Thursday, May 7, 2009

Six Degrees of Separation

We have a patch of cactus growing by the bedroom window.  It usually gives a spectacular show of yellow flowers after a good rainfall in spring.  We have been having monsoon like rains this week and I see the buds popping up all over the patch.  As I was researching  the name and variety that was growing in our yard, I discovered that cacti are part of the plant order Caryophyllales which also includes plants like beets, baby's breath, spinach, amaranth, tumbleweeds, carnations, rhubarb, bougainvillea, buckwheat, chickweed, knotgrass etc. I still don't know the name but I full of wonder and amazement at the nature's bounty. 

After the Rainfall  watercolor on hot press paper. 15x11"

Monday, May 4, 2009

Windows to the World

I have been sketching animal eyes the past couple of days and its been really helpful. My resolve about drawing something in my sketchbook everyday, I am sorry to note,  does need a good shot in the arm.  But right now, I have a sneaking suspicion that  I am not making up lost time, rather using sketching as an excuse to avoid starting my next project!  I have the outline done but still debating if it should be watercolors or color pencils.  I know that rather than procrastinating, I should just plunge in and get my stuff done
  
'Windows to the World'  graphite 7x9"

Friday, May 1, 2009

To Life!

As this photograph shows, Boston this past week was a reminder how life itself is mix of old and new. Blooming flowers were shaded by just budding  bare trees. Cool evenings reminded us of the traces of winter still lingering. I walked everywhere, even sketched a bit, soaked in the beauty of spring and also reconnected with a couple of friends.  It was somehow fitting that the one play we watched   'The Buddha, In His Own words'  conceived and brilliantly performed as a one man show by Evan Brenner spoke of  change as the only constant and the impermanence of everything. 

When we returned home two days ago, for about half an hour I was frantic looking for my house keys, imagining them to be left behind somewhere in Boston! Fortunately they were buried deep in my suitcase while I and searched for them in my purse.  Today I stumbled upon a wonderful story in New York Times (via charityfocus.org) about a couple who found a camera while traveling in Scotland and with online tools and cyber sleuthing found its rightful owners. Its really heartwarming to know that good samaritans are sill around! To Life! 

Sunday, April 26, 2009

On Display


Here is the collection of my work since last November that are on display at the Poquoson Public Library this month. I am always pleasantly surprised how much different a painting looks once its matted, framed and hanging! 

We came to Boston yesterday and its beautiful here with daffodils, tulips, cherrie blossoms, and dogwoods   just blooming everywhere and the trees full of  yellow green tender young leaves.  I am looking forward to visiting the various museums and also being outdoors just enjoying the spring.  I have been clicking away with my camera but won't be able to share the photographs on the blog yet since I forgot to pack the cord to upload them to the computer. The changing seasons definitely gives me a new appreciation of the world and life all around me.     

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Trial And Error

'Magnolia'  (watercolors 11x14") done about ten years ago when I was still learning to handle paint, was a breakthrough for me.  Magnificent magnolias were in bloom in a friend's garden, and  I had attempted to paint one blossom. I was not at all pleased with  the results.  In my frustration and disappointment, I took the painting to the bathtub,  washed the colors out and let the sheet dry. When it was a barely wet to the touch, I went over part of the painting wet on wet and added back the colors slowly adding details only to the flower and nothing else. I left the lower right corner pretty much alone except for splattering some paint on it. After all these years, I still struggle to leave part of white of the  paper alone, and often have to resort to washing the paints off  to get the desired effect. I guess therefore my technique is paint, wash, and paint again :)

I have been asked about how I painted the textures and 'underwater look' in my earlier post 'Painted Pebbles.'  After drawing the rocks, I rubbed lightly a white crayon on parts of the rocks  and rest of the drawing. The wax in the crayon resists watercolors and the white shows through.  For algae, I dipped a dry sponge in various colors and tapped it on some of the rocks. I used a toothbrush to splatter colors around. One fun technique was to transfer pictures using gesso which is explained here very clearly.  I cut a small piece of sunday color comics and used regular gesso (matte) for that.  Hope this is helpful. 

Friday, April 17, 2009

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!  
 



Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Like A Well-Filled Day

Today is the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, born in Vinci, Italy in 1452. A legend in his own times and reportedly a strikingly handsome man, he was an extraordinary painter, musician, sculpture, inventor, philosopher and a scientist. And, he was a vegetarain too! His celebrated journals are filled with anatomical studies, elements of mechanics, studies for paintings and architecture. His dissections of the human body resulted in remarkably realistic and accurate figures. 'Leonardo, the Artist and the Man' by Serge Bramly is a well researched book about his fascinating life and is based on Leonardo's own notebooks. For my sketch today, as homage to the great artist, I decided to try copying a few of his sketches. Here is my attempt at his 'Hands' from the book 'Drawing Lessons From The Great Masters' by Robert Beverly Hale - the book to study classical figure drawing.

And MSNBC reported yesterday that a vividly colored portrait of Leonardo, dating to 1530 was recently found in a window in Arezzo's Cathedral, Tuscany, Italy.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Painted Pebbles

'By The Water's Edge' was an experiment in textures in  watercolor. I used various techniques I had learnt in a class I was taking and then took my time completing the painting.  I had been fascinated by the beaches along west coast during one vacation when we drove from Seattle to Vancouver.  The beach stones, rocks and pebbles were the inspiration for this painting. 

By Water's Edge watercolor with mixed media. 15x22"

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Aftermath

Yesterday National Geographic News  had an article about the 2009 hurricane forecast for Atlantic Basin - 6  expected in 'average' season.  It is an annual ritual that always makes the headlines in our area.  As the weather starts to warm up, the prospect of upcoming  hurricane season is lurking in our minds.  'Red Boat' (watercolor, 9x14") is a reminder of 'Isabel' that devastated our area in 2003. It was the costliest and deadliest of the Atlantic hurricanes that year.  Poquoson was pretty much completely under water.  This  little boat had washed ashore near our house and lay abandoned for many months- just a small reminder of the devastation that was all around.   I really hope and pray that we will have a quiet season this year. 

The past few days were hectic ones for me.  I am the 'Artist of the Month' at the Poquoson Public Library, where a wall is showcasing 11 of my paintings.  So, for about fifteen days now I have not created any new art -just been busy matting, framing and getting ready to hang the paintings. And then spent the days since April 1st when I finally put the paintings on that wall, cleaning up the mess in my 'studio' and the rest of the house which had been totally neglected during all that frenzy. Tomorrow I have to report for jury duty which means I should take my sketch book with me so I can at least draw something since I am sure there will be a lot waiting around to do! 

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Secrets of the Fog

The past few mornings have been very foggy. The rising sun and the fog are a magical combination. While all I do is to soak in the beauty, there are hosts of scientists who study the fog and nature's intricacies. The April issue of the Discover magazine has a fascinating article, Strange Forests That Drink and Eat Fog on several forests around the world that get their critical moisture and nutrients from fog. The interconnectedness of nature is a wonder in itself.

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