Art is Not What You See

Laundry  Watercolor on Yupo 3.4"x4.7" By Meera Rao 

Break time from Shoe Shine Watercolor on Yupo  5"x2.3" by Meera Rao 

Beverage Service Watercolor on Yupo 3.5"x4.3" by Meera Rao

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see"

~Edgar Degas~

I have three small paintings on Yupo in "Small Works: Miniatures by Hampton Roads Artists "  The show will run from October 12-December 1, 2013 at the Charles Taylor Arts Center in Hampton, VA. All the pieces had to be 20 square inches or under and it was fun to once again paint on yupo after months of only sketching in my sketchbook/journal! I am always amazed how vibrant and brilliant colors remain on the yupo unlike regular watercolor paper where the colors dry lighter than what goes on. I also love how the differently the textures and details show on the yupo. 

All three pieces are composites of my sketches, photographs and my imagination. So when I came across the quote by Edgar Degas, I chuckled and knew I had to include it here! Laundry is of course a scene from India, Break time from Shoe Shine is a scene I still see in some airports in USA and the  Beverage Service is from one of my airplane trips :) I was pleasantly surprised and pleased when all three were accepted for the show.  It is a beautifully curated exhibit with many wonderful pieces in all media.  If you are in that neck of woods do drop in and enjoy the creativity on display. 

Corner Florist

2013 India Sketch Journal July 19 Meera Rao

 

2013 India Sketch Journal July 20 Meera Rao

 

This corner florist really brightens up the dusty drab sidewalk with colorful and fragrant flowers. I was impressed by what a brisk business he had making flower bouquets and arrangements.  All he had was a bright blue tarp and a little shack with blue paint to match.  But it made for a lovely corner lifting my spirits every time I went by on my errands! I decided to sketch it on two days giving the corner and the shack its own space in my sketchbook :)

To Savor The Tropics.

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 16 by Meera Rao

A major perk of tropics is the variety of delicious fruits and vegetable that are available throughout the year!  Just google tropical fruits and vegetables and you will amazed at the variety, colors, shapes and sizes of the produce! And the number of creative ways those fruits and vegetables have been cooked or prepared and served is mind blowing :) 

 2013 India Sketch Journal July 7 by Meera Rao

The Jackfruit is the king of fruits because of its size and that means ingenious ways of consuming it too! The fruit leather is delicious, and the desserts prepared from it seems endless.  My aunt often prepares these special sweet dumplings wrapped in teak leaves that gives it a wonderful aroma, color and flavor. A sketch of jackfruits and vendor from a few pages earlier can be seen here. 

 2013 India Sketch Journal July 8 by Meera Rao

More and more seedless varieties of fruits are available in the market and when I cut this pappaya I was pleasantly surprised to see the star shaped black seed studded center with orange around it.  I quickly took  a couple of photos and then pulled out my sketch book for a hurried sketch before I proceeded to cut it for breakfast :)  My mother-in-law usually likes her food at the allotted time but now has come to accept that I might pull my camera or the sketch book right in the middle of cooking or other chores and has come to accept that food, snack or drink may be delayed because of my passion and obsession :) 

Clock work

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 14 By Meera Rao

I don't plan my pages at all and just sketch whatever catches my fancy each day. But I have been surprised to discover how there is always some connection between the two sketches once I start blogging about them. 

2013 India sketch Journal July 3 By Meera Rao

This cow like clock work comes to this door looking for food as the lady of the house always saves the vegetable peels and waste for it. But the last few days even though the house is locked up and the family has gone on vacation, the cow still comes in the morning and waits at the door for an hour or so before it gives up and walks away in search of food!

2013 India sketch Journal July 4 By Meera Rao

This tiny shop looks like a relic from bygone era with the owner providing a service that is a rarity in the age of digital clocks! I could see some antique clocks on the walls, and clock & watch parts everywhere! I am sure that shop has some unique treasures! 

Staying Connected

2013 India sketch Journal June 29 By Meera Rao

 I found it very interesting to watch this worker patch a neighbour's garden wall. He was there for a couple of hours taking care of different holes and damages and spent the entire time on his cellphone - one hand to the ear and working with the other one on the wall, getting sand, mixing cement  etc. :) I suppose thats how he keeps connected and gets his news as opposed to the folks in the following sketch  of a roadside newspaper stand.

2013 India Sketch Journal June 30 By Meera Rao

This sidewalk stand had a temporary look to its permanent makeshift arrangement ! The newspaper stand had nonfunctioning wheels, was propped upright with a few wooden poles and there was a line going from the rickety rain/sun cover to the near by tree on which hung some magazines. Some newspapers were stacked on a couple of wooden crates. There were a few bananas in a basket and a small bunch hanging off a string from the same rickety rain cover. I noticed there are always a few elderly men milling around but hardly any buying and selling happening.....

