Oodles of Doodles.........

I moved

2010-12-16T13:47:00.001-08:00

Hi ... I have now moved to the following location: http://muddledup.wordpress.com

Landscapes and Knives

2010-09-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

It's taken me ages to publish this - my first major painting for the year! I completed this as a part of the oil painting classes that I took up earlier this year. My wonderful teacher introduced me to palette knives and I fell in love with then knives..so much that majority of this painting was completed using the palette knives. To add, this is my second landscape in my lifetime. Landscape always make me nervous..they still do! Hope I can get over my fear and do more...Honestly had my teacher not given me amazing directions I am not sure if this would have been the result.

I have been pretty lazy after this painting or maybe I am not inspired. Another painting which I started is still sitting on the wall only 20% complete. I am so hoping that I finish it in the next 2 months! I need to get my art mojo back. Until then enjoy this one and let me know what you think! I thrive on feedback...

R u feeling "Lucky"?

2010-01-24T06:07:00.000-08:00

I definitely do!! Lucky is my little black kitty. He was rescued by a co-worker and she got him into work as she was trying to find a home for him. He came home with me that day and has been there since. Lucky is a is a mischievous little black / brown kitty with little tufts of white and makes me laugh each day and is a special member of the family. In fact he tried helping me while I was doing this painting (in his own little way of course). He tried holding the brush, sitting on my lap and I even caught him staring at the painting a few times....I was skeptical about doing a painting of him as I have never painted animals before..Finally I took the plunge and this is the result. This is oil on gesso board, again a first. I plan to paint more animals in the future...

Tulip March

2010-01-03T17:04:00.001-08:00

This is my first completed piece for the new year (though I started this one in 09). is oil on canvas and I decided to call this one "Tulip March" as it seemed like the smaller tulips were following their leader. Either that or the big tulip is baby sitting the smaller tulips! I got adventurous and even used the back of my brush (instead of the bristles) to do some of the leaves. I am thinking of doing more tulips.. they are bright and cheerful and come in many colors! . I hope to complete paintings this year...

Fancy a "hearty" latte?

2009-12-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

Here is my take on a cup of gourmet latte. Initially it was just the cup of coffee. Feeling that the cup needed some company especially on a 9*11 canvas, I got adventurous and added some coffee beans. I have kept the background simple as I wanted it to look like a wooden table! This is one is completely different than my other paintings.. I just painted the way the brush felt like moving - it seemed to have a mind of its own! This one was inspired from all the fancy work that barristas can do with a cup of coffee these days. As always your thoughts are welcome.

The Odd Pair

2009-11-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is my first still life painting in oil. I have been reading quite a bit on impressionist painting techniques (thank you google!) and had to try it out. Also I have never painted fruits! So when I found this apple and banana lying around in the kitchen I arranged them on the table and tried to make them immortal! Yes the apple was shaped like that... it was different and that interested me and the banana had just started ripening. This wet on wet technique was completed on a 9 * 11 canvas board. By the end of this exercise I ate the apple! :)

At last......I'm back! and Sunflowers are In!

2009-11-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

Finally! After close to 5 years I was able to complete an oil painting. I love sunflowers - they are always bright and cheerful! It took me more than 2 weeks to complete this oil painting.. I was so excited that I wanted to add a lady bird to one of the petals but I resisted! This painting is oil on mounted canvas 9 inches * 12 inches. The photo has not come out that great...it hardly seems to do justice to the light sky blue background of this painting. The canvas is still drying and I will take a better picture when its completely dry. Maybe that would help. What do you think of the painting?Please be brutal with your thoughts!

Une jolie fleur pour la belle dame

2009-02-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

My second real water color painting attempt. I should say it went better than my first one. After all the reading up on water color techniques this is what I came up with. I also tried a collage like technique to present the painting by superimposing my painting on a plain white sheet. Fancy eh??Being more of an oil colors persons, I just don't understand these water colors! They seem pretty complicated to me. But being a watercolor neophyte I am trying to understand the mystery behind these colors.

On a different note, I would like to dedicate this one to the person who is always the first one to take a look at my posts on this blog and comment. She is getting married later this week and I thought this would be the best gift from me!

Swarna, wish you a happy married life!

