'In Watercolor' - International watercolor festival in Ranchi

'In Watercolor' is a 4 country Travelling exhibition, whose Indian chapter will take place in Ranchi from Aug 22 to Aug 26, 2018
This exhibition is very different as its a small format paintings show (8 x 8" to be specific). Artists from the other participating countries will also be arriving in the capital city of Jharkhand and there will be demonstrations and other painting activities by the participating artists on all days of the exhibition
The list of Indian artists include the likes of Milind Mulick, Bijay Biswaal and other prominent watercolor artists of our country and I'm very happy to be a part of it! Really looking forward to this show!
Below is my painting that will be on display there :)

View at dusk, Varanasi

'View at dusk, Varanasi'

Watercolor on Saunders Paper,

14 x 21 inches

I remember a quote by the famous pastel artist Harley Brown that in a painting, the center of interest needn't be big. On the contrary, a small center of interest when placed appropriately, becomes more powerful. This is well proved in this painting. The center of interest here is the bright illuminated part of the shoreline, which comparatively, is a small portion in the painting . This painting also serves as an example of dominant color scheme, which is blue here. The monotony of this blue space is broken by the introduction of complementary colors yellow-orange, thereby creating a contrast and drama in the painting.
Hope you enjoy it!

From planning to execution

Today I’m posting 2 recent paintings from my varanasi series, showing how I plan and execute my paintings

Both have been painted from my reference photographs. In the case of 'Morning Ferry' there was a certain portion in the reference photograph in which I was interested. So in order to check the composition, I did a thumbnail sketch. I normally follow this procedure, if I'm interested in just a portion of the photograph.

 And once I like it, I do another sketch, this time, little bigger and in color. These studies give me an idea how the final paintings would look. Some changes can still be made if need be, at this stage.

Doing these small color sketches is much more fun than the final painting :-)

Here are the final paintings -

'Morning Ferry, Varanasi'

Watercolor on Saunders Waterford paper,

10 x 14 inches

'Varanasi Hues'

Watercolor on Saunders Waterford Paper,

10 x 14 inches

Kolkata Series: Fishing on Hooghly

'Fishing on Hooghly'

Watercolor on Saunders Paper,

10 x 14 inches

detail

Small format paintings

Before beginning a new painting, I try to make a small study of the same scene...helps in simplifying and to know first hand, how would the result be. But sometimes, I just leave them at that. I've been always fond of working in small format. Easy to control and so enjoyable! For the art collectors, they are an affordable option and wonderful collectibles.

 

'Bougainvilleas', Watercolor, 5 x 7 inches

 

'Cruising on lake pichola',  Watercolor, 5 x 7 inches

 

'Orange Wall',  Watercolor, 5 x 7 inches

 

'Duck herder,  Watercolor, 7 x 10 inches

 

'Evening light',  Watercolor, 5 x 7 inches

 

'Goa beach #1,  Watercolor, 7 x 10 inches

 

'Goa beach #2,  Watercolor, 7 x 10 inches

 

'Princep ghat at dusk',  Watercolor, 7 x 10 inches

 

'Sparkling lake',  Watercolor, 5 x 7 inches

 

'Winter morning',  Watercolor, 5 x 7 inches

The full collection can be viewed here.

Latest from my Goa series

Two more added to my ongoing Goa series watercolor paintings...

 

'A private view of the sea'

Watercolor on Arches Paper,

10 x 14 inches

'Romance at beach'

Watercolor on Bockingford Paper,

10 x 14 inches

Commissions

Last month, I was commissioned to paint my own paintings in watercolor. One of them was an earlier work done in oil. I agreed almost immediately! With the experience I've gained painting in watercolors all these years, I was eager myself to see how it would look in watercolors :) The sparkle on the water is the actual white of the paper which was protected using masking fluid.

