Parsi Balcony

Oil On canvas

12x14 inches

Inspired from a photo on my friend Adi's blog about books:

http://wordsutteredinhaste.blogspot.in/2011/06/trees-of-dadar-parsi-colony.html

It was on a drive to Parsi Colony in Dadar , in Mumbai that I saw 5 gardens. The sheer beauty of the place and the lush greenery bowled me over. But what really took my attention were the lovely Parsi bungalows.I vowed to come back and paint. meanwhile my friend Adi did this article on Parsi Colony with these photographs(as shown on link) and I immediately sought his permission to paint one of the balconies.    

Addenda:: My friend Bipasha Bandopadhyay wrote this small poem after seeing this painting:

• PIROUETTING AUTUMN 

  My heart blushed to the rude blast of air, I was surprised as to how my saddened consciousness was so Unaware, 

  Full of great things the autumn Brings, I wish it was Autumn when we first met, because of the autumn leaves falling on us two brutalised souls would have been a nostalgia i would never Forget.

  I stood spellbound an ...onlooker, While you & Autumn romped Free .......

Ella

Oil on canvas

Taking a break from painting flowers is difficult for me. Still, I did it.This is a long term painting. That means it was started long time back. But a lot of water has flown down the bridge since the day I started it. it was lying on the easel beckoning and tempting me everyday. Today, when it looked almost accusingly at me,  I picked up my equally sulking knives and completed it. I think Ella now looks happy. She has also got pride of place on my blog for the world to see!!! Who likes to sit and stay put on the easel when there's a place on the world's easel?

Mine but not mine

 

Some of my art which now hangs on others' walls:( SOLD)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                        

 

It's a mixed feeling to part with one's art. You know it's your baby but you also know that it's someone else's baby now. But it's a feeling of accomplishment at the end of it!

Suchitra Bhosle Workshop

Some months back I went for the second time to attend a portraiture workshop conducted by internationally reknowned artist Suchitra Bhosle. It was a very enriching experience and the learning was profound.

Suchitra teaches the Alla Prima technique.There are notes on my blog about this technique from my earlier workshop with her. 

Suchitra , most times is bounding with energy and passion and leaves no leaf unturned to make sure that each and every participant learns to the maximum possible extent. She works with quick swishes of her long brushes and tirelessly explains each and every stroke, every build up of the form with utmost clarity and scientific precision.  What is most unique about her, apart from her being a great teacher is her humility. She has this wonderful quality of connecting individually to each and everyone, including the live model (sensing what time he/she needed breaks). She has inspired me no end. She almost gives a corporate touch to painting, as she builds beautiful faces and figures from shapes and forms and uses business rhetoric to explain art! She is amazingly professional and crisp while teaching.

Below is my version of one of the live models. I used very dark values and strained my back trying to paint him and as I ended my painting I thought I had done a good job. Just then came his 8 year old son, who had come in at the end of the day and looked disdainfully at my work. I asked him if it resembled his father and his answer was a prompt "No". Well that explains!!!!! 

Some highlights of the workshop:

1) Great group. Some of us were repeaters from last year.

2) Easels crashing into each other. Mornings saw us rush in early to spread our easels as close to the model and artist as possible, only to find out later that the angle wasn't perfect.

3) The artist's mother, who had modeled herself for her daughter for a demo and who was the most amazing and positive person in the backdrop.

4) Interesting light and shadow arrangements.

5) Music, ambience & simple food.

6) An ending with a song sung by yours truly. 

7) Most important factor: Suchitra giving us points of development on works that we had done previously, which we had carried with us.

I recommend this workshop to all oil painters who are interested in portraiture. She is a wonderful and knowledgeable teacher and artist of course!

Coral

 

Oil on Canvas - A small study

 

Again? Yes again! Yet again I painted a flower bouquet. I have no clue myself why I just love doing flowers.Actually I do. I feel flowers are bold. They are symbols of power and strength. They are blatant expressions of beauty.Can you imagine what gumption it requires to flaunt oneself at the world and say "Come look at me in my splendour. Admire my beauty and take in energy"! 

 

Every time I do flowers, I know I will come back for more. I especially have a penchant for strong red flowers. I love to amass the colour on the canvas with full blown strokes.

Flowers: beauty, strength and grandeur! 

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Profile Portrait

Oil on canvas with palette knives

Not my usual style, this. This painting is done for a new friend, who said "Please make me a painting to describe your version of me."  This is exactly how I envision my friend!A people person, love for cars and also an artist! Doesn't it sound like a facebook profile?:):). There are more personality traits packed in this painting of course but everything is not spelled out. Some things are discovered.

I love the word I created though- Profile Portrait. Seems apt and contemporary, on the lines of 'profile picture' in this social networking crazy era!