Sunlit Branches- A watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper

“Art is as natural as sunshine and as vital as nourishment.” M F Kohl

A morning scene from Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary ( Also known as Keoladeo National park )  The sunlit branches glistening in the morning rays of the sun inspired me to create this artwork. In order to create the texture of the foliage I decided to use the fan brush and the rigger brush and was happy to get the desired effect. I have used a limited palette and mainly the warm colors in this landscape painting. In most of my water color paintings I limit myself to using as few colors as possible. It helps in simplifying the painting process.

The two papers that I love to work with are Arches cold pressed paper. and  Chitrapat handmade paper . Arches however is very expensive and hence I use more of Chitrapat paper these days but very soon plan to shift to Arches paper. For its price, I would definitely Chitrapat paper to all beginners. It can be easily purchased from online stores in India.

Sunlit Branches

A water colour painting on Chitrapat paper

Size 5” X 7”

For the above artwork I have used Winsor and Newton Cotman and Camlin Artists water color tubes. I enjoy working with both these brands and would recommend it to all water color enthusiasts. 

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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.

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Two landscape study works in charcoal medium

Two study works using the charcoal medium.

Composition, colours and value. They all play a very significant role in creating a good artwork. In order to get a better understanding of a landscape, I generally go for a thumbnail sketch or a study work which I create in different mediums. This time I decided to do a value sketch using willow charcoal, charcoal pencil and charcoal powder. 

Both these sketches are sized 4.5" X 5.5" and will serve as reference when I will recreate these subjects in colours using soft pastels. 

Tonal value sketch of a scene from Coorg

A study work

Tonal value sketch of a scene from Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

A study work

"I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing."  Vincent Van Gogh

I totally agree with the words as quoted above. Drawing and sketching is the foundation to art. As the drawing gets better so does the painting. I enjoyed creating the charcoal sketches such as above and I may do my future "Thumbnail sketches" too in charcoal medium.

To view my selected artworks you can visit my gallery at DEVIANTART

Reflections in the water - soft pastel work

One of my favourite photographs taken at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. It has been on my laptop since last year or so. I finally decided to give it a try in my way. I started off by selecting the black coloured Canson Mi Teintes paper. I started off by simplifying the bigger shapes and coloured 

them as a whole using the soft pastel medium. Blended the colours using my fingers. 

Then I fixed the layer with Winsor and Newton fixative.

In the second layer I added the tree trunks, foliage and other details. Signed at the bottom left 

with a white pastel pencil. I have also made use of the black charcoal pencil at places especially

to create the thin branches.

Solitude

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6" X 9"

What is most challenging in any forest landscape is the greens. No matter how many shades 

you have, you still fall short of the right shade. Unlike water colours, oils and acrylics

it is not easy to get the green shades by mixing different colours. Moreover with

my past experience I know for sure that if I use more than two colours on each

other it creates a muddy effect and the freshness of the colour fades away.

I have created a few more small Demo works in soft pastel medium and I shall

be posting them soon.

The morning glow - Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

"A Picture is a poem without words" - Horace

The image as below is of a painting created from a reference photo that I clicked while we 

were at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary ( Also known as Keoladeo National park ) some years

back. It was early morning and we were in the boat that was quietly moving through the waters

in the marshy wetlands, surrounded by greenery on either sides. The weather was cold, the 

warm sunrays were perforating through the foliage and it was so very quiet. It was a lovely

place to be and is a must visit for all artists and photographers alike.

The national park is a host to more than 366 bird species. It is a major tourist centre and has

been declared a protected sanctuary in 1971. 

Using soft pastels I have tried to capture the morning glow. I have also created yet another soft

pastel painting of a beautiful scene from the same place. Shall be posting it soon.

The Morning Glow

Soft pastel paintiing on Canson ( Black ) paper

Size 6" X 9"

I have submitted this painting in the weekly challenge conducted by DPW.

I have my precious collection of photographs which I have been collecting over a period

of years. Slowly and steadily I am shortlisting them and then as the mood sets in, I paint

them. Some landscapes have been a challenge to paint so they have been

shortlisted long time back but it is now that I am daring to them one by one.

There are a few beautiful forest scenes from Matheran which I plan to do shortly.

One of them in particular has these morning rays hitting only a trunk and part of

foliage in the early morning hours. Rest of the elements in the landscape

are as if in shadow. I took that photograph with the intention of painting 

it one day. I should be painting it soon.

Strathmore 200 series drawing paper

One of my close artist friends has used the Strathmore series for her art work and she recommended me to use some of the papers created by this brand.

Therefore I started with a small charcoal painting on the Strathmore 200 series drawing paper.

It is a pad with 40 acid free white sheets in it.

Strathmore 200 series drawing paper

The subject I selected is a beautiful, quiet morning scene from Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary which we visited some years back. The still waters with reflections of the trees and bushes made for a great composition. Before starting on the charcoal painting, I cropped the photograph that I used in order to get a better composition. In this particular photo the horizon line was running through the centre. So I decided to keep more of the sky with the trees on either side.

Reflections

Charcoal sketching on Strathmore paper.

Size 5.5" X 7"

After having used Canson c a grain and Fabriano Academia, I was quite settled for my choice of paper. However after using Strathmore, I am quite positive about using it in future too. This paper has a very smooth texture and the charcoal fixes pretty easily on to the paper. The blending and scumbling too was quite a pleasure. In all I find this paper very satisfying.

My signature can be seen on the extreme right bottom. 

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - a landscape in charcoal

"You never outgrow drawing. It's so fundamental to everything." Debra Groessner.

A winter scene from Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary OR Keoladeo National Park. ( Spread over an area of 29 square kilometres ).We visited this beautiful place in the winters of 2005. It was cold and mornings would generally be foggy. This scene was shot while we were in the boat cruising through the still waters. We had a guide with us who was well versed with all the bird species in the area. In 1985 the park was declared a Heritage site.

I have once again used willow charcoal and mostly camel soft charcoal pencil to create this morning landscape in Charcoal medium.

Morning in Bharatpur

Charcoal sketching on Fabriano Academia paper

Size 6" x 10"

The place was so amazingly beautiful and I may soon do a soft pastel painting of the same scene.

Apart from drawing and painting I also occasionally design ethnic products like NAMEPLATES

which can be viewed at my other blog www.ethnikhomedecor.blogspot.in. If you have any purchase related inquiry you can mail me at manjupanchal@hotmail.com

 OR call me at 9820683983 ( Mumbai )