New year and the Theme Continues !

Hydrangea in December from our garden watercolor by Meera Rao 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week1 

Happy New Year !! Wishing all a happy, healthy, creative year ahead!

I am back at it again - sketching simultaneously in my 2021(retroactive) and 2022 Smithsonian Engagement Calendar as a continuation of my 2020 theme of ‘Sketching the Pandemic Year!’  I haven’t come up with any other project to keep me ‘engaged’ and had these two beautiful books on hand. So I  continue to record something for each week while still mulling over other ideas ! This way I will have at least 106 sketches done this year :) 

“The ‘Dyber Amertrine’ photographed in the 2021 Smithsonian Engagement Calendar is a quartz variety mined in Anahi Mine, Bolivia, that is part amethyst and part citrine, accounting for the unique purple and yellow orange color combination seen in theses gems. Although faceted and carved by hand, the ‘Dyber Ametrine’ also represents the state-of-the-art cutting techniques used by gem artist Michael Dyber , including ‘Dyberotic Optic Dishes’ that create optical illusions.”

The fading, drying hydrangea is from our garden photographed last December. It mirrored the colors and beauty  of the ametrine and was the motivation for me to continue sketch-journaling in these Engagement calendars! 

Cooper’s Hawk  watercolor by Meera Rao 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week1 

As with the owl in the previous post, I identified Cooper’s hawk calls I heard on my daily walk last week using the Merlin Bird App from Cornell Ornithology Lab. Two days later I saw three of them again in the same area circling above.  Using bird guides and my own blurry photographs I sketched it in watercolor. 

The explanation in the 2022 Smithsonian Engagement Calendar about the dove photographed on that page : ‘Artis Pablo Cano created this card for Helen Kohen, a noted art historian and critic, to thank her for a gift she had given him and to tell her how he was using it. The front of the card features a drawing of a dove and the back includes a sketch of a design for a telephone booth shaped like a women’s head.’  I guess now that page has a dove and hawk :) 

A Promise

Creeping up the wall.watercolor by Meera Rao

Against the textured wall

Creeping up Moving sideways

Spreading

smooth green leaves

Swaying

Soft buttery petals

Absorbing

Reflecting 

Hot yellow of the Sun

Cool blue sky 

Memories of yesterday’s rain 

A Promise 

of tomorrow’s buds

Hopes for next years seeds

And secrets of 

Inspiration 

The Universe.

~ Meera Rao ~

Fleeting Vignettes

 

Showing my art at Poquoson Public Library 

       Showing my art at Poquoson Public Library

Showing my art Poquoson Public Library

Sixteen of my watercolors "Fleeting Vignettes"  are on exhibit at the Poquoson Public Library for the month of August.  In June I participated in the #30x30directwatercolor challenge to create 30 paintings in 30 days in direct watercolor without sketching ahead of time.  I would call it a success as all these sixteen paintings were from that exercise! And I even sold one painting so far :) 

I made myself paint values, shapes and entertain only a few significant details. Pushing to finish a painting a day with no preliminary drawings forced me to be very mindful of sweet spots,  compositions, and especially values. I found myself sifting through my reference photos trying to find those that I could paint without sketching (or sometimes with minimal perspective dots or markings) ahead of time. I discovered to my surprise I was not painting with abandon and it was nerve wracking at times. I definitely painted some subjects I would not have considered before and was pretty pleased with the results! I painted on 100% cotton rough watercolor paper I had bought in India couple of years ago and it was fun to see them all lined up at the end of the month and see my accomplishment. Even though I was exhausted by the end, the challenge I feel was a very worthwhile to participate in. Because of sheltering in place, I ended up framing them all myself!  

I am so glad Marc Taro Holmes started the challenge. This is my second time participating in the month long challenge which in my case extended a week beyond a month to make up for missed  days I could not help.  Surf on over to my Instagram @artbymeera to see all my 30 paintings or to the facebook group  #30x30directwatercolor (link above) to see all the attempts by hundreds of participants.  If you are in my neck of the woods, please do stop by the library and check out the paintings.  I am donating half the price of sold paintings to the Food Bank.   

