the master uses signals their arrival at the doorsteps.  Rice, money or old silk sarees are donated by most the householders.  Sometimes I think this has become a way of taking advantage of the sentiments towards holy cattle and make quick bucks - especially when I see the master curse when he is asked to just move on! The animals though, are decorated beautifully and it is a pleasure to look at the peaceful majestic beasts.