Another water colour study on Chitrapat hand made paper

"Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." Albert Einstein

When a paper works for me, it motivates me to create more works on them. As I have already written in my previous posts, Chitrapat hand made paper is new to me but somehow I am loving it. However to understand it better and to connect with it, I plan to work more with it.

Today I am posting a landscape painting that I created mainly to do the cloud study. I have used a mix of warm and cool colours ( Camlin artists water colour tubes ). As can be seen in the image below, I have also started using my Raphael sable hair mop brush. It is very expensive as compared to my other brushes but worth it.

Water colour study on Chitrapat hand made paper

Size 7" X 10"

Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. My works can also be seen on INSTAGRAM and if you like them please share. Thanks.

La Carte Pastel card by Sennelier

"Great works are performed not by strength but perseverance." Samuel Johnson

( Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends. )

As mentioned in my last post I recently purchased a La Carte Pastel card by Sennelier from Dick Blick, an online art stationery store in States. There are a lot of sanded papers available today, like Ampersand, Uart, Colourfix etc, but I decided to go for La Carte pastel card because I tried small study works on this card last year. The card came as a sample piece along with the Sennelier soft pastel set that I purchased through Amazon.

I pretty much liked its toothy surface and am posting my first landscape painting that I created on it recently. It is a 7.5” X 10.5” painting which I have created referring to my photograph that I took at Coorg, a beautiful hill station in Karnataka. It was a quiet morning and as we walked along the road lined up with trees and bushes, we could hear the sound of nature. John Muir's quote says it all. "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

Solitude

A Soft pastel painting on La Carte Pastel card by Sennelier

Size 7.5" X 10.5"

Initial stage of the painting

La Carte sennelier card pad.

The La Carte pastel pad has come with six different neutral coloured cards. I am more used to the dark coloured papers but will try and select some subjects where in I can use the light neutral shades too. The surface of this pastel card is a lot different from Canson Mi Teintes paper. It is heavyweight, 360 gsm card and has a very toothy surface which can take layers of pastels without the pastel dust falling off. 

Thank you for browsing through my blog and if you have any queries related to any of my artwork or my techniques you can leave a comment below or write to me at manjupanchal5@gmail.com and I shall get back to you as soon as possible.

Waterfall - A study work in pastel medium

“ The only source of knowledge is experience.” Albert Einstein

Before starting any artwork, I do a small study of the same to understand the subject a little better. The waterfall study ( Naga Waterfall ) as below has been created with reference to a photograph, which I took while we were travelling up north in Sikkim. This is an upper view of the fall and the perspective is a bit complicated. The water is flowing from upper left to lower right.

Creating this 4” X 5” artwork on a small Canson MT was an interesting experience.I have limited myself to using very few pastels and pencils to create this 4” X 5” artwork. ( Koh-I-Noor and Mungyo brand )

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends.

Soft pastel study work of a waterfall

from North Sikkim.

Size 4” X 5”

I have been using Canson Mi Teintes paper since last few years and it is a great paper for pastel and charcoal artworks. However I always wanted to try out some other brand sanded paper because when I am painting subjects like “Forest pathways” , I feel the need to apply more than two layers of pastels which becomes a little difficult with Canson paper. 

Therefore I ordered a La Carte pastel card Pad with twelve assorted coloured cards in it. I have already created two works on this card and will be posting them soon.

If you wish to purchase any of my paintings, you can browse through them in gallery format on my Instagram page. For any query regarding any of my works you can mail me at manjupanchal5@gmail.com and I shall get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for visiting my blog and supporting me in my art journey.

PIXABAY - Free reference images for painting.

"It is in the silence of nature where one will find true bliss." j.j.c  ( Courtesy: Pinterest )

In December, I created a charcoal drawing of the scene as below to understand its basic tonal value structure.It is a beautiful landscape depicting "Fog and mist". I have referred to a photograph taken by Thomas B, Deutschland.( Courtesy: PIXABAY ) I am grateful to Mr Thomas for uploading this photograph and making it free for commercial use.

