Sula- Zinfandel Rose'

 

10x12 inches

Oil on Canvas with Palette Knives

 

Another one to my -OH series. This is a bottle of Zinfandel Rose' from Sula Vineyards in India, Sula is a brand of wine which has revolutionized the Indian wine industry in the past 7 to 8 years. The vineyards are in Nashik, in the state of Maharashtra and Sula is responsible for 'legitimising'  wine drinking amongst the urban middle class in India. Wine drinking, which was a thing for the upwardly mobile crowd has now become affordable and acceptable due to the reach that Sula has made possible. Sula also has lovely wine tours and resorts in the vineyards in Nashik. 

 

A very happening music and wine festival, The Sula fest is held every year in the vineyards which I would like to visit some day!  Coming up next on the -OH series is a bottle of Sula Portwine!

 

 

Ahir Bhairab

 

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

14" x 16"

 

 

There are times when you stop still and realize life is just a journey. This journey must come to an end. Today or tomorrow. The only certainty is the guarantee of death. All else is fake. It is a cliché we often use but what of those who are faced with this eventuality? Do they have any choice but to pick up the strings and move on with life because there is absolutely nothing else they can do. The near one who was so full of flesh and blood, mirth and rage, conversations and contemplations is suddenly snatched away and is just a part of memory. 

 

This is a tribute to my cousin Ahir Bhairab who passed away suddenly at a young age, at the height of his career. Unusually tall, highly creative, and massively multi talented, he was a very popular cousin, friend and colleague  to different people respectively. Though I had not met him for a few years , we have grown up together and share many childhood memories. May his soul rest in peace. these white flowers are my way of offering tribute to his departed soul.

Gardens by the Bay

 

 

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

 

8"x 10"

 

I dedicate this painting to the memories of the spectacular Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. I made this painting for my friend who lives there, but the visit to the Gardens so impressed me that I carried some of those impressions onto the canvas. I know this small painting can hardly make up for the wonderous beauty of the Gardens.

 

Gardens by the Bay is a man- made, huge expanse of gardens by the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore consisting of North Gardens, which are marked by huge gardens highlighted by the supertree grove and South Gardens which consist of two domes - the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest Dome. The most amazing part is the Cloud Forest where one can see how science has been used to recreate nature. You feel like you are in the middle of a real tropical rain forest with a waterfall, mist, typical flora and fauna and cold weather with moss! The gardens have all the varieties of flora and fauna one can possibly imagine, from cacti to tulips. At the time we visited, a tulip festival was going on, where in they created a mini Holland with windmills et all!

Zinfandel

 

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

A bad photo but still a photo till the time I click a better one! This is a bottle of White Zinfandel wine that I had got myself from an airport while on a trip. Now that I have opened it, I thought I should bring it on my canvas!

Bottle Green

Oil on canvas with palette knive

4 x 6"

This tiny painting has history ! What's the big deal about a small still life, you would wonder! Well, the story goes such. This bottle is important! About a year or so back, I read an article that plastic bottles are not good for storing drinking water and long usage leads to cancerous diseases. I realised then that I did not have a single glass bottle at home. I went out to the nearby stores to buy glass bottles, only to realise that they weren't easily available. That was when I asked some friends to pass on whatever throw-away bottles they had. In the stock of bottles that I received as donation, this was the biggest bottle; however, it came with a cork and smelt of wine every time you filled it with water, in spite of washing it several times. Eventually, it gave in to the rinses and became the "show stopper" water bottle of the kitchen! Well, to cut a boring story short, I soon lost interest in filling up glass bottles and especially this bottle, as it was too big in size. Every time I walked into the kitchen, it reflected beautiful reflections in the green colour and so it finally landed up on my canvas! The green bottle that is painted with bottle greens is an evergreen bottle on my kitchen rack, albeit empty!       

La mer à Manori

Oil on canvas with palette knives

6 x 10 "

It was a lovely Sunday when we set out to paint in Manori, which is a small beach about an hour's drive away from Mumbai.

I'd gone painting en plein air after ages and it was the first time I painted in the afternoon. After checking into a lovely resort for lunch, I decided to set up my easel in the backyard, overlooking the sea. I chose this spot with the three boats, which were bobbing up and down. It was a lovely experience as there was a cool breeze amidst the many coconut trees there, which gave me the right blend of sun and shade for the painting. As I was about to spread out my paints, I realised that I'd forgotten to carry my palette and went running into the kitchen to ask for something to paint with. After much begging and pleading the manager was kind enough to lend me a broken plate, which I grabbed with lot of gratitude! 

This scene took me about two odd hours to paint, with some curious onlookers, who thought I was crazy to spend time painting instead of lazing on a hammock! The only challenge was the bobbing boats which moved everytime I looked up from my canvas. I came back home and touched up the canvas a bit and this is what I have!

Manori is a beautiful getaway from Mumbai , which takes you into a Goa like setting of a small village with beautiful cottages. It is the first time I painted the sea and it was a good move from the lake scenes that I usually did!  

Ivory

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

14 x 16 "

Tuberose ( Rajanigandha) is one of my favourite flowers and a few stalks regularly adorn my living room. This painting is inspired by a few white lilies that I bought along with my regular Rajanigandhas. Inspite of my penchant for dark colours, I have always chosen these white flowers for my living room, both for their fragrance and purity. The connection goes back to my younger days. After my father suddenly passed away, my Mom used to adorn his portrait with a bunch of these flowers and they became a part of our living room decor. Another connection is with the song Rajanigandha from the movie of the same name, which I sang right through my childhood and am still singing. After many years, I have fallen into the same habit of putting a few stalks in my living room and delighting in their familiar fragrance. All is well, except for the price of these flowers, which is quite steep! 

I have to put a few finishing touches, once the painting dries a little. Uploading a link to the song. Hope you like it!

Rajanigandha song