Two views of Qutub Minar, Delhi

In the series Delhi and its monuments come the twin paintings of Qutub Minar, one of the notable landmarks of Delhi. I had sprinkled salt in both the paintings to get some texture, usually a trick to depict snow in watercolour. Here are the paintings:

 Here is some info about the Qutab Minar:
Qutab Minar is among the tallest and famous towers in the world. The minaret is 234 feet high and the highest individual tower in the world. Other towers in the world are the Great Pagoda in Pekin, China and the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy but these towers are not as high as the Qutab Minar in Delhi. The tall minaret was constructed in 1192 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak, and later completed by his successor Iltutmish. The soaring conical tower is an exquisite example of Indo-Islamic Afghan architecture.

Thanks for viewing, have a nice day!

Kashmir Valley

I was instantly inspired by this beautiful photo of the Kashmir valley by Rahul (Kitty), in facebook. I made a quick interpretation of it in watercolour. Though I am reasonably happy with my effort, I still like the photo better! Thanks Rahul for allowing me to use his photo.

I used Sanders Waterford paper 600gms NOT for this painting (40x30cm). Thanks for viewing, have a nice day!

Dark clouds in Delhi (monsoon) Sky

 This is a panoramic view of the North and South Blocks viewed from Rajpath in New Delhi. Important government ministries are located in these historical buildings, the road leading to the gates of the Rashtrapathi Bhavan (President's residence). Myself having spent considerable years in South Block and its surroundings, this image is well-etched in my memory. Since I am back in Delhi to relive those days, I thought I should put the magnificent edifices in a painting before I once again move away from this historic city. Here is the painting:

The clouds are indicative of the monsoon season and the North Block is bathed in the sunlight sneaking out of the clouds on top of the South Block. (Arches Watercolour 300gms 40x30 cm). Thanks for stopping by, have a nice day!

Riverside Quarter, Luneberg, Germany

This is a historic attraction in Luneberg, Northern Germany. I took this photo while visiting this town in March 2011. I was initially attracted by the boat in the centre but I had to include the rest of the settings in the painting which seemed a daunting task. I took a long time over it doing it in parts but tried to maintain the focus on the boat while the other objects are merely indicated without much detail. The water and the reflections was the last item to add and I knew it is going to either destroy the painting or enhance its value. Heaved a sigh of relief when I finished the painting though there were heartbreaking moments it could have gone either way! Here is the finished painting. Hope I summed up the subject and the atmosphere adequately.

Thanks for viewing!

Hamburg: InnerAlster

I managed one painting in the last 10 days of my return to New Delhi. For wet washes I have to be extraquick because the drying time is very short! Chose a familiar subject from Hamburg, sure I will do some Indian subjects soon! It is on Arches coldpress paper 300gsm grain finish 40x30cm

Thanks for looking!

Lubeck, Northern Germany

This is again a serene scene from the quaint city of Lubeck, an hour's drive away from Hamburg, Germany. It was on the canvas for quite a while, but got finished today before I pack off to Delhi for three months. Hope to keep the brushes wet but you can never tell with Delhi. Happy viewing!

An earlier version is here:

 

Have a nice day!

Portrait of an Artist - by another (budding) Artist (5years old!)

Portrait of an Artist - by another (budding) Artist (5years old!)

The last weekend I had the honour of having my portrait made by another young and budding artist in London! My grand nephew Pranav, 5 years old, for whose forthcoming birth day I presented a portrait of him(see an earlier blog post here). He was so thrilled and his immediate reaction was to pick a pencil and paper and to make a caricature portrait of me in 10 minutes! This was the highlight of our weekend London visit to attend our grand niece Priyanka's birthday! She also got my portrait of her as her present!

 Portrait of me done by Pranav!

Pranav's portrait done by me!

It looks like a mutual admiration club! Pranav has amazing talents in drawing, painting and caricature! Lots of potential for a future artist! Thanks for viewing!

Vidya Balan - once again!

