Seasons Greetings and Hungry Child

Hungry Child, Charcoal on Paper, (19" X 25") 

First of all, wish you all a very merry Christmas and a very happy new year. I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season. I did this from a reference photo I actually took hoping to make a landscape out of it. But later when I saw the photo on my computer I felt the gesture of this poor child as he drank something from the vessel very touching. Hence this drawing!
All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Shantaram

Shantaram, Charcoal on Paper, (15" X 11")

This is a portrait of a roadside fruit vendor near my place in Hyderabad. I tried a bit of abstraction here with the forehead merging in the background on the left side. I find charcoal a very flexible medium and quite amenable to such experimentation.
Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about this piece.
Thanks for visiting my blog.

Worker Woman

Tribal Woman, Charcoal on Paper, (15" X 11") 

This was done from a photograph of a group of ceramic workers who toil at various factories on the outskirts of our city, Hyderabad. I thought the sunlight on her face created a nice contrast which added to the drama of her dark skin against the white white scarf.

All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Old Man

"Old Man", Oil on Canvas, (18" X 14") 

I am posting on my blog after a long time. Have been doing lots of drawings lately, but nothing really good enough to be put up here. As always, comments and critiques are most welcome.
Thank you so much for stopping by.

Evening Light ... Oil

"Evening Light", Oil on Primed Paper, (22" X 15")

 

Photo reference Courtesy : Suresh Pethe

This is based on the photograph of a street scene in Pune, India. I loved this view  for the beautiful orange light just before sundown. Thank you Sureshji :)
This is my Sunday effort, painted on a half sheet. Did some tweaking here and there on Monday until I thought it was presentable. :) I have done a watercolour from this photo earlier (here). 
Which one do you think has come out better?
Thank you so much for visiting. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Car and Jar

Car and Jar, Oil on Canvas Panel, (10" X 12") 

I love painting this wooden toy car. This one took me about 9 hours spread over a period of 3 days. I love to paint wet-in-wet and so it was quite a challenge to keep everything wet over the three days. 
Thank you so much for stopping by. All critiques and comments are most welcome.

Sunday Morning in Sitabuldi Market

Sunday in Siitabuldi Market, Watercolour on Arches Paper, (22" X 15") 

Sitabuldi is one of the major market areas in my hometown, Nagpur. Normally its very crowded with all the shops open and people buying and selling everything from clothes to shoes, to pencils to locks and even antique coins. Sunday mornings are an exception, however. Most shops are closed and everything is very quiet and peaceful.
All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Lemons and Garlics

"Lemons and Garlics", Oil on Canvas, (14" X 18") 

I did this painting on Sunday. Took me about 7 hours. I find it very difficult to get ellipses right. So the mouth of the pickle pot was quite a challenge. :)

Thank you so much for visiting. Comments and critiques are most welcome.

Konkan Road

Konkan Road, Watercolour on Paper, (20" X 14") 

 This is a place somewhere in Konkan where the summers are as hot as the mangoes are sweet. This depicts the place in summer with a typically harsh sunlight and deserted streets.

This is the preliminary sketch I used for this painting. I have made some minor changes, like the position of the bicycle etc. As always I think the sketch has greater impact than the final painting. Perhaps its the urge to create a "presentable" (read twee) and "good" final painting that causes it to lose the strength of the original sketch.
Thank you so much for stopping by. :)

Lane in Ranigunj

"Lane in Ranigunj, Secunderabad", 
Watercolour on Paper , (22" X 15")

This was painted from a photograph I took in one of the by-lanes of Secunderabad. I did this on Fabriano Studio CP paper. I applied a thin wash of acrylic white on the paper and let it dry before painting. Seems to reduce the absorbency of the paper and makes it more paintable. Do you use any such methods to make your paper more paintable?

Thank you so much for stopping by.

View from the Fields

"View from the Fields", Watercolour on Paper, (14" X 20") 

I did this watercolour some time ago and then totally forgot about it. Yesterday while cleaning my room I found it. It is based on a photo I took in Kerala.
Thanks you so much for stopping by. I would be glad to know what you think of it. :)

Fishing Boats in the Sand

Fishing Boats in the Sand, Oil on Canvas , (18" X 14")

I love to paint boats, especially those that lay on land during low tides. They make such beautiful subjects for painting. I believe each one of them has a personality and a unique charm about themselves. I feel I am successful as an artist when I am able to capture that without ignoring the overall atmosphere of the place.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Nagpur Railway Station

"Front Porch, Nagpur Railway Station", Watercolour on Paper, (20" X 14")

This is a view of the front porch of Nagpur Railway Station. The building is made of sandstone and was built in 1924. After 89 years it still stands as splendid and beautiful as ever. But it can be much more crowded than I have shown here, especially on weekends, with so many young people coming home to visit their parents once in a while. Most youngsters leave Nagpur to pursue a career. I am one of them too but hope to go back and settle there someday.
Thank you all for stopping by.

Woman from Ladakh

Woman from Ladakh, Charcoal on Paper, (15" X 11.5")
Photo reference Courtesy: Shabbir Ferdaus

A portrait of a woman from Ladakh.  People who have lived difficult lives have such expressive faces. I hope I have been able to do some justice. I am glad the exceptionally talented photographer Shabbir Ferdaus allowed me to use one of his photos for this.

Please feel free to give your comments and critiques.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Tibetan Child

Tibetan Child, Charcoal on Paper, (15" x 11.75) 

Last week I happened to watch "Seven years in Tibet". I was amazed by the beauty of the place and people. 

All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Female in Profile III

Female in Profile III, Charcoal on Paper, (8" X 11.75") 

This is a small sketch I did last night. In my limited experience I feel that side faces look easier to draw but it often gets tricky because one has to communicate so much and there is so little to do it with. :)

Thanks for visiting my blog. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Old Timpiece

Old Timepiece, Oil on Oil Paper,  (13" X 11")

This old mechanical timepiece was used by my dad during his college days. While going through some old things in our home in Nagpur, I found this lovely timepiece along with its classy wooden case. I wound the spring and it started working just fine. I wish the dial was white with roman numerals, but this I think is beautiful too. 

This shall be my entry for DPW's weekly challenge "Make it move". 

Thank you for visiting my blog. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Sonori Village

Sonori Village, Watercolour on Paper, (14" X 20")
 Ref. photo courtesy: Mohan Panse

I hope you are having a nice week. I did this painting today from a photograph of Sonori Village taken by my friend Mr. Mohan Panse who was kind enough to let me use it. I love painting such village scenes with tiles roof houses and dirt roads.

Thank you for visiting my blog. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Side lit

Side lit, Charcoal on Paper, (15" X 11.75") 

Firstly, wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year 2013. 

Here's a portrait drawing I did today. All comments are most welcome.