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.

Charcoal drawing of Pebbles

"If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all."

Michelangelo

Many artists believe that value is more important than colour to the design and success of a painting. I have started believing in this theory too. Hence creating a grey scale version of a painting helps me a lot to understand the subject even before I have started the painting process. The advantages of knowing the right values are

• Value helps in creating a focal point within a painting or a drawing
• The human eye is immediately drawn to a light element against a dark element. This creates the focal point of interest.
• Gradations of value help in creating the illusion of depth.
• The light and contrast help to define the form of the subject matter.

"Rocks and pebbles" have always fascinated me as a subject for painting. I created my first "Rocks and pebbles" painting in water colour medium and posted it recently. I enjoyed doing that small little study and decided to try out this subject using charcoal medium too. 

Therefore I hunted out another photograph taken at a beach and went ahead creating the charcoal drawing as given below. This is the fun part of the art journey. It is so full of surprises. You discover new interests, fall in love once again with an old medium and it motivates you further in life.

Pebbles

Charcoal drawing on cartridge sheet

Size 5.5" X 6.5"

Taking a break with a little charcoal artwork has helped me. I intend to continue with my water colour explorations but as and when possible I will try and do a little of my "Charcoals and Pastels" too. I am also into "ART WORKSHOPS" and to know more details regarding the same you can visit my page. Art workshops are fun as it helps me to get connected with art enthusiasts in all age groups. 

Thank you very much for visiting my blog and keep browsing. Do visit my INSTAGRAM page to see my works in charcoals, soft pastels and other mediums.

Jurien Bay, West Australia - A water colour painting

"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream." Vincent Van Gogh

Painting a seashore relaxes me completely. I am so drawn to this subject. Many of my friends who know about my passion for painting keep sending me photographs from all around the world. I am very grateful to all of them. Today's painting is with reference to a beach photograph sent by one of my friends.

Jurien Bay is a coastal town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, 220 kms north of Perth facing the Indian Ocean. The town has a beautiful coastline. What inspired me further was the unique rock formations, the wet sand and the reflections.

At Jurien Bay, West Australia

Water colour painting on Campap paper

Size 8.5" X 11"

I take "Art Workshops" from time to time and to know more about it you can visit my page for further details. My works can also be browsed at in my INSTAGRAM page. I enjoy painting and blogging and my recent venture into Instagram is helping me get connected with many different artists around the world. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and do leave in a comment to let me know what you think about my works. 

Rocks and pebbles at the beach - A water colour painting

"The only source of knowledge is experience." Albert Einstein

In my last post I mentioned about my newly purchased Arto Campap Cold Pressed paper ( 300 gsm ). I created a small water colour study of "Rocks" on it. I have been photographing close up of rocks since very long but never really got into creating an artwork referring to it. Rocks make an interesting subject to paint as it helps understanding the shape, shadow and textures on its surface.

I kept my water colour palette limited to just three colours, namely burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and paynes grey. Burnt sienna and ultramarine blue when mixed in different proportions create beautiful shades of grey. In fact these two are the maximum used colours in my palette.

Working on textures was lot of fun, though I need to improvise on it. In all this was a quick experimental work and it was an exciting experience. I am waiting to create some more works where in I will get to work on rocks.

Rocks and pebbles

Water colour painting on Arto Campap CP paper

Size 3.5" X 4"

In the past I have created charcoal drawing of "Rocks under the water" using my charcoal tools. 

I do get tempted to pick up my charcoal tools once again and I will do that eventually, however for now I want to spend some more time working with water colour medium.

Thank you all for visiting my blog.

Mountain view at Matheran

"I would rather die of passion than of boredom." Vincent Van Gogh

Matheran is a very small hill station about 90 kms from Mumbai, in Raigad district of Maharashtra. It is located on the range of Western Ghats at a height of 800 m above sea level. It has been declared an Eco Sensitive Zone by the Government of India and being a vehicle free zone one gets to walk a lot in the laps of mother nature. Apart from dense forest, we get to see beautiful views of mountains and plateaus.

There are 38 designated points in Matheran from where one gets to see breathtaking views of the distant Ghats. To reach each point, it takes roughly forty to forty five minutes of walking through the red muddy pathways. 

I decided to paint this particular scene because it looked very beautiful, had great composition with distant hills and the warm mountains in the foreground. I got to use some of my earthen shades of pastels. There is so much to observe, so much to learn about the colours, the atmospheric perspective, the way landscape transforms with the change of the temperature. 

