Preservation of History and Nature

Upcycled Smithsonian Engagement Calendar Pandemic Sketchbook week 23 

Parthenos sylvia Butterfly on Zinnia ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

We visited the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA with friends visiting from India. The highlight of that trip was the enclosed butterfly garden with hundreds of butterflies from all over the world. This particular butterfly is Parthenos sylvia a species from Asia and South Asia on zinnia. Seeing the beautiful creatures up close as they come and even land on your head or shoulder, definitely makes you care and want to save them from extinction! It really paired well with photo for the week in the upcycle Smithsonian Engagement Calender - ‘Front cover from 29th Annaual Catalogue, 1899 Iowa Seed co., Desmoines, IA. This lithograph print is from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. The Libraries and archives has a unique trade catalog collection that includes about 10,000 seed and nursery catalogs. These publications document the history of the seed business and horticulture in the United States. Through their bold text and exuberant illustrations, they also provide a fascinating window into the history of graphic arts and advertising. 

Upcycled Smithsonian Engagement calendar pandemic sketchbook 2021 week 23

Colonial Williamsburg colonial horse and buggy pen and ink by Meera Rao

At first glance the photo in the calendar and the record of a day in my life that week looks like a big contrast - and yet both are preserving the history of our country! Apollo 11 spacesuits transferred from NASA are on display at the Steven F. Unvarnished-Hazy Center, National Air and Space Museum.  The caption for the spacesuits reads: ‘Shown here at the Emil Buehler Conservation Lab at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center are 3 spacesuits worn by the Apollo 11 astronauts on their historic 1969 mission to the moon. From left to right are the suits of Edwin R Aldrin, Michael Collin’s, and Neil Armstrong.’ 

The quest to find different walking trails took us to Colonial Williamsburg that morning. The horses were also on a walk ! 

 

Cheers! Be Hoppy !

Guinness Barrel House  pen & ink and Pitt artist pens

Last Sunday, we met family from Out of town at the Guinness Brewery in Baltimore. It turned out to be  a perfect place to meet - as we chose to gather at the open area in the complex with picnic tables. Since we were there as it opened late morning, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The kids ran around and played happily and adults were all very happy to meet each other after long pandemic separation!  There was a lot of happy catching up and we were too busy for much drinking or eating :)  A few hours of seeing each other and renewing bonds gave us some comfort. 

Guinness Brewery  view from Parkinglot  pen & ink, watercolor and Pitt artist pens

The sketches done in the parkinglot were quick ones  done in the car while waiting for the place to open. I added color at home. The Barrel House sketch was done at home. It was the view from our picnic tables. I like the effect of adding a touch of color to mostly black and white sketches. I was experimenting on how much color to add in each of these sketches. 

Guinness Brewery view from Parkinglot   pen & ink and Pitt artist pens

 

What Bird is that ?

Owl sketch in Mixed Media by Meera Rao 

I have not seen an Owl in our backyard but I hear its calls late at night and early mornings.  Recently the app  Merlin Bird ID from the The Cornell Lab added a feature to record the bird calls. The app then helps you identify the bird using its sound bank! How cool is that?  That's how I learned that it is a Great Horned Owl that is in our backyard! I have been using the app on my walks(Identified Cooper's Hawk call just yesterday), in the backyard, or anywhere else I hear a bird call that I can not recognize (which is 99% of the time!) 

I sketched this owl (Screech owl?) during a draw and paint along with Jack (John) Muir Laws  about a month ago. His website, You Tube channel, and books are  treasure troves of information on nature and nature journaling. I used pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, and my new Derwent Grahitint  paint pans set. Sketching often has definitely helped me improve my 'seeing' and drawing skills. 

