My Journal...Captured Moments

Another addition from my Journal which I started in Puri! Inspiration from Naf! Its a great day when one's children become the teachers!
It is so hot here in Kolkata, 38 degrees today with a 80% humidity. The light outside is so white it almost burns...and yet it is the right time for these amazingly coloured crouton leaves to flower. They look almost as though they are on fire themselves. I'm glad I took the time to sketch these in Puri! They are equally brilliant here in Kolkata!

Windows!

I am trying to get together a set of pictures of windows and doors! Part of this picture is from Jyoti's garden and part from a picture of a house built with cement and local stones! I loved doing the stones, and the reflection in the windows! Its the first picture that I started a while ago....let it be as i wasn't too happy with it, and finished it today! I am happy with it today!

Journal pics

Nafisa said to keep a water colour journal...went looking all over but couldn't find one which had water colour paper...so finally made one. The first few entries from my recent visit to Puri. Want to try and keep a regular update!

The hollow tree

During our trek to Roopkund in the Himalayas last year, we stopped for a breather in this little clearing. It was the first day of our real climb upto the Bugilas and we were beginning to feel the strain!!!There had obviously been a forest fire at some point so this tree had been burnt. The fire hadn't been able to destroy the tree though, as new shoots had started and fresh leaves were out. I love trees...and this one seemed so amazingly strong and indestructible. The colours were wonderful, browns and blacks...and then the amazing greens of the new shoots. I made a pencil sketch of it and have been wanting to paint a water colour of it ever since....finally did it today!

the 20 min challenge again!

I was sitting down to a cup of tea early this morning and noticed that my old jug and sugar pot looked good in the light, so decided to do a 20 min challenge! 20 mins is actually quite a good amount of time! This helps me stay focused on whats essential to the painting and somehow the painting comes out looking as want it to, translucent and with clear colours. I don't fiddle unnecessarily! I have been wanting to develop a looser style for my water colour painting, and it continues to prove a real struggle! The 20 min challenge is really helping!

the red door

I was in Cambodia when I saw a similar door outside an old home. The original dark blue paint had begun to chip off, but it was obviously a really old piece, so grand and beautiful. I felt sorry I hadn't taken a picture. Then today on one of my Wet Canvas challenges...there was the door as one of the reference pictures.... in Chicago of all places, in much better condition. It was this lovely red and I decided I must paint it. This is a trial, but definitely one of the pictures I want to do for an exhibition I am planning!!! ahem!!!! Should have used a ruler as the right frame is a bit off!!! It hasn't come out quite as I wanted as I feel its a bit flat. Also maybe I am putting too much detail...I like a wet on wet, slightly diffused style.
Hmmmmm need to practice much more!

experimenting with negative painting

I took an online class on negative painting. We were not supposed to use a pencil at all. Started by dropping the splotches (I used burnt umber) and then paint a pale wash and then paint the background and the flowers remain the colour of the first wash. This is my first attempt! Not using a pencil and creating the background from my head, imagining the leaves and the spaces between them proved quite tough and certainly gave me a lot of brain activity! Its quite facinating though and I must try it again!