Scarlet

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

20 x 25 cms.

A small painting which uplifted my mood in a big way!I woke up to a dull day and dreaded the day ahead..I needed something bright, unfailing, loud, cheery! Out I reached for the reds again..Scarlet was the colour I had in mind. I fished out a few tubes and made this small and quick composition. I wanted to paint Asters but what I have here look more like Chrysanthemums!

Balge

20 x 25 cms 

Oil on Canvas with Palette Knives

This impressionist sunflower is based on stimuli that I receive everyday at my work place. No, I am not gifted sunflowers everyday at work, to make my day bright!!! There is a small part of the garden area which is filled with sunflowers. They dance and sway in the breeze when I walk from one place to the other. I spy them with interest and once or twice have moved close to them to examine them closely, so that i can photocopy the impressions in my mind and put them on to the canvas back home. This is a small painting, representing my impressions of the balge yellow flowers . Maybe more will follow , maybe not!

The other side of Art

Art does not begin and end with just the passion and the paints, unfortunately. The toughest part, to me ( after the pics and camera) is the framing!!! I've been going up and down two, three framers. First I went to one guy who framed a few of my paintings around 3 years back.I found him very bare and clinical and dumped him.. Last year, I went to an upmarket framer, who made such gaudy and overwhelming frames that the painting got overshadowed, both by the frames and the prices of the frames which were exorbitant! People would be staring more at the frames than at the painting! Then next came another framer, who was little away from where I lived and who turned out to be so raw, that he did a mass customisation of framing to all the paintings that I'd given him. He also nailed two of my paintings to the frames!!!!! Of course I was near to tears!!!! Kill me but don't nail my creations!!!

Now, I've finally gone back to the first framer. I've also learnt meanwhile that simple( not gaudy) frames are the best. The painting needs more focus than the frame, though a beautiful frame can do wonders to enhance the artistic appeal! Some of my paintings recently framed, and wrapped in cellophane:

Conclusion: Framing is not an easy decision. It's a time consuming activity. Each painting needs to be carefully thought-through, so that a frame could be fitted to the best fit!!

Synergy

Oil on Canvas with palette knives -A4 Size

(Sorry Pic clicked with mobile phone!!!)

Colours of life! The sum of the parts is always greater than the whole! This whole didn't seem as easy as it looks. As I mentioned in my last post, my camera is with my friend, and till the time she returns from her trip, I am at the mercy of the cell phone!!!:) 

It needed  a planned approach and at the end of the exercise, my palette looked like this:

It's the only mess I love to clean by the way! Scrape, clean and wipe!

Anisotropy

Oil on canvas. A4 size.

Just when I'd declared the chemical series over ( Allotropy, Amorphy and Entropy), a friend of mine wanted something similar, but with the colours of fall. Well, there I was again... recreating the scene! I have exploited this scenery to the maximum possible extent. With this I declare this series officially closed. Sealed!

My camera is with my friend , who has gone on a trip. I waited for some days to upload this, but she's still travelling and  couldn't test my patience anymore! this is clicked with my cell phone and a better photo will follow later of course!:)

The Chemical Series, put together :

 Allotropy

 

 Amorphy

 Entropy

Anisotropy

The first two are with a friend and the second two are with another. Both wanted a couple to be hung together on the wall!Declared over. Case shut.!!!!

Nicholas Pegu- A feature

If you think this is just another innocent looking teenager, think again! Behind this simple exterior lies a brilliant artist, who has shown his artistic prowess and maturity beyond his years.

             







                 Nicholas Pegu

Nicholas Pegu,all of 17, who hails from Jonai in Assam, has just appeared for his 10^th Board exams from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Bishnupur, Assam and is the son of Apurba and Rina Pegu.His work comprises mainly brilliant watercolours and sketches, which take your breath away!

Nicholas says he drew right since kindergarten, but started drawing more seriously when he reached the eighth grade. In 2009 he came across painter Milind Mulick's book 'methods and techniques- opaque colour'. The journey started from there. He was a second 'guru' for him as, even though it was not a personal coaching, his book did the job. His mentor , however,to whom he is indebted forever, is Jyoti Prasad Borah, who encouraged him from then onwards and has been forever ready to help and guide him .      

         

Nicholas draws inspiration from nature and mostly paints landscapes. He mostly paints from imagination and rarely uses references. Most of his work has been in A3 size due to time and resource availability constraints. Another fact is that art material is not readily available in his home town, but Nicholas has learnt to work around these constraints and do his best with whatever is available.

Artwork by Nicholas - Water Colour:

                                              

He says he has found immense support and encouragement from his parents and his  school and teachers have also been very supportive. He was involved in a Mural painting project from school, which was pretty challenging!

When most students struggle to find time for studies, how does Nicholas manage his time between his studies and a serious hobby? The answer , he says is simple. He does art in his free time, meaning he has found a working balance between his study time and art time. One does not have to interfere with the other!

Once, while browsing water colour websites on the net, Nicholas came across the works of International Water Colourist Nicholas Simmons ( Namesake… irony!) and he was awestruck by his work. Consequent networking with the artist through facebook helped him associate with the artist. Simmons helps him out with suggestions and guidance whenever required and Nicholas says he has learnt a lot from him. Each and every suggestion he gives is an invaluable resource. As I am writing this, I recall Nicholas calling me excitedly one day to inform me that Simmons sent him an autographed promo photo !!!!! It was a day of achievement ! Nicholas (Pegu) hopes that  someday at  some point in life, both the Nicholases can meet in person!!!

Nicholas has won a second prize in the International Painting Competition held by Charu Castle Foundation and a few other prizes in other painting competitions . Over and above this, he has also designed some book covers.

Book cover done by Nicholas Pegu

Nicholas hopes to have a career in fine arts eventually and right now he is focused on his drawing and painting practice.

Apart from Art, he also has a hobby in singing and likes to play cricket. 

Nicholas is an inspiration to the youth of today. Sheer dedication and passion for art has made him achieve a lot at a  very young age. I wish him the very best for a successful career in Art and hope to see his name among the big artists.  

Pomeceous

Oil on Canvas

10inch x 10inch

This painting was back breaking. I had painted a similar apple two years back. A friend of mine wanted that painting but I didn't have it anymore with me. So I had to make another one.

The challenges were in motivating  myself to re-paint a similar still and trying to make the arrangement different so that there is no clash with the older one. I juxtaposed the apple with some small grapes and focused on perspective here, as I wanted the apple to dominate the still-life. This white plate and the knife belong to my kitchen. 

I had got so used to palette knife, painting with a brush was a challenge after a long time. This one called for very neat finishings and accuracy. I had to move on and off from my easel to the floor and back to get it right and finally I am done!