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

Fading away - Sketching of a single leaf.

As an artist we are always looking for beauty in small ordinary things around us. My last 

leaf sketch inspired me to do another one.

This particular leaf had developed a few cavities between the veins which added to the interest. 

The lower edge had curled up. As the leaf was in its drying up stage the veins stood out 

prominently creating slight depth around it.

What I enjoy about doing these sketches is the "Instant Gratification" that it provides. The 

sketching of this kind requires the use of just a few pencils and an eraser. There is no mess of brushes, oil, palette, water etc. My work area remains  clutter free. In a very short time the 

suspense gets over. The final outcome is either as per the visualization that you made up in the 

mind OR it needs little working on it or change of technique. 

Fading away

Charcoal and white soft pastel pencil on Canson paper.

Size 4" X 5"

 "The only time I feel alive is when I am painting."  By Vincent Van Gogh

A dry leaf and its shadow

When I started with my landscape paintings in 2014 I realised that needed to work on tree

anatomy, mountains, sky etc as these are some of the major elements in a landscape painting.

Therefore I went on to do a whole lot of tree trunk sketches on toned paper which 

eventually helped me a lot. 

Similarly doing a " Leaf series" has always been playing on my mind. So the the recent " DPW challenge " Explore your Garden" challenge kind of helped me achieve this desire too.

I took out one of my toned Canson papers and created a simple sketch of a curled up leaf

which is in its initial stages of drying up. I decided on the view as seen from top so that

I could capture the shadow as well which made a very neat composition with sharp edges.

Sketching this leaf reminded me so much of my still life works. I followed almost the same

step by step procedure using a charcoal pencil and a white pastel pencil. The movement of

the pencil on the smooth side of the paper gave me the desired texture that I wanted.

Curled up

Charcoal and white pastel pencil sketching on Canson paper.

Size 4" X 5"

A beautiful quote

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home" By Twyla Tharp

I draw, sketch and paint on a regular basis. I decide on the "Subject" that appeals to me. There

is no rule, no regulation, no routine that I follow. What I follow is my heart. My mind speaks

to me. Decisions change in a few moments. Sometimes I sleep in the night after having

programmed myself for a pastel work but in the morning something catches my eye and I go

on to do a different medium altogether.

Today I am sketching a leaf but I know there are two pastel paintings which are in progress. 

However that can wait. It will all happen at its time. A hasty approach to a painting can

ruin it right at the beginning. I will be posting another leaf sketch soon.

The snow capped mountains - Soft pastel painting on Canson paper

A soft pastel painting inspired by the majestic mountains as seen at Himachal Pradesh.

When I am painting forest scenes I normally go for the dark toned papers like black and dark 

brown. However since this is a winter scene with cool colours, I wanted to add a little warmth 

so I decided to go with a light orange coloured paper. Canson Mi Teintes comes in many

different colours and each artist makes his/her choice regarding selection of the base 

colour of the painting.

The breathtaking views of the mountain range and the play of light and shadows creating 

dramatic effect on the slopes is a beautiful sight. The tip of the tall trees glow as the morning 

sunlight falls on them. 

The snow capped mountains
Soft pastel painting on Canson paper
Size 6" X 8"

I will be submitting this painting in DPW challenge  dated an 16,2016. The challenge
remains open for long so even if I have missed submitting in that week I can always do so later on.

The weekly subject keeps changing and it is fun to paint something different from
your regular subject.

6" X 9" Soft pastel paintings - Landscapes

"Art is not what you see but what you make others see." By Edgar Degas

After a long break, I created two soft pastel paintings using my miscellaneous collection of

soft pastels. I worked with soft pastels for many months at a stretch in 2014 and the beginning 

of 2015. In the past few months I have been indulging in a lot of water colour artwork and 

the water colour medium is undoubtedly the most challenging one. 

With my water colour paintings I am still experimenting and exploring. However with my soft

pastels my technique is almost set. But I am open to trying out something new.  

Charcoals and soft pastels are both dry mediums and a lot in the painting happens as per your 

technique of holding the chalk and creating the strokes and blending. Over a period of time we 

all get used to a particular way of doing our artwork and that starts defining our individual style.

I complete my painting in two layers. In the first layer I usually do a little blending but in the 

second layer I normally use a lot of strokes and very little blending.

Apart from using soft pastels, I have also used Camel charcoal pencil at places to define a few

things such as rocks, crevices in mountains etc.

Road to leh

Soft pastel painting on Canson paper

Size 6" X  9"

Komic village

Soft pastel painting on Canson paper

Size 6" X  9"

My pastel palette

Which has broken pastels from different brands.

Both the above paintings have been submitted in the DPW challenge

I have a Two days soft pastel workshop coming up soon and thats

another reason for getting into a few pastel works.

My works can also be viewed on my FACEBOOK page.