A look at page 12 from my sketchbook : 

2013 India sketch Journal Page 12

Creative Solutions

2013India sketch Journal Page 11 by Meera Rao

One of the most interesting things to observe while on the road is how and what things get transported ! People use all modes -carrying by hand,  loads on head, on motorcycle, bicycles, bullock carts, 'lorries', trucks, auto rickshaws and anything else with wheels ! They get very creative as to how something/anything is transported from one point to another.  Here is one from last year's sketch book. And another

2013 India sketch journal June 27 by Meera Rao

I never cease to be amazed as to what I see transported in auto rickshaws and the clever ways it gets loaded and carried.  I caught this one carrying a ladder slipped and resting on the handle of the side view mirror on one end and being held by the passenger on the other end. 

2013 India sketch journal June 28 by Meera Rao

Motorcycles and scooters are affordable for most people and those vehicles get a good workout. Most common are where  whole families- father, mother, two kids can be seen traveling happily :) - one kid in front of father the driver and the other on mother's lap both riding sideways -not mounted on the seat ! I chuckle when I see someone carrying a huge desk top computer or old version TV. This guy was carrying two enormous gunny sacks full of cauliflower balanced precariously.   

I am way behind in posting  and don't see myself catching up anytime soon. I somehow manage to sketch something everyday. They are never perfect and am learning to accept whatever I sketch.  But I relish the fact that I am sketching and practicing each day despite the hectic schedule here in India.  

Call or Write?

2013 India sketch Journal Page 10 by Meera Rao

Staying in India for months means I had to get a cell phone number. They are pretty strict about cell phones since the tragedy in Mumbai Taj Hotel. After gathering up and submitting all the required documents, I acquired a new sim card and a new number.  I was really excited to open the cell phone, replace the sim card and activate the phone for India. I sketched the phone, and the simcard (tracing around the actual older card that I took out) while I had it open.  Then I went googling for information about 'sim' cards.

2013 India sketch Journal June 25 by Meera Rao

Wikipedia gave me the following information: A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module (SIM) is an integrated circuit that securely stores the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices (such as mobile phones and computers).

A SIM circuit is embedded into a removable plastic card. This plastic card is called a "SIM card" and can be transferred between different mobile devices. A SIM card follows certain smart card standards.[1] SIM cards were first made the same size as a credit card (85.60 mm × 53.98 mm × 0.76 mm). The development of physically smaller mobile devices prompted the development of a smaller SIM card, the mini-SIM card. Mini-SIM cards have the same thickness as full-size cards, but their length and width are reduced to 25 mm × 15 mm.

A SIM card contains its unique serial number (ICCID), international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), security authentication and ciphering information, temporary information related to the local network, a list of the services the user has access to and two passwords: a personal identification number (PIN) for ordinary use and a personal unblocking code (PUK) for PIN unlocking.

You may read more fascinating stuff about SIM cards, its history, design,  formats etc here.

2013 India sketch Journal June25 by Meera Rao

As I had mentioned earlier, I have a clear view of the family across the road in their daily chores from my third floor balcony. I have sketched the various members past summer and this year in various activities [sorting rice, combing hair, etc  - check the four links for now :) ] almost every evening this girl does her homework sitting on the front steps. On this particular day she was wearing the traditional long skirt in silk with gold and red brocade border, and flowers in her.  Right afterwards, I saw her leave with her Mother to attend some function.

Regarding "call or write", I guess for me now its partly 'sketch' -  how about you?

Graceful Changes

Fall Fire watercolor on Yupo  5x7" by Meera Rao

Season is changing again - we turned our clocks forward and of course love the signs of spring  everywhere.  I was doing the spring ritual of cleaning my studio, moving my paintings around and realized I never did post this painting of the firey bushes from my backyard.  They greeted me when I got back from my trip to India and I was taken away by their beauty.  The bushes are now once again showing signs of greeting the spring after the cold winter. 

I came across a slide show from NASA Jet Propulsion Lab about Change of Seasons- view from space. Check out the slides for an enlightening view of changing seasons as seen from satellite pictures.

The Most Difficult Part

Blue Blooms watercolor on Yupo 7x5" by Meera Rao

I don't know the name of these flowers but when I saw them a few weeks ago  in a bouquet I had bought, I pulled out my watercolors, a small sheet of yupo and just painted them free hand. It was very gratifying to just relax, trust my instincts, simplify,  and concentrate on capturing the essence of what I was seeing. Painting a simple blue flower - nothing more.  I liked the resulting Zen like  quality of flower with white space around it.  

