Booming Buds

Graphite on paper - (8.5"x11.5")

Budding life

Budding life - (mixed media 18"x12")

Abandoned

Relief print

Harmony

Collograph print

Lives and Lines.... lifelines!

Linoprints

Shattered !

Etching on paper

It has been a while since any activity in Little Arena. I have been trying my hands on a few things and hopefully I will post them here soon.

This is an etching using hard grounds. For those who are new to the term etching- it's an intaglio method of printmaking, one of the oldest and widely used techniques of the present time. It looks like a tedious process to start with, but can be very intresting. After a couple of attempts I had absolute fun working on preparing the etching plate and working towards this peice. To strengthen the mood of the theme I then added the bits of tissue with glue on top just before rolling under the press.

Not all the time I would be so bold to draw the line in the centre, but for an expressive piece as this one, I must admit I just listened to the inner voice of the theme and didn't let the rules overpower, afterall drawing a line where it should always helps, eh! :-)

Illusion ... (#2)

Mixed media on paper

Reflections in the water,
Fade and disappear.
Illusions that my eyes can see,
But can neither touch nor hear.

You might be an illusion,
My eyes might be decieving me.
You could be someone that I made up
A wish, a dream, a fantasy!

--Anonymous

This is the second of my series that I started some time ago, named 'Illusion'. The first one I posted earlier can be viewed here. Hopefully a few more will follow this one. Do come back to Little Arena for more.

Summer blooms

Acrylics on canvas board

Today's post is one of the paintings that I worked on canvas board. Something perfect to suit the mood of the season and to brighten up the wall.

Life - Work, fun, frolic and more!

Masai Art - glass painting

Life is 'work', work is life,
Finding 'pleasure' in work,
Is 'the 'treasure' of life!

Doing what you 'like',
Is the 'choice' of life,
'Liking' what you do,
Is the 'way' of life!

One life, one goal,
The life full of joy,
Is the ultimate soul!


KP introduced me to Masai Art a couple of years ago and since then I have been intrigued by this style of art. Inspired by the strong and bold yet very subtle and delicate nature of this art form, I then worked on these glass paitnings one symbolising two women at work and the other showcasing these women indulged in fun and frolic at the end of the hard day's work.
(pardon me for the bad quality of the photo, I had no time and patience what so ever to take another shoot before I handed this over to an art admirer)

Mom's little girl

Collageb - (20"x16")

The source of energy,
The source of inspiration,
To me and to all around!

Like the candle,
That burnt herself,
To light our lives!

The abyss of kindness, patience and love,
A perfect friend, guide, nurse and a counsellor,
Name it you have it in you!

I am so proud to call you Mom!
On this special day of yours,
Wish you good health and happiness,
Today and Forever!

My mom reminded me of this collage that I gifted her many years ago. I am glad she liked it and she still remembered it!

Colorful coasters

Tea Coaster Crochet

Woolen woven in harmony,
Always pleasing for any ceremony,
Staying strong and united,
To form the coaster,
For your morning cup of Tea!

Cluster of stitches,
Seeing through my master rags to riches,
Every string does its job,
Many held strong,
Some aesthetically left long!

Bookmarks!

Read Somewhere -

"Why pay a Dollar for a bookmark, why not use a Dollar for bookmark?"

Here are a few bookmarks I made a while ago. Any guesses what these are made from?

Ubiquitous circle!

Glass painting - (5"x7")

Mind with matter,

Idea with reality,
Symbols with entity,
Circles circling circles!

Circles of Integrity,
Circles of Change,
Circles of Love,
Circles of Unity,
The wheel has come full circle!

Separating the inseparables,
Forming lines from circles!
Actions following reactions,
Making complete circles!

Not the pyramid of hierarchy,
But the circle of circles,
Which is the perfect hierarchy,
To be the two halves of complementary circle,
Is the essence of the 'Ubiquitous Circle'!!!

Decorated using coloured papers on cardboard box

Made this box for those pennies lying all around the house. Hopefully they will now find a cozy place to hide. :)

“May you always have work for your hands to do,
May your pockets hold always a coin or two,
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane,
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain,
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.”