The Ballerina

2009-01-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

Finally my first piece of art for the year! I managed to go above and beyond my lazy phases and started working on this sketch. I have never sketched human figures before. I have painted loads of them but never really ventured to sketch them. I decided to do a ballerina after recalling the ballet performance that I was a part of at school. At the end of the training and performance I ended up with a ligament tear! That probably explains why this sketch is not as good... This is my first attempt at doing a stick figure. The details are minimal and the sketch has been kept as simple as possible.

Pup on the rocks

2008-11-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

After eons here is something from me. Blame the stress....times are bad! This one is inspired from a cute yellow Labrador pup playing over some rocks. A colleague who adores dogs showed me a picture of this guy a few months ago. This is my first attempt at using charcoal pencils.They are kinda messy so now I need to look for some kind of fixative to preserve the sketch. I hope there aren't too many delays before my next sketch. In the meantime your views on this one are welcome.

Halloween Pumpkins

2008-10-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

It has been more than a month since I sketched anything myself and I blame other priorities that seem to have taken over my life! In the week end that passed I came across some pumpkins that were painted for Halloween celebrations. Most of them had some really unique expressions and faces. I have never ventured into painting vegetables before but it seems like a fun activity! I wanted to post a pic of these two pumpkins that seemed really unique to me - they were just sitting there in the corner amongst the dead leaves and stones and blissfully happy with their lives! I am pushing myself to start something real soon, in the meantime however I hope you enjoy this work of art by an anonymous artist!

The Rose - Up close and personal

2008-09-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

The queen of all flowers, beautiful beautiful in all its colors with the power to make every woman smile. Its sweet smell has the powers to soothe the soul and its praise has been sung by many a poet. When I came across this arial view, I couldn't resist transferring it to my sketch book. It seemed to me that every petal of the blooming rose contained a secret or a story to share!

And the award goes to...

2008-09-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

Ahem! I meant the Brilliant weblog award. The Brilliant Weblog award has been conferred on me by La Belle dame sans merci on 08-Sep-08 for which I say 'Merci Beaucoup'! I am extremely thrilled!

In turn I would like to award the only 3 blogs that I visit on a regular basis - I am new to the blogosphere (though I created the blog way back in 2007 which remained blank until about a month ago)so pardon me guys! However the original rules for the recipients are as follows:

1.When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it,together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back
2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design
3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog'
4. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize(optional).
5. And pass it on!

And the award goes to:

La Belle Dame sansmerci for her 'in your face' style of writing on all topics. I find her articles fun to read and is sure to make one smile and sometimes even laugh their head off.

Unforgettable Journey for the bloggers analytical and detailed view of the topics that she chooses to comment on. She seems to have the knack of catching an angle that may be missed by the rest of the world. I always look forward to her blogs.

Crazy mum for her bold way of writing on various topics though a majority of them are about her kids. I also like the way she posts pics of her babies and the colourful layout helps. It makes you a part of their growing up experience as well.

Btw guys, I have linked you on My Space the blog that I use to ramble about non-art related topics! Oh ya!! I do that also!Am just as messed up as the rest of you :-)

Lord Ganesha - Chubby and Fabulous!

2008-09-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

I wish I had sketched this much earlier. This is my first sketch of India's most loved God. In the past I have done two paintings starring him. He was the first God I caught on canvas!Almost everyone I know love him and he seems to pop out everywhere; in the form of beautiful statues, cute curios, key chains etc., I sketched this Ganesh during the week of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. What I liked about the original was that it was not the run of the mill picture of the chubby God. Lord Ganesh has also gone cool with the times and I hope I can celebrate the occasion with more grandeur next year. Ganapathi Bappa Moriya!

Been hit by the blues!

2008-08-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

I wondered how amazing it would be to take a walk through the green woods surrounded by the morning mist. As the mist is clearing away I find this majestic bird preening itself on a tree and our eyes meet.....Hello beautiful blue!

I have been hit by the blues but not the sad kind. The color Blue seems to be present everywhere - Blue skies, the national flag, cotton candy flavored ice-cream and one of my good friends even has the Hindi translation of the word blue in her name. Lord Krishna's skin was supposedly a shade of blue and the peacock always seems to be present around Lord Krishna, as he carries its feather on his person. It also happens to be the national bird of India.This is one powerful color! A tribute to my favorite color using water colors for the first time ever. I did not have the best of brushes working for me and all this coupled with the fact that I was painting after almost 3 years resulted in the real blues hitting me a lot while I was working on this piece. Here goes...

And the cow jumped over the moon!

