Dramatic sky at the beach - A water color painting

"Smell the sea and feel the sky, let your soul and spirits fly.” Van Morrison

There are days when you get to witness the dramatic sky at the seashore. The diffused sunlight through the clouds, reflecting on the waters below made for a good composition. Inspired by this scene ( Photo reference: minera13/Pixabay ) I created this watercolor painting on Fabriano Acquarello watercolor paper.

I got more involved with watercolor quite recently and before getting into this medium, I went on to purchase many different brands of watercolor papers. Fabriano Acquarello happens to be one of them. So in the past few months I have tried all the papers at hand, and got to know so much about each one of them. ( Check My INSTAGRAM account  ). Now that I have resumed my blogging I will try and post a little about each one of them.

Fabriano Aquarello ( 200 gsm ) is a student grade watercolor paper, however in this category I find it pretty good to use. It is a professional grade, acid free paper and economical too.

Dramatic sky at the beach
A watercolor painting on Fabriano Aquarello paper
Size 5” X 7”

In the above painting, I used both Camlin and Winsor and Newton cotman tubes. My palette consisted of very few colors and I like it that way. It helps in simplifying my painting procedure. I enjoyed working on the sky. 

As I already mentioned, I am presently totally involved in watercolor medium but soon plan to get back to my charcoals and pastels.

Thank you for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks.

A slice of watermelon - A still life water colour painting

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” Albert Einstein 

Sometimes simple objects at home are a great source of inspiration to artist. A few days back I kept a slice of watermelon in the direction of sunlight in my kitchen, and I moved it at different angles to get the right composition that I was looking for. The light and shadow play in the composition helps to get the variation in tonal values. 

Once I was sure of the placement of the object in focus, I decided to go ahead and use my Camlin and Winsor and Newton paints to create this still life painting on Fabriano Aquarello paper. 

For a student grade paper, Fabriano Aquarello paper is pretty good. ( I have used the 200 gsm Cold pressed paper for the present artwork ). 

A slice of watermelon 

Water colour painting on Fabriano Aquarello CP paper.

Size 4.5” X 5.5”

In the last few years I have tried all different subjects, be it still life, landscape or a portrait. It is very difficult to say what I like painting most. For me, every subject is a whole in itself and I enjoy doing each and every work of mine. In fact I started my original works with still life paintings, picking on each and every object that I could lay my hand on in my home. In all it has been a very great learning experience and I plan to keep on painting for ever.

My paintings in the gallery format can be viewed on my INSTAGRAM feed where I have been posting regularly since last two years. 

Thank you for browsing through my artworks. It motivates me to continue my painting journey.

Water colour painting of a seashore from Langkawi island, Malaysia

"Because watercolour actually moves on the paper, it is the most active of all mediums, almost a performance art." Nita Engle

The above quote truly states the beauty of water colour medium. It is a very challenging medium. I start with a very definite plan, create a small study sketch and then I paint the whole scene in my mind before I actually begin my work. But somehow you can never control the process completely. In water colour painting, I feel, art just happens. One has to be quick with the brush and the flow. It all gets over even before you know it. Water colour is fun and I am loving every moment of it.

My today's painting is inspired by a beautiful beach that we came across while we were at Langkawi island, Malaysia. It was very quiet. There were not many tourists around. The shadows of the trees, branches and the foliage mingled with the ocean waves gently crashing at the shore. I spent some great moments at this stunning beach. Through this painting, I have tried to capture those moments.

"In every outthrust of headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth." Rachel Carson. Beautiful quote.

The shadows at the beach

Water colour painting on Fabriano CP paper

Size 8.5" X 11.5" 

The tree foliage in this painting was a challenge. Creating it as study work in a small sketchbook comes easy as I am more free with the brush movements. However, when I am doing a bigger size work such as above, the brush strokes kind of get a little restricted. May be it is the fear of making a mistake. With time and experience I shall be doing more loose and free brush movements which in turn will bring out some happy outcomes. Until then, I shall continue my water colour journey painting different subjects.

.CLICK HERE to view a soft pastel painting of a beach from Langkawi.

Thank you for visiting my blog and browsing through my works.

Charcoal study - Using willow charcoal and charcoal pencil

"The day is an empty canvas, the shapes and colours are yours to choose." Alex Noble

A value study is a great way to prepare for the final painting. It helps me understand the subject better and enables me to pay attention to the focal element. As a routine I almost always prepare a value study using either a graphite or charcoal medium.

When it comes to charcoal medium, I love using the willow charcoal as it helps cover a large area in a short time and with a little touch up with charcoal pencil the drawing gets completed.

Posted below is a recent charcoal study work that I created using one of my holiday photographs from Coorg. It is a muddy pathway going uphill towards one of the private Coffee Plantations. I loved the scene as it had distant trees and a great composition for a landscape painting. I shall some day create a soft pastel painting referring to this value study.

Going uphill

Charcoal drawing on Fabriano Academia 120gsm paper

Size 6" X 8"

On my Table Top Easel,

The initial stages using willow charcoal.

I enjoyed doing this quick study in which I used willow charcoal in the beginning to block in the values and later used my charcoal pencil to get the foliage, rock, soil textures etc. Small study works, I feel are a good way to get the feel of the subject before starting a final coloured painting on the same subject.

To view some more of my charcoal study works CLICK HERE.

If you wish to attend my art workshop or wish to purchase one of my artworks please contact me and I shall get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for browsing through my artworks.

Charcoal drawing of a "Glass and Cup"

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." Pablo Picasso

I am always on a lookout for a subject for my next painting. This time I decided to do a Still Life Painting of a transparent glass and a ceramic teacup using the charcoal medium.The paper I have used for this work is FABRIANO ACADEMIA. which has a little texture and I love the effect created on this paper.

Everytime I do a charcoal painting I experiment a bit with my technique trying to get new effects, new looks and a different work.

A glass and a teacup

Charcoal painting on Fabriano Academia paper

Size 5" X 7" ( Excluding mountboard )

Thanks for browsing through my works. If you intend to attend my "Art Workshop" which I normally conduct during the weekends you can drop in a mail to me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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