The lessons of 2016

2016 has been a very interesting year! One of the biggest breakthroughs in my painting journey came through this year with the nude sessions of Art Society of India.

It happened on two hot, humid months, on Sundays from May through to June in the office of the Art Society of India in South Mumbai.  

The sessions would start at 9:30 am and so you had to be there sharp at 9. There was no late entry allowed. The most challenging part was that there were no ceiling fans in the room where 12 artists along with the model were huddling and jostling for space with their easels and paint tools. Once the pose and lighting were discussed the model would take the pose and we would paint.

Very soon, I would be lost and not know whether the trickle down my hand is paint or sweat!!! A headache pill was a sure shot! 

The best part was that of the model. I was bowled over by the professional stance of these models! They would sit in the pose without battng an eyelid and retain the posture for about 20 minutes or so ! There would be long poses too, where they would take breaks only to come back to the same pose!

I learnt many lessons. Few were:

1) Perseverence

2) Concentration

3) Focus 

4) Glory

The most beautiful moment came when two of them were exhibited in India Art Festival and sold consequently!   

Can't wait to do this again! 

Skin

Two months of fabulous sketching and painting at the prestigious Art Society of India was a great treat for me! It was a time of sweltering heat in Mumbai. Once you reach the premises , the timings were adhered to very professionally. The models were great and professional and knew exactly how to pose! 

One of my most memorable experiences while painting happened during the last session of the life drawing class. I had taken my oils and knives to paint . I usually use kerosene to wipe my knives and clean off the paint. The kerosene happened to be in an old bottle which was once a mineral water bottle. As I arrived at the session huffing and puffing due to the heat and was readying my stuff, I thought of drinking some water to dry my parched throat. So on one hand was my kerosene bottle and paints and nearby was the water bottle. I did the inevitable! Poured kerosene into my mouth thinking it was water!! I spat it out immediately but the whole group was in a state of flutter including the model! I had just started dabs of paint on the canvas but abandoned everything and went about fixing the problem. Thankfully I hadn't drunk a drop and so alive to write this post. Anyway I lost about an hour and then came up with this artwork in the next pose! It was an eventful painting day and a lesson learnt!!