Continuing on the figurative paintings, which gives me a welcome break from the landscapes, I tried once again with the Indian actor Vidya Balan, (we were watching one of her movies recently which got her the best actress award).  It is so strange that you plan on so many things and suddenly you end up doing the totally unexpected! You never know your own mind! Here it is:

Used as reference her photo published in  FHM magazine as I did for my previous painting of her a while ago. Used Jerwitz acquarelle paper 425gms (manufactured in Hamburg!) an excellent support for portraits. Lifting is wonderful with this paper, but not good for masking fluid which damages the paper while removing.

Thanks for viewing and happy weekend!

Jallikattu- traditional sport of Tamilnadu

Jallikattu- an ancient sport still prevalent in Tamilnadu villages, takes place around the harvest festival of Pongal in January each year. It is about taming a sort of wild bull (grown specially for the Jallikattu) which is let loose for the bold and powerful youth of the village to bring it under control. This painting depicts such an action packed scene, I tried to bring out the energy and the speed of the participants and the animal. It was quite a challenge for me but the dynamism of the composition hooked me to attempt it! I had sprayed paint to imitate the movement and the dust around.

Jallikattu- taming of the bull!

I used handmade Indian paper (Khadi) which is very versatile and I am loving it! Thanks for viewing, comments welcome!

Portraits : My new passion!

Sometime ago I was drawn into the whirlpool of portrait when my year old grandniece proved to be irresistible subject! Since then I attempted a few, mastered none, failed a lot but last week I found myself still at it! Again it was my grandniece, now going to be two in June. And what can be better present than another portrait of her on her second birthday! Yes, I am going to London carrying this portrait and to see her reaction! I am very excited! I can't be partial so I have made a portrait of my grandnephew also whose birthday is also round the corner (August)! I have used the  photos I took when they visited us in December and I am hoping she will remember us when we see her again after 5 months!

Priyanka

 

 

 

Pranav

Thanks for viewing! Have a nice day! Comments and criticisms welcome!

Lubeck in a winter morning

I tried to create an atmosphere of a greyish foggy day which is the general weather in Lubeck winter. On my two visits the chilly and gloomy weather underscored the mood of the city which is an hour's drive from Hamburg. I used a lot of bluish grey and left everything understated to accentuate the mood. Done on a half sheet of Arches 300lb Rough paper.

Made a lot of sketches of the boats and the buildings and also did a colour study before starting the final painting. Lot of trouble but I am happy with the result! Happy viewing!

Cap van San Diego, Hamburg

I took a picture of this vessel sometime in Dec/Jan, as soon as we reached Hamburg but never got down to paint it, till I was invited for a painters' session by fellow painter Beth when I visited Ithaca(NY) this month.

We were at Chris Zinder's place, going through her fabulous works (http://www.artspartner.org/artists/view/zinder-chris.html) before we sat down to do some painting. (It was very cold outside so we were forced to paint indoors only). For want of any ideas I started to do this painting. Here are some pictures of the day:

 Beth and Chris

Chris and me!

I could do only the sky and the water and finished it later at my son's place. The finished painting is here:

 After returning to Hamburg I did the same painting on a bigger paper, which is here:

I should thank Beth and Chris for the wonderful hospitality and looking forward to do more painting sessions in future. 

The place is Hamburg's St Pauli ferry landing area and the name of the ship is: Cap van San Diego. Enjoy the paintings, thanks for looking!

Poor man's MF Hussain

I heard that MF Hussain is going to paint actor Vidya Balan in nude. It is unknown if Vidya Balan is going to pose for this painting, but I had a go myself with a picture of her, just for the fun of it.

Happy Easter holidays! Thanks for viewing.

Springtime II

I had mixed lots of colours on my palette for the previous painting, juicy yellow and red, which are used in the follow up painting, Springtime II(don't like wasting paints). Just a design variation of the same theme, windmill and the tulip fields.

Enjoy the colours! Thanks for looking! Have a great weekend!

Springtime

It is holi festival in India, festival of colours welcoming the onset of spring! There was lots of sunshine in Hamburg too, today and all went to inspire me to put lots of colours on paper, presto, here comes a painting celebrating colours! (We had  spend more than 3 years in Holland and the memories of the windmills and the tulip fields are always  with me!)

Happy Holi! Thanks for looking!