Another Season

This is a small (5x9") painting I did on a whim couple of days ago on a piece of leftover paper. I used watercolors and watercolor pencils dipped in water to paint it. Because of the size of the paper, I had to simplify the scene, be selective and put in just enough elements to capture the essence of the landscape that is a familiar sight in rural India. I can see a lot of things I should /could have done differently but I think I also see a simple, quiet solitude in the scene.

I went in search of information and tips on landscape painting today and came across a good article in the Smithsonian Education web site. I will be going back there for more reading and learning. And, of course, I will keep on sketching and painting. Its comforting to know that even Paul Cezanne felt "Painting is damned difficult- you always think you've got it, but you haven't."

Another Season watercolors and watercolor pencil 5x9"

A Declaration!

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness."

Happy Fourth!

Boston, MA. Digital photography

Meditation

Over the past few years, one of the things I have been really amazed by, is the dramatic colors of the water and sky during sunrise and sunset. It is a most wondrous sight - and changing every second with no two ever alike. Sometimes they look so surreal, I feel no one will believe it unless they see it with their own eyes! This scene 'Fishing' (watercolor, 12x16") is from a vacation by the sea sometime time ago. I never saw these people actually catching anything and I think this was morning meditation in disguise.

Speaking of colorful and dramatic, Artist David Lobenberg has created a blog dedicated to what he calls "Self Portrait Global Love In." He issued a challenge to artists to share their self portraits in that blog. Its packed with wonderfully creative self portraits by artists from all corners of the world. He has generously given his time and efforts to put up the site. My painting from the post "One of Many Faces" is one of self portraits in that collection. The self portraits are dramatic, colorful and wonderful as, I am assuming, the artists themselves :)

Fishing Watercolor 12x16"

Golden Spiral

Last week when I was on my way to a friend's house, I came across a small garden full of sunflowers and was surprised they were already in full bloom. I had been reading "Divine Proportion- PHI in Art, Nature and Science" by Priya Hemenway and drawing the 'golden spiral,' studying the use of golden-angle, -proportion, -section, -ratio, -rectangle, etc. in composition in art through the ages. I am fascinated by how pineapple, sunflowers, daisies and strawberries appear to form two systems of spirals radiating from the center - a pattern created by Fibonacci numbers. On further research, I discovered that "The fibonacci numbers are named after Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci, although they had been described earlier in India. The Fibonacci numbers first appeared under the name 'matrameru' (mountain of cadence), in the work of Sanskrit grammarian Pingala (Chandah-sastra, the Art of Prosody, 450 or 200 BC). Prosody was important in ancient Indian ritual because of an importance of the purity of utterance. The Indian mathematician Virahanka (6th century AD) showed how the 'Fibonacci' sequence arose in the analysis of meters with long and short syllables. Subsequently the Jain philosopher Hemachandra(c.1150) composed a well known text on these. A commentary on Virahanka by Gopala in the 12th c. also revisits the problem in some detail." WOW! In a strange coincidence, there is also a site called 'Sunflower Revolution', which does fundraising for Parkinson's and has links to latest research etc. Ever since my Dad was diagnosed with it I go there in search of information.

So, I decided it was time to post this painting 'Sunflowers' (12x10") in watercolors and water color pencils. It was painted from a still life set up. I like the way the colors in flowers turned out. I would like to paint another with only the bloom when the lone sunflower plant our back yard blooms.

Sunflower 12x10" watercolor and watercolor pencils.

One of Many Faces

Last week, when I was almost done with this self-portrait, my husband took his first glance at it and said "no, this is not you. That look is a very rare expression. You always have a big smile" Since then my smile has been even bigger -if thats possible.

I started sketching using a mirror and then used the camera eye on my computer to snap a photograph so I had a reference photo to use in completing it. I tried warm color for underpainting on the hair and eyes and cool on the background before finishing with black grape as final layers. Some day I will try again with my big smile :)

One of Many Faces color pencils 9x12"

Colorful Life

I am always inspired by the patterns and colors in nature. These hydrangeas blue, pink and in-between are all from a single plant from our backyard. I have been photographing them and admiring the nature's color palette. I am aware that alkaline soil colors it pink but its still an amazing sight to see the range in those blooms. There is also a wild species of Morning Glory snaking down the edge of our yard whose blooms are light pink to white in the morning and they turn blue later in the day. One thing I have learnt from all this that there are no absolutes and not to be afraid of experimenting with color combinations in my art.

Hanging Fire

This afternoon, against my better judgement, I spooned onto my plate a big dollop of special red hot chili mango pickle that I had brought with me from India during my last trip. I really love the taste even if my mouth invariably is on fire, my eyes water and my sinuses start clearing up in a hurry. Its an indulgence I occasionally give in to. I remembered reading that peppers crank up the capsaicin content for self defense and fully appreciated the creativity behind the evolutionary weapon! Two days ago I was excited when my husband brought in first four shiny green Jalapeno peppers of this season, from the garden. Over the years I have also enjoyed painting (in color pencils) the peppers. I love the bright red color of the ripe peppers. Hanging Fire (16x12") is painted in watercolors on hot press board. I carefully misted the paper with water after painting the peppers and the basket with geraniums.

