Visage

Oil on Canvas with Palette Knives

16 x 24"

Visage: oil on canvas with palette knives. 
Is it done? Not sure yet! 
I haven't been painting flowers because I have run out of ideas. I have painted all the flowers found in the florist's shop and also painted the mussandas and hibiscuses from the building garden. I need to look at some new flowers for inspiration. Till then...am looking out!My story with the florist has changed..he chases me nowadays and asks me why I do not buy flowers any more for my paintings. Have I moved on to some other florist! Little does he know!

Pink

A portrait from a live model in Art Society of India. I forgot to carry my palette and hence had to make a hack with a tiny wrapper of a chewing gum box. Looking forward to the next session.

Bespoke - Oil on Canvas

A sketch of myself in my new hairstyle which is fast wearing out. We all fear change but at the same time it excites us. I had quite an interesting time . Many people loved this hairstyle . Some didn't. Some behaved like I committed a crime by daring to have a temporary change. Some failed to recognise me. As for me, I enjoyed the sleek look that it brought. Little did I care about what the world thought!

I am hovering between my floral colours and skin hues. Hanging in confusion. I seem to love skin for the time. I seem to crave for contours and expressions . Shadows and light. Well, I let things take their course . You will know soon when I upload the next one.

Meanwhile I bumped into my florist the other day, who now seems to wait for me to come to his shop, as opposed to few months back when he would scoff at me ! He is almost offended at me for not having come to buy flowers and show him which of his florals I painted!

So much for change!!

Adonia

 

Oil on Ceramic
SOLD

 

 

Beauty is the deadliest thing that makes one alive! But is beauty in art about aesthetics? I think not. Ugly is most often beautiful, when presented artfully. I have gone through a lot of thinking. Representing reality in abstract form is an intervention. It needs intellectual stimulation. Thankfully, inspite of defined borders, art can be seamless. What is it that is striking in an artwork. It is the differentiating element. Something that intrigues, disturbs and needles the mind. Art is not about aesthetics but maybe the reason behind the lack of it in an artwork

Here's a poem I wrote about the duality of life using my life as a metaphor:

 

Die chotomy

 

She who lives everyday
She who dies everyday
She who laughs everyday...
She who cries everyday.

 

The world which admires her
The world which abhors her
The world which seeks her
The world which shuns her.

 

Where is she going
Where is she stopping
Where is her light
Where is her flight.

 

Is she a good angel
Is she a conniving witch
Is her heart of gold
Or is it steely cold. 

Athena

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

18 X 24 "

Beauty, Strength, Power - A lethal combination. A woman who has these three combinations is lucky and can rule the world. However, such women suffer from a lot of pain. When you are at the top, you are always alone. But would you rather be average than the best? Would you dress yourself down just to be with them? Tough Call!

Facial

 

Oil on Canvas

12" X 15 "

 

Did this from a photo. I dare not say whose photo this was, lest I get a few brickbats! This took me about an hour using the Alla Prima Technique.

 

I got lots of browns on my palette. Only thing is to use that up. To do that I must paint more often. My house is so cluttered with the regulars of life these days, that art is fighting for space. Obviously, it will win as it always does. Incidentally, this is a brushwork. My knives must rest you see.

 

Ross Lynch

 

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

6'' x 10''

 

 

A painting of Ross Lynch done from a reference photo. However I realize that Ross has grown into a lad now, as I see his other photos! I did this painting for my friend's daughter who is his fan and wanted me to paint Ross for her.

 

For those  who don't know who he is, Ross Shor Lynch (born December 29, 1995) is an American television actor, singer, dancer, and musician. He is one of the founding members of the pop rock band R5. He is best known for his debut role as Austin Moon on the Disney Channel original series Austin & Ally ( Sourced from Wikipedia).

 

 

 

Masquerade- Self Portrait

Oil on canvas with palette knives.

15 x 16 inches

What you see is not what it is but what is shown! We put on a masked appearance just to show the world how happy we are, how beautiful we look and how enjoyable our lives are! Who knows what lies beneath! What sorrows we hide and what fears we cover. He who can see behind my mask gets to know and understand the real me. The naked face is beautiful in its own ugliness. How long will I continue the masquerade? How long will I enact my role? Will I get to throw my mask away?

'Camouflage'- Self Portrait

Oil on canvas with palette knives

An A4 size work, done with a wild palette. There is so much to our personality. We all have our hidden areas vis - a vis our open areas. 

This painting incidentally collides with my work in Johari Window application. However, that is more of a co-incidence and am not sure if that is what triggered this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window

Companionship - Oil on canvas

A4 size

Who is a companion? One who loves you, who understands you and lets you be.

But at times love is unrequited. It is painful. Still, at the end of the day we all want to be loved and we all seek companionship. 

Here is Rihanna with 'We found love':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KzEu5hWmRY

Propulsion

This is my first post of 2012 and I so wanted it to be a painting! But the month is almost more than halfway through and I haven't painted! Some things have taken my life over in such a way that I haven't had the time to paint or even sketch or draw! My paints lie scattered, my brushes lie still and my very dear palette knives which I brandished so forcefully in the past few months lie abandoned!

In the past whenever I have announced on my blog that I am off art, it has always propelled  me to paint right afterwards! So it's with this very hope that I have posted this.  So I hope to at least start off with a small artwork this evening..

Meanwhile, am uploading this half done painting done to practice alla prima technique , with a live model .
It's a brush work done with oil paints. However, I couldn't finish the painting on the spot and later on tried to finish it a bit from memory, as I didn't have her snaps. this was done a few months back.

Another one done in a learning session with a male model is here, using same technique. I was still learning the technique when I was painting him. I made mistakes while blocking values here. But the model (who is a big artist himself) was very sporting and I didn't exactly get beaten up by him! :)
Blocking values is really crucial when doing portraits, as there is no messing up with the way someone looks:).

Finally, to make up for a long absence, I am also uploading a video of a performance by a friend of mine, who is a violin artiste,
Sunita Bhuyan. She is about to release her album shortly. So please watch out for more on her on my blog!
http://youtu.be/2BQfo1i71IE

The Task Mask - Oil on Canvas sheet

The face is so fascinating.  It is a mask to our feelings and emotions. We hide some and reveal some.
I am trying to do my own ' Daily painting' project, by making these small paintings. But I am not going to make any more lofty announcements because in the past, whenever I have done so, I have promptly not adhered to my pompous  statements. So let it go with the flow. 

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?

Self Portrait- Pain

Acrylic on canvas sheet

18 x 25cms.

A quick draw. Should i call it a sketch?

Self Portrait- Pretense

Acrylic on Canvas Sheet-A2 size

No I did not go back to my half finished painting . Instead I did this.When you want to paint faces and don't have a model, what's better than painting yourself in one of your moods? 

Who knows your moods better than yourself. I have so many moods that i can paint myself in. It will actually keep me busy for a month at least! Here..so I paintagain!

Indian Girl- Oil on Canvas board, 20 cm x 25 cm

This is a painting I walked in and out of for a long time. I started it one day when I was in the mood for drawing a " not pretty', common, Indian face. But because of my preoccupation with figure studies and outdoor painting,I abandoned it midway.I cleaned my oil brushes yesterday, and completed it!Am actually happy with the result.It does look like one of the many common Indian faces that we see!

Water Colour- Portrait

Water colours is really a challenge.But its also quick and interesting.

Sai Baba

This is an acryllic on Oil Paper that I made for my Mom, who is his devotee.I am not familiar with acryllic paints. However, I am fast realising that it is good for quick paintings, though nothing can beat the authenticity of oils.

Her