The WC February Challenge

I did this for the February Wet Canvas Challenge!  I painted the picture in the evening under artificial light, which is possibly why the colours are a bit skewed, and I am not happy with it! Maybe a quick sketch of it in daylight will be better!

Catching up!!

These are pictures I did over last month when I decided to start another blog, for posting daily paintings. I realise it was a ridiculous decision as I spent my time repeating myself, so have cancelled the other blog and posted a few pictures I had done over the last month, and not posted here!
Feb 5th 2011
I was walking at the CCFC the other day...It was getting dusk and the sky was a pale pinkish blue with a little yellow. I looked up to see this wonderful tree silhouetted, the branches almost black and the pale evening sky enhancing the darkness of the branches. It was so striking, that I have been wanting to recreate the picture....Artistic licence in my picture as I visulised what it would look like in an open air setting....somewhere it was not surrounded by buildings! This is the result!

Feb 11th 2011
A wonderful day spent at Arun's farm on the river! So of course there were paintings of boats! A sketch in my journal, and another smaller picture...both done quickly and using a pen again!

Arun also grows his own vegetables! I have never seen purple 'ghat gobis' before. I think they are a form of turnip....the colour was so striking that I did a quick painting for the 20 min. challenge!

11th Feb 2011
Another painting from Arun's place....his veggie patch! I had not taken a picture, but had done a simple sketch, and the rest is in retrospective memory! I am beginning to realise with a strong feeling of joy, that if something moves me enough, if I concentrate and focus on it, it stays in my memory and can be painted later!  This was a quick picture, but I really like it, the purple turnips, a variety of spinach and cabbage and the yellows of the mustard flower! The brick coloured outhouse and wall at the back made a great rustic picture!

Another TMC...apples

I bought these wonderful red apples the other day and put a few on a pottery plate and it made a lovely picture. I decided to paint it as a 20 min. challenge! I didn't have time to finish the background, so sort of left it a bit vague. I enjoy the 20 min. challenge as it helps me focus on whats important and essential in a picture and this often results in a good picture. It also suits my style as I seem to like a quick style, and like impressions more than detail! The paper was  a good thick one and I could paint wet on wet!

I am getting a bit confused as to what pictures I should paste in witch blog! I think I will change this one into a more professional one, where I will post pictures that are complete and may be available for sale!

The old Mosque on the banks of the Hooghly

We were on a ferry sailing up and down river on the Hooghly. For those of you who may not know Kolkata, its the river that flows through the city! It is one of the few tidal rivers in India, and connects with the sea at Diamond Harbour. There is so much history on the banks of this river, to think the British first sailed up this river when they landed  in Eastern India, and arrived in Kolkata which was just a set of villages then....We've come a long way from there, but the tragedy is that no one has really done much to preserve the history, and as we sailed down river we came across these old building and houses, so strategically located with a wonderful access to the river, but neglected and uncared for now...
This is a view of an old Mosque, which was visible from the boat, and it made a lovely picture. with all the many greens of the trees, and the top of the Mosque peeping put. We are still having winter weather in Kolkata, so although it was a clear bright day, the sun was not too hot, but bright enough to make the mosque glow and gleam.

The Flower Seller

Its winter in Kolkata, a wonderful season, when flowers abound and these little flower sellers pop up all over the place. This the one outside my local market! I was fascinated by the colours...the reds, pinks and yellows of the gladioli, and the bright marigold garlands, off set beautifully with the white ladies lace and tube roses! I thought I would paint it on the spot but a crowd began to gather, and I still don't have the confidence to paint with people looking on! So i took a series of pictures for reference.  The painting is a little disappointing, am thinking of doing it again....I feel I should have used more wet style...I don't like the hard lines around the flowers, but I do like the lights and shadows!

The Castle

I did this for the WC January challenge. I am going to try and do all 12 challenges this year! I decided to do a 'sketch' version of the original reference  picture....Its a small piece of work 7"X8". Nafisa really liked it and wants me to do a larger version! I think the pen lines have helped define the picture, and I like the look it has created.

Pinks!

These leaves popped out at me during my evening walk at the CCFC! Since i have started painting I look really closely at details and colour....and these were a real pink, some bits almost a 'rani' pink! The sun was very bright and shone directly on them, making some of he leaves look almost white! I did a quick sketch, 20 mins. and really like the picture!