Pattaya beach - A water colour painting

"The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any consideration." Friday Kahlo

I was browsing through my "Photo collection" some time back, when I came across an old photograph clicked at Pattaya beach in 2008. The beach had some tree foliage drooping on the shore from the left casting some beautiful shadows on the sand below. There were few other elements too on the beach, however I decided not to include them as I felt that they would distract the composition. I also added a few figures in the distance using my rigger brush.

This is my fourth small painting on Fabriano Artistico CP paper and more or less I am pretty convinced about using it in future too.

The shadows at the beach

Water colour painting on Fabriano Artistico CP paper
Size 5" X 7"

Every artist has his preferred choice of paper. Arches CP paper is used by many of them including Joseph Zbukvik. Selecting the paper is an individual choice. Over a period of time, I got carried away by reviews written by other artists and landed up buying many different papers. It's only when I actually started working with them, I realised that it is not necessary that what works for another person will work for you too.

In conclusion, I am taking my time to create works on all the different papers that I have presently with me, so that I can finally take a decision regarding the paper that makes me most comfortable working with it. In other words, I would love to settle for a paper on which I struggle the least to get the desired result that I am looking for.

Thank you for visiting my blog

A water colour painting of a view at Pangong Lake, Ladakh

"The only way to deep happiness is to do something you love to the best of your ability." 
Richard Feynman

Yestersday I watched a documentary on Richard Feynman, an American Theoretical Physicist and was very inspired by his life, works and philosophy. I went through some of his quotes and have posted one of my favorites to share it with all of you.

Today I am posting my third water colour study on Fabriano Artistico CP paper. I am beginning to like this paper. The subject that I have chosen is yet another beautiful view at Pangong Lake in Ladakh. At 14,270 ft above sea level, it is a stunning lake in the Himalayas and offers some great views for artists, photographs and nature lovers.

I worked a little slow on this painting and was more patient with the colour mixing, especially of the distant dry barren mountains. For the ocean I have used ultramarine blue from Camlin and Cerulean blue colour from Winsor and Newton Cotman series. I purchased the Cotman series quite some time back and now am putting it to use as some colours have started drying up.

At Pangong Lake, Ladakh

A water colour painting on Fabriano Artistico CP paper

Size 5" X 7"

I am also posting the initial stage of this painting where in I have just completed the first layer of colours for the background and the lake. For this particular painting, I tried to keep the painting procedure very simple. I finished the lake in one layer itself.

Initial stage of the painting

At Pangong Lake

Thank you for browsing through my works.

Trying out Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm Cold Pressed Paper

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary." Pablo Picasso

As I mentioned in my last post that I am in the process of trying out different water colour papers available to me. One of the last papers on my list was Fabriano CP paper. So I finally tried out a painting on Fabriano cold pressed water colour paper. The water colour painting as below is a quick study work of Pangong Lake in Ladakh. 

I have not yet been to this heavenly place but have used reference photograph provided by a close friend. I am grateful to her and all other friends who keep sending me some great photographs of nature in order that I can continue to stay inspired in my art journey.

Since it was meant to be a study work, I did not really pay much attention to the distant mountains and its shadows. I completed it in a short span of forty minutes or so. In my next painting I will have to be more careful about the anatomy of mountains and perspective which is very important in landscape painting and I struggle with it all the time.

Pangong lake
Water colour study work
Size 5" X 7"

Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm paper is a great paper to work with. It has good water retention capacity and is acid free. I purchased a single big sheet and it is water marked "FABRIANO + ARTISTICO" on its shorter side. I will continue to work on it for some time before making my choice between Arches and Fabriano. Both are used internationally by water colour artists and each artist finally makes a personal choice regarding the selection based on different factors.

What I am looking for in a paper is 

• It should have good water retention quality
• It should be acid free
• It should be a professional quality paper
• I should be able to life off the colour easily from the paper
• It should be readily available in nearby stores

So far I have tried out Brustro, Campap, Strathmore, Arches CP, Fabriano studio quality, Fabriano HP and Fabriano CP. After another few paintings I will be able to shortlist either one or two of my favourites which work best for me. In the meantime the exploring and experimenting shall continue.

Thanks for browsing through my blog.

The snow capped mountains around Gurudongmar Lake.

"People come and go, the mountains remain. Mountains are permanent things. They are stubborn, they refuse to move." Ruskin Bond

Today I am posting a water colour painting of a scene that I came across when I visited Gurudongmar Lake in North Sikkim. At an altitude of 17,100 ft above the sea level the snow capped mountains look magnificent against the backdrop of clear azure sky. In fact every view around was picturesque in its own way.

When I painted the Gurudongmar lake, I enjoyed creating the reflections in the water. In this particular painting I tried to get the sand and rocky texture in the foreground plateau. I have used raw sienna, burnt sienna, yellow ochre and ultramarine blue ( Camlin artists water colour tubes ) in the foreground plateau.

A view from Gurudongmar Lake

Water colour painting on Fabriano Artistico hot pressed paper

Size 5.5" X 7.5"

For this painting I have used Fabriano Artistico hot pressed paper  which is great but I want to use the cold pressed version next time. So yesterday I managed to buy a sheet for Rs 415/- and am excited to try it out soon. The hot pressed paper will go well for my water colour portrait works as it has a smooth surface.

Presently I want to continue working on few more landscapes and seascapes as I am enjoying experimenting and exploring the water colour medium.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Charcoal drawing on Fabriano Artistico hot pressed paper

"One must keep right on drawing; draw with your eyes if you cannot draw with a pencil."
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

A very thought provoking and inspiring quote. No matter how much I paint but time and again I come back to my drawing, be it in charcoal or graphite medium.

Recently I purchased a sheet of Fabriano Artistico hot pressed water colour paper with an intention of experimenting with charcoal medium on its smooth textured surface. I finally inaugurated this paper by creating a landscape drawing from a scene that I came across while I was taking a morning walk at Coorg. This pathway is leading to one of the Coffee Plantations belonging to some Native of Coorg.

The place is beautiful, weather is very pleasant, the land is very fertile and the greenery is awesome. I have been to Coorg on five different occasions, hence you will find many of my artworks which have been inspired by the beauty of Coorg, also known as Madikeri.

A pathway to Coffee Plantations

Charcoal drawing on Fabriano Artistico paper

Size 6" X 8"

The initial stage of the charcoal drawing

where in I have used charcoal powder

and charcoal pencil

I have used Fabriano Artistico paper for the first time to create a charcoal drawing. It is a water colour paper and I may try it out for water colour painting too. Talking about my experience and review of this paper with respect to charcoal medium, I feel it is absolutely great. It has very fine smooth grainy texture and the charcoal gets fixed on it pretty well.I will definitely be using it again for my future drawings too. 

I created a post some time back where in I wrote in detail about the "Papers" and "Tools" that I use for charcoal drawing and sketching. Times change and over a period of time I have added new tools, new papers in my art stationery collection. I love to experiment and explore in an attempt to find something different and better. It is an ongoing process of learning and experiencing the unknown. 

Thanks a lot for browsing through my works and I am grateful to all the viewers who have been constantly supporting my art and my techniques.