 

That Eventful Night

That Eventful Night  watercolor, pen and ink 5.5x3.5” by Meera Rao 

That night in July 2020 when the confederate monument in the neighboring town Portsmouth, Va came down, I sat glued to the TV.  I did a small sketch with a pen as I watched the events unfold. A huge crowd gathered around the monument with their cell phones in hand recording the historic event. Unfortunately the statue came down on one of the people involved and gravely injured him. Almost a year later when the anniversary came about, I watercolored my sketch.  Last couple of days, issues about removing the base of a toppled Lee statue in Richmond, Va has been in the news reminded me of the sketch  tucked away in my sketchbook. 

13 years and 620 posts !

 Vanilla cafe. Pen and Ink by Meera Rao 

November was a busy month and I did not get around to posting on my blog. I missed the blog anniversary - 13 years and 620 posts :) A big ‘Thank You’ to all who have visited, followed, read and or left comments. I have met many talented and generous artists who broadened my horizons inspiring me to do better.  I am really grateful for all the support I have received ! 

Having this blog has been a wonderful incentive to keep sketching and painting which in turn has helped me grow as an artist. Over the years I have become more comfortable sketching in public, experimenting and not minding imperfections in my work but seeing them as valuable guides to develop further.  Vanilla cafe  was sketched on location - we visited this cafe every morning for 5 days during our stay in London in late October.  This is a nice little memory of great soy lattes and vegan croissants during our stay :) 

#oneweek100people2021 day5

#oneweek100people2021 #81-85

100 people sketched !!! I am happy with my efforts this year.  I am more confident in my sketching, faster in getting the shapes and lines down, and also have managed to fill in the gaps when the subject moves on. 

#oneweek100people2021 86-90

I still take and keep photos handy to refer and check. It is fun when the sketching goes smoothly :) 

#oneweek100people2021 91-93

It took me about 30-40 minutes to sketch these people at the dealership finalizing the purchase of a car. I was sitting far enough to watch them and sketch leisurely as I knew they would be there a while filling out forms etc.  I even managed to include the desk, computer, and a bottle sanitizer :) 

#oneweek100people2021 94-100

Icing on the cake was sighting a Penny Farthing bike on the trail on my walk. I sketched that mostly from memory as the photo I took was blurry. I was confused to see the small wheel in the back - so I googled  images and  discovered this bicycle is different from a unicycle ! 

The trail we walked circles a golf course and there were many golfers out enjoying the day. 

On the whole I feel a sense of accomplishment. Next time I hope to use watercolors . 

 

#Oneweek100peple2021 day4

#oneweek100people2021 #62-65

I see the watermen working hard hauling their catch by the dock, taking care of the nets etc... whenever I go down there with my fellow volunteers for our monthly water quality check.  This time I asked permission to take photos.  I could not take the time to sit and sketch as we had to move on to the next site of the morning. I am happy with these sketches - hoping I will one day soon paint them in watercolor.

#oneweek100people2021 #66-73

Back at the park on a beautiful sunny day in March and there were many like me enjoying the day.  I don’t know if I like sketching masks on faces - but glad that almost everyone was wearing one. 

#oneweek100people2021 #74-80

More sketches from my walk and the playground.  There was a kid with a pogo stick trying again and again to get on it. I was glad she was persistent :) 

#oneweek100people2021 day3

 

#oneweek100people2021 56-61

Seeing the Buddhist Monks join the protests in Myanmar on tv in solidarity against the military, I was moved to sketch them. I learned the symbolism of the 3 finger salute - for democracy, freedom and solidarity  

#oneweek100people2021 49-52

The two girls looked quite comfortable sitting up in the nook of the branches of the huge tree and chatting away at the park :)  The lady with the dog sat long enough on the bench for me to complete the sketch. 

#oneweek100people2021 45-48

The park benches and dog play area was a great place to sketch - people linger and that gave me time to sketch them - or easily replace one incomplete figure with another :)  

#oneweek100people2021 53-55

The guy with the mustache drawn on the mask had to sketched - not often you can see such sights! I am trying different poses on figures trying to get lines and shapes - I think it’s been ok so far - have to keep reminding myself not every single sketch is going to be perfect :) 

#oneweek100people2021 day 2 #21-44

#oneweek100people2021 #32-42

 This was from a news clip - I felt sad that this is happening in so many parts of the world :(  Sketch wise I felt comfortable to draw in micron pen and pentacle brush pen. 