-Irish quotes

Dorset Art week has officially come to an end now. Unforunately I couldn't squeeze much time to visit other galleries as much as I wanted to. This is from a quick visit to the Winton Art's and Media college where some of my works were exhibited too.

Express Strokes Wallpaper

Having reached the end of May, here is the culmination of 'Express strokes' , a wallpaper from Little Arena. I absolutely enjoyed posting my works and expressing my views on various strokes. I hope you viewers of Little arena had as much fun too!

Enjoy!

For the Special Day!. . . (Express strokes #29)

Watercolor on paper

Barrowful of gifts,
Bunch of Blue Orchids,
Brought on a Special day,
Beautifully decorated, What can I say!!!

Mood of the day!. . .(Express strokes #28)

Oil pastels on paper

You either listen to
Your heart or your brain,
But I say there are many more
To listen in the chain.

My right leg says football,
While left shouts to dance in the rain.

My head is ready with a fancy hat for an outing,
But the hand's volunteering for sporting.

It is not an act of unco-ordination,
It's just a fast paced life in swing!
It's fun, frolic and full of joy!

Flowery Impressions. . .(Express strokes #27)

Graphite on paper

I created this while experimenting to put graphite impressions on an embossed paper from the first collograph print.

ILLUSION. . .(Express strokes #26)

Mixed media on paper

A mirage of bewildering imaginations...
Is it a
Floral fossil, yet with its leaves looking pristine,
Spewing of destruction as a man oversees in awe,
A splash of cool icy crystal into white wine,
Just a concoction of thoughts! aah!!

Gone with the wind. . . (Express strokes #25)

Graphite on paper

Wish I were a bird,
and flap my wings,
But I am a tree,
trying to fly,
with my roots deep inside,
Going nowhere,
only shedding my leaves!
time will pass,
wind will be gone,
and there will be a lul,
after the storm!
Wish I could get,
some sick leaves,
in the meantime! :)

5 Days To Go

The DAW’s 10th biennial event for 2010, the largest Open Studios Event in the country, is opening on 29th of this month. If you are anywhere near Dorset or planning to visit Dorset you have all the more reason now, between 29th of May and 13th of June. Hundreds of artists are taking part in this. For more information please visit DAW's website.

The Winton Arts and Media college, Bournemouth are hosting the exhibition 'Evoloving Images' as part of DAW's art trail. Some of my works will be at this exhibition.

Many of the finest artists of Dorset are showcasing/selling their work. Don't miss your opportunity to spend some time with art and rejuvenate your souls!

Burden of Life. . .(Express strokes #24)

Pencil on paper

An effort to depict the human struggle for existence.

Random . . .(Express strokes #23)

Charcoal on paper

Another leaflet from my sketchbook where life begins, memories cherish and my hands have no limits to experiment!

Wild Floral Panel. . . (Express strokes#22)

Watercolor on paper

A panel of wild flowers, something to color up the pale empty wall!

Field and the barn. ..(Express strokes #21)

Oil on oil paper

More strokes in oil, an autumn scene by the farm.

Holy Bamboo. . . (Express Strokes#20)

Watercolor on paper

Here is another effort of putting my primitive skills with Chinese brushes on paper.

Floral patterns. . .(Express strokes#19)

Watercolor on paper

This is the second of a diptych, similar bunch of flowers as the one I posted yesterday. Hopefully two put together side by side form a good contrast.

Floral Patterns. . . (Express strokes #18)

Watercolor on paper

'I am following Nature without being able to grasp her, I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.'
-Claude Monet.

Arbitrary strokes...(Express strokes #17)

Watercolor on Chinese Rice paper

I wanted to wrap some gifts and had no time to go buy the wrapping papers, Result - These arbitrary strokes on Chinese rice paper, and I quite liked the wrapper at the end!. I wasn't looking for perfect strokes or anything like that and hence didn't bother much about blotted trunk or leaves.