This photograph reminded me of my own visits to Mahableshwar and other hill stations during monsoon period when we would encounter such marvels of nature and hence inspired by the foggy lake scene, I created this water colour landscape using very limited colours from Camlin. The dark foliage and the drooping branches on the left pushed the other elements in the distance, creating depth. With this painting, I inaugurated my newly purchased rigger brush and Raphael mop brush. One of these days I shall create a post about the different brushes that I use to create my water colour paintings.

Fog and mist at the distance

A water colour painting on hand made paper

Size 7"X 10"

I am working on a few more water colour paintings before I make a switch to soft pastel medium, so keep browsing. Pastels are fun and I am very excited with the thought of getting back to them. 

To know about my upcoming workshops in different mediums CLICK HERE

Thank you everyone for visiting my blog and INSTAGRAM page.

At Dalhousie - Charcoal landscape on toned paper

"To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles." Mary Davis

Today's charcoal and white pastel drawing on Canson MT paper is inspired by a scene from Dalhousie, a beautiful hill station in Himachal Pradesh. This road was leading us to our hotel and the entire pathway was lined up by tall coniferous trees and variety of other miscellaneous dense growth on either sides. 

Being a resident of a crowded city like Mumbai, I never get to witness such a sight and hence enjoy every moment of it while I am out there. Nature has so much to offer us and the least we can do is to take care of the environment so as to preserve it for posterity. Drawing and painting places that I have visited in the past gives me immense pleasure. It is my way of sharing the beauty and magic of nature with the rest of the people who have either been there or yet to visit.    

Pathway in the woods

Charcoal and white pastel pencil drawing on Canson MT paper

Size 5" X 7"

This is first of my landscape forest paintings on toned paper. I am quite happy with the outcome and may go on to create some more in this series. Today I removed my soft pastel collection and sat cleaning and organizing them so that I can restart some colored works soon. I love charcoal medium too but working with the same medium for too long can lead to saturation and then a little change refreshes the mind. So keep looking for some new works which I shall be posting soon.

Thank you all for the support that you have provided me. My blog has now crossed 78,000 pageviews and it would not have been possible without the support of the viewers. Thank you all for the same. If you like my works and techniques do visit my INSTAGRAM page to view all my works together in Gallery format.

Making a mark - Using willow charcoal

"If I create from the heart nearly everything works: if from the head almost nothing."

 Marc Chagall

I have a big data bank of photographs and study sketches as a reference but at times when I am looking out to create a particular subject I never seem to have one in your collection. After doing my last foggy landscape I got interested in creating yet another one. So I decided to browse through PIXABAY which has a big collection of photographs and they are free for commercial use.

Today's charcoal drawing is with reference to a foggy landscape photograph taken by Thomas B, Deutschland. I am grateful to him for having shared his works on Pixabay so that artists like me can use them as a study reference. This scene gave me the opportunity to work on the background trees and bushes with lost edges, fog in the distance, reflections in the water and branches drooping low in the foreground. I have used charcoal pencil and willow charcoal to create the dark leaves and branches which pushed the background in the distance creating depth.

A charcoal drawing is all about "Mark making techniques". We all hold the a pencil in a different way, creating strokes and marks that we feel is appropriate for a particular element. For instance, in charcoal drawing as below I have used "Willow charcoal" extensively. I used its tip to create the foliage, whereas for the background I used it sideways. I am creating marks to convey the shape, the rhythm and the energy in the elements in the scene. This is my way of working with the willow charcoal and being self taught, I do not follow any particular rule. Tomorrow I may change my style a bit if I find it better. This the journey of art and I am enjoying every moment of it.

The Haze

Charcoal drawing on Cartridge paper

Size 6" X 8.5"

In my next charcoal drawing, I plan to use the General's Compressed charcoal which helps create a very dark black and is great to create textures while using sideways.

Thank you all visiting my blog and keep browsing for more charcoal works that I will be posting soon.

