Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

“In the mind of every artist there is a masterpiece.” Kai Greene

Today’s water color painting has been inspired by the “The Golden Gate Bridge”, a suspension bridge, one of the most internationally recognised symbols of San Francisco, California and the United States of America. I have not been to San Francisco but I always wanted to paint this Bridge, so I have used a reference image from “PIXABAY” and I am grateful to them for sharing the photographs with everyone for free usage. 

This is my first painting in the “Bridge series” and a change of subject is always a little challenging. However I believe that working on something new helps you learn a lot more new things and it is a an essential step towards evolving as an artist. I have used very few colors to execute this painting and prefer this minimalist approach to avoid complications. The Bridge and it’s reflections has been the focal point in this painting.

Golden Gate Bridge 

A water colour painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size 5.5” X 7.5”

I enjoy water color medium as much as pastel medium, and these days I am managing to do both. Often people ask me which medium I like the best. It’s a difficult question to answer because I am passionate about each medium, including charcoal. Every medium has its own highlights and no two mediums can ever be compared. End of the day, the art that gets created, no matter which medium, speaks a universal language and sparks the happiness in you.

For the above artwork I have used Winsor and Newton Cotman and Camlin Artists water color tubes. I enjoy working with both these brands and would recommend it to all water color enthusiasts. 

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Thank you for browsing through my artworks and I appreciate your support in my art journey.

Sunrise - A water colour painting

"The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy." 

Henry Ward Beecher

The water colour painting as below is with reference to a scene that I came across on an early morning at Temi Tea Garden, in the south of Sikkim. 

I have used the wet on wet technique on Campap paper. I have this paper in my collection along with many other papers. Now that I am into water colour medium, I am in the process of trying out all the different papers and learning so much about each of them.

Sunrise over the hills

Water colour painting

Size 5" X 7"

Wet on wet technique in water colour painting is a challenging method because it produces highly unpredictable results because there are many factors that matter, like the texture of paper, its weight and the amount of water in the brush etc. However there is something magical about the way colours flow and blend with each other, creating beautiful dramatic effects.

Thank you for visiting my BLOG. My art blog has now crossed 55,000 page views and I am grateful to all the viewers for their support. Blogging has added new life to my art and I now paint more passionately than ever. 

Mobor beach, Goa - A water colour painting

"Watercolour is a lifetime pursuit..........mostly uphill." Robert Wade

I love the quote as mentioned above. After having done a lot of charcoal and pastel artworks, I definitely find water colour more challenging, however it has its own advantages. What I love most about this medium is that it gets done fast and I do not have to worry about its getting smudged. I can conveniently store it in a folder.

Mobor beach is a beautiful serene beach in the south of Goa. I visited this beach during the monsoon and enjoyed the views around. It was a cloudy day and the distant trees and mountains got reflected in the still waters. I decided to use water colour medium to capture the mood and atmosphere of the moment.

This painting also gave me the opportunity to paint a cloudy sky and the reflections in the water. I tried the wet on wet technique for the sky and had to be pretty organised and quick in adding the colours. I need to work on many more such landscapes to understand the painting technique. It is more about understanding the paper, the amount of water in the brush and how dilute is the paint. I am loving this medium and plan to continue with it for a few more paintings.

Mobor Beach, Goa

Water colour painting on Fabriano paper

Size 6.5" X 9"

I painted Vaddi beach, Goa, some time back and to view the same CLICK HERE. 

Presently I am using Camlin artists water colour tubes and am exploring all the different papers that I have in my collection. Over a period of time I have purchased hand made paper, Fabriano , Arches cold pressed paper, Campap and Brustro water colour paper. I may finally settle down for the one which works best for me depending on my technique.

Thanks a lot for viewing my artworks.

Experimenting with water colour techniques in my sketch book.

Sketchbook has become a very significant part of my art journey. I use it for my small preliminary works in different mediums. These days I am creating water colour paintings in them. I posted about these works earlier too and you can CLICK HERE to browse through them.

The works are sized 4" X 5.5" and are done in a very free and loose manner. Working small helps me to learn better. I start with the reference photo, analyse the elements and then work out the procedure in my mind regarding the technique that I shall be using to create the background, middle ground and the foreground. Then I go ahead and mix the colours as required in my palette ( Camlin artists water colour tubes ) and begin the work.

It takes me roughly ten to fifteen minutes to create each work. Since it is a small preliminary study I have to constantly remind myself to avoid getting into too many details and stop after a while. However many a times I get so involved with my art that I lose the sense of time and overdo the strokes which is not really required.

After completing each of the small paintings I make a small note at the side which in future can remind me of my little experiments that I did each time. At times the painting does not match the vision that I had in mind and it challenges me all the more to try out something different to make it work.

A rocky seashore

Maya bay

Breezy day at the sea

Foggy day at seashore

A tree in shadow

Mandalpatti hills ( Karnataka )

Dense foliage 

Aerial perspective - study work

The sketch book with 40 cartridge sheets in it.

I am loving this sketch book. I purchased it from Art Station, a stationery shop close to my residence.

Posting below a beautiful quote that I came across recently and it so well worded. Anyone who is painting in water colour medium will agree with it.

"Watercolor is like golf. Every stroke counts." Katie Wood McCloy