London Days Part 9 Hanging Flower Baskets

The Woodman at Highgate watercolor by Meera Rao 

I loved the flower boxes and hanging baskets all over London.   We came across this charming pub often as we got in and out of the nearby tube station.  I preferred taking the bus over the trains just so I could see the beauty of the flower boxes on various buildings - even though it took us longer to get from place to place :) 

Connections: London Days Part 4

Connections watercolor by Meera Rao 

'Red' is everywhere in London lending color to gray days. The red buses of course brighten the roads as they travel. There is a red mailbox in every neighborhood. The rows of red telephone booths in a street corners are a common sight. The black FreeWifi/telephone booths are new additions highlighting the evolution of how we connect these days.  I read that there is great controversy about this latest connectivity 'box' - is it making London into a smart city or letting a few giant companies track your movements throughout the city with the ultimate goal of monetization?  

Ni Hao Part 13 Shanghai By Night

Shanghai Skyline Financial District At Night View from the River  Watercolor&Ink by Meera Rao  

 

Bund Old Shanghai Skyline Night view from River  Watercolor and Ink by Meera Rao

The 2-page spread of Night View 

The Night River Cruise was a wonderful light show! Our guide informed us that all the buildings are required to participate and show their loyalty. It is a big tourist draw and thousands fill hundreds of  lavishly decorated cruise boats.  The ride started at dusk and lasted close to two hours. We oohed and ahed at the magic of millions of colored blinking and dancing lights that changed and morphed every other second ! 

Buddhist monks checking their  phones at the Financial district  Sketch by Meera Rao 

Earlier in the evening we walked around the area where I saw many buddhist monks enjoying the city lights and scenes just like us.  A couple of chefs taking a break down an alley near the Food Mall caught my eye as we were searching for a place to eat. 

Pause In The Day #DirectWatercolor #nosketching by Meera Rao 

Below is a straggler sketch of an Incense burner from Imperial city at Beijing- one of our very first stops during this china trip. I painted it much later as a part of the #30x30directwatercolor challenge and therefore got left out of the earlier post on Beijing. I decided to include it in this last post on my  travel sketchbook.  

Incense Burner At The Imperial city, Beijing #30x30directwatercolor #nosketching By Meera Rao 

I had a couple of really beautiful ticket stubs that I decided were the just the right thing to grace the front and back covers of my sketchbook.  The front cover is the part of the ticket to the silk museum in Shanghai.  I used gold gel pen to write the title. 

Cover of China Travel Sketchbook Journal By Meera Rao 

The outside back cover is the ticket stub from the Sun Moon Temple at Guillin. 

Back Cover of China Travel Sketchbook Journal  by Meera Rao 

I decorated the back  inside cover with the business card for the resturant where we enjoyed delicious fresh hot Dim sums and a couple of beautiful wrappers from some chocolates I bought and enjoyed :)  

Inside Back Cover of Sketchbook Journal.  By Meera Rao 

Thats the end of my journal sketches but I hope to paint a few more full scale paintings in the next few months :) 

再見中國  Zaijian zhongguo- bye bye China  for now!!

Ni Hao Part 10 Guillin

Li River Cruise watercolor 2 page spread by Meera Rao

Mountain Peaks by Li River  Left page watercolor By Meera Rao

Mountain Peaks by Li River  Right page watercolor By Meera Rao

We reached Guillin in the late afternoon as the flight was delayed by a couple of hours. The guide in Xian joked that they say CAAC - 'China airlines always cancel' - but at least we were only delayed;). Beautiful Guillin apparently was China's first city to develop tourism after 1949. 

It was raining when we landed and the route to town was amazingly picturesque with lush green covered mountain peaks shrouded in fog all around. After  checking  into the hotel we went to explore the city by walking around.  There was a beautiful little Buddhist temple not too far and as we entered the premises they started their evening chanting and prayers. We watched and waited till the rituals were done - this was our first time watching and participating in Chinese Buddhist prayers and rituals. We then went over to the canteen next door - but unfortunately they were cleaning after the lunch session and would open only at 6 for dinner - an hour away. 