Mountain view
Soft pastel painting on Canson MT
Size 5"X 7"

I have visited Matheran a lot many times and have a great collection of photographs and sketches. Some of them are pretty complicated with dense forest, shrubs, grasses and sunlight perforating through the foliage and it needs a little analyzing and understanding before I set off to start them, but eventually I plan to do each and every one of them. One step at a time. 

I love painting and try doing some work on a daily basis. I can never get bored of my art, however when I do a particular medium for a very long time it does lead to a little saturation. At such times I get into my charcoal and other mediums which refreshes my mind instantly.

Through my blog I get to share my thought process in creating each work, my techniques, my experimenting and exploring and it is fun connecting with so many artists around the world. 

Thanks for all your support and do leave a comment so that I may know what you feel about my works.

Sketching a landscape in charcoal medium

Charcoal sketching of a landscape

This charcoal sketching is inspired by the early morning scene at one of the trekking pathways at Karnala Bird Sanctuary. I loved the composition of the scene and selected this landscape as it helped me in understanding the tonal values of the complicated scene which had distant hills, sunlit pathway, bushes, trees, rocks, scattered leaves etc. 

The winding pathway

Charcoal sketching on Favini paper

Size 6" X 8"

Over a period of years I have collected a whole lot of art stationery which includes paints, brushes, pencils, papers and a miscellaneous collection of "Unused things". Among the not so used up paper is a "Favini" paper which I picked up from a Stationery shop at Thailand. ( I still have a whole lot of them with me ). Therefore for my present charcoal sketching I decided to put this paper to use. ( I have used it on earlier occasions for portrait sketching ).

In conclusion this paper is fine but I would prefer to use "Scholar" which I have started using pretty recently for my charcoal landscape works. Presently my stock of this paper is over and I am waiting to buy some soon. Unfortunately it is not available at ART STATION, the stationery store near my residence.

To view my soft pastel painting of yet another scene from Karnala Bird Sanctuary, CLICK HERE

I plan to use soft pastels to recreate the above scene on Canson paper.

"There is no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there is no end to it." 
Henry Moore

I believe every word of the quote as mentioned above. Art is a way of life. It happens everyday. I am always looking out for new subjects, new plans to add to the day today excitement of creating and learning at the same time. Art is fun.

A Rocky Seashore at Bamboo island - A soft pastel painting

I love painting seascapes. Having spent my childhood close to the sea, it brings back memories.
I have a big collection of photographs and sketches yet to be painted and I don't think I will ever get tired of painting this subject. In fact the more I paint the more I fall in love with it.

The seashore as below has been created using very soft pastels ( Mungyo and Koh-I-noor ). I rarely use the hard pastels. In fact I have just one set with me and I never felt the need to purchase more. The scene below is from Bamboo island, part of Phi Phi Leh ( Thailand ).

In this particular painting I got to create a few textured rocks, the froth on the sea waves and their shadows. While adding the waves in the shallow waters I had to pay attention to the perspective in the scene. In all painting this scene was a new learning experience. I am looking forward to creating a few more seascapes soon.

A Rocky Seashore

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 7.5" X 9.5"

I am blogging after a long "Diwali festival" break. As an artist I would love to paint and blog everyday but I have this priority list in which my art is sometimes not at the top. There are other very important personal things to be taken care of. However as and when I get free time to myself I devote it passionately to my art. 

The next painting that I may begin is of a forest pathway from Coorg in soft pastels. It has been a long pending assignment which has already painted visually in my mind and I just have to put it down on the paper. 

Last week while browsing through the net for nature and wildlife photographers in India and I came across some amazingly beautiful photographs taken by Rathika Ramasamy. I am truly inspired and have become a big fan of her works. If you are into photography or nature study you must visit her site.

Ending with a quote  - "Art does not reproduce what you see. It makes us see." Paul Klee

The crystal clear waters of Phuket and Phi Phi Leh - Few photographs

"To me photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an

ordinary place. I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with

the way you see them." Elliott Erwett

When I am travelling, it is not always possible to create a sketch or a painting on the spot. So
I have to rely a lot on the photographs that I capture. I try to focus on the scenes which I feel
can help me create some beautiful paintings of the pristine nature around me.  

Later when I am at home and if the photograph is not up to my satisfaction, I edit it a bit
removing a few elements, adjusting the horizon etc. I love photography but it is a big field in
itself and I am still learning. I use a digital camera as well as a new Canon 7D. Manual
photography is new to me and quite challenging, therefore as and when I get time I refer to
Photography manuals to get a better understanding of it.

