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 🙏

One Step at a time - A soft pastel painting

“ You can get anywhere if you simply go one step at a time.” Dave Ramsey

Sometime back I tried this soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes light grey toned paper. Every landscape scene has its own challenges. What I loved in this scene was the steps leading into the forest and the misty background. I used muted grey toned colors in the distance to create depth and used light strokes of pastels to create the branches and foliage.

I normally work with a mix of different brands of soft pastels, namely Kohinoor Toison Dor, Mungyo and Sennelier. Out of these if I have to recommend one brand which is great quality apart from being economical is Kohinoor Toison Dor.

Sennelier is extra soft and it easily blends into the paper and I love its quality, however it is far more expensive than other brands. I normally use it as a last layer to apply finishing touches to my painting.

One Step at a time 

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5” X 7”

I created a post regarding the use of different papers I use for my soft pastel paintings. CLICK HERE to view the same.

If you wish to see all my artworks in Gallery format, visit my INSTAGRAM site where I post my works on a regular basis. Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. 

Afloat - A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they are still beautiful.” Alice Walker

A log of wood, floating in the still waters at the banks of Kaveri river near Dubare Forest in Coorg. The moment my eyes captured this sight, I knew I had to paint it some day. I decided to go with the soft pastel medium for this work as I wanted a dark background which can be achieved so well using my newly purchased Sennelier pastels from Creative hands online store. The log of wood was half immersed in the water and the light and shadow play gave a new definition to the entire set up.

I scraped an old white pastel to create the sparkles on the water. Apart from using my usual Mungyo and Kohinoor Toison Dor soft pastels, I also use pastel pencils from Derwent as it helps to create some sharp details like grasses and twigs.

Afloat

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 4.5” X 6.5”

Sennelier extra dark soft pastels

If you wish to know about the papers I use for my soft pastel paintings CLICK HERE. I have created a post regarding the same in 2016. 

If you wish to see all my artworks in Gallery format, visit my INSTAGRAM site where I post my works on a regular basis. Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. 

Frothy Sea waves - A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

“Choose only one master - Nature”.  Rembrandt

Today’s soft pastel painting is inspired by the beautiful “Frothy sea waves” which reach the shore after a long journey. When observed closely, the froth creates interesting shadow patterns on the sands below. Soft pastel, I feel, is a great medium to capture the beauty of these waves on paper.

If you have been regularly watching my blog and INSTAGRAM feed, you will know that for most of my pastel paintings, my preferred choice of paper is undoubtedly “Canson Mi Teintes” which is available in many different shades. I settled for this paper for the following reasons:

1. It is an acid free paper, guaranteeing longevity
2. Available easily on many online stores in India
3. It is available in 42 different shades which helps the artists in picking the right one depending on
    the subject.
4. This paper has a dual surface, a rough textured the and smooth textured. Both sides are usable.
5. As compared to many other papers, Canson Mi Teintes is very reasonably priced and for beginners
    it is an excellent choice.

Frothy Sea waves

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size: 5” X 7”

These days I am into both the “Water color” as well as the “Soft Pastel” medium. I enjoy working with both of them and am trying to keep a balance between the two. 

Do browse through my INSTAGRAM feed to see some of my latest works and thanks for visiting my blog.

Portrait drawing on Canson Mi Teintes paper

"Photography is an immediate reaction, drawing is a meditation." Henri Cartier

While having a holiday in Sikkim, we happened to stay in a homestay in Hee Bermiok, which being high up in the mountains was an adventure in itself. Today’s portrait is of beautiful woman, Deomaya Chettri, the mother of the homestay owner.

 I watched her morning till night, as she got busy in different day today activities. One morning she was busy drying the freshly dug out onions in the sun. With her permission I photographed her so that I could do her portrait. It was such a memorable experience, meeting people in these pristine valleys and being a part of their life for a few moments.

I have used a mix of graphite and charcoal pencils along with white pastel pencil to complete this portrait. The charcoal pencil by "General" is of great help to achieve the darkest tonal values in the drawing.

"The Smile"

A Charcoal Portrait drawing on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5” X 7”

Canson Mi Teintes paper works great for portrait drawing. This paper has a rough textured surface on one side and a smooth one on the other. I personally prefer to use the smooth surface for both my “Portrait” and “Landscape” works. 

I have been posting my regular day today works on INSTAGRAM and you can browse through my feed to know what I am doing these days. My blogging has taken a backseat but I wish to revive it soon by posting regularly and sharing my thoughts and techniques on art.

Thank you for browsing through my artworks and supporting me in my art journey.

A soft pastel study on Canson Mi Teintes paper

"Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death." Albert Einstein

Taking a break from my water color medium, I created a small 5" X 7" study of "Waterfall" using my soft pastel collection. This scene had water flowing in different directions and to capture the movement and rhythm with the pastel strokes was challenging. 