Learning to be Spontaneous

I thought having a blog will make me paint and draw more on a regular basis. But procrastination is a habit hard to drop. So, today's post is  'Star Climber' (watercolor, 14x11") -painted a few years ago. I learn something new every time I pick up my brushes to paint. I still vividly remember that I was delighted to discover the power of  'artistic freedom' to change and imagine my own background for the clematis.  I really wish I can instinctively carry over the lessons I learn learn from one session to the next.  

Today I came across a series of short but informative  'artworks' videos on How Stuff Works. The topics range from The Last Supper, Van Gogh to Lava Artists in Hawaii. Watching, studying, and reading about art is both an excuse to postpone my own painting and acquire new ideas and insights. And when I do get to painting, its exciting to try out and uncover my version of those ideas and insights. Happy results though are not always guaranteed!

Gift of Vision

I encountered these goats on our last trip to India while visiting my Uncle in the countryside. We had to wait for the herd to cross a very country road. It was a hot summer day with the sun blazing in full glory. In this painting  I have tried to simplify the scene and show the heat, sun and the docile goats on their daily walk. Now it is framed and stays leaning against other paintings in my dining room waiting for a chance to hang somewhere. 

I need a still life set up, a photograph or two, a landscape or a model to look at so I can draw or paint. I do an abstract every now and then but mostly I use some kind of physical reference to paint from. None of my paintings are larger than 40" though most are much smaller.  I still have most of the paintings I have created.  When I was younger, many mornings we did a  fresh  but simple 'rangoli' on the front yard by the door with the rice flour or chalk. I didn't think twice about sweeping it off the next morning. Every 'navaratri' festival, my grandmother had us all help her make a big rangoli with colorful flower petals. We were a bit more attached to these elaborate creations wanting it to last longer. Now, every August, I admire the Buddhist monks diligently paint a sand mandala slowly, taking a full week to finish it- only to deconstruct it couple of hours later. Check this link to watch Peter Donnaly in Christ Church, New Zealand create beautiful masterpiece on sand every  day by the beach and and offer it to the ocean as tide comes in.  All this has me reflecting - what does it mean to create, share, hold on or let go? 

Spring Romance

This pot sits right outside our kitchen window sill reflecting  the afternoon sun. I love the shapes and  how the leaves and the flowers glow.  I hope to paint this some day but right now I am happy with the photograph. 

The spring also brings a few mallard duck couples to our backyard.  Some have great luck and see the ducklings swim away but more often we find broken egg shells strewn around by raccoons who found the nest or the little ducklings get swooped up by the ospreys.  

Speaking of romances, there is a Harlequin Cover Art exhibit in New York city celebrating the 60th anniversary of Harlequin.  Check out my daughter's video review of the exhibit  here.

Process and Product

My son directed me to  an article in New York Times on cover art created for the June 1st issue of  New Yorker magazine using iPhone Brushes application by artist Jorge Columbo! I don't know if I will be able to master the application or it will make me a better artist to have a sketch book so handy but I liked what  Mr. Columbo said in the article  that no one notices he is drawing. And that would be a big plus for me because I am not comfortable drawing in public and I have not been good about keeping my resolve to sketch something everyday.  So I have one more reason to justify my newest  'want' -to switch to the latest handy dandy cell phone :) 

Reading the article reminded me about my experience with painting in public.  Rhododendrons in watercolor (24"x14") has a story attached to it. In painting this still life set up, I used the basic watercolor brushwork, with minimal pencil sketching.  I enjoyed painting the flowers and the leaves but didn't get to finish the painting for sundry reasons. And as it sat on my desk waiting,  a guest  made a very critical remark about the still 'under construction' painting. I felt crushed. Meanwhile the set up didn't last, of course, and I hadn't taken any photographs of it either.  Couple of years later, trying to conjure up a vase, with the stinging remark still lurking in my memory, very hesitatingly I added a few strokes and washes, and was pleasantly surprised at the end result. Its been framed and hanging since then reminding me to enjoy the process and be true to my instincts in my art. 

Parade

I painted this bright eyed boy from a series of photographs taken by my daughter during the Chinese New Year parade (watch her video here) in New York city.  I combined elements from three different photographs, even flipping the shadows in the background from one to match the direction of the sun on the boy. I glazed the background of painting with a light wash of purple to bring out the young wide eyed parade participant.  

Today is my special 'photographer's' birthday and I wish her a wonderful, bright eyed fun ride in her life's parade :) 

Flower Power

Today I stumbled upon an interesting article on Van Gogh's art and some scientific experiments in the archives of Discovery Magazine website. Apparently 'honey bees that had never encountered real flowers favored Van Gogh's sunflowers over floral works of other well known artists.' That is impressive! The BBC piece that sited the study further elaborates that ' A bee's favourite colour is blue, he (Professor Lars Chittka) added, which is associated with high-nectar flowers. This could be why the bees were strongly drawn to the blue "Vincent" signature in Van Gogh's painting, as well as the blue blooms in A Vase of Flowers, and a light blue square in Still Life with a Beer Mug.'