Fog at the distance - A charcoal drawing

"Without good drawing, the foundation of a painting will collapse." Ken Danby

 Today's post is a charcoal drawing of a landscape with fog in the distance and a fence running along in the foreground. The inspiration for this drawing has come from a photograph by Garry Hayes, a geologist who writes a very informative blog Geotripper.com.  I go through his blog frequently and enjoy reading the contents.

I have used Camlin pencil, charcoal powder and willow charcoal to create this artwork. Creating the fog using the different tools was an interesting experience. What I enjoy more than the drawing is the exploring and experimenting that enables me to discover new techniques to handle different elements in a landscape. For example in this painting I needed to create the grass and I wanted a little texture in the foreground. So I used the charcoal powder, the willow charcoal and after a little blending created the strokes of grass. It worked well.

Sharing a beautiful poem that I came across on "The Fog" by Carl Sandberg

The fog comes 

On little cat feet

It sits looking 

Over harbour and city

On silent haunches 

and then moves on

Carl Sandberg

Fog at the distance 

Charcoal drawing on Canson Mi Teintes paper 

Size 5” X 7”

My charcoal tool box is a collection of miscellaneous pencils of different brands which I have been purchasing for the last many years. When you enter an art store and come across something new and different you cannot resist buying it. Many a times it has happened that I have gone and purchased a pencil after reading a whole lot of reviews on the net and yet to my disappointment discovered that it is does not work for my kind of technique. Does this discourage me from buying more pencils? Not at all. I do that even today. It is a small investment compared to the happiness that I achieve by experimenting and exploring which in turn helps me to learn a little on a daily basis.

Frequently used charcoal tools

in my charcoal tool box.

Thank you for browsing through my blog and if you wish to attend my Charcoal drawing workshop, you can register by sending a mail at manjupanchal5@gmail.com

Travel photography - Thangu, North Sikkim

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein

Nature inspires me to paint. When I travel, it is not always possible to create study works or quick sketches as we are constantly on the move. Therefore I photograph the scenes which appeal to me, so that I can refer to it later some day and create beautiful memories by painting them in different mediums. I try to get the best composition possible but if not then I edit the photographs just before I begin my artwork. 

Posted below are a few photographs which we clicked while we were at Thangu. Thangu is a small beautiful village which is about two hours drive from Lachen in North Sikkim.It is situated at a n altitude of 13,500 ft above sea level and most tourists halt here for breakfast and to get acclimatized to the change of altitude before proceeding to Gurudongmar Lake.  From here on to Gurudongmar Lake the altitude increases to 17,800 ft in a short span of three hours. The roads are bad but the beauty of the landscape hypnotizes you. I would love to visit North Sikkim yet again.

At Thangu, North Sikkim

The road further leads to Gurudongmar Lake

The landscape at Thangu, North Sikkim

A cloudy sky at Thangu, North Sikkim

Local women basking in the sun

My database of photographs from different places is growing and I am having fun painting these beautiful places and people. I have not had the opportunity to paint a landscape from Thangu. However I am almost done with a portrait of the woman as above with the scarf. I photographed her from different angles, had a small chat with her and learnt about her life in general. Time was short and it was pleasure to interact with her.

Have you been to North Sikkim? If yes I would love to hear from you and do leave in your comments. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Painting a forest scene in soft pastel medium

"The artist is always beginning. Any work of art which is not a beginning, an invention, a discovery is of little worth." Ezra Pound ( Courtesy: skinnyartist.com )

The paper that I use most often for my soft pastel works is "Canson Mi Teintes" which fortunately comes in assorted colours. This works as an advantage because choosing the right colour for the subject makes a lot of difference. To know more about the different shades and its specific names you can visit the site DICKBLICK. I normally use Twilight, Tobacco, Sand and Moonstone but I am open to experimenting and exploring with the other colours as well.

For my today's soft pastel painting I decided to go with black Canson MT paper as I wanted the foreground and part of the middle ground to be dark and in shadows. This is a beautiful scene from Karnala Bird Sanctuary and I love this place as I get to walk through different muddy pathways. It is densely populated with trees and in the morning hours I get the perfect light and shadow scenes. 

