Woodbridge:Suffolk Coast

The Tide Mill at Woodbridge (Suffolk) is one of the most painted spots in the UK. The fishing boats against the shimmering tides always attract painters especially the maritime painters. This scene is just across the Tide Mill (I am planning to paint the Tide Mill separately soon) it was probably the last sunny day of this summer, we sat outside the Waterfront Cafe enjoying the hot sun and  a hot meal looking at this scene before us, which got imprinted in my imagination.

This is my painting of the scene, a rather simple interpretation with some wet in wet washes (timing was important though), but enjoyed doing this.

Hope you like this one. Comments welcome! Thanks for viewing.

Not far from the madding crowd

This is a quiet area very close to the very busy London West End, lower Regent Street! Picadilly is just a few yards and the shopping district of Oxford Street is not far away. This end of Regent street is of course  full of tourists at any time, the Crimean War memorial with Florence Nightingale statue making it an important landmark in London.  You certainly miss the huss and buz of the city despite being in the centre of it which attracted my in the first place to do some sketching. The busy cranes in the background are reminders of the state of Central London these days where a lot of construction activity takes place. I reduced the number of figures to four though there were more when I was sketching but compensated with some birds to add to the quiet atmosphere I was trying to portray. Lot of architectural complexities daunted me but tried to simplify them as much as possible. London always is an inspirtional city, even the quietest corner of it! Thanks for viewing. Comments welcome!

Father of the nation!

These sketches of Gandhiji were done on October 2, birthday of the father of the nation.The simplicity of the mahatma is his greatest quality and how he was able to inspire a whole nation behind him both the educated and the rural masses is in no small measure due to this quality. I thought a nice way to pay tribute to the great man that Gandhi is to capture his simplicity in these sketches! Thanks for viewing!

British Waterways

Addition of a new colour 'Lemon yellow' to my palatte has done wonders to my greens which are now brighter and more vibrant, very suitable for depicting summer foliage. It can be seen in my 'twin' paintings here where two thirds of the composition are foliage!

I came across these two identical scenes in our recent visits to Wales and Watford(just outside London). The first one is Llangollen canal (North Wales) on which boats take people onto the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. We were taken to this lovely scene by our friends Latha and Sanjeev when we visited them in Chester in August.

Llangollen Canal in Wales

In my painting, I let the sky in a lot more than in the photo.

 The second one is the waterway at the Cassiopark near Watford where we spent a relaxed evening with our lovely hosts Kelvin (Sky News) and Sarah last month. The sprawling park was just a stone's throw from Kelvin's house. Both of the amazing canal scenes shrouded in foliage inspired me to experiment with my greens and I was thrilled to see the range of shades of green I could come out with the use of the new colour Lemon Yellow!

Grand Union Canal in Cassiopark near Watford

My painting closely adheres to the photo mostly!



Some photos of our visits are here to recall the mood and atmosphere of these two beautiful scenes! Thanks for viewing!

With Latha and Sanjeev at Llangellan Canal

Another view of the Llangellan Canal

With the family of Kelvin in Cassiobury Park

Boats in Grand Union canal in Cassiobury Park

Have a nice day!







Good (bye) times!

                        In a way 'our revels are now ended'! At least in London. Time to say bye to all dear ones. And I am now packing my paints and brushes, not before my last foray into portraits, my newest passion !

                        This one I presented to our dear friends Dr John and Wendy Marr, a very adorable couple with whom we spent a day in their  lovely idyllic home outside London.

Dr John and Wendy Marr happy with my little portrait of them

Both are ardent indophiles, Dr Marr received the prestigious 'Padma Shree' award last year! Their varied interests outside their academics include botany, flora and fauna, model trains and aeroplanes, music, photography - just to name a few! We spent a very educative afternoon in their garden learning about various plants from all corners of the world, ably maintained by the very green hands of Wendy! My heart almost stopped when suddenly Dr John climbed a rickety ladder to pluck juicy fig fruits for us!

Afternoon tea in the garden

Burmese Pagoda which came to London in 1917 for an Imperial Exhibition!(Very interesting story how it found its way here!)

Tasmanian Fern

Leaves of a Japanese tree mostly found in Buddhist monastries with herbal uses

We were both amazed to know about their adventurous journey  from London to India in 1969, in their newly bought Austin Minor (the backdoor of which is still preserved) very nicely captured in a poster of photographs from that visit! With razor sharp memory Dr Marr can recall myriad anecdotes with accurate names and places! A veritable treasure-house of knowledge we were lucky to partake of! Even after their retirement, they keep a very busy schedule teaching at the SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. When I presented my portrait with my apologies for being a learner of portrait painting, he said, ' Murugesan, would not the world be a dull place if there is nothing new to learn or do everyday?'- which  in a nutshell is the message of the man and also is the secret behind his and Wendy's youthful energy! Truly cherishable moments!