Using an orange colored Canson Mi Teintes paper for the waterfall added warmth to the painting and I feel it works well for subjects like seascapes and waterfalls. For my forest and other landscapes I prefer using either dark brown or the twilight paper.

In October 2016, I created a post in order to explain regarding how I go about choosing the right colored paper for my pastel paintings depending on the subject and the atmosphere. CLICK HERE to read more about it.

Soft pastel study of waterfall
on Canson Mi Teintes paper

At the beginning of the year I had taken a decision to continue doing my portrait works on a regular basis and I suddenly realized that I have not really done much since January. Therefore my next plan is to complete a small portrait of "Albert Einstein" which I started last year on Strathmore Artagain 400 series paper using white pastel pencil. It is about eighty percent complete and I need to spend a few more hours on it to add the finishing touches. 

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

Thank you for visiting my blog and your continuous support in helping me grow as an artist.

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.

On the way to Uttarey, West Sikkim - A soft pastel painting

"Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and spiritual satisfaction." 
E. O. Wilson

Bordered by Bhutan, Tibet, West Bengal and Nepal, Uttarey is a small village located on the Northern slope of Singalila Range in North Sikkim. We paid a visit to this beautiful place while we were on a holiday to Sikkim last year in May. The road to Uttarey from Hee Bermiok had some stunning views on the way. The abundant greenery, the mountains, the waterfalls mesmerize you.

The soft pastel painting as below is inspired by one such scene that we came across while we were on our way to Uttarey. It feels good to be doing a pastel landscape after a long long time.

On the way to Uttarey, North Sikkim

A soft pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 7" X 10"

A few images of the steps leading to the creation of the painting as shown above. I started off by picking up a few pastels and placing them on a small white tray so as to avoid a lot of confusion as the painting progresses. I keep the pastel pencils by the side as I use them to create the small branches and other details where ever necessary.

Initial stage of the soft pastel painting.

I wanted to limit myself to a few pastels but as the painting progresses I have practically all my pastels out at my workplace. As seen in the photograph below, I have my Kohinoor and Derwent pastel pencils, Mungyo, Camlin and Sennelier soft pastels all around me as I add more colours to my landscape painting. 

My pastel collection

at my workplace.

Thank you for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. If you wish to see my other works visit my INSTAGRAM page, where I upload my paintings on a regular basis.

Portrait of a woman from North Sikkim

"I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart." Vincent Van Gogh

Thangu is a beautiful small village in North Sikkim and I had the opportunity to be there while we were on our way to Gurudongmar Lake. Most tourists stop here for breakfast before proceeding ahead. The lady who owned the restaurant had very pretty features and as an artist I felt the desire to ask her permission to photograph her so that I could create her portraits.

She spoke very little, was immersed in her thoughts and I was not sure if she was going to like the idea of photographing her. However to my surprise she happily gave her consent and I went clicking her photographs from different angles so as to get the best composition. It was a sunny morning, so I could capture the light and shadows on the face which makes it interesting to understand the face anatomy while drawing it.

It was such a pleasure to meet her and know her. Travelling to remote places like Thangu introduces us to people, their life and culture and additionally we get the opportunity to see parts of our own country which are so heavenly. I have posted a few photographs of Thangu in an earlier post. 

Inner peace

Portrait drawing on Canson Mi Teintes paper

size 6" X 8"

Of all the mediums I do, which one do I love doing the most?. I am asked this question very frequently by my friends and students. I find it very difficult to answer this because I truly and undoubtedly enjoy working with all the mediums. 

When I start off with charcoal, I get totally immersed in it with passion. It is the same with every medium that I am involved with. In conclusion, I feel one must do what one loves and let the passion flow on paper. Art should not have any limitations. End of the day it should make you happy.

If you wish to see all my paintings in gallery format, you can visit my INSTAGRAM account.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

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

Charcoal drawing on Canson Mi Teintes paper

"Drawing is the artist's most direct and spontaneous expression. A species of writing; it reveals, better than does painting, his true personality." Edgar Degas

Beautiful quote by Edgar Degas. If you are into soft pastels, do browse through his works which are very very inspiring.

Charcoal medium continues to be one of my favorite till date. When I initially began working in charcoal, all I used was a charcoal pencil, charcoal powder and a normal eraser. Today I am experimenting and exploring with so many different tools and my technique has evolved.

With my Charcoal workshop coming up at Art Station, Andheri west, I am once again having the opportunity to experiment and explore by creating some new "study works" on different subjects, mainly landscapes. Apart from landscapes, I will be demonstrating a few "Still life drawings" too.

