Our roots in Gods own country

All oils..the Elephant and the Bus paintings are now some years old.  The house by the backwaters and the ubiquitous auto rickshaw are newer additions,  More ideas maybe a Kerala temple architecture, farmer working in their fields.. and some more.

The idyllic greenery of Kerala draws me and enthralls me in it's magic.

 

The olive tree

If the olive trees knew the hands that planted them,” wrote Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, “Their oil would become tears.”

An Olive tree is a symbol of friendship and reconciliation, cleansing and healing, light, victory and above all a sign of peace! it is treated with reverence as it holds spiritual gifts! Then why are they a silent spectator of all the deaths and atrocities in Palestine. 

Kerala musings - beauty in simplicity!

These are some paintings I had worked on over past years.. Kerala always has a charm.. the greenery, the rains, the people, the beauty, the simplicity, the memories.. and ofcourse the elephants.

This oil painting is a favorite of mine with the elephant, the mahout, the auto and the trees. This is a take from a photograph. The perspective of the scooter guy waving his hand tickled me.

The oil painting of a KSRTC bus.. we have taken many such buses on our way to our native village Thottuvai during summer vacation! 

The above scene outside a Communist office is in watercolors. Did this one specifically for Vignesh.

I then tried to take a different spin on the elephant with watercolors with a bus in the back trying to overtake. Though watercolors are my current favorite.. I liked my oils better for this subject.

Experiments in blues - Macrocosm

Macrocosm.. a concept that is present in many philosophies.. both ancient and modern to a vision of the whole that is made of the parts. Swami Vivekananda says: "The whole of the universe is built upon the same plan as a part of it. So, just as I have a mind there is a cosmic mind. As in the individual, so in the universal. There is the universal gross body; behind that there is a universal fine body; behind that a universal mind; behind that universal intelligence. And all this is in nature, the manifestation of nature, not outside of it".

I decided to build on this concept and paint the gross manifestations of this macrocosm that we see around us. It had to be in blues..it represents the infinite!

The values in the colors help to define the layers and thus the effect of the large numbers. Watercolors are my current favorite and I started with a painting of trees. Then mountains with Acrylics. Followed by a sea in sharpies. And the last one are the clouds with oils.

Varanasi Ghats

"Benaras" is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together". Mark Twain.

".. crammed perspective of platforms, soaring stairways, sculptured temples, majestic palaces, softening away from the distances and there is movement, motion, human life everywhere and brilliantly costumed - streaming in rainbows up and down the lofty stairways..". Mark Twain

Varanasi is a magical place with a ambiance that Mark Twain describes so well in his words. Well, I finally picked up the guts to paint it with Oil. I wanted to use my palette knife for the entire painting but used it for the sky and the water and brush for the rest!! The painting is very colorful predominantly with cerulean blues, barium oranges and chrome yellows.

An unfinished painting

I started this painting with great gusto but it remains in the easel yet to be completed. Though it is not exactly the replica of our bookshelves, it has semblance.. Eragon/Eldest series, Viggy's trophies..

Someday.. i will have to take the oils again and complete the painting.

Seeing Him in 2 mediums

Charcoal or Oil? I got mixed reviews. Wonder if it has anything to do with color and B&W or with my own skills :)

Personally both are my favorites. Though I wish I was first in line when He was distributing patience; knowing the time I spent on both of them, I am secretly happy. As He reclines with the background seemingly blurring and the baskets of flowers (or kumkum if you want!); life is good!

Vernacular memories - a Chembarathy and a Raandhal

Some childhood memories....
Call it shoe-flower or hibiscus, somehow it does not sound as beautiful as "Chembarathy". Where I grew up, our home had red hibiscus, yellow hibiscus and pink ones too and we would pluck them to decorate our temple and still leave most of it in the trees to offer it as "Krishnarpanamastu". Today in California, my face brightens up when I see it rarely, blooming in someone's home. But indeed I see it more often these days in other forms like hibiscus tea and then the other day one of our cousins had made tamales with dried hibiscus! I attempted the above oil painting as a tribute to the beautiful flower that will never dry in my memory and I watch it to relive my childhood :)

Raandhal - thats what we used to call this lantern. When we visited our grandparents, and whether there was a powercut or not, we would light these lanterns to take us through the dark nights in the patio. Memories of stories told in this light, of the bugs that would come buzzing to the light, of the smell of the kerosene, of thatha and paati watching us with knowing smiles...

I painted this as an experiment to get the effect of the light and shadow and even got the "EVERYDAY" brand at the base. After painting it, I switched off the lights in the study and could see the glow of the light :) and smell the kerosene and hear the stories  - ah how the mind plays tricks!

Roar or mew!

When I saw the original painting, I fell in love with it and my hands (or brushes) itched to try it. Armed with a photo from a friend's iphone (ofcourse with the original artist permission) my friend (yes...Roopa!) and I decided to paint the subject together. While mine started looking more like a kitten, hers looked older and mean. I tried hard to make it look older - narrowed the eyes, shortened the forehead, gave more 'beard' and what not but I guess thats how my heart is - young ;)

So roar or mew, this is one of my favorite oil.

Lesson on Painting or Patience

Oil Painting came as a suggestion or hint from a friend - she felt I needed to not only learn a new medium which will give me more satisfaction than the usual acrylics I dabble with but it would teach me patience. Well, I took her advice and after spending few dollars on the oil tubes, the turp, the palette, the easel (heheh!!) the canvass (wait I am not done yet!) the brushes, I started my first painting. Yes, I had to pick the tough one! Remember the lady with her wet back that Dad had painted (blogged in earlier posts), she was my first subject. Very soon, I learnt this was not an overnight job. I had to wait for the paint to dry!! What?? For someone like me who is like an instant gratification person finishing super-quick projects - sigh and double sigh! And after 2 months with a vacation in between, I am willing to call this painting "done"! I have a new-found respect to those who paint with oils!

I did try other smaller paintings like a fall scene. I had observed someone paint with oil paint and facial tissues are dabbed to give a bumpy popcorn ceiling effect (i am sure there is a technical name!)

Then the 2 storks silhoutted against the moon was more finger painting than with brush ;)



I am liking this medium more and more as I experiment more. This "Monk" is a gift to Ram because he is the Monk Wisdom Unlimited http://monkwisdomunlimited.blogspot.com/. I have an order from him to paint more Monks!! Well that is encouraging :) Is it because he too feels that oil painting teaches me patience???

A gift of Flowers from a friend

It is a honor and joy to have artist friends to discuss mediums, techniques, critique artwork and better still when they gift you a painting! Roopa is one such friend who has treated me to many cups of coffee and listened to my chatter as we mulled and talked over artwork. She promised me this oil painting for my birthday, "flowers for my Krishna", she said!  I absolutely love this painting for the radiant color, for the concept and for the friendship! Thanks Roopa :)