Just this morning I was looking for one particular book in my library. I stumbled across "Complete Sumi-e Techniques" by Sadami Yamada. I had forgotten I owned it and had not opened it in years. Sidetracked from my search, I started flipping through it and read about yohaku or 'white space' the unpainted area : "the importance placed on this area in a painting  is considered equal, and sometimes superior, to the actual painted area."  And : ...it is the intimate relationship between the concept of 'color and 'space' that makes perfection  possible"   The 'painted' part is considered as 'fullness' and the blank space as 'emptiness'  with both combined to bring balance and create beauty.  

The author writes: " When asked what was the most difficult problem in painting, Ike-no-Taiga, a great master of the Edo period, pinpointed the importance of white space by simply answering, 'the unpainted area is the most difficult part' " 

I love how an important composition element is explained in spiritual terms and that what to leave unpainted is a challenge experienced by artists all through the ages.  The other thing the book  emphasizes is hours of practice :)  

When I Gaze at Orchids

  Orchids watercolor on Yupo 8"x8" by Meera Rao 

Even though the world is filled with 

confusion 

When I gaze at one orchid

I can forget 

all my problems. 

~ 

Song Sunam

The Orchid flowers blooming on the plant on my coffee table give a sense of floating in the air as they  hang tall on a long stem! They come up to my eye-level (I am not that tall !) and I feel like they are  watching my every move! Painting them on yupo was delicious fun but it took me forever to correct the colors in the photo and make them match my painting! The colors and details are much more subtle, vibrant and delicate in the painting - some day I hope there won't be such a steep learning curve with using the camera and computer.  But today's achievement is that I learned how to work with layers in Photoshop.  I hope I will remember how the next time I want to use it! Tomorrow I should spend as much time in the studio painting!

Happy New Year!

Robin watercolor on Yupo by Meera Rao

 

Wishing all a wonderful 2013 !

Seeing and Drawing

India Art Journal  Oct 6-9 2012 by Meera Rao 

"The good drawings I do are hardly mine. Only the bad ones are mine for they are the ones where I can't let go, am caught in the Me-cramp"

~Frederick Franck in 'The Zen of Seeing - seeing/drawing as meditation' ~

I came across the book "The Zen of Seeing" a few days ago in an used book shop in DC.  I sat and read it for a while at the store totally fascinated by how he saw drawing as meditation and ended up buying it so I could read it slowly and digest the philosophy.  The book  published in 1973 is handwritten "....because in a way it is a love letter, and love letters should not be typt- set by compositors  or computers. It may be a little slower to read, but there is no hurry, for what I want to share with you took a long time to experience."   I needed to hear that "A drawing is not a thing but an act."  - especially when a  sketch or two or more in my journal seem to taunt me with its misread proportions and perspective! 

India Art Journal Oct 6 2012 by Meera Rao 

There are vendors walking the streets calling and selling any number of things in the course of a day -every day.  This particular vendor definitely was special in the way he balanced a wedge of watermelon on top a whole round one ! There is a sense of zen in the scene. 

 India Art Journal Oct 7 2012 by Meera Rao 

This huge water tank is right around the corner and I passed this everyday running my errands. When I finished the sketch I realized that lopsidedness in a way shows how I saw it -looking up, my head tilted as I sketched :) Somewhere in the book Frederick Franck says : In seeing/drawing that which matters can be perceived through the senses, not denied but maximally affirmed." 

 India Art Journal Oct 8 2012 by Meera Rao 

Coral wood or Manjhati tree (Adenanthera pavonina)is spectacular whether it is laden with the yellow delicate blooms or the curved spiraly split open hanging pods with its bright beautiful shiny red bead like seeds.  Being in the presence of these magnificent trees brings to mind a line from Tagore poem : "Be still my heart, these great trees are prayers."

India Art Journal Oct 9 2012 by Meera Rao  

The last sketch in this page from my journal celebrates life! I was fortunate to participate in the joyous occasion of 'cradling ceremony' of my cousin's 10 day old grand daughter.  The cradle was decorated with gorgeous bright beautiful silk and gold brocade sarees and colorful flowers. The ladies sang melodious songs, made sure to ward off all evil eyes and everyone gathered showered blessings on the baby who slept peacefully through the noisy bustling ceremony!  

The following are sketches from the page that were done aug 7-10. As in the beginning I was posting only the full page and not individual sketches,  I am here giving them the attention they deserve :) I wrote about them  on sept 1 2012 in the post : Vibrant and Compelling. 

India Art Journal Aug 7 2012 by Meera Rao 

India Art Journal Aug 8 2012 by Meera Rao 

 India Art Journal Aug 9 2012 by Meera Rao  

Everyday Rhythms

December Artist of the Month at Poquson Public Library - Meera Rao 

I am very grateful for a chance to display my paintings like this at our library - it always validates my journey as an artist.