We decided to buy some bananas to snack on ( my google translator came in really handy! ) and find a bank ATM. The lonely planet guide book had high recommendations (one of two places mentioned in the book for places to eat!) for an Indian restaurant started by a man from Darjaleeng, India : Kali Mirch in the town square tucked behind Sheraton Hotel. With that as our guide we went searching and finally found it after someone recognized it as ‘indo canteen’  in an alley that was all colorful and lit up with festive lights  and lined with many many tiny restaurants.  The interesting thing in China we  have discovered is that everything and everyone has a English and a Chinese name - most locals know only the Chinese names - even English is ‘yīngyǔ’ in Chinese.  Btw- The food at Kali Mirch was excellent :) 

Cliffs by Li River  watercolor by Meera Rao

The next day our guide drove us to a wharf an hour away and we took a river cruise down a very tranquil Li river to see the mountains all around - it is a very beautiful and serene journey - even with a looong line of small cruise boats  filled with tourists making their way down the river! The hotel had packed us boxed lunches and there was plenty of tea served throughout the journey as it was a four hour ride.  Every inch of the journey was a digital moment - everyone was oohing and clicking away - I realized very quickly that photos just couldn't capture the awesome peaks all around - growing more mysterious by the minute with fog and drizzle. The twenty Yuan bill of Chinese currency showcases a painting of these mountains.  We passed  high cliffs,  rice paddies, quaint little villages, fishermen on bamboo rafts, water buffaloes and horses grazing by the banks. 

We got off at Younshu and again elbowed our way thru a narrow passageway packed with vendors shouting and hawking off the goods while thousands of tourists from the cruise boats tried to make their way to buses and cars and other means of transportation back to their hotels ! We tried our bargaining skills and did a little bit of shopping ! “You shop like Chinese ladies’ we were told by a vendor ;) 

Entrance to Guillin Tea Research Center watercolor by Meera Rao 

Hat Rack in the Walkway watercolor by Meera Rao 

We toured an organic tea plantation on our way back, saw demonstrations of Chinese tea fermentation of green, white, black teas. We tried out the huge stone grinder/rollers used in crushing and oxidizing  the tea. We posed for photos wearing the classic cone shaped hats as we watched ladies carefully picking tea leaves in surrounding tea plantation.   Of course, we were treated to another session  of tea ceremony - this time we tasted Osmanthus, white and Pu'er teas unique to that area. 

Evening we were on our own and this time we went back to the temple canteen ( again lonely planet recommendation) and had the best Chinese vegan buffet- tried all kinds of noodles, dumplings , steamed buns, vegetables , pickles and many varieties of fruits!! Two days in a row dinner was excellent for us us vegetarians and vegans!  We ventured out for more little shopping for Chinese-English children's books for grandkids at street side stores. Thanks again to the google translate app we were able to find what we wanted in a small stationary store:)

The sun and Moon Twin pagodas  

Last day in Guillin,  we had till noon  to ourselves - so armed with a map we went to see Sun and Moon Pagodas in the Shan Lake that could be reached by a scenic winding path from the hotel. The two pagodas are connected by a beautiful underwater tunnel. We climbed 8-9 floors up each pagoda  for gorgeous views from above.  We even managed to visit The South Sea Pearl Museum and Showroom before heading to the airport for our flight to Shanghai. 

Ni Hao part 6 Sun Temple Beijing

Sun Temple Gardens/Ri Tan Park, Beijing watercolor and ink sketch by Meera Rao 

We went exploring one evening from our hotel. The Sun Temple and Ri Tan Park so clearly marked on the map within walking distance somehow kept eluding us.  And then suddenly just as we were about to give up, I saw a sign with so many things crossed off (see below) and had to take a photo. Right next to it was the sign we were looking for all along :) near an unassuming gate. 

