Most Magical Love

Just Arrived watercolor by Meera Rao

Almost a year after the bundle of joy arrived, I finally got around to painting my newest grandchild. It was pure joy to paint and I wondered why I was hesitating for so long!  The First grandchild still steals my heart but this little one has me completely smitten and in love all over again :)  Who knew grandchildren give you totally new perspective on life ! 

Emotional Connections

Curious watercolor by Meera Rao 10x14"

I painted this earlier in the year, about a year after her first birthday. It took me that long to get the courage to draw and then paint. I used several photographs as reference but one photograph that my daughter took of her niece became the basis of this painting. Her days are packed with play and curiosity and I am pretty pleased that I captured that sparkle in her eyes   I painted her eyes first and once I was satisfied with it, painting the rest of her became easier and pleasurable. 

Now I have to get busy and paint her 2nd year portrait as well as her newborn sister :) I hope to have at least one painting for each every year. It definitely  has been most satisfying to paint my grand daughter.  Arne Westerman in his book 'Paint Watercolors filled with Life and Energy' says "the artist must know that his emotional connection is only the starting point for a meaningful piece of work. There must be passion that drives the painting, followed by the creation of a solid composition. Thus the final rectangle will not simply be a statement of feeling or mood or a picture of something. It will be a complete painting with shapes, values, rhythm, color and balance, as well as subject matter. "  And I hope in the end my grand daughter will like it too ! 

A Grand Little Bundle of Joy

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.

The Seven Links Project

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

Padmaja

Heera

Shalini

Cathy

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

A Special Moment

This is Liza and her friend Ollie. I was inspired by the spontaneity, the love and affection I saw when she was giving Ollie a drink of water from her hand. The photograph this is based on is from a couple of years ago. I looked at it several hundred times before I finally cropped it, decided on the composition and sketch it last november.  Two days ago I finally plunged into doing the final piece.  Liza and Ollie are done in color pencils (10x8") 

Happy Birthday, Liza!  

 

The Age Old Question

Early this morning, as on most days, I was listening to 'The Writer's Almanac' on NPR. Garrison Keillor was reciting a poem  "He Gets Around to Answering the Old Question" by Miller Williams  which ended with this stanza:

So now you have asked me the oldest question of all,

You want to know how I'm doing, I told you before,

I'm dying. Been at it for years. Still, I think 

I could hang a few more calendars on the door. 

This reminded me of a conversation my husband and his brothers had with one of their Uncles -whose portrait  'Narayan Mava' (color pencils 13 1/2" x 10 1/2") is today's post. Couple of summers ago they were visiting their uncle and one of them asked 'the age old question.'  When Uncle replied with a twinkle in his eye  "Sometimes I am not sure whether I am here or there' - one quick witted brother urged "Please Uncle, Just  be here more often than there!'  

This portrait was done using as reference a bunch of  photographs taken during that visit.  I wanted to evoke the feelings he expressed that evening. 

Letting Go

I am always anxious when I am working on portraits. Trying to capture at least a small part of the essence of a person on paper is a daunting task. Again and again I come across the advice :Let go - enjoy the journey and don't worry about the outcome. If only it was easy to follow!

Just today I finished reading a wonderful book of essays "Learning from the heart- Lessons of living, loving and listening " by Daniel Goltlieb. He expesses at one point "Personally, what I want is 'not to want' ." I know the feeling. What makes it powerful is that Gottlieb "happens to be a quadriplegic". -as the blurb explains - "which makes him somewhat of an expert in self-acceptance. And while he says his condition has taught him to listen, learn and care deeply, one senses Gottlieb is a born mensch and a man with a big heart. Warm, wise, compassionate, humble and often funny, he displays not a shred of self-pity or false modesty. Best of all, his message has the unmistakable ring of truth to it: love rather than change yourself or anyone else. “Trying to change others is about intolerance, which is at the core of so much enmity. We cannot find peace unless we are trying to help others find peace also.” I highly recommend this book. I loved the way he explores and reflects on what it means to be human. Its Bhagavd Gita and Buddhist philosophy in action and very timely advice.

Lost in Notes II is done in color pencils on black paper. Its a painting of a street musician that I really enjoyed listening to in Seattle, Washington on a summer night. I painted it a few years ago and later gave it away as a gift.

show off time

I saw the Bangle Peddler in Bangalore this summer.  He was walking around the neighborhood selling glass bangles. Something about him made me get out of the house, have a conversation and then take a few pictures-- which I later used in painting this The Bangle Peddler in Color Pencils.  The door to door selling is fast vanishing from the landscape in India.  The dignity he possessed and the pride he took in his job were refreshing. I hope I have done justice to his portrait.