My selection in the Shenzhen Watercolor Biennial 2015

'Varanasi Nocturne'

Watercolor on Saunders Waterford Paper,

14 x 21 inches

Extremely delighted and honored to have my painting – ‘Varanasi Nocturne’ included in the Shenzhen International Watercolor Biennial 2015, one of the most prestigious watercolor exhibitions in the world, to be held in December in Shenzhen, China. The other selected artists are some very big names in the watercolor world today and I'm super excited to share the wall with them!

Gathering for the Ganga Aarti

Watercolor on Paper

10 x 14 inches

detail

This scene was quite complicated even while working from a photograph! I wanted this painting to be loose, unlike my other works, almost in a plein air fashion, so I squinted a little to simplify the shapes and the whole scene. The fast brush strokes give a feel of movement and spontaneity. I painted this in transparent watercolors except a little opaque color used for the florescent lights on the poles.

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

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!