The second one was of a watercolor done last year. The size ordered however, was half of the original. And painting the third one was interesting. The buyer had seen a little sketch of the painting ( 5 x 7") which I had posted on facebook and wanted a larger version of the same (14 x 21"). I happily obliged since it was a favorite subject - the bicycle! :)

Here are their images

 

'Shimmering water' - remake of an earlier oil painting in watercolor

 

 

'Working early', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches

 'Holi in Varanasi', Watercolor, 21 x 14 inches

Besides these, I also sold 2 more watercolors to an art lover in the US this month

'Esplanade Traffic, Kolkata' Watercolor, 9 x 21 inches

'Crossing the Hooghly', Watercolor, 9 x 21 inches

I had received inquiries for these 2 paintings several times, but they never converted to sales. I'm very happy that it finally did and that they have found a good home in the US. :)

Gearing up fo the day

Watercolor on Saunders paper

14 x 21 inches

An early morning scene from Varanasi. There was still a misty haze in the atmosphere while the boatmen got  ready for a busy day ahead and I just wanted to capture that morning atmosphere and the activities going on there. The bright colors of the boats and the painted advertisements on them made the painting interesting!

Ghats of Varanasi and its WIP

'Ghats of Varanasi'

Opaque Watercolor on Tinted Paper

13 x 20 inches

Capturing the WIP was relatively easier here as this was done in opaque watercolors! :)

Varanasi Vista - WIP

'Varanasi Vista'

Watercolor on Saunders Paper

Full imperial size - 21 x 29 inches

I’ve often tried to capture images to show my work in progress but almost every time I become so engrossed while painting that I forget to click them. It becomes difficult more so, when you are painting in watercolors, as the colors dry very fast. So one needs to be fast to click the images in between, or the painting gets unwanted hard edges! This time, I succeeded…though not fully, he he…I missed a couple of shots towards the end. But I still feel that you’ll enjoy the various stages of this painting.

After completing the painting, I reviewed it next day and felt that the temperature of the painting looked a little cool…I wanted to give the mood and feeling of a late sunset, when the sun has just gone down, so I applied a glaze of raw sienna on the distant buildings and adding burnt sienna to the wash while coming on to the closer buildings and the ghats. Also applied a thin glaze of orange on the water for balance. You’ll notice the difference in the last 2 images.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Continuing the Varanasi series

2 more paintings from the ongoing series...

'Heading out'

Watercolor on Bockingford Paper

10 x 14 inches

'Boats and reflections'

Watercolor on Fabriano Paper

10 x 14 inches

Varanasi Series

Ghats of Varanasi # 1

Watercolor on Saunders paper

9 x 21 inches

I've started a new series on Varanasi - a very ancient and holy city which I had visited a couple of months ago. This is the first in this series...more to follow. Hope you enjoy! :-)

Boats moored at Princep ghat

Watercolor on Saunders paper

14 x 21 inches

Crossing the Hooghly

Watercolor on Saunders Paper

9 x 21 inches

End of the day, Varanasi

Watercolor on Saunders paper 300 gsm

14 x 21 inches

Hi all…it’s been long…I recently got myself a new keyboard (synthesizer) and am now busy creating karaoke tracks on it (yes, I do it professionally... :) got a list of tracks to be made for a singer friend) that I couldn't get to paint all these days! Hope to complete the order in the next 2 weeks and get back to painting. Not being able to paint is really frustrating!

Posting a painting today which I did a while ago...a scene from Varanasi, one of the oldest cities on earth and an important pilgrimage for us Indians! The reference photo was provided by Laurent Goldstein who is a wonderful photographer and my online friend. Laurent is from Paris but he mostly stays in Varanasi now and considers it his second home. I intend to meet him personally the next time I visit the city!

Boats by the pier

Watercolor on Bockingford paper

14 x 21 inches

A larger version of an earlier work...

Lake Pichola, Udaipur

Watercolor on Bockingford Paper 300 gsm

10 x 14 inches

A simple subject unlike my last painting which was difficult, especially the buildings! This one is also smaller in size, done on a quarter sheet and was fun to paint :)

Marina Beach, Chennai

Watercolor on Bockingford paper

14 x 21 inches

My earlier painting of the same place was liked by many and so I decided to paint another beach scene. I used masking to preserve the whites for the waves. Also the original reference didn't have any figure in the foreground which looked kind of empty. So I chose this woman from another of my references, placed her where I wanted to, after some adjustments in the drawing stage. Hope you like it!

Have a wonderful weekend :)