Ganpatipule beach - Watercolor paintings

 “ Colors like features, follow the changes of emotions.” Pablo Picasso 

Ganpatipule beach, located on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, is a clean, tranquil, and pristine beach known for its scenic beauty, coconut palms and the historic 400 year old Swayambhu Ganpati temple. 

We were at this beautiful beach last August and and I captured the monsoon landscape at different times of the day and so began my series of Watercolor paintings on my most favourite subject “Seascapes”. I got everything that I was looking for. 

Water, the elixir of life, one of the most fundamental requirements for life in any form, is somehow my source of inspiration. Moreover, I spent all my life close to sea and I feel, painting a seascape is more about capturing water and sky. It is about expressing emotion, movement, and silence all at once. Through these simple limited palette paintings, I get to explore color, light, texture and atmosphere in unique ways.

In most of my paintings below I have mostly used  Chitrapat handmade paper  . The size of the paper varies in each of them. This paper can be easily purchased online from different stationery branded stores. I normally buy the rough textured pad from Himalaya Fine Art which is situated in Fort area. In fact, the store comes up with sale every three to four months and I love the discount offers that they provide and moreover the products are genuine and great quality. Would definitely recommend everyone to try it out once.

If you wish to read a little more in detail about each of the paintings below, do visit my INSTAGRAM profile wherein I am more active. However, I do plan to create a post very soon on my “Limited Palette” exploration which I began a few months ago after getting inspired by world renowned artist Hazel Soan.

Using a limited palette has given a new direction to my watercolor techniques. I now use just about three to five color hues and that keeps my work simple. I get better color harmony and avoid muddy effects. Watercolor medium is challenging by itself and using a lot of color pigments can complicate it further.

Shimmering Silence 

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size:  4.5” X 6.5”

Afternoon Sparkle

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 3.75” X 5.5”

Coastal Monsoon

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.5” X 6.5”

Monsoon vibes at the beach 

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.5” X 6.75”

A tree by the shore

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 3” X 4”

Quiet Reflections 

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.75” X 6.75”

Rocks and waves

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.75” X 6.75”

( Painting with my reference photo )

( Painting with my reference photo )

A Rocky beach

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.75” X 6.75”

( Painting with my reference photo )

I have not been very regular at writing posts for my blog. However if you love my works you can follow me on INSTAGRAM . Thanks for browsing through my blog posts 🙏

Art quotes ( My favourite ones )

 Motivational art quotes. 

Quotes have inspired me all throughout my art journey. It provides me with instant inspiration and transforms my behaviour and my creative thinking pattern. Quotes are beautiful sentences spoken by a generation of artists from the bygone era, and every artist can relate to each and every word because the basic truth and its significance has remained the same. We share the same love and passion and gratitude for the beauty in this world. Quotes keep me going.

“Clear out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.” Dee Hock

“The idea is there locked inside. All you have to do is remove the excess stone.” Michelangelo 

“Light in nature creates the movement of colours.” Robert Delaunay 

“The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.” B B King

“Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures.” Vincent Van Gogh 

“Choose only one master - Nature.” Rembrandt 

“Colors like features, follow the changes of emotions.” Pablo Picasso

“What is done in love is done well.” Vincent Van Gogh 

“Without good drawing, the foundation of a painting will collapse.” Ken Danny

“I use watercolor to give voice to what I would like to talk about.” Jerry Pinkney 

“If painting weren’t so difficult, it wouldn’t be fun.” Edgar Degas

“Learning never exhausts the mind.” Leonardo Da Vinci 

“Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight.” Orphan Pamuk

“Work lovingly done is the secret of all order and all happiness.” Renoir

“In all things of nature, there is something of the marvellous.” Aristotle 

“The greatest masterpieces were once only pigments in a palette.” Henry S Haskins

“I just wanted to paint and sketch and tell stories by drawing.” Robert Redford

“Starting to paint, I felt gloriously free, quiet and alone.” H Matisse

“Painting is silent poetry.” Plutarch

“ I use Watercolor to give voice to what I would like to talk about.” Jerry Pinckney

“Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.” Leonardo Da Vinci 

“The only time I am truly in the Now is when I paint.” Lori McNee

“Everything is hard before it is easy.” Goethe J W

“I don’t say everything, but I paint everything.” Pablo Picasso 

“Color in a picture is like enthusiasm in life.” Vincent Van Gogh 

“The painter unfolds that which has not been seen.” Paul Cezanne

If you love art quotes as much as I do, please do visit my Instagram page wherein I post my paintings regularly along with a beautiful quote. Thanks for browsing through my blog.

