A smoke at the paan shop

Watercolor on Fabriano paper

14 x 10 inches

I had captured this scene in Varanasi. And there were quite a few things about this image which attracted me a lot. One, it was a night scene (I was eager to paint one) second - the reds, totally different from my usual palette...third, the relaxed expression of the old gentle man, casually watching the people, pilgrims and tourists on the ghats, about to light his cigarette, and fourth, his cast shadow on the left. Since I found this to be a little challenging, I chose a quarter sheet size for better control. I was happy with the outcome!
'Paan' is a hindi word which means a betel leaf filled with chopped areca nut and other mouth fresheners. Many people have the habit of chewing a paan after a meal (I don't...he he) and you'll find such shops all over India.
This particular kiosk was a temporary one, as I found out the next morning. The place was empty..not a sign of the shop. The paanwallah would come in the evenings and start his job!

Same place...next morning

I hope you like and enjoy this painting. Have been getting fewer and fewer comments...sometimes none! So would be happy to hear from you all!

Have a great day :)

Narrow Lanes

Watercolor on Bockingford Paper

14 x 10 inches

I had been wanting to do this painting for quite some time. I was attracted by the brightly lit buildings in the upper half and the dark cool shadows in the lower half. Its very difficult to paint large dark areas in watercolor in one go. I had to glaze the dark areas thrice to get the desired result ( It still looks a shade lighter in this image when compared to the original painting! )

Plein air studies

OK...I'm exactly late by a week in posting this...
These were done last Sunday! :)
Inspired by Robert Wade’s studies on divided sheets, I used the same method and it was fun! In fact, I got a comment  on facebook for this from the master himself :) 
Would love to know what you think of these...and how you do plein air studies yourselves.
Have a great Sunday!

Lanes of Varanasi #2

Watercolor on Bockingford Paper

21 x 14 inches

In the spotlight

Opaque Watercolor on Tinted Paper

12 x 16 inches