 India Art Journal Oct 2-5 by Meera Rao 

On Oct 5, I did my 100th sketch in the India Art Journal :) The whole week before and after I felt a real sense of accomplishment for having sketched every day for one hundred days in a row!!! By then, it had definitely gotten easier to sketch each day once I figured out what to sketch! In a way I am also glad that dividing the paper into four and sticking to the pre-determined size also made it simple decision for me to just find time to squeeze in  sketching in my tight schedule each day.  At times I felt disappointed that I hadn't thought of a more creative way to sketch each day -- but it sure helped me stay with my goal of sketch a day for the four months in India!  As the Indian  philosopher poet  Aurobindo remarked : "Consistent practice of an art in the end constitutes a kind of Yoga "

India Art Journal Oct 2 2012 by Meera Rao 

"There is no higher god than Truth"

~Mahatma Gandhi~

Mahatma Gandhiji died before I was born and the only photos I have seen are black and white. So I decided to honor him on his birthday which is a national holiday in India with a graphite sketch.  His teachings on truth, non-violence and love are universal.  I especially feel the need for this message to be heard loud and clear today as we mourn the terrible tragedy in Connecticut. 

India Art Journal Oct 3 2012 by Meera Rao

I often walked past this tiny little store grandly named 'Classic Electricals'  with the colorful 'mixies' hanging or on a table on the sidewalk advertising the owner's proficiency in 'fixing the mixies' :)  I heard from my neighbors that he was indeed skilled in doing the repairs. 

India Art Journal Oct 4 2012 by Meera Rao 

Everyday from my  balcony I saw the ladies combing hair - each others or their own on their porch right across the street. The privacy of my higher up third floor apartment balcony emboldened me to sketch their various activities and I still feel somewhat guilty for recording their everyday acts. 

India Art Journal Oct 5 2012 by Meera Rao 

Drum roll please... here is my 100th sketch!  The night before there was a terrible storm and as I went on my morning marketing I came across these two men using a simple saw to cut the downed tree limbs right by the road.  I captured the scene on my camera and sketched them later in the day. 

The following are four sketches from my earlier post Bases for a sketch  getting their individual time in the limelight :) 

 India Art Journal Aug 3 2012 by Meera Rao 

India Art Journal Aug 4 2012 by Meera Rao 

India Art Journal Aug 5 2012 by Meera Rao

India Art Journal Aug 6 2012 by Meera Rao  

A Riot of Colors

India Art Journal sept 28-Oct 1 by Meera Rao 

The riot of colors at every turn is something that can only be experienced and I felt compelled to record them in my sketch book! 

India art Journal Sept 28 2012 by Meera Rao

People can say what they like about the eternal verities, love and truth and so on, but nothing is as eternal as the dishes! 

~Margaret Mahy~

The beauty of stainless steel pots, pans, plates and utensils gleaming in the sunlight as they are drying on an old orange rack  by the sink in the kitchen balcony more than makes up for the chore of washing the dishes. Most days I quite agreed with Margaret Mahy's great quote wholeheartedly! 

India Art Journal Sept 29 2012 by Meera Rao

When the flaming orange African Tulip tree right by my bedroom windows was in full bloom, I spent hours watching the little Mynah birds hopping from flower to flower to sip the nectar. They danced about the flowers so delicately that the flowers barely moved or registered the bird's weight or intrusion.  It was funny to see the bird's beak, head and neck disappear into the flower with only the tail end poking up and out! I noticed that after a couple of days they moved away to other African tulip trees in search of fresh nectar :). The Mynahs usually were active in the early morning hours as the flowers opened, and I loved to wake up listening to them, the parrots (Check below for sketch from Aug 1), the Koyal(nightingale) and few other kinds chirp and tweet and sing merrily. 

India Art Journal Sept 30 2012 by Meera Rao 

This blue building with its sagging but still classic red tile roof, interesting door, an old orange and white poster remnants peeling off its wall, always had a bicycle leaning against it.  Who can resist such a scene? The four months I was in India was supposed to be peak of monsoon season - but unfortunately, the rains were very late even though the sky was mostly overcast. I was able to walk about, do my marketing and errands  without getting drenched but missed seeing the play of light and shadows all around. 

India Art journal oct 1 2012 by Meera Rao

The gorgeous blossoms are 'mussaenda' - only the actual flower is tiny and yellow and the 'sepals' are bright pink or sometimes white.  

Below are once again four sketches from my earlier post A Slice of life  enjoying individual attention! 

India Art Journal July 30 2012 by Meera Rao 

 India Art Journal July 31 2012 by Meera Rao 

 India Art Journal Aug 1 2012 by Meera Rao 

 India Art Journal Aug2  2012 by Meera Rao