Rhododendrons. . .(Express strokes #16)

Watercolor on Chinese rice paper

I bought myself a few Chinese brushes on my last visit to London. After a few months of keeping them in the storage, I thought of trying my hands on Chinese brush strokes. Since then I seem to have developed a liking towards Chinese brushes. The movements of the brushes is powerful yet very flexible. A handy tip to know while working with Chinese brushes is that know what you intend to do with the brush, and link the steps (strokes) up so as to activate the painting, to give it rhythm.

If you are looking for some quick stokes, Chinese brushes can achieve that for you!

Bunch of grapes. . . (Express strokes #15)

Watercolor on Chinese rice paper

'I sit and often wonder about this little grape
How intriguing is it to ponder the structure and taste
I yearn to know more as I taste and revel with mouth agape.
Squeezed just right, and secured for ages to come with no great haste.'
-Anonymous

Foliage. . .(Expres strokes #14)

Watercolor on paper

Falling leaves,
hide the path,
so quietly!!!

Distant hills. . . (Express strokes #13)

Oil painting on oil paper

Today's post is an oil painting that dates back to about 5 years or so. This is my first oil painting in the real sense. I was at 'Expressions'- Bangalore, taking 5 hour session on oil painting. At the end of the course, I was asked to work on this landscape which had a good combination of strokes, perspective, color contrast and also blend of colors . The hues in the sky are too strong perhaps, but this did give a good starting point for me to paint with oil.

Colorful sky. . .(Express strokes #12)

Soft pastels on paper

'Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever. '
-Horace Mann

Another quick view from my journal rendered using soft pastels.

Path to Success!. . . (Express strokes #11)

Oil pastels on paper

I make quick drawings or sketches while I travel wherever possible for my memory in my notebook. These drawings to me bring back pleasant, nostalgic, cheerful memories of the time spent and also create a journal which I can refer in a future time to create some elaborate works. Sometimes it's my journal where I souce my inspirations from!

Keeping the theme of the month alive, Here is another 'Express stroke' from my notebook, to share with you all...

'All paths are the same, leading nowhere. Therefore, pick a path with heart!'
-Carlos Castaneda.

Summer flowers. . .(Express strokes #10)

Soft pastels on paper

The streets of Bangalore bloom with this pink colored flowes every winter. The flower carpet above and on the streets give a warm welcome to the visitors. Pardon me for my lack of memory with the flower names. As I was going through my notebook I found this pastel sketch that I did couple of years ago, inspired by the Bangalore winter flowers that brought some nostalgic memories of Bangalore, here it is for you visitors of Little Arena.

The tune of paradise! . . . (Express strokes #9)

Acrylic on placement mat

I had bought some placement mats for my kitchen but I couldn't resist my excitement to put some Indian painting on them, finally Rajasthani style painting it was!. Since then there are various other ideas crawling up my mind for the rest of the mats. Unfortunately the only progress they have seen is the transfer from my kitchen unit to a storage cupboards with other painting materials, hopefully still waiting to see the 'color' of the day!

Music springs under the shade,

Out on the plains;

Where mile after mile drops behind with a smile,

And to-morrow seems always to tempt and beguile,

Out on the plains;

The wind sings a wild song to rob me of care,

And there's room here to live and to love and to dare,

Out on the plains.

-Anonymous

Pastoral shelters. . . (Express strokes #8)

Watercolor on paper

Continuing with the mood of rural life, here's another post of watercolor on paper depicting the picturesque hut. The simple forms in the countryside make interesting subjects of an artist's strokes.

When I take a look at this now, I feel the huge tree in the middle is dividing the hut into two!, Am wondering if I should have moved the tree to one side, or may be got rid of it completely. What do you feel? If you have any suggestions/opinions please leave a comment.

Humble rustic life . . (Express strokes #7)

Watercolor on paper

An effort to put the country side scene on to paper with colored washes. This is one of the simple and common sightings of any village in India. These animals serve their masters, just like many rustic people who help others with absolutely no selfishness. These men and animals of rustic life belong to nature rather than manners!