Ritan - The Temple of the Sun was built in the 9th year of Emperor Jiajing in 1530 during the Ming dynasty. Along with temples dedicated to the Earth, the Moon, and  the Temple of Heaven, its one of five historical temples of Beijing. The Temple of the Sun was used by the imperial court for rites of worship of Sun, fasting, prayers, dancing as part of a year-long cycle of ceremonies. The color red was associated with the Sun, including red utensils for food and wine offerings, and red clothes for the emperor to wear during the ceremonies. The temple is now part of a public park. 

    

We strolled the beautiful grounds lined with trees full of red blossoms.  It was an oasis of peace in the middle of a buzzing city! There were people doing tai chi, exercise walking, chatting away and some meditating in quiet corners.  The temple complex is grand with ornate pagodas, ponds, rock sculptures, and serene gardens. We watched the sunset from top of a little hill with a beautiful pagoda in the center of a small garden. By the time we walked around and found the temple, it was dark and the doors were closed for the day. But we had a very enjoyable  and peaceful evening.

Spring in Beijing  watercolor and ink sketch by Meera Rao 

Ni hao Part 5 Old Beijing Hutong

A Doorway in Hutong, Beijing watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

The old streets and buildings in 'hutong' area of Beijing are architecturally distinct and very quaint.  There are many ornate doorways with red lanterns that line the streets. These open into residential courtyards. The wall near this doorway also had a community notice board with many notices stuck on it. 

According to wikipedia :Hutong (Chinese: 胡同) are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing.  In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.

Since the mid-20th century, a large number of Beijing hutongs were demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, however, many hutongs have been designated as protected, in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history. Hutongs were first established in the Yuan dynasty (1206–1341) and then expanded in the Ming (1368–1628) and Qing (1644–1908) dynasties.  

Yogurt Bottles on A Utility Box  Watercolor and Ink by Meera Rao

The life in the hutongs looks laid back with clothes drying by the street side, and bicycles resting against walls. Quiet residences are tucked between bustling small stores, temples and markets. I saw yogurts in small bottles being fermented and sold. The bottles covered with a bit of cloth and a straw sticking in it, were all lined up on a metal utility box.  

Solar Powered Public Telephones  watercolor and ink by Meera Rao 

All through the city were these bright orange and yellow pods on about 5' poles that intrigued me.  Finally on a evening walk I was able to see them up close and realized they were public telephones with solar panels on top. 

Ni Hao Part 2 Peking Opera

Peking Opera Putting on Makeup On stage ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

Peking Opera - All Made Up ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

Peking Opera 

Peking  Opera 

Table with Tea Service at Peking Opera 

Before the Peking Opera show started, an actor was on stage putting on his makeup as audience started filling up the seats.  We were served tea, Chinese cookies, sweet sesame seed bars and cherry tomatoes as we waited for the show to begin.  We watched two stories - one was a simple folk tale about a poor girl finding a jade bangle and the other told  of a young lady warrior who fought off a invaders to her village.  There was a live orchestra on the side and the actors sang their parts.  The costumes of the warriors were very elaborate and there were some acrobatics in battle scenes while the folk tale was simple story with minimal props.  There was a screen on the side with 'chinglish' translations that brought chuckles and giggles :)   We never saw the actor who got dressed on stage earlier show up on stage during the show!  Even though the Peking Opera did not live up to the write up it was a novelty and we had a fun evening. 

Sketching and Watching

Wright Brothers National Memorial,  Kitty Hawk, NC  watercolor 5.5x16.50" by Meera Rao 

Almost a month ago, we went to Kitty Hawk to Wright Brother's Memorial National Park to see the Eclipse.  It was a memorable experience. It was awe inspiring to check out the sun with the eclipse glasses. I also took along my colander and caught the eclipse through its holes.

Colander Eclipse Shadows  Photo By Meera Rao

I also made a pin hole camera with a box and poked a lot of different sized holes to look at the eclipse.  Where we were it was only 90% eclipse and we did not experience the darkness- only the temperatures dipped and it felt like cool evening !

