Still life with Oranges, Plums and Garlics

Still life with Oranges, Plums and Garlic, Oil on Canvas, 18" X 24" 

This canvas is slightly larger than those that I can handle comfortably. Henceforth I am planning to paint larger regularly so I dont have to feel intimidated by the occassional commissions I receive :).
I am not exactly happy with the blank forground. NExt time I will try to create a more balanced composition.
Thank you so much for visiting. Comments and critiques please .....

Sunny Morning Soliloquy

Sunny Morning Soliloquy, Oil on Canvas, 20" X 16" 

Its been some time since I posted anything new here. That is because I was busy completing the colour charts as described in Richard Schmid's book Alla Prima II. Each chart just seemed to take forever especially since I did all of them with a pallette knife. It was certainly an exhausting exercise but I feel more confident with colour now. Of course I will have to keep studying them periodically to grasp all the info they offer. I will be posting them in the near future. I noted that some colours result in really surprising mixtures, for e.g. Alizarin Crimson + Viridian give a beautiful purply-violet, Viridian, alizarin and Indian red are very strong colours and they dominate every mixture much more than the other colours even when added in traces, yellow ochre tends to darken every mixture it is added to etc. I am sure there is a lot more to discover. :)

The above painting "Sunny Morning Soliloquy" was done from a photograph I took very near to the place I live. The background was quite busy and I tried to quite it down to make sure it doesnt distract attention from the centre of interest. All comments are most welcome.

Navn Again

Navin, Charcoal on Paper, 15" X 11"

One more portrait sketch of my friend Navin from life, this time in charcoal. This time I feel its a much closer likeness. 
Thanks for stopping by.

Navin

Navin, Oil on Canvas, 18" X 12.5"

This is a portrait of my friend Navin done from life yesterday afternoon. It was a wonderful experience and I am sure I have learnt a lot of things from thi unconsciously. I was really hoping that I would capture the likeness to the best of my ability so that he is not disappointed. In the end he was quite happy .... although I can certify that he is much better looking than this ;)
Thanks Navin and thanks everyone for stopping by. Comments and critiques please :)

Still Life with Garlics

Still Life with Garlics, Oil on Canvas, 14" X 18"

Still life has always been my favourite subject. It gives the opportunity to employ principles related to colour, value edges etc. to painting from life without having to depend on anyone. This one took me about 3 days (2 hrs every day in the morning). 
Thanks for stopping by. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Moula Ali Yard IV

Moula Ali Yard IV, Watercolour on Paper, 14" X 20" 

I have painted several times at this very spot. However, since this is part of a railway marshalling yard, every time there is something new. Last time it was a track repair machine. This time is was an old abandoned guard coach. I also love this place because there is little disturbance due to passers by. 

I hope you are enjoying seeing my plein air efforts. Thanks for stopping by. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Self Portrait using a mirror

Self Portrait, Oil on Paper, 15" X 11"

Lately I have been trying to take every opportunity of painting from life, especially landscapes (I have always painted still lives from life). But when speaking of portraiture, you need someone else who is equally enthusiastic as you are (which, in my limited experience, is quite difficult). So I am planning to do a few more of these self portraits using a mirror in different lighting situations and orientations. That way I hope to ensure I will be in good nick when someone finally agrees to pose and wont disappoint them :). The likeness here is quite close, but not perfect.
Thank you for stopping by. All comments and critiques are welcome :)  

Two New Watercolours

NFC Bridge, Watercolour on Paper, 14" X 19"

Inside the Woods, Watercolour on Paper, 20" X 14" 

I have been doing quite a bit of painting these days, just didn't get time to upload my new works here. Here are two new watercolours. The first one of the NFC bridge is a plein air piece and the second one has been done from a photo. 
Thank you so much for dropping by. All comments and critiques are welcome.

