2014

Found better paint and paper

Gradually I realized that practice should be done using the best of the tools, else all your effort is in vain.

I got a box of Cotman Winsor and Newton (wrong choice W&N is better) and found Fabriano paper. The result you can see for yourself more brighter colors and control on the brush work with mixing, shading and lifting.
 This cat is copied from Pinterest. Love the free style and there is a similar cat in our premise!

Cat On Fence

 These Cashewnuts are from Aarey forest. My maid got them and I found the orange color very appealing and it had a very summery fragrance. I did this quickly in a couple of hours to capture its freshness.

 Kaju fruits

Found the contrast of the Red kinetic to the Junkyard behind very appealing. Watercolor  being transparent its very difficult to achieve dark tones. This is done on handmade paper using Camel watercolors.

Red Kinetic

 I loved these shiny tea cups I found sold in my lane. I bought them only with the purpose of painting. To make a  lovely composition added Monaco biscuits, apple and a piece of pastry.The pastry is a figment of imagination.

 Preparing for tea

The Fort

 This is probably The Sinhagad Fort near Pune.
This is from two pictures. One is the fort, the other the hills in the backdrop.

Yellow trumpet flowers from our garden again. Again a challenging background. I had given up after doing the petals, but the first wash of background changed my perspective.










These lilies bloom in rainy season and are very pretty similar to the Tulip. Again let me admit its copied.

Amaryllis

Copied from a Garden Catalog of Australian Garden. Here I have used orange with green on the foliage and was surprised it does not become a muddy brown.This one is on Fabriano.

Australian flowers

This bird is photographed in the surrounding hills of Pune. Never seen something like this. Though it is red head, I have used burnt Sienna for the head. Used the Camelin box.

Bird photo by my cousin

This Rose is well demonstrated at artistnetwork. Using Camelin cakes.
 

Rose closeup

 In August I presented myself Winsor and Newton 12 colour half cake box and painting was a song . Its very costly for a hobbyist around 5 grand.

There is no red in the standard box, one needs to mix crimson and orange and sienna to make one !! The yellows (Ochre and Winsor yellow) are almost similar and one seldom uses black and white. Buy it only if you are seriously pursuing art.

Winsor Newton Black Box

The statue brings life to this picture! Used toothbrush in the lower part to spray the little flowers. Each element is balancing out each other, absence of one would have made it imbalanced.

Europe Garden

Rajgandha, a very fragrant flower again from our garden. The buds are from different photographs! Hope you will notice the water droplets. This is again a negative painting.

Rajgandha