2008-08-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well I tried with this one... The sight of cows grazing peacefully in green meadows always holds a happy,peaceful and relaxed image for me. I am sure most people would kill for the kind of life that is portrayed in the California Happy cow commercials. I used 2HB, 4B and 6B pencils. I am going to impose a temporary halt to this phase of barnyard animals with Miss Cow here. I hope to post more colorful sketches or paintings in the future. I hope you enjoy viewing this sketch. As for me I am off to buy me some Laughing Cow cheese :-)

A note of thanks!

2008-08-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Tons of thanks to all of you who have commented on my works and emailed or communicated via other means your thoughts and interpretations of my sketches and paintings and also areas for improvement. Most of you liked the sketch of the dog and I loved some of your comments that I have listed below:

The dog looked sad and seemed very emotional.

The dog is feigning a sad face to get a treat.

It is a golden retriever in one of its quieter moods.

I agree that it looks like it would break down any moment.... One of my friends also made me understand that most of my animals seemed a bit restricted - by a leash as in the case of the dog and the horse and the bird seemed to be just sitting there instead of flying. I promise to sketch animals with more cheery outlooks. I loved hearing the comments. Personally I thought that the horse was a better sketch than the dog, but I am glad that the dog was more popular with everyone. Please do keep the comments rolling in...Thanks again!

Barks and Neighs!

2008-08-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have never sketched too many animals before. Better late than never - keeping that in mind I tried my hand at doing these. I sketched the horse this afternoon. I found the photo of a beautiful brown horse on the net and the dog was after a friends dog. These are my first ever sketches of dog (with the exception of the dog that I drew for a painting competition when I was in the 3rd grade)and a horse..And its all here for you guys to view and comment.

Polly wants a picture....

2008-08-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

I sketched this parrot after watching an Eddie Murphy movie that had a scene of a little kid with a colorful parrot that spoke. I had 2 green parrots growing up and it was a wonderful experience. I have not been able to locate the paintings that I did of my parrot in his various moods, so I wanted to do another one again (after all these years) and this is the result. I brought in the 4B along with the usual 2HB, 6B and HB pencils.

The Cherry Pair

2008-07-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

I made this pencil sketch after a visit from one of my friends during the week end that just passed. She is fond of cherries and happened to mention them a few times during her stay. So the cherries lodged themselves firmly in my brains and I should say I felt much better after transferring this pair to my sketch book. I wanted to sketch this pair to try and recreate the dimensions of the cherry on the left. The the front and rear portions of teh fruit form a part of the picture which is in contrast to the the fruit on the right which is pretty much only one side of the fruit. I used 2HB and 6B pencils to create this sketch.

No love like this love...

2008-07-26T17:20:00.001-07:00

This painting of Radha and Krishna on the swing was inspired from a calendar (again!). This oil and canvas took me over a year to complete (in between work and classes). More than the main characters of this painting, I was drawn to the cheery back ground with its doves, parrots, peacocks and swans looking upon or up at Lord Krishna and Radha. I enjoyed every minute I spent trying to recreate the magic moment between Lord Krishna and his lady love.

Hey Ram!!!

2008-07-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

I completed this painting after my high school exams. I worked on this piece for about 3 months. This painting was inspired from a calendar which my aunt presented to me. My interpretation of the picture was that that of Lord Ram travelling to Lanka to rescue Seetha and this was a probably a moment sometime before the bridge to Lanka was built by the monkey lords and the squirrels. He seems to be taking in the scenario and planning his next move. The inspiration was the colors of the original that seemed to relfect his thoughtful mood coupled with anxiety. This was completed using oil on canvas.

Attempt to do a Landscape

2008-07-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

This landscape took me more than 6 months to complete. This was one of those paintings that dragged on for quite some time and even lost my interest to complete this half way between. It was the flow of water and the rainbow that attracted me to the painting initially but I wasn't doing too well with the trees. I finally did finish it - Oil on wooden board.

Tiles can serve as a canvas too..

2008-07-25T08:15:00.001-07:00

This painting was done on a mosaic tile that is usually used for flooring's for home and office constructions. It was a beautiful cream colored tile that formed a lovely background for the the brown hopper enjoying his chow. This was one of the projects that I completed during my learning phase. Oil paints were used to complete this one.

