Sunday, May 30, 2010

Kivu Revisited

     Another weekend. Another weekend outing. All outings in this place revolve around Lake Kivu. Resort Kivu Serena is an ideal and favourite spot with all friends. Carried my watercolours along. Good I did. It was a really windy day and it was actually difficult to swim. But it was an ideal day for surfing and sailing. All the catamarans and surf boards were out. The catamarans in the foreground and Lake Kivu with the hills in the distance as the backdrop made a lovely subject. All in all, a fruitful outing.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Paintout

This watercolour was made by me for Virtual Paintout for the month of May. This is a shot from the city of Prague. I selected this particular shot over lot of other sights that this lovely city had to offer on Google Street View because of the interesting shadows and reflections that fall all over the place. Capturing them in watercolour was really challenging.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Solitary Voyager

An old friend of mine, Commander Dilip Donde started on a solo, round the world voyage on a sail boat 'Mhadei' in August last year. He will be finishing this rare feat in another two to three days depending on the Weather Gods. Mhadei will be sailing into Mumbai harbour to a tumultous welcome. Long live the spirit of adventure. His travails are there for everyone to read on sagarparikrama.blogspot.com. This is a toast to his achievement- a painting of Mhadei and Donde on the high seas.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

A Thousand Suns

Mankind has given some very apt names. Sunflower is one of them. Have you ever driven across fields of sunflowers.  It is just yellow and yellow till the eye can see. The whole earth seems to be on fire. A Thousand Suns: sounds apt. This was made from a photograph downloaded from the internet. The painting has been made in an abstract style, in acrylics. The style is more like watercolours, with the fluidity of water being utilised to create the uncontrolled dripping effect.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Kathakali

Kathakali is a traditional dance form from India. Costume and Make-up are given a lot of importance in this dance. The colours used for the same are bright and eyecatching. When a dancer is ready for his performance, he is a sight to behold. From top to bottom he appears to be made up of interesting patterns. I have tried to catch the essence of the same in this watercolour. The subject has been treated in a semi- abstract style. The wave patterns in the background have been added to give the subject a sense of motion.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Scream

      Many of us have often stood and admired the colours that a sunset sometimes throws up. We feel lucky if we manage to capture it through a camera or colours as in this case. I was also trying the same. However I made one mistake- I picked up a drink while painting this one and it was one too many even as I was just half way through. The philosopher inside me woke up! 'He' asked me the reason or logic for this extravaganza at the last minute. I had no clue. "This is the final scream before the final moment. The end is nigh, the end of a dream. All the colours together make the 'White Light'. At this time they all start falling apart. A dream falling apart. This is a 'Scream' of anguish of not being able to last forever" he said.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Chikdu

     Chikdu is a funny sounding name and is a funny looking contraption. However it is a source of livelihood for many families in these parts of Congo. It is made of solid wood including the wheels. Unimaginable amount of load is strapped on to it and transported to unimaginable distances. This is a watercolour sketch of the engine behind the machine, taking a nap, while waiting for business.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Mystery

       In the Great African Rift Valley there are a number of huge lakes. Lake Kivu is one of them. However inspite of being one of the biggest and deepest fresh water lakes of the world it has no marine life. It is because of a huge store of carbon-di-oxide and methane at its mysterious bottom. Scientists have said that in case of a phenomena called lake overturn, the carbon-di-oxide will gush out and all life on the banks of the lake will also be destroyed due to suffocation. There happen to be a number of towns and villages all around the lake! Am I scaring you? Anyway it is a blessing to have an opportunity to fly in this great continent. It has been well endowed by  mother nature and so many of its mysteries have not yet been solved.
       This is a painting made from an aerial shot taken by me of lake Kivu. Watercolour was the best medium to capture the mystery of this great lake. I want to paint a series on Africa. Wish me luck.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Child is the Father of Man

As a child, sunrise and sunset were my favourite painting subjects. Decided to relive those days and paint the same subject again. The urge to make it really good did me in. Somehow just could not get hold over the painting. It was really frustrating. Then my seven year old son gave me the clue. I have often watched him paint in gay abandon. Not a care in the world. Never worried about which colours to use and least bothered about the final outcome. But the final product was always amazing! So I stepped into his boots and decided to enjoy myself. It worked! I actually managed to salvage a painting, I had nearly given up on. This sunrise scene is very different from what had actually been planned. Good or bad...judge it. Your comments are welcome.