Shubha on Radhanagar Beach, Andaman Islands

Shubha on Radhanagar Beach, Andaman Islands, Oil on Canvas, 12.5" X 18.5" 

This painting is based on a photograph of the beautiful Radhanagar Beach, Andaman Islands I clicked during our visit four years ago. My wife, Shubha is seen here wetting her legs and taking in the fresh air :)
All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Tikkar Billa II

Tikkar Billa II, Another Game of Hopscotch, Oil on Canvas, 36" X 24"

This is perhaps one of my largest and most ambitious works yet. I have made use of several reference photos, a dozen pencil sketches and a couple of oil sketches done to resolve the facial features and the light and shadow. I am not exactly happy with the way her skirt has turned out. Perhaps I need to practise painting drapery more in my still lives. They say painting folds of cloth is a difficult job, now I know why ;)
Thank you so much for stopping by. Comments and critiques please ......
Please do point out the areas where you feel improvement can be made.

New Watercolours

Here are a couple of watercolours that I have done recently.

EMU Shed, Moula Ali, Watercolour on Paper, 14" X 10.5" 

Cherlapally Lake, Watercolour on Paper, 14" X 20"

All comments and critiques are most welcome.

The Rag Picker

The Rag Picker, Oil on Canvas, 16" X 12"

In this portrait study I wanted to concentrate on the scarf and folds of clothing in general. I wish I had made a background a little more interesting.
Thank you all for stopping by. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Sketch of a girl - a master copy

Sketch of a Girl (after W Bouguereau), Oil on Canvas, 14" X 12" 

To say that I am a huge admirer of William Adolphe Bouguereau would be such an understatement. I enjoyed doing this alla prima master copy and also it was a wonderful learning experience. I will be doing a few more these copies and hopefully achieve a better likeness :)
Thank you so much for stopping by. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Still Life with Onion, Garlic and Grapes

Still Life with Onion, Garlic and Grapes, Oil on Canvas, 14" X 18"

I have painted this still life after a long time. I think it is a very good subject when trying to fine tune basics of values, edges etc. One doesn't have to hire a model and yet one can reap all the benefits of painting from life. Besides there is no need to feel embarrassed if the painting gets screwed up :) Perhaps thats why Still Life is one of my favourite genres.

Thanks for stopping by. Please do leave your valuable comments and critiques.

Charcoal Triptych

Charcoal Triptych, Charcoal on Paper, (9.5" X 21") (9.5" X 7" each) 

I love doing these charcoal studies. They are not very time consuming, an hour for each and are a great exercise in values. I mostly use pictures I find on the internet that are not copyrighted. 
All comments are most welcome.

Mallapur Morning

Mallapur Morning, Watercolour on Paper, 20" X 14" 

This is another place very close to my home. I did this from a photograph I took with my phone one morning. I love the wonderful orange that seems to fringe most objects at sunrise. I hope I was able to capture a bit of that in this painting. 
All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Rainy Day, Seminary Hills

Rainy Day, Seminary Hills, Watercolour on Paper, 14" X 20" 

Seminary hills is a lovely place in my hometown, Nagpur. It has a lovely forest-ish feel to it with dense vegetation and if you are lucky you might see a herd (is that the correct word ?) of antelopes crossing the road. This painting was done from a photograph taken on a rainy day :) I kept spraying water every once in a while to try and maintain the wet look.
All comments and critiques are most welcome :)

Kazipeth Junction

Kazipeth Junction, Watercolour on Paper, 20" X 14" 

Did this one from a reference pic that I took as our train was about to start. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Moula Ali Yard III

Moula Ali Yard III, Watercolour on Paper, 20" X 14" 

I love painting trains and associated stuff and so I find railway marshalling yards very interesting. This place is very close to my house and mostly quite deserted. Therefore painting en plein air is not a problem. It took me about 2 hrs to finish this. There were a few passers by who stopped for a while to watch me paint, but without creating any disturbance. All in all it was good fun coupled with substantial learning.
All comments and critiques are most welcome.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Tikkar Billa, Oil on Canvas, 24" X 20" 

A very happy new year to all my friends and fellow bloggers. Thank you for all the encouragement you guys have provided me with in the past year. I look forward to it in the coming year too. 
I composed this painting using several sources, mostly photos and a couple of face and hand sketches. I have changed the colours of the dress hoping to create a more pleasing harmony.
Thank you so much for stopping by. All comments and critiques are most welcome.