I have titled this painting "A walk through the shadows" as it reminds me of those beautiful moments in the tranquil nature. 

A walk through the shadows

A soft pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 5"X 7"

The soft pastel painting as above progressed in stages and the images can be seen as below. The broken pastels that can be seen around are from Mungyo, Gallery, Camlin and Koh-I-Noor. I also have a set of 24 dark Sennelier pastels which I use towards the end as they are very very soft.

Step 1. Creating the basic outline of the main elements

using white soft pastel pencil and blocking in the colours

of the winding pathway and the distant foliage.

Step 2. Blocking in the major shapes with respective colours

keeping in mind the source of light and atmospheric perspective.

In the final stages, I redo the layering of colours, making changes where ever required. All the detailing happens in the end.

Before I begin any painting, I create small "Thumbnail sketches" or "Tonal value studies" which help me understand the subject well and these little ten minute works enable me to decide on the best composition. Two of the small quick art studies can be seen below. The black and white study has been done using a single Staedtler 8B pencil. I have started using this pencil quite recently and am enjoying it. Both are sized 2" X 3".

Tonal value sketch & Thumbnail sketch

of a landscape.

Thank you all for visiting my blog. If you are into soft pastel medium I would love to know about the papers you use. Do leave in a comment. Browse through my other artworks on my INSTAGRAM page.

The Morning shadows - A soft pastel painting

"The beautiful is in nature, and it is encountered under the most diverse forms of reality. Once it is found it belongs to art, or rather to the artist who discovers it." Gustave Courbet

I love to paint both landscapes and portraits. In fact what unifies every subject is light. The light that falls on the different elements in the subject defines its form and shape and helps reveal its colours. Pastels are a vibrant and ideal medium to capture this light and shadow effect in paintings.

Today's post is a soft pastel painting of a scene that I came across while I was at Karnala Bird Sanctuary recently. It was about ten in the morning and the shadows of the tall trees fell across the road creating interesting patterns. There is so much beauty that lies hidden in the nature and as an artist we try to capture it on to the paper using our vision and interpretation.

To know about the pastel palette that I use, CLICK HERE.

The Morning Shadows

Soft Pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 5" X 7"

The initial steps involved in creating the above painting are as follows. I have used a beige coloured Canson paper for this artwork. Canson MT comes in many different colours which is a big advantage to the artist. In this painting a major part of the composition was sky, hence I wanted to use a light toned paper as the base.

Step 1. After drawing a faint outline keeping the one third rule of composition, 

I blocked in the major shapes. At this stage I only look at simplifying the 

shapes and adding the colours as per value study.

Step 2. I add another layer of colours, laying emphasis on the dark tones, mid tones and the

highlights. At this moment, I pay attention to linear and atmospheric perspective

creating depth. I work on the shadows, the tree trunks and foliage.

In the final step I added a few necessary details like branches, sunlit foliage etc in the middle ground. At this stage I make use of my Koh-I-Noor soft pastel pencils. At some point of time I decide to call it quits to avoid overworking on the artwork.

Thanks for browsing through my artworks.Visit my INSTAGRAM page to view my works in other mediums as well. 

Watercolour Artist - Sadhu Aliyur

"In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine." 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Instagram is new to me and I have started posting my works on this social media quite recently. Blogging is about my art journey wherein I share my art, my techniques, my experiments and my general thoughts and feelings about creating my art. Instagram on the other hand is a faster way of uploading my work and most important, all my works can be seen in a gallery format. In conclusion, as an artist, I am enjoying being a part of Instagram.

Through Instagram I am getting to meet many different artists from India as well as all around the world. Some of them have inspired me in a lot many ways and I have decided to create a post about each one of them. Today I am posting about a great water colour artist Mr Sadhu Aliyur.

