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.

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.

Portrait drawing

"To draw, you must close your eyes and sing." Pablo Picasso

Quotes are beautiful. I find them very inspiring. No matter how passionate or self motivated, there are days when nothing seems to work. Quotes speak the right words at these moments.  

My today's post is a portrait drawing of a beautiful old woman with great features. I met her in Hee Bermiok, Sikkim while I was holidaying there in a traditional homestay high up in the mountains. She came up to our homestay, climbing all by herself and her agility, enthusiasm and bubbly nature inspired me. I had the pleasure of interacting with her and I got to know a lot about her way of life. It is so peaceful out there and I consider her fortunate to be able to enjoy pristine nature.

I have already created a side profile drawing  of this beautiful woman and posted it earlier in August. This time I decided to sketch her front face in order to capture her expression, emotions and feelings. Her curled up scarf over her head, which left a few braided hangings accentuated her looks. I also loved her traditionally designed nose ring which I found was pretty unique. 

In Quiet Moments

Charcoal and white pastel pencil drawing on

Strathmore gray toned paper.

Size 5" X 7"

As an artist I love doing both "Landscapes" as well as "Portraits". Portrait drawing takes much longer time than a landscape painting. Therefore I do it in stages by taking frequent breaks. The portrait such as above took me about a week to complete but once completed, it gives me immense satisfaction. The feeling cannot be described in words. It motivates me further to create more works such as these. 

Thank you for browsing through my artworks. 

To know about my upcoming workshops CLICK HERE.

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.

Portrait drawing on toned paper

"And the beauty of a woman, with passing years only grows!." Audrey Hepburn

Today I am posting my recently done "Charcoal portrait drawing" of a beautiful woman whom I met in Sikkim. I loved everything about her, her wrinkled face, her pretty smile, her scarf on the head which curled up at the top letting a few braided strings fall below.

She is seventy five and stays high up in the mountains somewhere in Hee Bermiok in West Sikkim. She had come to meet the owners of the homestay where we were staying, with an intention of selling some pretty hand made purses to the tourists. I purchased a few of them.

She moves around the hills climbing the difficult terrain with such ease and is so cheerful and full of life. I listened to her conversation, not understanding much but enjoyed interacting with her. I took her photograph with her consent and expressed my desire to do her portrait some day. She was all smile to hear that.

I am glad that I finally managed to get started with her portrait. Her portrait will always remind me of her strength, endurance and zest for life. I feel fortunate to have met her. Painting is like etching these memories on paper.

Wrinkled with age

Charcoal drawing on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5" X 7"

Canson Mi Teintes paper comes in many different shades ( 50 colours ) and I use them for my soft pastel paintings too. However when it comes to using them for my charcoal and white pastel drawings I mainly use the dark gray sheet.

Canson Mi teintes ( Different shades )

If you are interested in attending any of my workshops, visit the ART WORKSHOP page to know the schedule.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Charcoal drawing of a landscape from West Sikkim

"To see what others can not.....
You must climb the mountain." Ron Akers

While we were in Sikkim during our holidays we got to stay at a Homestay in Hee Bermiok ( West Sikkim ), which was located quite high up in the mountains. It was a herculean task reaching there but once we got settled we realised the advantage of being there among pristine nature.

Later during the next few days we gathered energy and explored still greater heights in order to get a clear view of Kangchenjunga peak, meet the local people and understand more about their tradition and culture.

On one such route while climbing up the mountain I came across some stunning pathway scenes, the kind I love to paint and I decided to create a charcoal drawing of the same. For creating a study work I love to use "Willow charcoal" which helps in achieving the desired values in a very short period of time.

An upward climb

Charcoal drawing on Cartridge paper

Size 5" X 7"

Camlin charcoal pencil works good in combination with willow charcoal. Willow charcoal is very soft and blends into the paper without leaving too many permanent stains. 

Willow charcoal

Chinese brand,

CLICK HERE to view some of my earlier works created using willow charcoal. I will be conducting a "Charcoal drawing workshop" soon in which I will be discussing in detail regarding the techniques I use to create my charcoal works. To know more about my art workshops you can visit my "ART WORKSHOP" page.

Thank you for visiting my blog.