Sennelier La Carta Pastel card ( Review )

“A beautiful body perishes, but a work of art does not.” Leonardo Da Vinci

For a very very long time, I have been using only  Canson Mi Teintes paper  for my soft pastel artworks. However lately I began exploring La Carte Pastel card by Sennelier which I purchased from Blick Art Materials a while ago. It’s not that I am unhappy with Canson paper as a choice but there are times when I feel the need to add more than three to four layers which gets difficult in Canson Mi Teintes paper as it’s surface cannot hold more than two to three layers of pastels. Whereas a sanded paper can accept many layers of pastels on it and as an artist you get the freedom to experiment with soft, hard edges. It’s very versatile.

Below are some of my 3” X 4” soft pastel studies that I created on Sennelier La Carta pastel card and I am totally in love with it. It’s great to be working with this sanded surface and I am truly enjoying it. So if you are looking to work with a sanded paper, then do go with this one as I highly recommend it. 

To browse through my latest artworks ( I am more active these days on Instagram ), do visit my INSTAGRAM portfolio where in I share my art and my thoughts behind creating it.

 

If you wish to know more details about each of the above paintings, do browse through my Instagram portfolio where I am more regular at posting my artworks in different mediums. 

Watercolor paintings of Icebergs on Chitrapat handmade paper

“The real subject of every painting is light.”

Claude Monet

A few months ago, I happened to come across beautiful documentaries on nature on NETFLIX. The more I watched, the more I got fascinated and then my art journey took a new turn. I started painting “Icebergs” and “Glaciers”. Ideally, I would love to experience these beautiful marvels of nature myself, however I do believe that I can travel to these places via my paintings. When I create them on paper, I actually feel the atmosphere bit by bit using my brushes, paints and my thoughts. The final outcome transports me to these lovely places and I am practically in a different world.

For reference photographs, I normally browse through free sites like PIXABAY and UNSPLASH.

At times I also ask permission from photographers and travelers, and give due credit to them once the painting is done. More details about the paintings posted below can be seen on my INSTAGRAM handle, where in I am more regular at posting my works. If you have observed already, I am more into using a limited palette in each of my paintings below. When I post on Instagram, I normally mention the colours used which can be anything between three to five colour hues. ( Each colour hue could be made of one or more colour pigments ). Lesser the better. 

The paints, the brushes and the paper matter a lot when creating a Watercolor painting. I am still learning, experimenting and exploring but have realised that Chitrapat handmade paper is wonderful as it is great for wet on wet technique. In paints I majorly use Camel Artists quality Watercolor tubes and for brushes I will be writing another post soon as each of the brush that I use today has a story behind it and over a period of years I have invested in some expensive brushes which I do not regret as they have made a lot of difference in the quality of my works.

Aerial Drift

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

4” X 5.5”

Gentle Drift

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

3.75” X 5.5”

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

4.5” X 6.5”

Resting on the blue

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

5.25” X 8”

I have not been very regular at writing posts for my blog. However if you love my works you can follow me on INSTAGRAM. 

A Ship ( Geared cargo vessel ) at port - A watercolor painting

 “Watercolor and it’s application have become a moving force, directing and enriching my life.” Theresa R Einhorn

In the year 2019, I was at New Mangalore Port with my husband who is a marine officer. Our ship was berthed opposite to the the scene that I am posting today. From the porthole of our cabin, I watched the loading taking place on the geared bulk carrier on the opposite berth. I painted this experience on Chitrapat handmade paper ( one of my favourite papers for Watercolor painting ).*

Since it was a morning scene, I kept the sky a little warm at the horizon using raw sienna colour. For the ocean I used a mix of ultramarine blue and cerulean blue ( Camlin Artist watercolor tubes ). The ship anatomy is pretty complicated and it’s not possible to get all intricate details, however I tried to get in the cranes, the accommodation and the cranes. Painting a personal experience is always such a pleasure.

Apart from Camel, I have also used Winsor and Newton Cotman paints .

Arrived at port

A watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper

Size 7” X 10”

A cargo vessel at berth.

Photograph taken at

New Mangalore Port

If you want to read more about the reasons I prefer using Chitrapat handmade paper for my Watercolor paintings, CLICK HERE. 