#oneweek100people2021

This was from some magazine ads - I was still sketching with pencils. 

#oneweek100people2021

More from ads and videos.

#oneweek100people2021

First few shaky attempts at drawing with ink and brush pen:) 

#oneweek100people2021

My go to after the zoom meeting live sketches  ( unsuspecting participants) on day one have been print media  and videos! Almost half way thru :) 
 

An Unforgettable Procession

Procession  watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

There is always much excitement when there is any religious procession. But this particular Vaiyali utsavam at the Sri Rangam Temple on Feb 6th 2020 was the first time for us. My cousin had urged us to be at the temple premises by 6pm for the Thai Thaer /Goddess Car Festival. 

Beautifully decked Goddess rides on Kuthurai Vahanam - a golden horse. Both are carried around on long poles shouldered by many devotees. The Goddess was out that evening, before the big festival for her beloved the next day -to oversee that all preparations were in order. She had come to check that it would indeed be safe for Him to take part in the festival.  And She was not merely carried by the devotees --it was a challenging choreographed procession with all the fanfare. The whole premise was so romantic and beautiful.  Here is a link to a video of a similar procession at the temple (I had trouble uploading my video). I was thrilled that we had arrived early enough to stake out a good spot and were able to witness it at close range.  This was indeed an unforgettable procession. 

 

Rooftop Sanctuary

Rooftop Sanctuary watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

There was someone else on the next rooftop - reading, enjoying the scenery, the peace and quiet of the morning as we were exploring the Sri Rangam temple complex.  This was definitely the place to be as the hubbub down below picked up. Looking around at the scene with almost a bird's eye view, I felt exhilarated and energized. It made me wonder if the lone reader had also found a respite from the throngs of devotees, shopkeepers, tourists  that were starting to congregate in the sprawling temple complex below. Did he do this everyday and if this different vantage point helped him gain a better understanding of any situation he encountered? Did he come up there to tap into higher awareness? I am pleased that this sketch brings back the wonderful memories of that morning to me

Shadows Dancing In Morning Light

Gopura: Shadows dancing in morning light  pen and ink by Meera Rao

My cousin told us about a staircase to the roof of one of the buildings in the Sri Rangam temple complex tucked away in an obscure corner. Of course we had to check it out ! The view from the roof was stunning. On one side was one of the 7 Gopuras.  I loved how the morning light lit the Gopura and the long shadows of a couple of people in the courtyard. 

I kept erasing more than I was drawing when I started out.  In frustration I decided to abandon the pencil and go with the pen and commit to the lines. I was surprised and pleased how the sketch started flowing after that. I used a brush pen with black ink to work on the shadows - my plan was to paint with watercolors to complete the sketch. My hubby who is usually my best critique, at that point checking on the progress said ‘I think you should stop after this and not add color’  I am happy I did :) 

Meditation on Beauty

Sri Rangam Temple courtyard -ink and watercolor 9x7”  by Meera Rao 

 Early morning at the temple waiting for our guide, I soaked in the sunlight, and the serene quiet before the hustle and bustle of devotees and tourists took over.  I was mesmerized by the awe inspiring elaborate carvings on the massive temple structures and the bright colorful painted embellishments.  

Not knowing where to start, I spent time admiring the details, and figuring out what I wanted to sketch- there was so much beauty all around!  The guide was late in arriving and I was able to sketch out a few pillars and one of the many many smaller temples within the Temple complex,  saving the watercolor wash for later.  

Travel Sketches : A Gift to Myself !

