Sunday 5 February 2017

A morning at Matheran - A soft pastel painting

"Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else." Leonardo Da Vinci

Greens are still a challenge. Every time I create a landscape, I question myself regarding the green. Should I use a warm green or a cool green? What colour should I put next to it. Then there is the source of light and the shadows and so many other factors to considered before I proceed further.

By now I know the individual shades of greens that I have in my collection. There is a favorite mid tone green in Camlin, a blue green in Kohinoor, the very dark in Mungyo and so on. It is important to know the colours and feel connected to them. Despite having many shades in blues and greens, I constantly feel the need to have more of them. You never find the right shade when you are looking for one. Green is always a dilemma.

The soft pastel painting below has been inspired by an early morning scene from Matheran, a beautiful hill station close to Mumbai. The sun rays lit up the foliage as it perforated through the space between the wild growth on either sides. I am always looking for a scene like this where in I get to see the marvels of nature. The light and shadow play, creating magic in the atmosphere around you. This scene was pretty challenging, nevertheless I enjoyed doing it.

Soft pastel painting of a morning scene from Matheran by Manju Panchal

A morning at Matheran
Soft pastel painting on Canson MT
Size 5"X 7"

Matheran has been declared an Eco Sensitive Zone by the Union Environment Ministry and private vehicles are not allowed. The place is very green and has some very promising views for artists, photographers as well as nature lovers.  

On my recent visit to Karnala Bird Sanctuary, I managed to create a few Plein Air sketches using my limited soft pastel palette. I will post the images soon.

Thanks for browsing through my works.

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