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends. Thanks for browsing through my blog and being a part of my art journey 🙏

Figurative study works on Chitrapat handmade paper

 “There are no half measures when it comes to Watercolor. Watercolor demands constant devotion.” Pierre Tougas

Have you ever tried painting small figures on paper ?

Some months ago, I decided to create figurative works on small cutout’s of Chitrapat handmade paper. I basically did it to get a better understanding of human anatomy. Moreover since I am a landscape artist I find it tricky to add tiny figures in a 5” X 7” artwork. So the idea was to develop a technique to create the right strokes to get the figures looking realistic on paper. To a great extent, it helped and I was happy.

The paints I used were

1. Camlin Artist watercolor tubes

2. Winsor and Newton Cotman paints

The brushes I used were

1. Van Gogh foldable brush ( It comes with Van Gogh paint set )

2. Escoda Perla round brush

3. Winsor and Newton rigger brush

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends. Thanks for browsing through my blog and being a part of my art journey 🙏

Step by step soft pastel painting - Road to Spiti

 “The important thing is to create. Nothing else matters; Creation is all.” Pablo Picasso

The Spiti holidays ( Himachal Pradesh ) happened in 2013. But the memories are so fresh. By painting a landscape scene from my travel journey, I make it all the more memorable. The winding roads, high up in the mountains, carved out by cutting through the mountains, so people like us can enjoy the beauty of the unseen wonders of this part of the world. So grateful to all those who worked so hard and made it happen.

We were so overwhelmed by the landscape around the roads, that we took frequent breaks to soak in the lovely atmosphere and of course to capture few photographs for reference ( For my future artworks). I still haven’t painted them all. Each one being very close to my heart. 

Road to Spiti

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5” X 7”

Step 1. I lightly draw the outline using a white pastel pencil on a medium toned Canson Mi Teintes paper

             ( Used Twilight shade here ). Using  Mungyo and Kohinoor Toison Dor soft pastels, I then use 

            Very light touch to fill in the respective colours keeping in mind the tonal values and perspective.      

Step 2. Once I have covered the entire surface of the paper with the respective colours as per my 

             interpretation ( The photo captures all the colours. Whereas in reality the distant objects are

             dull in colour and do not have any details or sharp outlines ). I lightly blend at places using

             my finger.

Step 3. In the final layer I add more colours to create depth. I also use pencils at this stage to put in 

            details at several places as required. That about completes the painting. I normally do not use any 

            fixative as I personally feel that it dulls the colours. I use a butter paper on top and staple it at

            one end and then keep it in the folder until framed.

My art studio

With my collection of soft pastels

And pastel pencils

Kohinoor Toison Dor 

120 soft pastels ( Foldable box )

Purchased from Art Lounge

Sennelier extra soft

120 half stick 

Paris Collection 

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends. Thanks for taking out time and browsing through my blog 🙏

Golden Gate Bridge - A watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper

 “ Watercolor condenses time and consolidates experience.” Frank Marcello

 PIXABAY is a free stock photography and royalty free stock media website. It is used for sharing photos, illustrations and a lot more, under the custom PIXABAY License, which generally allows the free use of material with some restrictions. I personally enjoy browsing through this site for some interesting reference photos of places that I haven’t visited so far but would love to paint them anyway.

I have already painted the “Golden Gate Bridge” ( “A suspension bridge that connects the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. ) on earlier occasions but the photo that I found recently caught my eye mainly because, it had quite a different composition as it was an evening scene and also captured the cars racing across the bridge. This scene looked a bit challenging as I decided to use the watercolor medium and had to capture the racing cars, which were going to be gestural strokes and not too much of details. 

I finally painted it on Chitrapat handmade paper using my usual Winsor and Newton Cotman and Camlin Artists water color tubes. 

After having completed a painting, every artist looks back and reflects on the entire process of creating it. I do the same. I haven’t painted this kind of a scene before and by the time I completed it, I was happy. Trying something new and different is always very exciting. It motivates you further to pursue the journey. 

The Golden Gate Bridge

A water color painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size 4” X 5”

The Golden Gate Bridge 

Courtesy: Pixabay.com

If you wish to see my recent artworks visit my INSTAGRAM site and if you like my works and they inspire you, please share with friends. Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. 