I don't think my flower paintings have that power to attract the bees but I still enjoy painting them. In this piece, I used permanant masking fluid to show the bright Indian sun shining on the flowers.

Flowers in the Sun watercolor 14x11"

Rain or Sunshine?

I captured this scene last month in Boston.  I had walked about a mile or so from our hotel to the Museum of Fine Arts and arrived a few minutes before the doors had opened for the day. While waiting outside I caught the flags fluttering in the wind high above  with the bright morning sun shining behind it.  The past few days its been raining heavily here and the only sunshine I saw was in the photographs! I echoed the away message from my niece in London : 'who stole my sunshine?'  Our garden of course, looks very lush, green and happy and even though blooms on the Azalea plants have  lost all the petals due to the heavy rainfall, the roses are in full glory.  I was reminded of a saying: Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.  

Best Buddy

Mr. Bones, as his blog (here) shows is very special. I have been working on his portrait for a while now, trying to figure out how to paint his black shiny coat and those soulful eyes. I did a light underpainting with different colors -peacock green and  ultramarine blue on his body and touches of pumpkin orange on his face before using black grape. I am very happy with the final piece and I hope Mr. Bone's best buddy will also think so because his birthday is very special to me too :).

Mr.Bones color pencils 12x9"

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"

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"

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! 

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.     

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. 

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!  

 

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.

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"

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! 

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.

The Creative Process

A few years ago, when we were still using films in camera, I came across a couple of rolls in our guest room while rearranging the furniture.  Upon developing them, I realized they had been inadvertently forgotten and left behind by a guest who was visiting us on his way back from Europe. This painting is the result of my impression of the old buildings that I came across in photograph after photograph.  I didn't know anything about the places in the pictures and 'Silent Enigma' (watercolor, 11x12") is what stayed in my imagination after I mailed off the pictures.  Eventually I had to paint the haunting image that remained behind with me. 

Second Chance

The past few days have been devoted to matting and framing some of my recent paintings.  In between cutting mats, rather than start new paintings I have been going through my discarded and abandoned ones and playing with them to see if I can experiment and revive any of them.  'Yellow Roses'  had a part of the painting chopped off and its leaves and background washed off carefully and reworked in entirely different colors and style.  I didn't touch the roses this time around, just worked on the rest of the painting.  Working on old 'failed' paintings like this  gives me a chance to learn from my mistakes and try out new  or different techniques. As I was wondering if only there was a something that will let me know just before I make mistake, I stumbled on this article in latest issue of 'Discover' about 'Brain Scans that Can Predict When You are going to Screw Up.' According to a study, just before the subjects committed an error, brain waves in two regions spiked: alpha wave in the occipital region and mu wave in cortex region.  These results have excited scientists in a lot of different areas of interest from Air traffic controllers to possible improvements in treatments for ADHD. I am torn now since a part of me also feels, in art, quite often mistakes lead to new discoveries.

Yellow Roses watercolor 17x15" 

Winter Beauty

The camellias bloomed all through winter - even when the temperatures dipped quite low lending color to our otherwise bare yard.  The hardy evergreen bush put forth a showy display of red flowers that reminded us of the diversity and magic of life all around.  I used a paper that was tinted with color stains from washing off a forgotten failed attempt at painting something. I didn't have to worry about facing the stark white paper this time and got on with the task of painting.  The result was 'Winter Beauty'  in watercolors - 8x11".  The flowers though bloom whether someone notices or not. 

Speaking of noticing, the March issue of Smithsonian magazine has an article on Jan Lievens,  a friend and rival of Rembrandt van Rijn.  According to the article "Out of Rembrandt's Shadow", both were apprentices under the same master and may have even shared a studio  and models in Leiden early in their careers. They even modeled for each other. In fact, many paintings by Leiven, like ' The Feast of Esther',  were misattributed as early Rembrandts.  Finally there is an exhibit that establishes his reputation as an old master. As to why Leivens didn't shine like Rembrandt, author Matthew Gurewitsch seems to feel that he 'didn't create a brand.'  Really? Somehow I feel its because of the quirks of the art world that his talent went  unrecognized. His talent and beautiful paintings were always there in full view.  Recognizing and honoring talent and genius seems to be hit and miss so often. 

They Never made it into History Books.

March is 'Women's History Month'  It recognizes and acknowledges amazing accomplishments by women. I decided to post Sarah,  done in color pencils, a portrait of a 'slave' from Colonial times.  Colonial Williamsburg  has actors portraying and reenacting life from that period. I used my photographs as reference and wanted to highlight the spirit of survival and dignity she was exuding.  She is one of the many unsung and unseen heroines of the world.  This year's theme is 'Women taking the lead to save the world.'  Its a tragedy that it is the 21st. century and  women are still treated as slaves in many parts around the world. They bear the brunt of war and violence.  Many never even get a chance to discover and nurture their talents.  Isn't it time we all worked to change that?   

Sarah color pencils 11" x 14"