Posting a few photographs as taken by me while we were on our recent tour to Phuket,

Phi Phi Leh and other islands closeby. The crystal clear water, its ever changing colours,
is all so captivating.

At Bamboo island 

The calm waters and the submerged rocks.

At Rawai beach at Phuket

The sparkling still waters

At Bamboo island

Around Phi Phi Leh

The colour of the water reflecting back at the rocks above.

I have started new works using the soft pastel medium and they are in progress. Will post them as 

soon as I complete them. In the meantime I have also started uploading a few of my works

on Deviant art as it will allow some of my paintings to be seen together in a Gallery format which

is not possible on the blog.

The shadow at the beach - A soft pastel painting

"An artist must have his measuring tools not in the hand, but in the eye." Michelangelo

Simple quote that speaks a volume. All the painting starts in the mind itself. The eyes
see it all. The observation gets sharper and better with time.

I recently created a beach scene from Bamboo island ( Thailand ), using the charcoal medium.
The place was so full of colours that I could not resist myself from creating a soft pastel
painting of the same.

Therefore using my cleaned up Soft pastel palette I went ahead to recreate this memorable
scene using vibrant shades of blues and greens. The water of the ocean, changed colours from
green to shades of blue, as it receded towards the horizon.

I titled this painting "The light and the shadow" as the source of light played a predominant
role in the painting. Another appealing factor to me in this particular scene was the rocks that
were so clearly visible under the crystal clear waters.

The light and the shadow

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6.5" X 8"

I spent my childhood years close to the sea. Hence the affinity is pretty strong. It brings back

sweet memories. The love for the sea and seashore continues to exist but now I am into admiring 

the beauty of nature. Using my creativity and imagination, I am busy trying to capture it live on a blank piece of paper so that I can hear the sea waves splashing at the shore. The sound of the

waves in a continuous rhythm is so relaxing to the mind.

Having completed this painting my latest resolution is to add a few more "Seashore paintings" to 

my " To do" list. 

Back to ART and BLOGGING after a long break.

It feels good to be back at art and blogging after a long break. I have been busy travelling and

attending to a lot more personal work.

After a break, I always restart with my artwork with charcoal medium. It is almost like 

getting into basics once again. The tonal value study, and use of just few tools makes it a lot 

easier too. I am doing a tree trunk with exposed roots on toned paper ( Trying out a new

colour this time instead of the regular grey ) which will complete by tomorrow.

In the meantime I am posting a soft pastel work which I completed last month but did not get 

time to post it. It is with reference to a beautiful photograph taken by my friend's niece at 

Florence falls, Melbourne. The photograph reminded me so much of Langkawi, which had 

similar rocks and atmosphere. 

At Florence Falls, Melbourne
Soft pastel painting on Canson paper
Size 6" X 8"

Art Lounge, the art stationery shop at Churchgate is holding its annual sale from 17th of this

month and this will continue till may be the 16th of next month. I visit Art Lounge every year

for my Canson Mi Teintes paper which I use a lot for my soft pastel work. Unfortunately it is

not available at ART STATION which is a shop close to my place.

Like any other artist I have a big collection of art materials at my place be it brushes, pastels,

charcoals or papers. Despite this fact I would still visit the sale for the following

General soft charcoal pencil

General soft white pastel pencil

Canson Mi Teintes paper (  Grey and black shade )

Koh-I-Noor individual soft pastels ( Vandyke brown, few greens and blues )

Water soluble graphite ( I have recently started using this and it is lot of fun )

Canson water colour paper ( Want to try it out )

Canson c a grain paper ( I use this for my charcoal works )

General charcoal powder ( Have read good reviews about it so may buy it this time )

Certain things that I buy is a one time investment. For example the charcoal powder by General

comes in a big bottle so I may not have to buy it for a long long time. This year, Art Lounge is

also selling some premium quality water colour brushes like ESCODA, Winsor and Newton etc

so I may have a look around at them too.

The charcoal powder jar by

General

On the way to Dhankar Monastery

"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home."  GARY SNYDER

Dhankar is situated at a high altitude ( 12744 feet ) in Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh . Reaching Dhankar and viewing the world around literally makes you feel at the top of the world. Painted below is a Commission work in watercolour, of a beautiful scene at Dhankar. It is situated between Tabo and Kaza, two beautiful small towns surrounded by deserted, barren land and mountains.