Festival Cart all decked up, Pen and watercolor by Meera Rao 

I have sketches from my trip in January and February to India and London that I somehow forgot to post.  But then, unfortunately I also have ignored this blog in the past month and have to make up for it !! I am hoping to  relive the travels that we were able to enjoy just before Covid quarantine as I post these sketches ! 

When in India we visited Sri Rangam and Tiruchirapalli in the state of Tamil Nadu for a family event and I spent a couple of hours sketching at the temple premises. The temple which is many centuries old occupies an area of 155 acres (63 ha) with 81 shrines, 21 towers, 39 pavilions, and many water tanks integrated into the complex making it the world's largest functioning Hindu temple. We were lucky to get a great tour even in the limited time we had, courtesy of my cousin Vrinda and her husband Ramanan who have published a wonderful book of photography and temple history "Sri Rangam: Bhooloka Vaikuntam".   

This is the Festival cart all decked up ready for the major festival next day. The huge wooden structure is elaborately carved and decorated with colorful, embroidered cloth curtains and flags. I sketched it as we waited for the start of another festival ceremony the evening before. It is one of the few times I have sketched under the watchful eyes of a small crowd of  devotees who were also lined up and waiting. As I balanced the sketchbook  in one hand and drew standing up in the dim light of the setting sun, I could hear comments and some approval as the sketch evolved :)  I had just enough time to complete the pencil drawing and did the watercolor wash at home.  I included the father and daughter in the drawing for scale to highlight the massive structure ! 

Sketching People

Muscians pencil by Meera Rao

I was not going to participate in the #OneWeek100People challenge this year.  But as the social media started filling up with artists sharing their sketches, I decided I will sketch as many as possible and now I have 46 sketches that I would not otherwise have  in my sketchbook :) 

I sketched these musicians watching/listening to an online concert from the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.  I now know after sketching all these people that I need to work on drawing hands :)   

Sketches 27-29 By Meera Rao

Sketches 38-44 By Meera Rao

These sketches were mostly from the news on TV and newspaper.  They are all from different places and times and I enjoyed putting them together like this. The guy with the umbrella and the girl leaning is from my phone camera roll. 

Sketches 35-37  By Meera Rao

These are from my phone from when I was at a doctor's office a few months ago. I Had originally sketched them on my iphone but because of #shelteringinplace and #socialdistancing decided to sketch them again in my sketchbook :)

drummers #30-34  By Meera Rao 

These drummers were sketched from a video I took in November  during NYC Marathon. We were cheering my daughter as well as all the runners and these drummers were too!  

Sketches #21-26 By Meera Rao

These sketches were from the Newspaper and TV :) 

Sketches #11-15 by Meera Rao

Sketches #16-20 By Meera Rao 

These are from watching Basketball games before there were all cancelled! I had to refer to still photos to get them right. It became clear early on I need to study and practice hands :) 

Sketches 1-10 By Meera Rao 

I really had hopes of being able to do the 100 in 10 days at this rate when I did 10 sketches one the first day! But then life got in the way as I had suspected it would confirming my initial decision not to participate in the challenge! But I am really glad I did as many as I could. I am getting faster in getting the shapes down.  Next challenge is to get comfortable sketching hands and also capturing values.  

Winter Gift

Sugar Snap Pea Flower  Pen and color pencil by Meera Rao

Flowers like winter camellias that stay blooming through December and January, Johnny jump-ups, pansies,  and a few confused stray azaleas (global climate warming?) brought color to our yard this winter.  In the vegetable patch,  this was one of the first times my husband tried growing winter sugar snap peas and a few flowers bloomed on the plant ! The sight of  blue tinged delicate flowers and the curly tendrils meant pulling out my sketch book :) 

Sticker Folks

Sticker Folks. Stickers and ink by Meera Rao 

Those PLU stickers on our apples, bananas and avocados I recently learned are not environmentally friendly and gum up the works in composting and recycling facilities.  They are made of plastic or are vinyl coated, do not break down easily and are expensive to sort and remove.  So I started peeling them off produce in my kitchen,  stuffed them in an envelope and put it aside in my sketchbook and mulled over what I could do with them. This is my first round of experiments - turning them into some ‘Sticker Folks’.  Still thinking about my next group of stickers ......