Today's post is a charcoal drawing on Canson Mi Teintes white paper. The scene is from Malshej Ghats, Maharashtra. The place is worth visiting in monsoon as the whole landscape transforms into something unimaginable. I got to see some stunning views of the mountains, dramatic cloudy skies, waterfalls and lush greenery all around.

Monsoon at Malshej Ghats

Charcoal drawing on Canson MT paper

Size 5" X 7"

White Canson Mi Teintes paper is a recent introduction to my list of papers for charcoal drawing. I am loving its smooth textured surface which works well for charcoal medium. Moreover it is acid free and without optical brightness additives.

If you wish to know more about the "List of papers" that I use for my charcoal drawings, you can CLICK HERE.

Thank you for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks.

Portrait study work on Canson Mi Teintes paper

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

Today I am posting a small quick "Portrait study" of a pretty woman I met at Thangu, where we halted to have breakfast before moving towards Gurudongmar Lake. She was friendly with a pleasant personality. I interacted with her and took her photographs from different angles. Before starting her front face profile I decided to do a quick study of the side face using minimum brush strokes.

For my charcoal and white pencil portraits I have more or less shortlisted two papers. The Strathmore gray toned paper and Canson MT series. For my present work I have used Canson paper. Both these papers are available on Amazon.in.

Portrait study of a woman from Thangu, North Sikkim

on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5" X 7"

This portrait study was more about getting to know her features and I have not spent much time getting into the details. I am almost done with another of her portraits and shall be posting it soon.

Presently I am also busy doing some charcoal landscape works in preparation for my upcoming one day Charcoal drawing and sketching workshop on the 17th of December at Art Station, Andheri west.

Thank you for browsing through my artworks.

Working on an unfinished portrait drawing

"I invent nothing. I rediscover." Auguste Rodin

Hand made paper is not my my preferred choice of toned paper for portrait drawing. The two papers that I would love to use today are "Canson Mi Teintes" and "Strathmore toned paper". However the portrait drawing that I am posting today is a work that I started quite some time back on hand made paper and for some reason it was left a little incomplete. Therefore I spent some time working on it and finally completed it.

I do not have much of this hand made paper ( 300gsm ) left with me and after working with Strathmore and Canson paper I realised that the texture and quality of the paper matters a lot when it comes to drawing and sketching. I have also ordered a new Strathmore book of Toned warm tan papers and would be using one of the sheets soon.

A portrait study
Charcoal and white pastel pencil drawing on hand made paper
Size 5"X 7"

During my earlier years of drawing I exclusively worked with charcoal on white paper. Its much later that I discovered the beauty of working on toned paper. So these days I try out both the options ie charcoal on white paper as well as toned paper. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and to browse through my works in Gallery format you can visit my INSTAGRAM page.

Pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper

"Sometimes you got to create what you want to be a part of." Geri Weitzman

The above quote speaks my heart. I stay in a crowded metro city in India and long to be amidst nature. Travelling takes me to places where nature is in its pristine form. Being in nature helps me relate to it better and I feel so connected with the surroundings.

The soft pastel painting as below is a scene that I came across while we were climbing uphill on the mountain slopes at Hee Bermiok in order to get a better view of the snow covered Kanchenjunga mountains. The dense greenery around kept the muddy pathway in shadows. It was a cold and breezy day and the I was attracted to the distant light in the composition. It seemed to add a little warmth in the atmosphere.

Distant light

A soft pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper.

Size 6.5" X 8.5"

For most of my pastel works I use the Mungyo pastels in the beginning to block in the major shapes and later I use the Koh-I-Noor and Gallery pastels. During my final touch up I make use of my recently purchased Sennelier pastels.  

I have selected a black coloured Fabriano Tiziano paper for my present painting. The colours come out very vibrant on a dark coloured paper, however the disadvantage is that it gets difficult to cover up the black at areas where you want subtle shades. Too much smudging dulls the colours. Therefore for my next work I have decided to go with the mid tone paper. CLICK HERE , if you wish to know about the papers I use for my soft pastel paintings.

Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. My blog has crossed 75,000 page views and I am grateful to all the people who have been constantly supporting me in my art journey. It encourages and motivates me to continue painting and to share my ideas, thoughts and techniques with everyone.

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.

A Cloudy sky

"You don't make art. You find it." Pablo Picasso

On my recent visit to Malshej Ghats, I came across some dramatic skies. Being monsoon season the weather was a bit dull and there was not enough light to capture the scene well in the camera. At such times I have to observe and store the information in my memory so that I can retrieve the information at a later time when I actually get down to painting the scene.