Mr Sadhu Aliyur is a Kerala based water colour artist. His finely honed skills, astute observation and refined aesthetic sensibilities help him capture the essence of a scene in a few strokes. He makes the common look uncommon. He transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

In his hands, nature comes alive in all its richness, textures, hues and forms. With a wash here and a dab there, the overwhelming beauty of the monsoon, skies and rain drenched dwellings are frozen for all time for the eyes of the connoisseur. Read more about him.....CLICK HERE.
( COURTESY: SADHU ALIYUR )

All works created by Mr Sadhu Aliyur are absolutely vibrant and stunning. His thoughts, feelings, conviction, and many moods seem to come alive with bare minimal strokes. The simple landscape scenes capture the mood and atmosphere so well. I have been following his works for quite some time now and decided to share some of them with you.

Check out his other works on his official website.

Each and every painting by Mr Sadhu Aliyur is so unique in itself, be it a still life, portrait or landscape, that you can't help but fall in love with it. 

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM , where in I post my latest artworks regularly. 

Thanks for browsing through my blog.🙏

Step by step, a soft pastel painting of a landscape from Bharatpur, Rajasthan

"Colour is the pulse of the painting." Michele Cooper

Keoladeo Ghana National park formerly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. One third of the park is wetland systems with varying types of microhabitats having trees, mounds, dykes and open water with or without submerged or emergent plants. The uplands have grasslands ( Savannas ) of tall species of grass together with scattered trees and shrubs present in varying density. ( COURTESY: WIKIPEDIA )

We were there some years back in the month of November. The pastel painting as below is of a morning scene at this Sanctuary. We were in the boat with a guide who was rowing the boat at a very gentle pace so as to avoid disturbing the nesting birds. The morning sun rays lit up the tall dry grass blades and the scene came up so live and vibrant with colours. The warm colours of the sunlit grass was such a contrast to the cool colours of the shadows in the surroundings.

I enjoyed creating this pastel painting and used Mungyo, Koh-I-Noor and Sennelier pastels for the same. To know about the papers that I use for my soft pastel paintings you can CLICK HERE.

The Morning Glow

Soft pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 6"X 8"

The soft pastel painting "The Morning Glow"progressed in stages. I am posting two images below.

Step 1. Keeping the composition in mind, I drew a faint outline

and then blocked in the major shapes using the underlying 

dark colours keeping in mind the values.

( The sky and water were painted in similar colours )

Step 2. Started the second layer of colours, adding details and
strokes to suggest foliage, grass etc.Smudging only
if required, else I just leave original pastel strokes.

Step 3. In the final stage of the pastel painting, I add the finishing touches ie adding the glow to the tips of the grass, creating few branches in the tree using pastel pencils, few grasses on the lake along with its reflection.

I purchased a few Koh-I-Noor individual pastel pencils from ART LOUNGE while it was running its annual sale earlier this year. 

My collection of pastel pencils

Before attempting this scene in soft pastels, I did a small study work of the same using willow charcoal and charcoal pencil. To view the value study CLICK HERE. Creating a tonal value study work always helps in a better understanding of the subject that I am going to paint in the coloured medium.

I hope you have enjoyed browsing through my blog. Thanks for taking out your precious time and visiting here. Your comments are welcome.

Step by Step, Water colour painting of Gurudongmar Lake

"I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else." Pablo Picasso

Every painting is inspired by some thought, some place, some vision that you have in mind. It slowly builds up in layers and then when the final moment of execution arrives, you let the energy flow on to the paper. Gurudongmar Lake in North Sikkim is one such place which is indelibly printed in my memory and it will continue to inspire me to make many paintings in future.

The moments we spent there were magical. It was like a dream come true to see nature in its pristine form. Today's post is a water colour painting of one such scene that we came across while we were at 17,100 ft, facing the majestic snow covered mountains and the stunning Gurudongmar Lake.

Magical

Water colour painting on Campap paper

Size 5.5" X 8"

For this particular work, I decided to photograph the initial stages of the painting. I have used a very limited palette for this painting. The initial drawing that I do is very light and I use a normal HB pencil for the same. I avoid erasing as it disturbs the surface fibres on the paper.

