One more onion

Pastel on La Carte paper 4" X 6"

Continuing with my small still-life studies while I work on the larger paintings. Decided to do this small study of onion once again. It may be the same onion, but each time I find a new look and feel!

Buddies

Pastel on La Carte paper  8" X 10"

Eggplant and onions - my favorite combination for a still-life! Now I have painted the sprouting onion to my heart's content, time to move on to something else.

The adventure of the onions

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"

Once I see a sprouting onion, I can't stop painting till it rots. So the onion adventure continues...

Pretty Onion

Pastel on La Carte paper 4" X 6"

Continuing with the still-life studies again. Whenever I see an onion sprouting, can't resist painting it. I have a couple of more just starting to sprout. Waiting for them to grow so that I can do a larger composition. 

Tibet Landscape



Pastel on La Carte papaer 5" X 7"
Photograph : Devajyoti Sarkar

It was so much fun doing the small landscape that I decided to make another one. This is also from a photograph taken by my friend Devajyoti in Tibet, probably at the same location as the previous one.

Solitude

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"
Photograph : Devajyoti Sarkar

I just had about an hour to do a small sketch or a study, so painted this from a photograph taken by my friend Devajyoti in Tibet.  The place looks so beautiful and tranquil, wish I can go there some day!

Happy Mums!

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"

I have been just doing still-lifes with vegetables lately, decided to move on to flowers. I love the Mums, these are  from the bouquet of flowers I had at home. 

Pepper-Tomato

Pastel on Wallis paper  5" X 7"

I think it's the Christmas time that got me in the mood for red and greens. I am really enjoying these still-life studies. Hope you are too!

More Still-Lifes

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"

Continuing my still-life studies by playing around with whichever veggies I find in my fridge!

Tangy Trio

Pastel on La Carte paper 8" X 10"

This is a slightly larger still-life. I decided to add a couple of more abjects to my earlier composition. I am really enjoying painting these lovely vine-tomatoes, but I have to admit, in this painting it's the lemon that  steals the show!!

Just a rose

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"

I got a big boquet of roses and picked the prettiest flower in it to paint. Just a rose, but nothing like it!  

Tomato Fun

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"

I love the shape and color of these luscious vine-tomatoes. Just playing around a bit with the background and composition!

Copper and Tomato

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"

I am continuing with my small still-life study series. More to come!

Facade of Angkor Wat

Pastel on La Carte paper 16" X 20"
Photo Courtesy : Devajyoti Sarkar

I just won an award of excellence for this painting at the Livingston Art Association's  - 2012 Annual Fall Members' Show. It is drawn from a photograph taken by my friend Devajyoti Sarkar. I think it's a beautiful composition, and the great thing about art is that it takes me to places where I wish to be!

Wooden doll

Pastel on La Carte paper 13" X 18"
Photo courtesy : Devajyoti Sarkar

I love hand crafted dolls made by the local artisans. This painting is from a photograph taken by my friend Devajyoti on his trip to Rajasthan. These dolls are quite common there, but I really like the way light falls on her.

Lemonade time!!

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" X 7"

Another study with the same copper pitcher. I decided to try out different backgrounds and fruits with the  pitcher before moving on to larger compositions. I think the lemon looks quite good against copper.

Pitcher Pear and flowers - Still life

Pastel on La Carte paper 8" X 10"

Added a bit more depth to the previous composition by adding fabric and flowers.

Pitcher and Pears - Still life

Pastel on La Carte paper 8" X 10"

Back to Still-lifes! When I was in India, I took out my mom's old brass, bronze and copper  utensils and picked out the ones that looked interesting to do still-life paintings. Hopefully I will be able to make an interesting series with them! This is a copper pitcher and I decided to pair it up with pears to give it a nice contrast.  

Tughlaq's tomb

Pastel on La Carte paper 16" X 20"

This painting shows a view of  Ghiyas ud-Din Tughluq's tomb as seen from the Tughlaqabad fort. The tomb made up of smooth red sandstone and white marble stands beautifully fortified amid the fort that is completely ruined. 

This is my fourth painting in the series of Delhi architecture. I think I will now take a break from this and move on to something else for a while. Keep visiting to find out!

Ruins of Tughlaqabad

Pastel 16" X 20"

This is another painting of the Tughlaqabad fort in New Delhi, that I visited during my trip to India this summer. I have been working on larger paintings since I returned. Another one of this series is almost complete,  I should be uploading it in a couple of days.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Feel free to leave your comments and critiques. Hope you enjoy being here.

