Whimsy

Whimsy on 22"x20"

This is a painting that I have been working on for a while. It is an abstract whimsical painting. This again shows my love for hot air balloons. This is a pretty big canvas, it is a 22x20 inch canvas. I started with the background. I wanted to create a lot of texture and movement in the background. This isn't a realistic sky but a more fantasy one. 

This is a original piece of art. Its something that I have been brewing on for a while. Once I finished the background, I had this idea of doing just the outline of a hot air balloon over the horizon. This itself was kind of a challenge because I was trying to get all the lines the exact same thickness with a really thin paint brush. After hours of painstakingly painting in the lines it looked like the image below. It just didn't look complete, it lacked something!

Then this piece lay in my art room for months while I couldn't figure out why it looked incomplete. I didn't want to color in the balloon because I thought it would take away from the texture and movement in the sky. I wanted the sky to be the focus of this painting. 

But... I finally gave in and decided to color the balloon in. I think it turned out good and didn't take away from the drama in the sky. 

Here is a picture showing the painting on my easel. This should give you an idea of how big the painting really is. 

As always, Thanks for reading. :)

Sun Sand and Waves

This is one of those paintings that has been in my mind for the longest time! I have been meaning to try something like this forever but I have always been intimidated by the thought of painting waves. So after watching a lot of videos online on how to paint the ocean, how to paint waves, I took the brave step of attempting it myself. :) 

This painting is inspired by various photographs of beaches, ocean, clouds, water that I researched online. It is an original piece. Since this was my first time painting waves, I chose a small canvas (6x8). Even though it looks good, the sea could still use a lot more movement. Maybe I will try a bigger canvas next time.

This is what the initial basic layout looked like. I did pull the water line much closer to the viewer later on. My original plan was to paint some beach chairs on the sand but then I decided to focus more on the waves and the clouds. The picture below shows a close up of an intermediate stage. 

 





Here are some close ups of the clouds. They were a lot of fun to work on.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading. :)

Welcome Spring!

These 2 pencil sketches are dedicated to all the beauty that comes with Spring. This is the season which reminds us of new life every year. Birds return from their long flights, trees bud and soon it will all be luscious green again!

I have always enjoyed pencil shading. The owl is a great subject for graphite pencils. He looks pretty fierce, doesn't he? :)

I am still learning the techniques of using color pencils. These sketches are imitations of other artists work. Color pencils are so versatile. You can achieve great texture or you can get a smooth blended look. This colorful bird is a good one to start with.

                                                                                                                                                               

Here are few more pictures showing the texture and the blended looks that you can achieve with color pencils.

Hope you all enjoy the warm spring sun this weekend! 

Hand Painted Bags - Part II

This is the second batch of paintings that will eventually be stitched on to bags. The first 3 are here.

This one is inspired by the beautiful hot air balloons that fly over our house regularly during summer. They are a wonderful sight.

I let my mind flow on this one. I wanted it to be an explosion of color. I think it will make a good purse.

And this is the last one in the series. I will be shipping all of these to India soon. I can't wait to see the finished purses. :)

Hand Painted Bags

I know these don't look like hand painted bags right now, but soon they will be stitched onto bags/purses. This is a project that I am collaborating with my mom. She stitches awesome handbags/purses and so we thought why not turn them into unique pieces of art. Here is her facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NandaCreations/ . I think this will work out well and once the bags are done and ready, I will post them on this blog.

This first piece is a very traditional Indian lady in a beautiful saree.

These paintings have been done on canvas sheets using acrylic paints. The canvas sheets are flexible enough to act like cloth. They are as thick as your canvas shoes would be. They might not be washable but I cant think of a time when I wanted to wash my purse. ;)

This last one is an abstract painting of African princesses. I really love how the orange brings out the bright colors in this one.

All of these pieces are 9x6 inches. That should be small enough to fit on some trendy fashionable handbags. :)

I cant wait to see the finish products!

Happy Feet

First of all, Happy New Year to all you lovely people reading my blog <3.

