Scribbles and Splashes: May 2008

Paisley Play

Okay, I've run out of patience. I can't wait any longer for the doctors to bandage our dear darling digicam - it'll happen when it's meant to happen. I could have borrowed another camera from friends and/or neighbours but I don't have patience at all right now. I logged on to my blog this morning and browsed through and realised how many many paintings needed to meet their older siblings at this forum. I tiptoed into the room, creaked open RJ's closet and dug out the wire I needed to transfer files from his relatively poor resolution phone-camera to here. I'm running late for my train right now, so I'll put in the notes about these paintings later - in a week's time when I'm back from my holidaying :)

I'm beaming. Yeeeehoooo!

And I finally feel relaxed. Phew.

Radiant Roses

There's nothing more frustrating than yearning to paint and not knowing what to! Those of you who have scribbled and splashed more than once would know that acrid distaste when you end up browsing more than 100 pictures online for inspiration and are left feeling only more and more in the gust of an abysmal whirlpool of confusion and exasperation. This is the result of one such evening. I had spent 2 hours browsing and just as I was getting up to take a stess-buster snooze, a small little gift-tag lying near my laptop caught my eye. I wanted to make those roses - even though it meant straining the eye to see details. I must confess, I focussed hard to see how those roses tilted and shone. But I gave up after the first 60 seconds and decided to lightly sketch it and let my colour sticks run wild thereafter!

Tell-Tale Tulips

You know, there's something challenging about painting from the same picture a second time - especially when you know you bothced up your first attempt. Never paint without a smile. I've learnt that the hard way! The first time I painted this vase of tulips, they looked more cunning than cuddlesome - had it not been my promise to RJ to never destroy any painting, I wouldn't have been able to see the contrasting improvement between the this one and that! I know it isn't perfect, but it was a first on hand-made paper (we bought so many art-files from Pondicherry in march this year!) and you can throw RJ's favourite one-liner ("It's all in the mind") in my face, but I feel a tad better having given it another shot!

Whites and Woods

This is an incomplete painting. I botched it up so quickly and lost patience with the flowing water so soon that it'll take some time for me to want to give it a second look, what to talk of a second sitting! But I promise, I'll work on it... the idea was to explore the whites in watercolour painting. I'll learn, I promise!

Whimsical
I've been wanting to make a village belle for a while. In fact, not so long ago, I downloaded lots of pictures in line with my grand plan of making a series of six paintings with village belles as muse. That never happened. And I know this doesn't come close. This is another piece that took shape (and colour), thanks to a dull day with the paintbox!

Gushing Waters 1

I've always been paranoid about painting water. Let's not even touch upon the sensitive topic of my experiences in trying to attempt making waterfalls in the past. As a kid doodling around with huge art-sheets, I had more gumption. So I made mountains, rivers, people, still-life and animals without a care about details. But I never made waterfalls. Gushing Waters 1&2 are really my desperate attempts to salvage an iota of self-confidence that seemed to have been missing for a while - not chipped off, just missing. I don't feel great... but having made these two, I'm now EXCITED to experiment a little more! A series of cascades flowing in soon :)

Gushing Waters 2

Velvetty Couple

Nothing can diminish my love for florals - and the iris seems to be a particularly tantalising muse! Even though every attempt has had more flaws than flourish, it's left me with renewerd rigour and resolve to be able to capture the tenderness, the translucency and the ... of the petals. I've been mesmerised for long, but now I'm intrigued and inspired by the beauty.

Mauves and Purples

I'm yet to learn the idea of a colour palette fixated on one base colour. Initially intended as a group of violets flowing out of a jug. I confess, I got carried away!!!

Free

This one's for RJ's last day at work. You should have seen his face... and the infectious impatience to celebrate!

Gateway to Green

For those of you who've followed Milind Mullick's works, here's a confession - of all his paintings, this one seemed to be the first among equals on a rainy evening in Bangalore's State Library. I wanted to come back home and get to painting right away! A certain nervousness stifled me. So I began working, bit by bit, after a crazy 30 minute search for the painting online. Long live Google. And even longer, Milind!