Maa Durga

Pen and ink 11" x 14"

This is a sketch of Goddess Durga I gifted my sister. I made it on my flight to California to visit her. It's been a while since I worked with pens. It was a  lot of fun!!

Stone head

Oil on Canvas  9" x 12"

This is a painting of a stone head sculpture from Sarnath dating back to the 3rd century BC. It probably portrays the head of a merchant, evident from the adornments. I actually started this painting before going to India this summer, and decided to finish it a couple of days back. Interestingly,   I saw the original sculpture  ( or perhaps something identically similar) when I visited the National Museum in Delhi. It was a delight to be there and to trace back our roots in the journey of fine-arts. The sculptures of the Gupta period were astonishing!! Someday I hope to paint some of them. 

Thanks for visiting my blog! I have a couple of more paintings finished, waiting to be uploaded. Come back soon for more!! 

Bettlement at Lodhi Gardens

Pastel on La Carte paper 16" x  20"

Lodhi Gardens is perhaps one of the most beautiful places in Delhi. Last summer I was there a couple of times and somehow of all the lovely monuments, I was most captivated by this battlement. It was late afternoon and the light was falling beautifully. It is one of the battlements enclosing Sikander Lodhi's tomb, built in 1400's. 

Thanks for visiting my blog! Hope you enjoy this painting as much as I enjoyed making it! I also did a sketch of the same earlier. You may look it up here. 

Ruins of Tughlaqabad - New Delhi

Pastel on La Carte paper 16" X 20" 

I was in India last month, perhaps my most memorable experience was visiting the  Tughlaqabad fort. The fort was built in 1300's by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, now in ruins. It is one of the lesser know tourist places in Delhi, but the view was breathtaking! I took lots of pictures and hope to make quite a few paintings from them. I particularly like archways and battlements, light passing through it adds interest to the composition, so picked this one to start with.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to leave your comments.

Asha Bhosle

Pencil sketch 11" x 14"

I made this sketch a couple of years ago, this is a portrait of my favorite Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle. It was her birthday yesterday and she turned 79. This is my small tribute to her, and I wish her with her own song : "Tum jiyo hazaron saal, saal ke din ho pachaas hazaar"!

Mohammad Rafi

Pencil 8" X 10"

This is a portrait of Mohammad Rafi, one of the greatest Indian playback singer of all time in Bollywood. This one is especially for my husband, who is a huge fan of his. I plan to draw a couple of more protraits of my favorite Bollywood singers next. Stay tuned!!

Geeta Dutt

Pencil sketch 8" X 10"

This is a portrait of Geeta Dutt, one of my favorite Bollywood playback singers of the past. Have been planning to draw her portrait for a long time and am pretty pleased with how it's turned out! These days I am  visiting my family and friends in India. I just carried my sketch pad and a few pencils. If I have the time, I will try to make a few more sketches.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Feel free to leave your comments, I would love to hear from you.

Bottle and Lime

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" x 7"

I wasn't sure of the red chilie I placed in my previous composition, so tried this one without it. 

Bottle, Lime and Spice

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" x 7"

This bottle has been with me for a while, waiting to be painted! Finally pulled it out and thoroughly enjoyed painting it. I will try to finish an oil painting I am working on over the next couple of days.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Vishnu sculpture

Graphite 8" x10"

This is a pencil drawing of the Hindu God Vishnu.  It's from a red sandstone sculpture of the Gupta period   (about 5th century AD). Despite all the damage it has sustained, the form maintains perfect elegance.

This drawing takes me back to the days when I decided to make a serious commitment to art. My journey started a little over two years back, but at that time I had no idea where to go. A friend of mine, Soumitro Banerjee gave me the initial guidance, help and all the encouragement that I needed to spend endless hours slogging. The first year was all about improving my drawing skills. I moved on to other things after that, but somehow the pencil drawings still remain closest to my heart! 

Return of the lonely pear !!

Oil on panel 5"x 7"

Oil on panel 5"x 7"

I wasn't quite ready to move on to something else. So I decided to make the same paintings using oils. It's always interesting to compare the effects of different mediums. But now I think I really should leave the poor pear alone and look for something else!

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Demise of the lonely pear

Pastel on La Carte paper 4" X 6"

This is the third still-life in the series of the same pear. Finally decided to cut it up, and now I am ready to move onto something else! 

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Lonely pear strikes again!

Pastel on La Carte paper 4" X 6"

Another still-life painting of the same pear, this time with a warmer background and a different painting surface. Does the warm background make it look bright and happy? I think so!

More still-lifes to come. Should I make a pair for the pear, or something else? Keep visiting to find out!