Eclipse thru pinhole camera Photo by Meera Rao 

While I was waiting for the eclipse to start,  I sketched and painted the Wright Memorial. I also took some artistic license and moved their building and the markers closer to the Hill just so I could fit them in the paper :) If I had thought about it and really planned it right I could have sketched the memorial a bit more to the left. But adding the other buildings and  markers was an afterthought. It took me about an hour to sketch and paint. 

Wright Brothers National memorial, pen and watercolor  5.5x16.50"

Eteched in Color

2017 India Japanese Album Sketchbook By Meera Rao

Temple Domes 2017 India Japanese Album Sketchbook By Meera Rao 

Flower Vendor and keeper of chappals 2017 India Japanese Album Sketchbook By Meera Rao 

Mysuru Nandi 2017 India Japanese Album Sketchbook By Meera Rao 

Baggage 2017 India Japanese Album Sketchbook By Meera Rao

Passing Time 2017 India Japanese Album Sketchbook By Meera Rao

The Japanese Style USKbook Sennelier Multimedia 340 (6x4" opening to 6x39") is where I sketched and painted vignettes of my trip to India earlier in February.  I was trying to have a theme but it slipped my mind while sketching the last four panels. It just happened that I used two panels per subject in this book. I sketched them during my trip but applied the watercolors later. 

I started with the view from balcony of my brother's house.  The temple is right across the road. The colorful Temple Domes though complicated were fun to sketch but hard to paint.  I had used two panels to sketch. Unfortunately while painting, the wash settled on the crease between the panel. The paper tore along the fold so I had to resort to clear tape to hold it together.  I also reinforced the back og the crease. It was my first time using this particular brand of sketchbook and the detailed sketch was not the right one to get used to the paper.  But I think I captured the colorful busy-ness of the domes! 

Devotees often buy coconut, flowers and fruits as offering to the Deity when they visit the temples. The vendors line up the entrance to the temple and sell small baskets filled with bananas, fruits and flowers. Many vendors also have a side-business of keeping an eye on devotees' footwares for a fee as visitors are not allowed to wear their shoes and 'chappals'  inside the temple. Just leaving them outside without supervision is not a good idea!

This massive Nandi (bull) carved out of a single stone, is 15' in height and 24' wide. It sits on the way to the Chamundi Temple which is on top of the Chamundi Hill in Mysuru, Karnataka. We were visiting the day before a major festival and there was scaffolding around to assist in decorating the statue with flowers, sandlewood paste and red Kumkum.  

The last four panels depict railway platform scenes. I came across the lady sitting crosslegged surrounded by boxes and bags. Perhaps she was moving to another city!  Passing time while waiting for the train, the man was sitting in the shadow of a huge tree that was left undisturbed in the middle of the platform! The three kids were climbing a pole for a better look at whatever grabbed their interest.  I decided to leave the people unpainted to show that the scene remained the same while the players the changed  :)  

The Japanese Style USKbook Sennelier Multimedia 340 (6x4" opening to 6x39"  India 2017.

To Travel Is To Discover

Travel Art journal Week 1 Feb 2017  12x16"  by Meera Rao

These are sketches from my trip to India in February -- I did these in brushpens, ink and watercolor for my grandkids and emailed the jpegs every few days. These sketches were just little vignettes of each day that I thought they might enjoy. I also kept another small Japanese accordian sketchbook. 

Listening to the news of travel ban decision from Supreme court, I suddenly remembered my sketches - that we were at Washington DC Dulles International Airport departing on our long planned trip to India on that day of the initial Travel Ban Executive Order. We were anxious, so we drove to the airport well in advance of the departure time and fortunately had a smooth flight out.  The departure terminals only had people traveling out but there were lots of loud demonstrators by the arrival gates protesting the ban and many brave volunteers who were there to offer help for the stranded passengers. After our return I got busy and the sketch books got put away.  Looking back, these sketches were my way of dealing with the anxiety, uncertainty and excitement of travel.

To travel is to discover everyone is wrong about other countries.

-Aldous Huxley