Last year was a big year for me. I managed to keep the blog alive for one WHOLE year (wohoo!!) and that wouldn't have been possible without the support of all you awesome people in my life. I should mention a special thanks to my love, my harshest critic and to my strongest supporter, my hubby. 

I wanted to start the new year off with some good vibes, and a cute baby elephant on some happy feet sounded just about right :). Who doesn't love baby elephants??

This is what it all started with. A cutie, don't you think! I ordered a pair of TOMS for this project. I recently bought a pair for myself and I must say they are super comfortable and stylish. The best part is their One for One Campaign. For every pair of TOMS that you purchase, they donate a pair to a child in need. I think that's just another great way to start off the New Year!

Here we go...

Starting with the bare shoes, I laid down the design with a pencil. Then went over it with a nice pretty color.








Then came all the Tangles! This was a lot of fun. This pair is for a friend and I hope she likes it. How do you all think it turned out? I am considering making a pair for myself. :)

Royal Peacock

            

Step 1: Get the rough design placement on.                   Step 2: Get a basic layer of background down. 

                  

Step 3: Refine the background and add more details. Zentangle done in silver paint. Finished off with a coat of varnish.
                                 

Amur Tiger

Amur Tigers or Siberian Tigers are an endangered species with only about 500 left alive! 

Here are some cool facts about these majestic animals.

Acrylic on 8x10 canvas

This was a fun one. It was nice to get back to acrylic painting after fabric painting. I took a lot of time with this one. I was trying to achieve depth and airiness in the fur. I hope it has come through. 

Here are some step by step pictures showing the tiger sort of come to life.

               

First the outline on canvas

      

Then some background and more details on the face

Added some base colors

Some more details in the fur and the eyes are almost done. They look a little too big and bright at this point.

After a lot more details and small strokes in, the face is looking good. Here is a close up of just the face.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! :)

Day of the Dead

This post couldn't have been done on a better day, since today is the Day of the Dead! For those of you who have never heard of this festival before, here is a nice read: Day of the Dead.

The sugar skulls are a work of art. There is so much art and history associated with it. The fascinating part is how something as eerie as a skull, can be turned into something so beautiful with art.

I made these shoes for a friend who loves skulls. :)

Step 1 was to get a good base coat on the shoes. I toyed with the idea of using acrylic paints v/s using fabric paints, just because I have so many more colors and shades of acrylic paints with me. But, after much research on the internet, I found out that acrylic paints on shoes will tend to crack with time. So, I stuck with the fabric paints.

Step 2 was to finalize on the design. I like to first sketch with pencil on paper to get an idea of size and placement. Then I sketched the same on the shoes.

Step 3 is the fun painting part. :)

Just the skull was looking dull so I added some black. Makes a big difference!

Painted the other shoe. I added blue hair to bring some color in. 

They make a lovely pair, don't they?? :) 

                                              

Unusual Friendships

This was a very unique and challenging project for me. Usually I paint whatever I am drawn towards but this time it was a request. It was a specific request from a friend who wanted to own one of these. She requested for a painting with a bear and a wolf in a forest landscape. I started off with this 20" x 24" canvas. First step paint the sky. A nice blue sky for a bright sunny day.

Next I added some evergreen trees in the background and grass. I learnt a lot during this painting. I very rarely do landscapes so this was quite an interesting one.

To bring more interest to the painting, I added a stream with some stones. I think that came out pretty good. Now for the actual bear and the wolf.















Here is a close up of the bear and the wolf. I tried to add as much detail as possible here.

Here is the full painting. 

Summer is here!

Colored pencils and Water Colors

Nothing so rare as a day in June, 
the air so fine and the blossoms all blue.

The weather just perfect, the skies never gray
The bugs always buzzing and the tree's seem to sway

The sun beats so warmly on the tenderness of my skin,
and the birds..they fly, far away in the wind,

June is the month that carries a tune,
it's beautiful melody floats like a balloon.

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/nothing-so-rare-as-a-day-in-june#ixzz3bfRuWMJH