The soft pastel painting below is one such scene from Malshej Ghats that made an impact on me and I wanted to create a study work of the same. I call it "Study work" as I have not painted many "Cloudy Landscapes" in the past and am yet to get a full understanding of the shapes, perspective and the colours in the clouds. When handling a new subject, it is more of experimenting and exploring which in turn slowly leads to a great learning experience.

Apart from the dense scattered clouds,what I also loved about this scene in particular is the diffused light that filtered through the clouds and illuminated the water covered fields below.

The Cloudy sky ( A study work )

A soft pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 5"X 7"

Painting clouds is new to me and I find it very challenging. I remember as kids when we drew a landscape, there always used to be a few common elements in it namely mountains in the distance, a small house, a river and fields. The sky was almost similarly drawn by everyone in a beautiful uniform blue and few fluffy white clouds floating around. Those drawing days were fun. 

Now when I look at the clouds closely I realise that there are so many different colours in each cloud other than gray and blue. I am planning to do a little more deep study of this interesting element. In fact it is more like doing "Cloud Anatomy".

Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my works. 

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. 

From photograph to charcoal drawing

"While drawing, I discover what I really want to say."Dario Fo

As an artist I am always looking for meaningful quotes as they speak my thoughts and keep me inspired. The above quote holds true, I guess for most of us. It is through our art that we slowly discover what we are trying to convey to the viewers. 

Malshej Ghat is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range in the Thane-Pune district of Maharashtra, India.The site is nestled in the lofty rugged hills of the Western Ghats. The road journey to this place will take you through winding roads, lush greenery on either sides, thick dense fog and countless number of waterfalls touching the highway. 

We visited this place in the monsoon season this year and I found some perfect subjects that I was looking to paint.. My today's post is a charcoal drawing of one such scene from Malshej Ghats wherein the majestic mountain slopes can be seen fading off in the distance. This drawing was not planned but while browsing through my stationery I came across a white sheet of Canson Mi Teintes which initiated the idea of experimenting with this paper out for my charcoal drawing?. 

I love to experiment with new papers all the time. I have created a post regarding the "Papers I use for my charcoal drawings". After using Canson Mi Teintes, I am quite convinced that it will be an added paper in my list for charcoal drawings. It has this beautiful sanded smooth surface ( which I also use for my pastel drawings ) which takes on the charcoal pretty well.

Sometimes it takes just one drawing to come to a conclusion and there are times when you want to check a paper/paint again and again and you are not really sure if it is going to work for you. 

Monsoon at Malshej Ghats

Charcoal drawing on Canson MT paper.

Size 5.5" X 7"

Initial stage of charcoal drawing

The above image shows the initial stages of the charcoal drawing wherein I have "Blocked In" the different elements in the scene, namely the sky, the mountains slopes etc using charcoal powder and my other blending tools.  The distant mountain slopes are kept light and without any details to create atmospheric depth.

In the subsequent layers I use the pencils and the kneaded eraser to create the highlights and shadows

The photograph from Malshej Ghats

which inspired me to create the charcoal

drawing such as above.

While on location, I try and take a few different photographs with different compositions and later after a little editing I use the image that looks good to to be converted into a painting. I also do a few quick "Thumbnail sketches" using my charcoal pencil and sketch book to roughly block in the value scale in the scene. It always helps. 

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

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. 

Portrait drawing on Canson Mi Teintes paper

"How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. What we do this hour and that hour, is what we are doing." Annie Dillard. ( Courtesy: Skinny Artist )

I love to start my day with a good "Quotation." It has now become second nature to me. The above quote throws light on a very important aspect of our life. Living life everyday, and taking small decisions which go a long way to keep you happy and satisfied. I try to paint and draw on a daily basis and the days I am really busy, I take to my sketch book, creating some small study work in it. It keeps my art passion alive.

Today I am posting a "Portrait drawing" which I have created inspired by a lively old woman, I met up in the mountain slopes at Hee Bermiok in West Sikkim. We were climbing up the hills in order to get a clear view of Kanchenjunga Mountain peak, when we were greeted by her and her granddaughter.

She was out in the front yard of her home, relaxing. Looking happy and exuberant, she readily posed for me and when I expressed my desire to create her drawing in future, she immediately went and changed into her traditional attire ( Including the jewelry ). That gave me the opportunity to click more of her photographs from different angles and I am waiting to try them all.

In the drawing as below, she is facing the sun and to avoid the glaring sun rays she squint her eyes. I loved this composition, hence this is the first of her portraits that I have done to start with. Getting to know a person before doing the portrait helps in capturing the inner soul of the person in the drawing. I have tried to do just that.

Facing the morning light

Charcoal and white pastel pencil drawing on Canson MT paper

Size 5" X 7"

Next I am working on few more portraits, so keep browsing and if you are interested in attending any of my art workshops please drop me a mail and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks for visiting my blog.