Peaceful reflections . . . (Express strokes #6)

Watercolor on paper

Everyone and everything that shows up in our life is a reflection of something that is happening inside of us!

Reflection is one of the interesting subject to paint. Not all the time do we see a perfect reflection, hence it is not a must to paint a perfect reverse image. The watercolor paper and and the paints create a texture all their own that allows for light, airy paintings. The ease with which they flow together makes for realistic reflections in a pond or lake painting.

This is an effort to bring out the reflections using the wet method, I layed out the colors for the water first and then built up reflections while the paint is wet.

By the field . . .(Express strokes #5)

Watercolor on paper

This month of May brings me the nostalgic memories of my childhood summer holidays. Today's post is an inspiration, during one such summer holiday to my grandmother's place.

'To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
An eternity in an hour.'
-William Blake.

Sunny Day! . . (Express strokes #4)

Watercolor on paper

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things, the changing shape/color of the trees, the shadows of the trees, the leaves, etc. This painting is another one in the series of learning to put watercolor techniques on paper. A depiction of a bright day of summer when the air is softer and the morning is more fragrant than ever.

Silent shadows. . . (Express Strokes #3)

Watercolor on paper

I am void of words today, like the title goes, I will keep silent and let the paitning speak for itself.

'I wear my shadows where they're harder to see, but they follow me everywhere. I guess that should tell me I'm travelling toward light.' -Bruce Cocknurn.

Solitude! . . . (express strokes #2)

watercolour on paper

This was one of the views that caught my eyes while on my trek to Tadiyandamol in Coorg, India. On my return I quickly put these colors on paper before the memory could fade away. As evident, not too much of detail, while cloud formations make a lovely backdrop, lonely tree stands out in it's solitde!

Empty vessels make most noise!. . . (Express strokes #1)

Watercolor on paper

'Express strokes' - that's going to be the theme for the month of May. Detail is good, but not a must, the technique to follow when one has less than an hour to spend with brushes and colors. The transparency that one can get with watercolors have always drwan my eyes towards them. This is one of my old works, a reproduction of a watercolor artist (apologies for a bad memory, I will come back to post the name of the artist when I recollect), chosen mainly as a learning material. Just as this one, quick strokes of washes can a give a drammatic feeling for the work, and speak a lot without speaking anything at all !

Happy Accidents!

‘Time and tide wait for none’, if there's one thing I could ask for, it’s more time. There is so much to do and so little time!. I started painting as a hobby when I was little and it was only in the recent past that I started pursuing it again and squeezing time to spend it with my childhood dream.

Browsing through my old paintings, I found these first few oil paintings that I worked on, which are a few years old. A look at them and I see various places of improvement. But it brought me those happy memories of painting them and the creator of this technique – Bob Ross himself with his words echoing ‘we don’t make mistakes, we only have happy accidents’. These works are based on Bob Ross’ wet-on-wet technique. For those of you who haven’t heard his name, he was an American painter known for his calm, patient nature. He came to prominence as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting.

oil on oil paper - 18"x12"

The way he would create his happy world in half an hour is mesmerising. Unlike some of the works over which people fret over and still not get a clue what they are, these are simple and fun. Some may call this a laid-back approach of painting, however in his own words, Bob ross would say " I paint, because I can create the kind of world that I want, and I can make this world as happy as I want it. Shoot, if you want bad stuff, watch the news."

oil on canvas board - 18"x12"

Especially for those with not much time in their hands, but would want to make the most of it, or for those beginners, I would say this may well be a technique to follow. I might not have been able to hit the half-hour target with these paintings, but I must admit I had absolute fun painting them!

oil on oil paper - 18"x12"

Many artists and art universities might not regard this technique with respect, art investors might claim this is not an investment art, according to Bob ross they do sell as hot cakes and this method of painting has received lot of appreciation around the globe. In my opinion, the important point to note here is believe it or not, this technique of painting has brought a ray of hope to many of those who never thought they would paint one day!, be it due to lack of confidence, time or enthusiasm!!!

oil on oil paper - 12"x18"

Happy painting!