Bhut Jolokia- Acrylic Sketch

 

Tried a quick sketch of the 'Bhut Jolokia', juxtaposed with an olive, both fruits growing in Assam, India. Bhut Jolokia, is the hottest chilli in the world.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhut_Jolokia_chili_pepper.

I love the smell , which wafts from at least a meter and makes your tongue water. The beauty of this chilli is that it's a good appetizer and is supposed to aid in the therapy of gastric ulcers . The olive, on the other hand , is a green winter fruit (bigger than the international variety) and the olive trees, which are fast disappearing at least from  the urban areas in Assam, get laden with this fruit in the winter. I remember childhood afternoons when we used to pick them and eat them with salt. My daughter does the same now,  when we visit Assam in the winters. It also goes well with Dal and Rice as a boiled and mashed delicacy. Of course olive pickle is a big delicacy in Assam.
This was a quick sketch, meant to finish the very last bit of those acrylic paints.
I couldn't really capture all the crinkles, but I needed to hurry as I have a flight to catch. Let's see if I can do an oil painting of this bright chilli! Till then...

Oh yes, the raaga I'm humming today is Bhimpalasi.

Paintyoga!

Acrylic on canvas sheet

I had some left over acrylic paints. Some of the colour was drying up and others were almost over. I decided to use the last bit of colours to make these flowers. I started this as a casual painting to relieve stress... My Yoga substitute , so Paintyoga!

I was happy doing this, though this work suffers from constricted colours, drying colours and asymmetry!

Think I'll hang it in a dark aisle to brighten it up!:)

I was listening to Raaga Jayant Malhar when I was uploading this. I don't know this raaga but I will learn it now! Am excited! 

'Right flight'

This guy was fast asleep on a long flight , which I boarded at Delhi ( Capital city of India). He slept throughout the journey and was good sketching model for me.

This woman was just across the aisle and was fast asleep. But her next seat owner was very suspicious of my sketching her and I had to rush through this, as I didn't want to land in trouble.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

I was in Delhi after a long time and was amazed at the way the airport had developed. It's now huge and impressive with scores of terminals . I sketched this at one of the terminals . t was early morning and there wasn't too much of a crowd.  

My people watching told me the following facts about people in airports and flights:

1) Most people in airports are either checking their mobiles, talking on the phone, are working on their laptops or sitting and staring. Very few of them read.

2) Most people on a flight sleep and few of them read or play games on their mobiles etc.

3) People in airports and flights are very suspicious of sketchers:). I bore the curiousity of everyone and   got disdainful but interested looks! 

 

Air- Flair

I caught this man reading on a flight.This was exactly thesight I saw from across the aisle. I couldn't draw the seat with a right perspective, as I had to really strain my neck to capture the pose  successfully. I drew a lot of attention from the person sitting next to me and also got some disdainful glances from  few others. But well who cares? Am a sketchoholic and I ain't gonna let such a golden opportunity pass by! Meanwhile, the subject never got to know what I was upto!  

The Wait

This is a quick sketch done about a month back, in the Doc's waiting room, where I had gone to seek advice for some minor a allergy. This lady in the Burqa looked bored and tired, as if she had been waiting for a long time.
The most interesting aspect of this experience was trying to sketch her unawares. Once or twice she did look at me as I was furiously sketching, as two kids who were there were intrigued by what I was drawing and hovered around me as I sketched. Nevertheless, I managed to stealthily catch her posture successfully . I must say that this sketch resembles the woman to a considerable extent. I was tempted to show her my sketch once it was done. However I resisted, not knowing how she would react. Would she understand an art lover's inherent desire to catch a pose? I'd used a ball point pen on one of the rough paper bills lying in my bag. By the time my turn had come, I'd sketched her, the sofa in the room, the ac and one door! Also managed to entertain some curious onlookers !  

'Side Over' - Sketch

A quickly captured sketch, done with water colour pencils. This divine scene greets me often, as the buildings on the other side of lake Powai throw beautiful reflections on the serene lake.I have watched this scene longingly for at least two years, always making strokes with my brush and almost smelling the buttery oils as I spread over the buildings, the reflections and the greenery. But, somehow or the other, I haven't been able to come and paint the scene on spot.

Well, the nearest I could do was capture it  on my sketchbook. I finished it within 15 minutes and touched up later.

Let me hope that this is only take one and I do several sketches/ paintings of this so that I come up with a great one, which actually brings forth the beauty of this! 

Urbania- Acrylic sketch on A4 size canvas

The creek, electrical/telecom towers, buildings and boats! Contrasts which complete a beautiful picture along with the sunset. That's the beauty of Mumbai .A city replete with the beauty of its concrete silhouhettes  against the backdrop of nature.   

Horizon - Acrylic on canvas sheet

A sketch done to refresh similar sights I saw very often while going to Shillong ( Hill Station in Meghalaya) in my young days. Upper Shillong has beautiful sights, where the grass from the hill tops melts with the blue sky.
We have had many a stop over to picnic and lay down on the grass strewn with small flowers. Bliss! 

Pensive Acrylic on paper A2 size

                            
                    Sometimes the face is just a thinking face. Thinking but glazed!

Poignancy- Acrylic on paper A2 size

The face is the most fascinating part of the body. It can emote and express all that the person feels, or can it? isn't it also the part that we use to project feelings which aren't always natural/ sincere/ real?