Portrait sketching of a woman on toned paper.

"Drawing includes three and a half quarters of the content of the painting. Drawing contains everything except the hue." Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres 

With experience we all realise the significance of the words as mentioned above in the beautiful quote by a Master artist.

In 2006, I created a series of portraits using the acrylic and charcoal medium. Back then I was not using toned paper for my charcoal works. After having worked with charcoal and white pastel pencil on toned paper I have developed a tremendous liking for it. Therefore I have decided to take this passion further by sketching portraits on a regular basis. It is challenging though as it requires an in depth understanding of facial anatomy. However I know from experience that by consistently working on a subject will definitely enhance my knowledge. Moreover I believe that learning is a process which has no boundaries. The learning curve steadily climbs up with time.

The charcoal portrait that I just completed is of  a "Woman from Kutch, Gujarat"with traditional jewelry. The morning rays of the sun are fall on her face, casting beautiful shadow of her nose ring. The light and shadow play on the face makes an interesting composition in portrait sketching. It helps me create a range of values. While creating this portrait I wanted to capture the glow, the happiness on her face. I have used Camlin charcoal pencil and Creatacolour white pastel pencil to create this portrait

The Glow
Charcoal sketching on Grey hand made paper
Size 6"X 8"

For portrait sketching I have always enjoyed selecting  "Traditional Indian women" with their colourful attire and exquisite jewelery as it speaks so much about the rich culture of the place that they come from. To browse through some of my other portrait works you can visit my PORTRAIT page.

Many of my paintings are available for sale and if you wish to purchase any of them you can Contact me for further information about the same. 

A sparrow - Charcoal sketching on toned paper

Portrait of a sparrow.

Early morning I hear the incessant chirping by a host of sparrows in my balcony. It is fun to watch these beautiful elegant birds actively engaged in their furry movements. They are so full of life. My charcoal sketching as below is inspired by one such morning scene.

Hanging on

Charcoal and white pastel sketching on toned paper

Size 6"X 8"

Before starting the bird sketch I used my i pad to take a few photographs of the sparrows as they came and perched on my balcony grill. I also browsed through several other photographs on the net to get a little understanding of the bird anatomy. The outer form and structure is all carved according to the bones lying underneath. 

I titled this sketch as "Hanging on" to convey the feeling of perseverance and being here for a long time enduring all obstacles. The population of house sparrows is fast dwindling in cities as green space is giving way to high rise buildings. It is a pleasant change to see and hear them every day now.

I will be submitting this work in DPW " The bird challenge ".

Sparrows in my balcony

In December 2014, I created a bird sketch on toned paper from my Coorg reference photograph. In 2014 I was probably beginning to get into these kind of works. It is good to have a blog which is like a "Digital Diary"and it maintains a record of all your past work. Every time I create a work, it reminds me of something done in the past and I browse through my own blog revisiting my older works. It also helps me to analyse and evaluate my past works and then compare it with the present.

A Quote

"The object of art is not to reproduce reality but to create a reality of the same intensity." 
Alberto Giacometti