The air is pure, the wind chilly, the clouds so clearly visible in the sky. There are homestays for tourists which we were unaware of when we visited about more than two years back. Had we known, we would have stayed there for may be two full days soaking in the breathtaking views.

Dhankar, Himachal Pradesh

water colour painting on Fabriano paper

Size 14" X 18"

Not available for sale

For this particular painting I have used Fabriano water colour paper. I purchased the Fabriano water colour pad of 24 sheets some months back as it was on a discount. This paper is cold pressed, 300 gsm and fairly good for landscape works. But for wet on wet paintings I would prefer the Arches.

Fabriano studio water colour paper pad.

The cold barren mountains of Spiti

”Beauty is truth, truth beauty”
—-that is all Ye know on earth,
and all ye need to know. ~John Keats

After having done couple of study works I decided it was time to create my second large sized painting. I selected a scene from Himachal Pradesh as it would give me the opportunity to paint the sky, distant mountains and the curved pathway with rocks strewn around. 

I started with wet on wet technique in the first layer using the transparent colours in the distance. After the first layer had dried up, I added more colours in the middle and foreground using wet on dry technique. For this particular painting I felt it was the right choice. The paper I have used is a non expensive hand made paper. Arches paper is definitely a very good choice and I plan to make a transition soon.

Mountains and snow

Water colour painting on handmade paper

Size 10.5"X 14"

Water colour medium is challenging. An error done cannot be easily rectified. So I am learning
to be more patient. I am enjoying this medium a lot and plan to continue doing some more.
I have started a seascape and will be posting the image when it gets completed.

Rocks, blue green waters and reflections - soft pastel painitng

The soft pastel painting as given below has been created using a reference photograph which was taken while we were on Langkawi island in Malaysia during our last holidays. The rocks, the blue green waters and all the reflections around, it was a breathtaking view. 

While we were in Langkawi, we made it a point to visit all the different beaches as each one had some different view to offer and was unique in itself. Hence I have a big personal collection of the photographs and would love to convert all of them into paintings at some time later.

Blue green waters

Soft Pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper

Charcoal painting of Rocks, water and reflections ( Langkawi Island )

While on a KILIM Geoforest Tour  ( Langkawi Island ) we were taken to this beautiful isolated beach which had these beautiful huge rocks , some tree growths around and a little ripple in the waves. The water was clear and transparent exposing the submerged rocks.The entire scene was mesmerising. 

Presently I have done this painting using charcoal on Fabriano Academia paper but later I wish to do the same painting using soft pastels as I feel the need to capture the beauty in colours too. Charcoal painting takes me a lot more number of hours as compared to other mediums but I love this medium a lot and do not want to ever give up on it. 

Rocks, water and reflections

Charcoal painting on Fabriano Academia paper.

Available for sale

"One paints as one draws - Ingres"

I came across this quotation in one of the floral painting books which is a part of my ART BOOKS collection. There is an entire chapter devoted on "how drawing and sketching play an important role in day to day painting". Over a period of time and with whatever experience I have had so far I too feel that drawing and sketching play a KEY role in painting process. Hence I devote a lot of time to my sketchings even today. 

If you like mixed media and textured art works then please visit my blog

www.ethnikhomedecor.blogspot.in 

to view my ethnic and mixed media art works. My second blog was inactive for a very long time but I have started adding works there. If you have any inquiry pertaining to sale of my works please write to me at manjupanchal@hotmail.com

or contact me at 0091-22-9820683983

Thumbnail sketches of trees, rocks and mountains

Thumbnail Sketches are Shorthand Notes for Artists:

Thumbnail sketches are drawing quick, abbreviated drawings. Usually, they are done very rapidly and with no corrections - you can use any medium, though pen or pencil is the most common. Thumbnails sketches are usually very small, often only an inch or two high.

Thumbnails can be Colored:

Thumbnail sketches are a great way to plan color schemes. Use textas, colored pencil or watercolor to put in major areas of color in your picture. Small but intense colors can also be noted, as these can attract the eye, but don't get bogged down with detail.

(The detailed explanation as given above about Thumbnail sketch is from www.drawsketch.about.com)

Since I am getting into doing landscapes, it is imperative to understand a lot about all the different elements that play an important role in Landscape Composition. I find , creating thumbnail sketches , is a great way of enhancing one's knowledge. The medium used in these creations is SOFT PASTELS.

Thumbnail sketches of trees

Thumbnail sketches of rocks and mountains

Thumbnail sketches can also be done in charcoals, graphite or water colours. It all depends on individual artists as to what they are comfortable in.