Needles and Brushes

When I first started painting I was still an avid needlewoman - sewing, knitting, crocheting and embroidering something or other all the time. So it was only natural that my pincushion came to be captured on paper in watercolors! It doesn't get much use these days but I still have a bag of knitting that I drag around everywhere, and I always stop to admire beautifully crafted and embroidered works of all kind. I also have closets full of materials, yarns and books on needle arts. Recently I purchased a book that combined my two interests: "In Praise of The Needlewoman, Embroiders, Knitters, Lacemakers and Weavers in Art" by Gail Carolyn Sirna. The book has in one place works of artists like Vermeer, Chardin, Velasquez, Monet, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, Renoir, Dali and others who have 'sought to capture the needlewoman's quiet concentration and artistic endeavor.'

Here is a touching poem by Hazel Hall :

All the tired women

Who sewed their lives away,

speak in my deft fingers

As I sew today.

Handy Helpers watercolors, 15x15"

Paradise Again

Bird of Paradise, is painted in watercolor (9x12") on Fredrix Watercolor canvas. I first painted and exhibited it more than 2 years ago. The paint sits on canvas and the watercolor washes can be lifted very easily with a moist brush. Since I had not sealed the painting, the past few days I have been playing with it all over again, lifting and adding paints and making changes. When I started this post, I thought I was done with it, but who knows!!!

Gladiolus: Strength of Character

The past few times I was at a particular store, I have been tempted to buy a package or two of bulbs that promise beautiful crops of Gladioli in spring and summer. We planted them a few years ago, but the rabbits loved them so much and munched on the tender shoots that hardly a bloom got a chance to show off its beauty. I would like to try again but am not sure I care to supply those rabbits with expensive gourmet treats!!!

The bulb packages reminded me of the painting above that I did some time ago as a still life exercise that called for quick contour sketch with a pen and literally splashing some paint on. It was great way to just get down to draw and paint and leave hesitation and indecisiveness aside.

And below is a poem "Gladiolus: Strength of Character " by Emily Dickinson who as a gardener knew her flowers well.

We never know how high we are

until we are asked to rise

and then if are true to plan

our statures touch the skies --

The heroism we recite

would be a common thing

Did not ourselves the cubits warp

for fear to be king.

Art and Life

Yesterday started out as a foggy morning in Chicago and I captured the skyline as I walked to the Art Institute of Chicago. I spent most of the day wandering through their collection of Indian Art, before venturing to check out the new "Modern Wing" building and art work there. The contrast in the individual works in the two sections had me musing about 'art' in general, and about creativity, skill, aesthetics, and emotions. Definition and evaluation of art is definitely neither easy nor clear cut!

I am always in awe of the skill, talent, beauty and spirituality expressed in the sculptures from ancient India and yesterday was no different. Its interesting that the oldest part of this current museum complex was opened in 1893 in conjunction with the World's Columbian Exposition, to host the World's Congress of Religions. A century later, Swami Vivekananda's inspirational speeches during that conference on tolerance and universal acceptance are still very relevant.

I also enjoyed Caravaggio's stunning painting Supper at Emmaus on loan from National Gallery of London. The special exhibit Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago had innovative designs of Morris, Ashbee, Strickley, Wright and others and was fun to see. In the modern wing, I admired the impressive collection of art by Dali, Kandinsky, Matisse, Miro, O'keef and Picasso. I left feeling humbled but inspired and determined to continue my meager attempts at creating my kind of art!

S. Michigan Ave, Chicago. Digital Photography

Flower Power

It has been a week now since the storm raged through our area. We saw some flooding on the roadways, experienced power outage and no phone connection for over 24 hours, and now are left to deal with lots of debris in the yard. Thankfully we did not have to contend with much damage to the property or life around here. Yesterday as I continued raking and picking up the yard, I was pleasantly surprised to see clusters of clover blooming and a few dandelions sprinkled around the lawn. We still have some clearing to do but as the annual Thanksgiving holidays approach, I am reminded of all that I am grateful for.

