Blossoms

It's been a while (again) since I got paint on my hands, and this time I decided to try out some nib-painting!

The last time (which was also my first time), that I did attempt a bit of nib-painting was more than a decade ago when this really caring art instructor at Nasik taught me the technique. I was just over 16 then and was enjoying the hobby of trying out various art work while waiting for my results to get published. Little did I know then that it would be a while until I picked up another felt backdrop and mixed paint to re-create the same feeling.

The trouble with the nib-painting is that once done, no one gets to see the trouble taken to get it to that point! (which is quite sad). A simple boquet of flowers (could have easily been splattered by a 9-year old, as long as the paint stayed within the lines!).


Well truth be told my friends; it's quite cumbersome. I won't say it's tough, b'coz you just need to pick the right picture, trace it out and fill in. But if you look closely at each flower petal, you can see the detailing involved in each petal of each flower. Many single strokes of the nib helps create the complete pictures.
Well, at least now it's not thought of as childs play :) although the child in me did enjoy each moment when a blank black sheet transformed into a bright, almost 3D imagery.

Try your hand, it's tiring but definately not impossible... just needs the right material and a whole lot of patience!!

Coy Mistress

We were visiting an IKEA store at the US when I chanced upon this picture and it stayed with me…. 2 years later and I’ve finally got her out on canvas! (I shan't tell you how my output got so close to the original even after 2 whole years.)!!

  

She is truly one of my favourite works (I know an artist always feels that their immediate work is better than the previous one); but this one’s different… there is something quite beckoning in her. (Don’t you feel it?) . It’s almost like she’s luring you in with her coy, yet impish glint in the eyes J

For those of you who watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's" this picture might just ignite your memories of Audrey Hepburn. (In fact that might just give you a hint of how I managed to get this painting right.)

To me, I call her my “Coy Mistress”. She does get my husband’s attention every time he passes her frame! Do I mind it? Not at all! In fact I just love smiling back at her!!!!

Daybreak!

It feels like not so long ago when I was sitting in class in my neatly tied up pigtails learning about the 18th and 19th century, and I imagined how it would feel to be a part of the 21st century which at that point in time seemed so far far away; almost like a whole new era....

But before I knew it not only did I waltz into Y2K, but I even watched a whole decade fly by. WOW! That makes me feel pretty nostalgic!

Hmm.. and what has all this to do with my creative side? - you should ask. Well, for those among you who did run that thought in your head, sorry to disappoint you, but there isn't much of a connection. Just a bunch of emotions the new year has thrown in.

Although, I admit, there are two obvious lessons learnt here: Lesson #1 - time flies, and Lesson #2 - "Little did she know (at that time)..." :-)

Hence, before time plays another trick on me ... it's time for me to get my work do the talking. I need to get the artist inside, outside (literally)!

The idea I share with you is an abstract one, different from what I have tried up untill now. I call it 'Daybreak' as it carries the vibrance from a sunny mix of colours and that coupled with the dry flowers giving the 3D effect brings out a warmth inspiring a different beginning... (I think I need to try out a couple more of these!!! This time with ornaments! what do you think??)

These different strokes does give me the confidence of continuing to attempt many more variations in my work.

Now, as a connoisseur of art that's what we all love to be a part of, don't we?  :-)

Tiger Tiger burning bright ....

It's been a while since I oiled my brushes and splashed some paint on to a canvas... What was more interesting was when I told a friend of mine, I've finally done up an interesting painting over the weekend, my friend said "Put it up on your blog; it's been a while since i checked it out"... and in my head I thought "Me too!".

So I'm done with my sabbatical and I've decided to get back at my favourite pastime; with a vengeance this time. Let's just say I've made my resolution a few days short of the new year. Hopefully before I break it I have a least a couple of ideas put up out here to save face!


My stenciled tiger has more work gone into it than what you would think. It originally was a scissor cutout on hand-paper that I picked up at an exhibition near my office. I got home happy with my purchase when my better half gave me this idea of translating it on to a big canvas. Initially I thought what's the big deal in that? Why waste such a huge canvas for a snipped tiger that doesn't even occupy the entire canvas? And not even get to use any of the primary colours- just black (eesh)!

A knit in time, serves mine.

Let me begin this one with a question- "Who says you have to have a baby, or be in the way (of having a baby) to knit a dainty baby sweater?" Well, let's be honest- no one. Yet, somehow everyone expects that's why you are doing the job; right?

Try correcting me if you can; and my friend, I can guarantee you'll fail. As a matter of fact, in my defense, when I did knit this sweater, it was just to see if I could knit a full sweater-- the neck, sleeves, cap et all. And what better way to attempt this task, than a teeny-tiny baby sweater. Quick and simple.

Honestly folks, this would be the first time that I did knit a sweater, end-to-end. And literally every single person I tried to express my exhilaration to, thought the only reason I had knit one, was beacuse of the obvious. Ahem; couldn't I be just broadening my skill set?!

Let's just say I decided I could do more than just knit baby sweaters. And as proof I did a few cute coasters and some more fun stuff. Yes, you can make household supplies too with your knitting needles and not just use them to hide your skin from the winter chills!

Let me also 'show off my modesty' (that would be a cheeky oxymoron if one of my literature proffs were to read this up), by stating that none of these are an expression of my originality, but designs picked out of the many sites the world wide web today generously provides us with.

Belive me, if you have a creative bone in your body for just about anything, from gardening to home decor to art, you just have to type the right url and magically you get a hand to guide you there!

Jewellery made easy

Making jewellery (specially earings) turned out to be my most recent and very entertaining hobby! It's like you can have your cake and eat it too. (chuckle).

And for that, I have this real sweet friend of mine to thank from the bottom of my heart. Bless you sweetie for introducing me to a gals next-best-friend (well I could use diamonds and crystals instead of beads ..... next time, next time) :-)

And I thought, well, why not add it to my blog. After all it's my blog, and I am pretty much the master of my blog; ain't I? One of the good things about having your own blog is it does give you a chance to pat your own back once in a while ;-) eh!

Trust me ladies, this is one pass-time that's a whole lot of fun and at the end of it you get to try it on too. Isn't that an added bonus?! Try it. I am sure you'll all agree with me.

Floral Display

Well, the 'colour wheel' might not whet the appetite for many – but it’s interesting how the right combination of primary, secondary and tertiary colours can enhance a painting. It's no fluke that complementary colours (colours on the 'opposite' end of the colour wheel) create maximum contrast and dynamism into art work.

To take it a step further, nature does inspire a lot of complementary colour combinations! Like a red – green mix which is most common when you catch a red flower against green leaves, besides being one of the most favoured festive combinations! Or a yellow – violet blend, you could catch from the violet sky with a yellow hue from the setting sun. The typical bright gold fish in a bowl, shows the best vibrancy of a blue -orange combo.

I tried to work on the same colour balance to see how each complementary colour brightens its counterpart! It creates an interesting eye-catching floral display, doesn't it? :-)