Ancient Connections

Pelicans ink 5x8” by Meera Rao 

These birds fly, swoop, plunge dive, and skim the waters in groups, hunting for fish in the river.  They are never close enough or still enough for me to see all their beautiful details. Even their silhouettes have been a challenge to capture. I focused my binoculars and watched them for hours as I to tried to sketch their shapes. I finally had to shoot videos on my phone as they continued their activities. I resorted to  freeze frames as my reference to finally draw their outlines and silhouettes - that’s how I saw them anyway as dark shapes against the blue winter sky and water. 

The Brown Pelicans  (Pelicanus occidentalis Linnaeus) are considered the smallest of the 8 living species and have a wingspan of 6-7’. Pelicans are ancient birds with fossils going back to 30 million years! No wonder they have a long history and are hence steeped in mythology. 

Patient Pelican watercolor 6x7” by Meera Rao 

Patient Pelican is a painting from few years ago when I was able to see one up-close at the Virginia Living Museum.  Checking back on that blog post refreshed my memory of my experiments  painting grays. 

Then, I went surfing the web for this funny limerick on Pelican that I remembered from my school days ;) 

A wonderful bird is the pelican, 

His bill will hold more than his belican,

He can take in his beak

Enough food for a week 

But I’m damned if I see how the helican! 

~ Dixon Lanier Merritt~ 

The Fire Burns Blue

The Fire Burns Blue watercolor with pen and ink by Meera Rao 

Last week my brother informed me that the book 'The Fire Burns Blue - A History of Women's Cricket in India' co-written by my niece Karunya Keshav and Sidhanta Patnaik is among the five books short listed for Best Non-fiction work 2019 in India!  Proud Aunt suddenly remembered that  she  had sketched the book soon after Karunya gave it her in January during visit to India :)  I had shared a photo of the sketch with her,  but had somehow missed posting any of the sketches from that sketchbook on my blog. 

 

We are all incredibly proud of Karunya and that her book is vying for honors with the likes of Ramachandra Guha, Rajmohan Gandhi, Raghuram Rajan and Shantha Gokhale! Go get your copy from Amazon and read all about the stories of extraordinary women who while competing in 'the gentleman's game' made history. And all the while as one of the players said : "We play because we love this game"

Sketchbook Time

Chrysler Building  pen and ink by Meera Rao

I have too many sketchbooks going on at the same time, and I have sketches tucked away in them that I have missed posting. These three are from my Pentalic traveler 5x8".  

We were in NYC first Sunday in  November cheering our daughter's NYC marathon run! A clear view from hotel room window of the iconic Chrysler Building was hard to resist sketching.  I pulled out the sketchbook onto the windowsill and took my time drawing.  From the 34th floor window of the hotel I could clearly see the sculptures on the 61st floor of the Chrysler building which I had not noticed as eagles till I started sketching ! I was reminded of this quote by Frederick Frank : 

Drawing is the discipline by which I constantly discover the world. 

I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen, 

and that when  start drawing an ordinary thing, 

I realize how extraordinary it is, 

sheer miracle!

~ Frederick Frank~

Pirate Days watercolor and pen Meera Rao

These two sketches are from Arrrtober Fest at the Mariner's Museum in October. While volunteering for the Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist booth, I sketched this little totally adorable kid in his pirate costume. He was determined to put the rings on the boat 'masts', and made his own luck by slinging it from all around the game mat :) 

Aaartober Fest Lady Pirates watercolor and Pen Meera Rao

The ladies in the next booth were also dressed up for the occasion and I quickly sketched them  before the gates opened for the festival goers. I think I am getting a little more comfortable sketching in the public these days :)