Step 1. Wet on wet technique, sky and mountains, 

using Winsor and Newton Ultramarine blue, Cerulean blue

 and Alizarin Crimson.

Step 2.  Created the mountains in the Middleground using Raw Sienna,

Ultramarine blue, Indian red and Burnt Sienna ( Camlin brand )

In the final stage I created the lake waters, which are reflection of colours of the sky ie Ultramarine blue and Cerulean blue. For the shadows on the snow I have used a mix of Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson colour.

Hope you have enjoyed going through my blog. It feels great to be painting and blogging and thanks to my blog, I am getting connected with people who are as passionate about art as me. If you love water colour medium, do browse through the works of Joseph Zbukvik, Alvaro Castagnet and Keiko Tanabe to name a few. All these world famous master water colorists have a style of their own and it is a pleasure watching their works.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Soft pastel painting

"In nature, light creates the colour. In painting, colour creates the light."Hans Hoffman

Pastels is a vibrant dry medium and I got into using it a few years back. I started with Camlin and Mungyo and then went on to purchase Koh-I-Noor and Gallery too. My latest brand in pastel collection is Sennelier which is very very expensive, however it is very soft and creamy and has deep rich colours. I have not used it much but plan to do so soon as the last and final layer on my paintings.

My today's post is an old work, a scene .from Mahabaleshwar which I created a some time back. Evaluating older paintings has become a norm and I always find a few mistakes here and there. So I touched up this painting with Sennelier pastels and was satisfied with the final results. 

Subjects such as these ie "Forest scenes" with winding pathways appeal to me a lot. I also get inspired by the sunlight that perforates through the foliage to lighten up the pathway at places. The light that falls on all the elements of the nature defines the form and shape and with every painting that we do we learn to see and observe.  

Light at the distance

A soft pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 8"X 12"

The greens in the landscape are always the biggest challenge and it continues to intimidate me. This colour along with blue is so predominant that it can be a mystery which gets tricky to solve. The only solution I find is to continue painting, have a keen observation and with time and experience it all gets better. 

I created a post on "The papers I use for my soft pastel artworks" in May, 2016 wherein I have written in detail about my experience with different papers before shortlisting the ones that I use today.  

Thank you for visiting my blog and CLICK HERE to browse through my gallery of paintings in other mediums as well. 

Milind Mulick and his water colour paintings

Milind Mulick - An artist who inspires me.

Art brings happiness into my life. To paint on a regular basis I need to stay motivated and this motivation at times comes from browsing through the works of other artists. I admire a lot many artists and hence, through my blog I am making an attempt to share some beautiful works by world famous artists. My last post was on Leonardo Da Vinci, a master artist from the Renaissance period. Today I am posting about a renowned water colour artist from Pune, Milind Mulick.

Milind Mulick is the son of a well known illustrator and painter, Mr Pratap Mulick. He has been drawing since the age of five and started painting water colour landscapes at the age of thirteen.
After completing his degree in Engineering, later in life he shifted to his passion art, creating stunning artworks mostly in water colour medium.

Milind Mulick's paintings are in the collection of many private individuals and a few Corporate houses in India, USA, Europe as well as Japan and Singapore. Vibrancy of colours and an ability to capture the essence of the subject are the hallmark of his paintings.

( COURTESY:  JYOTSNAPRAKASHAN , www.milindmulick.com )

I am posting below some of the water colour paintings by Milind Mulick which are my personal favorites. The cityscapes, the seascapes, the fields and a portrait work.

Jyotsana Prakashan has uploaded some videos where you can watch the water colour paintings being created by this great artist.

If you wish to read one of Milind Mulick's interviews which was taken by a Russian artist Konstantin Sterkhov , CLICK HERE. 

I recently happened to purchase a book by Milind Mulick, on a very challenging subject "Perspective". Be it nature or portrait drawing, knowing perspective helps a great deal. The book has all the information required in a very simplified manner and I refer to it as and when required.

You can find more of his books on sites like AMAZON.

A book on Perspective by Milind Mulick.

Thank you for visiting my blog.