Lonely Pear

Pastel on Canson Mi-Teintes touch  4"x 6"

This is a still-life painting of a Bartlett pear. The past month or so, I was very busy preparing my students for a music concert. On top of that, I was stuck with the large oil painting I just finished. Trying to get back, it almost felt like I lost my touch. Good way to brush up the skills is to work on small "still-lifes". So I decided paint this pear. Next I plan to make a few more of these. Stay tuned!!

Thank you for visiting my blog. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Shiva-Parvati statue

Oil on Canvas 24" * 36"

This is a painting of a 11th century statue of Shiva and Parvati. I pushed myself to make a large painting after a very long time. Usually, I paint small and tight. I don't think I have the patience to work big, so I will get back to the smaller ones that can be completed in a couple of days! And that way I can post on my blog more often too. Hope you keep visiting!!

Onlooker

Pastel on La Carte paper 8" X 12"

Photo Courtesy : Devajyoti Sarkar.

This painting is from a photograph taken by my friend Devajyoti Sarkar. I especially liked her expression, as if trying to look at something eagerly and wanted to capture it. And of course, the colorful Rajasthani outfits are always a joy to paint!

Birthday girl!

Pencil on Bristol paper 11" x 14''  

Pencil on Bristol paper 11" x 14''  

Today is my daughter Bela's birthday. She turned 8. I wanted to make her a portrait but have been so busy since yesterday that I could not even get started. I pulled out these two sketches I had made a couple of years back, one of when she was about 2 years old, and the other when she was 6. I haven't made any sketches of her since then. I think it's high time I did!

Buddha - charcoal drawing

Charcoal on gray  Canson paper  9" x 12"

I am planning to make a large painting based on the sculptures adorning the temples of India. For that I was browsing through my books on ancient Indian art and architecture. It is amazing how profound and beautiful works of sculpture were fashioned out of stone more than two thousand years ago. The craftsmanship is unbelievable! I keep looking at my books and hope some day I will be able to paint a series of Indian sculptures as a tribute  to those great craftsmen. 

Well, I still haven't decided which painting I am going to make, but last night I just though of making a charcoal drawing based on some of the Buddha sculptures of the Gupta period (around 400 AD). Buddhist art actually originated in India and then spread throughout Asia and the world. 

Thanks for visiting my bog. Hope you enjoy the drawing!

Rajasthani Woman

Pastel on Pastelmat 8" x 10"

This is a portrait of a Rajasthani woman. Painting people of Rajasthan  is a lot of fun. Their colorful outfits are so beautiful and the women usually wear lovely traditional and chunky silver jewelry. I am making a portrait painting after a long time. My entree at the art exhibition made me realize how much I have missed making them. Hopefully I will paint a  few more!

Coconut Palm Trees

Oil on canvas 8" x 10'

I have been working extensively with pastels for the past couple of years. Initially, I struggled with it quite a bit and then simply started loving it. Before that, I worked with oils whenever I painted. I decided to get back to them and  am trying to find my old form. I guess I need to make a few more to get there!

Elephant Sculpture

Oil on canvas 16"x20'

LAA - 2012 Annual Spring Members' Show

 I am a member of the Livingston Arts Association and for the annual Spring member's show I entered a portrait of an Indian tribal woman that I painted last year. It was quite difficult for me to decide which "one" painting to submit for the show, but then I felt this one definitely deserved recognition. I was thrilled when the president of the art association called to inform me that my painting had won an award of excellence! The exhibition will be on now through May 30,  at the "Towne Square Gallery" at West Caldwell, NJ. It is a wonderful collection of paintings, hope you can visit!

Smile - My painting at the show.
pastel on Wallis paper 8" x 10"  

The exhibit

And that's me with my painting!!

Pink Lotus

Pastel on La Carte paper 5" x 7"

This is another one of the flower series. I enjoy painting many things -  landscapes, still-lifes, portraits, flowers and monuments. The problem is that I keep toggling between my subjects a bit too frequently.  So I decided, at least for the small paintings to make 4 to 5 of the same genre before I switch to the next.  Now that I have made a few flowers, it's  time for a change!!

Purple Pansies

Pastel on La Carte Paper 5" x 7"

I decided to continue with the flowers. This is not exactly my style because usually I don't make busy backgrounds. I guess I need to make a few more of these to get comfortable.

Purple Tulip



Pastel on La Carte paper 5" * 7"

I painted this for the PADT Challenge-28 at paintanddrawtogether.blogspot.com. I spent more time working on the background and the leaves rather than the actual flower, to get the effect of the backlighting. I am quite pleased with the outcome and look forward to the upcoming challenges.