Ganpatipule beach - Watercolor paintings

 “ Colors like features, follow the changes of emotions.” Pablo Picasso 

Ganpatipule beach, located on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, is a clean, tranquil, and pristine beach known for its scenic beauty, coconut palms and the historic 400 year old Swayambhu Ganpati temple. 

We were at this beautiful beach last August and and I captured the monsoon landscape at different times of the day and so began my series of Watercolor paintings on my most favourite subject “Seascapes”. I got everything that I was looking for. 

Water, the elixir of life, one of the most fundamental requirements for life in any form, is somehow my source of inspiration. Moreover, I spent all my life close to sea and I feel, painting a seascape is more about capturing water and sky. It is about expressing emotion, movement, and silence all at once. Through these simple limited palette paintings, I get to explore color, light, texture and atmosphere in unique ways.

In most of my paintings below I have mostly used  Chitrapat handmade paper  . The size of the paper varies in each of them. This paper can be easily purchased online from different stationery branded stores. I normally buy the rough textured pad from Himalaya Fine Art which is situated in Fort area. In fact, the store comes up with sale every three to four months and I love the discount offers that they provide and moreover the products are genuine and great quality. Would definitely recommend everyone to try it out once.

If you wish to read a little more in detail about each of the paintings below, do visit my INSTAGRAM profile wherein I am more active. However, I do plan to create a post very soon on my “Limited Palette” exploration which I began a few months ago after getting inspired by world renowned artist Hazel Soan.

Using a limited palette has given a new direction to my watercolor techniques. I now use just about three to five color hues and that keeps my work simple. I get better color harmony and avoid muddy effects. Watercolor medium is challenging by itself and using a lot of color pigments can complicate it further.

Shimmering Silence 

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size:  4.5” X 6.5”

Afternoon Sparkle

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 3.75” X 5.5”

Coastal Monsoon

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.5” X 6.5”

Monsoon vibes at the beach 

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.5” X 6.75”

A tree by the shore

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 3” X 4”

Quiet Reflections 

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.75” X 6.75”

Rocks and waves

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.75” X 6.75”

( Painting with my reference photo )

( Painting with my reference photo )

A Rocky beach

Watercolor painting on Chitrapat handmade paper 

Size: 4.75” X 6.75”

( Painting with my reference photo )

I have not been very regular at writing posts for my blog. However if you love my works you can follow me on INSTAGRAM . Thanks for browsing through my blog posts 🙏

A limited palette water colour painting

“Water colour condenses time and consolidates experience.” Frank Marcello

Murud Janjira is a picturesque little fishing village on the lush western coast of Maharashtra, 150 km south of Mumbai. We visited this place during monsoon on one morning we came across this scene which inspired me to create the water color painting as shown below.

The hazy sky, the mist in the air and the distant fort made for a good composition. For this artwork I decided to go with a limited palette. The four colours I used are ( Camlin Artists water colour tubes )

• Ultramarine Blue
• Raw Sienna
• Crimson
• Burnt Sienna

A Misty Morning

Water Colour painting on handmade paper

Size 7” X 10”

Hand made paper works out good for certain subjects where I need the paper to have a good water holding capacity and so it stays wet for a long time. I enjoyed working on this subject.

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

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.

On the way to Malshej Ghats - A water colour painting

"Challenges are what makes life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." Joshua J Marine

My today's post is a water colour painting of a scene that I came across while I was on the way to Malshej Ghats. The paddy fields filled with water, cloudy sky and fog at the distance, I tried to capture the monsoon atmosphere.

Malshej Ghats is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range in the Thane-Pune district of Maharashtra. It is nestled in the lofty rugged hills of Western Ghats. The journey to Malshej Ghats during the monsoons is absolutely amazing. There are innumerable waterfalls on the way and the green valleys all around is a refreshing sight. I have used Camlin Artist's water colour tubes for this particular painting.

On the way to Malshej Ghats

Water colour painting on Strathmore paper

Size 4.5" X 6"

"Painting a cloudy sky" has been on my mind since long and a place like Malshej Ghat gave me the opportunity to capture many beautiful foggy landscape scenes with dramatic skies in the background. I am planning to try out all of them. There is no particular technique in mind. Technique evolves with time and experience. 

Painting scenes such as above is going to be a great learning experience. To me art is not just about painting, its about exploring new horizons and educating myself further in a subject that I am very passionate about. 

Thank you for visiting my BLOG and browsing through my works.