Aberdeen Street Scene

 

This is a quieter corner of otherwise bustling high street of  Aberdeen city in Scotland(Castle street). Henry's Bar & Cafe leads you into the painting aided by the lined pathway - a common design device! A portion of the Castle is visible at the end of the street where the eyes stop! The figures in the foreground were added 2 days after I thought I finished the painting. Ofter I leave a painting for a few days and sometimes come up with some missing piece (not very obvious at the time of painting) which completes the puzzle! Thanks for viewing! Have a nice day! Comments welcome!

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

Situated in the Scottish Highlands, Eilean Donan castle with the mountains in the background offers a magnificent view to the viewers from wherever you look, even from far afar! The sky here is the major source of the mood and atmosphere! I tried it wet in wet and the thrill almost killed!   Only three colours used which gives harmony and unity to this piece which has lots of hard and soft edges. Thanks for looking, have a nice day!Comments welcome!

Cromarty Firth

This is another spot we stopped on our way to Cromarty village. Giant oil rigs were trying to spoil the scenic quality of the coast landscape but I narrowed on to this view with the telephone poles helping the perspective.

I followed the composition of the photo faithfully in the painting. I was amazed at how if you like a subject you never stop till it is done, that is not my usual style/speed! 

Thanks for viewing, have a nice day! Comments welcome!

Chanonry Point, the dolphin view point in Scotland

Chanonry Point is reputed to be one of the best spots in  Scotland  to view Bottlenose dolphin but we were unlucky with our timing when we reached there last week! It is difficult to synchronize with the tide when you are on a coach tour! We sat there for god knows how long without blinking an eyelid but no mammal in sight! But the scene sunk in me so deeply that this was the first thing that jumped out of me to paint after we returned.   At least the Scottish clouds were merciful to withhold what looked like an outburst anytime, making us just count the blessings! Please visit the collection of photos of our Scotland visit where you can find the reference photo for this painting, here is the link:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/murugesan18/Scotland2010#


Thanks for looking, comments welcome, have a nice day!

Three in One!

Three paintings from different areas of UK! One from inland Wales, one from Norfolk coast and one from the Lake District. The first one is from the small parish of St Margaret Newton in Wales very near Hay on Wye, I liked the Church so much I was inspired to do it again, a second time. Just changed the style a bit as well as the angle.

The second one is from one of the West Norfolk coasts. It is a simple  and uncomplicated coastal scene, with everything crisp about it.

The third one is from a scene on the way to Wastwater, Cumbria in Lake District. Very exciting scene with lots of things going on all over, water, bridge, buildings, walls, gate, sky, trees and mountain and fields. Started with some under painting which helped in maintaining the harmony in  a painting where each element is fighting for the viewer's attention.

Thanks for viewing, comments welcome!

It's All About Art!

Three days full of painting demonstrations and workshops, in all media(I missed one though!) at Islington, London from 22 to 24th July, 2010. Great opportunity to see famous art teachers at work through out the day and to learn their tricks and techniques.Terry Harrison, Geoff Kersey, Matt Palmer, Fiona Peart, Vic Bearcroft - just to name a few I liked. I enjoyed spending two full days there. It was fun to do workshops and I tried soft pastels which were good for portraits.

 This was Geoff Kersey demonstrating a winter scene.

This was Terry Harrison demonstrating a summer scene.
Here are my versions. The last two are done  with pastels:

Thanks for viewing, comments welcome! Have a nice day!

Putting Punch into Watercolour

Just returned from a grinding 3 day painting course 'Putting Punch into Watercolour' by famous painter and author Tony Paul in  a picturesque village - Castle Rising in West Norfolk, close to Kings Lynn. He taught us a new technique developed by him and for 3 days we were trying to put that to work in our paintings. We did all our paintings 'pleine aire'  and under difficult weather conditions. Especially the second day when we went to Old Hunstantion beach where it was very windy and blistery. I enjoyed the whole trip thoroughly and the experience of painting outdoors, the course was finished off with the teacher's analysis and  evaluation of all our paintings. Though I understood his concept, I could not bring that out in my paintings because of various reasons, but I plan to redo all of them to see if I can master the technique he taught us. Here are some of the pictures from the course:

 

The West Norfolk Arts Centre

 

Our teacher giving tips

 

The subject of our teacher's demo

The result of the teacher's demo

My effort, after spending a good 3 hours!

My effort of the afternoon, had tough time with my greens!

Subject of my Sunday morning painting, Old Hunstantion beach.

My painting done in typical coastal windy conditions. My easel was blown up twice and my palette was full of sand!

Our well earned lunch, at the Ancient Mariner.

We moved into the village of Old Hunstantion to paint in less hostile conditions. I chose this subject for my painting.

After 3 hours, I produced this.

After the class, I managed to do some sightseeing, this lavender farm was fascinating!

I chose this view for my subject on the third day.

My painting of it.

I was not sure if we understood what we were taught well enough, so we requested for another demo, which Tony Paul kindly agreed to.

 

His version of the same scene. All in all it was a very demanding 3 days and every moment of it was enlightening. Lots to think over and lots to put into practice! Thanks for sharing my experience! Have a nice day! Looking forward to the big event in London coming week, 'Art for All' by Society for All Artists in Islington Business Design Centre!