The lamp in the living room

2008-07-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

Continuing my endeavor to produce better sketches, I sketched this lamp shade present in the living room of the apartment where I currently stay. The various shades that it produced on the stand when it was lit motivated me to take my pencils and capture it on paper. It took me a few hours of sitting on the couch (in the same position) to complete this. I was left with a back ache after completing this sketch but I think it was worth it, though it can always be better. What do you think??

Monochrome Tulips

2008-07-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

I sketched these tulips on a rainy weekend. I was inspired by the various hues of these beautiful flowers and the happy feeling they always bring when I see them. This is however an exclusive pencil sketch that explains the absence of colors on this sketch.

Deer Haven

2008-07-22T11:45:00.001-07:00

These deers were painted using oil paints and I had a lot of help. It took quite some time to complete this as I had wait for the paints to dry. I don't recall when I completed this one but it was probably a year into my learning phases. The green and brown color of the rexin made me feel that the deers were actually in the woods enjoying themselves amidst the lush green grass.

This painting is the only one I ever did on Rexin. I never knew that this material that is usually used by some furniture manufacturers to use as covers for sofa sets and futons could also double up as a painting canvas.

Jai Maa Kaali!

2008-07-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

From the land of 'rosgollas','jaal mudis' and 'loochies' this painting of 'Kaali Maa' is a tribute to the land of Kolkotta where my dad spent a good chunk of his life. My mom was a regular visitor to the very popular Kaali temple. She visited 'Kaali Maa' at the goddesses popular abode at Kalighat every Monday without fail as long as she was there and feels that was the reason I was born on a Monday.

I worked on this painting during my 11th grade. I completed it in 2 days flat. I fell in love with the original picture when I saw Kaali Maa's elaborate crown and her peaceful face. I painted her on glass using Fevicryl golden yellow as the primary colour using a lot of line strokes. This painting was framed using foil paper to give the transparent areas of the glass a nice background.

Setting my sketch book on fire with charcoals

2008-07-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

I got a box of pencils in the hopes of developing my drawing and sketching skills. However I did not realise that the box had more charcoal pencils then the B and HB pencils that I actually required. Anyways I inaugurated the set and created this drawing of the phoenix. Attempting to sketch post 2.5 years resulted in shaking hands trying to draw the lines across the page. The sketching was followd by shading and touch up's with the charcoal pencils and the fancy blending stick. This is the result:

The brightness of the lines and shades is owed to the charcoal pencils. I love the way it looks but don't like the residue that the charcoals leave on the paper.

Some of my friends know where else they can find this phoenix :-)

Acrylics

2008-07-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

This was the first medium I learnt to use. Oh yes! not water colours (am not counting those little tin boxes containing rounded cakes of water paints that we all mess with when we are kids)and not poster paints. I actually started off with acrylic paints. This painting was done on a black wooden board using Fevicryl acrylic paints (Of course the only brand of good acrylic paints that I am aware of). This painting was done eons ago - I guess when I was in school. In fact I made at least 2 of these paintings. One of these was gifted to a relative for their house warming ceremony and hopefully it still hangs on the walls of their home (It was there the last time I checked)

Oil is healthy in this world!

2008-07-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

I love using oil paints. They mix well, give life to colours and expressions and have an amazing finish. I have always been fasinated with Lord Krishna - he is my favorite character from the Mahabharat and i am always interested to listen to stories about his childhood and life. This painting was inspired for a very beautiful calendar which my aunt gave me. She is a big fan of the ISKON. I consider this painting as one of my personal best [though I know it has flaws :)]

Let me know what you think of this one. The picture was taken by my parents after it was framed - hence you find that it looks weird as the transparent paper cover is still on it.

Yours Truly.....

2008-07-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

Painting is one of my favorite things to do in this world!Bless my parents for taking me to Mrs. Lakshmi Raghavan in an effort that I don't throw away my summer holidays running around the house and getting into mischief. I got my first set of painting lessons while moving to class 6. Lakshmi aunty introduced me to the beautiful world of colours and making me believe that I could do it!Most of my best memories growing up are spending weekend and holiday afternoons and some school week evenings learning different strokes. I am not an amazing artist but I love the works that I produce and enjoy the entire process of making them.

As much as I find painting fun and easy I find drawing and sketching a little hard. In fact I am still working on these areas to produce better work. Off late I have also started to explore the effects of color pencils, water colors, soft pastels etc., I will to post my works here so that you can give me your thoughts and comments.