I still have not managed to get any painting or sketching done in the past few days and am dipping into my dwindling collection of finished paintings! The Bouquet in watercolors was done with no sketching and from a still life set up. I really enjoyed painting the flowers impulsively.

The Bouquet watercolor 11x5"

Amazing Beauty

Its barely four in the afternoon but its dark and stormy outside. We are bracing for a sever nor'easter here. Weather.com says a nor'easter is winter's most ferocious storm and Wikipedia calls it a macro-scale storm . True to its description we are already experiencing coastal flooding, high surfs, hurricane force winds and lots of rain! The movie "The Perfect Storm" was based on a true story of a swordfishing boat Andrea Gail that was caught in one in October 1991 -based on a book by the same title by Sebastian Junger. We are hoping and praying for minimal damage and flooding as the storm passes by this area in the next two days.

I took the above photograph couple of months ago as the sun was going down by the beach. The same scene today in sharp contrast is violent and stormy. And yet, its truly amazing that there is still so much beauty in mother nature's fury!

Digital photography

Exciting Challenges

Autumn is always an occasion for harvests and celebration. Every culture has festivals around it. This past weekend though, I was part of a celebration - a harvest of different kind. Our son and daughter-in-law completed the New York City Marathon in 4:22:10!!! After months of grueling training they ran a terrific race showing grit, determination and grace. We happily chased them around the course -in Subways, fortunately for us! We caught up with them at four different points, waved our banners, and screamed our hearts out as we cheered them on! I am grateful that the weather was just perfect and wonderful. We are all in awe of them and very proud too!

In Harvest -mixed media, 8x10", I learned to be patient and persevere as I mixed watercolors, color pencils and graphite to bring out form and texture. This is one of my early works and I remember finally feeling a little confident and enjoying the process as things began to take shape on the paper!

I have been away from blogging, sketching and painting for the past couple of months with my various trips and other things -in general, life coming in the way and taking time away from my art :). I plan to get back to it in full swing soon.

Brilliant Hues and Vibrant colors

Today I read that the combination of warm wet spring, typical summer conditions and sunny warm autumn with temperatures above 32F in the cool evenings is ideal for brilliant foliage colors. And Biology of the plants also plays an important part too in giving the leaves their brilliant hues and striking vibrant colors - carotene in the leaves are responsible for orange and yellow colors and xanthophyll for yellow of leaves. Besides these, there are three other pigments that help the foliage coloration -anthocyanin are responsible for blues, reds and violets; tannins give brown color to the tea, chestnut barks and the fall oak leaves; the flavones are what make the yellow of the sumac, tea and onions. If the cell fluid is acidic we see more reds otherwise it will lean towards blues. What a spectacular show mother nature provides us every year ! And as always I am so grateful that I get to enjoy these displays and marvel how it all comes together.

I tried to capture a bit of that beauty in Glory Days (watercolor 9x11"). I used layering, splattering and wet on wet to duplicate on paper what nature seems to do so effortlessly! I had found the leaves and mushroom in a puddle of water that was reflecting the blue of the sky. My sun glasses also deepen the colors and in the end, the walk I took on that beautiful fall day was not only a feast for the eyes but also nudged me towards trying the combination of colors in my painting. I always bring my special finds home only to find them teaching me again and again that all things change and its their nature.

Change is The Only Constant

I walk for exercise and try to put in 10,000 steps a day on my pedometer. Fall is one of my favorite times to go on long walks and enjoy the various stages of changes the vegetation around seems to show off. I usually come home from my walks with a collection of leaves all sporting different shades of red, yellow, orange and green. The painting above Changes (11x14") in watercolor was a lot of fun to finish as I experimented with my stash of leaves and various techniques.

Speaking of fun, check out this video on fun theory on how fun can change people's behavior. Who knew Fun theory was serious business for some!!

Taste of the Tropics

Weather and skies have been a major part of our India trip so far! Chennai was HOT with a only a couple of showers that really didn't cool the temperatures down much. And we have been caught in torrential rains for three days because of late Monsoons in Bengaluru. Here is a glimpse of Chennai sky taken from the terrace. The coconut trees always make the scene really special for me :)

Taste of Tropics Digital Photography