“Beach Reflections” A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

 “ Limitless and immortal, the waters are the beginning and end of all things on earth.” Heinrich Zimmer

Somewhere in December 2019, I was at Bogmalo beach ( Goa ), with family to attend a marriage function. Little did we know of what was in store for us in the coming months. And then in 2020, Covid struck and all traveling came to a halt for a long long time. Therefore this beautiful beach is a reminder of the pre covid carefree era, when I took out time one early morning to walk along the shoreline and capture some lovely photographs which I planned to paint later at leisure. 

Today’s soft pastel painting of an early morning scene at Bogmalo Beach is one of the many paintings that I have created in the recent times. What I loved a lot in this particular capture is the reflection of the distant hills reflecting on the water reaching the shoreline. 

“Beach Reflections”

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5” X 7”

Like in any typical soft pastel painting, I have used Canson Mi Teintes paper and my usual Mungyo, Kohinoor Toison Dor and Sennelier pastels. These pastels work great in combination and as of now I am pretty content with my collection and do not wish to add any more.

If you wish to see some of my latest artworks you can visit my Instagram site wherein I post my works more regularly. Thank you for browsing through my blog. 🙏

Step by Step, soft pastel forest landscape ( Coorg, Karnataka )

 “Perfection is no small thing but is made up of small things.” Michelangelo 

Of late, I have been pretty busy with my water color paintings but I do miss working with soft pastels. So took out some time recently and created this forest landscape referring to my photo taken at Coorg, Karnataka. 

I have used the following brand of soft pastels as:

1. Camlin

2. Mungyo

3. Gallery

4. Kohinoor Toison Dor.

5. Sennelier

Each of these brands have their own qualities and together they work great for me. If I have to recommend one brand to buy as a set for the beginners, I would suggest set of 48 soft pastels by Kohinoor Toison Dor. These cylindrical sticks are absolutely soft on the paper and work wonders. Moreover they are economical too. As far as paper is concerned, I mostly go with Canson Mi Teintes as I find it economical and it has sufficient tooth for taking in two layers of pastels. I normally finish my work in two layers and additionally do a little touch up in the end using the extra soft Sennelier pastels.

“ On the way to Coorg”

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size: 7” X 9”

I have visited Coorg several times in the past and every time I am there it feels absolutely amazing. There is something magical about the nature vibes. It rejuvenates you to the core.

The Steps involved in creating the above artwork

Step 1.  Created a faint basic outline of the major shapes using a light coloured 

soft pastel pencil and later used the Mungyo and Kohinoor 

soft pastels to paint the respective tonal values keeping

in mind the source of light, and the shadows.

Step 2. After the first layer of color application ( using soft touch, as Canson Mi Teintes

cannot take in too many layers of colors ), I blended the colors 

on the paper using my finger tips to cover up the underlying

black shade of the paper. 

Step 3. After the first layer was painted and blending is complete, I carefully began with 

the background sky and slowly worked my way towards the forest 

trees and other elements as I progressed downwards towards 

the foreground. I used Kohinoor soft pastel pencils to create

the fine branches, and other details ( mostly in the

middle ground ) 

The reference photo taken at Madikeri ( Coorg, Karnataka )

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends. Thanks for taking out time and browsing through my blog 🙏

Seascape - A water color Painting on Chitrapat handmade paper

 “Translucence is an effect unique to the medium of watercolor and the lure that beckons me into the studio for yet another creative adventure.” Michele Cooper

Using Chitrapat handmade paper has always been a delight. I have written a lot already about the advantages of using this paper in my previous posts and I personally use this paper a lot. Apart from this paper I also like using Arches cold pressed paper and Fabriano Acquarello paper. 

For the painting below I have used very few colors, namely raw sienna, burnt sienna, orange and ultramarine blue. Using wet on wet wash technique, I initially painted the sky, the ocean and the sandy beach. Then I let the paper dry. Later I used ultramarine blue and burnt sienna to create the rocky structures in the distance, followed by the ocean and the beach. I also added few sailboats in the distance, using a very dilute wash of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna. The reflections of the rocks were added pretty much in the end. Can you also spot the birds flying in the sky? It was fun painting this seascape which has an overall warm tone and I forgot to mention that I have used Winsor and Newton Cotman paints and Camlin Artist watercolor tubes for this work. 

Evening Glow

A water colour painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size 5” X 7”

In most of my posts, I have given a brief description about the paper and paints used by me. However I failed to write about the brushes I use in order to create them. In one of my upcoming posts, I shall try and give a detailed description about the different brushes used by me.

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends. Thanks for browsing through my blog and being a part of my art journey 🙏