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.

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 )

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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.

Travel photography - Thangu, North Sikkim

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein

Nature inspires me to paint. When I travel, it is not always possible to create study works or quick sketches as we are constantly on the move. Therefore I photograph the scenes which appeal to me, so that I can refer to it later some day and create beautiful memories by painting them in different mediums. I try to get the best composition possible but if not then I edit the photographs just before I begin my artwork. 

Posted below are a few photographs which we clicked while we were at Thangu. Thangu is a small beautiful village which is about two hours drive from Lachen in North Sikkim.It is situated at a n altitude of 13,500 ft above sea level and most tourists halt here for breakfast and to get acclimatized to the change of altitude before proceeding to Gurudongmar Lake.  From here on to Gurudongmar Lake the altitude increases to 17,800 ft in a short span of three hours. The roads are bad but the beauty of the landscape hypnotizes you. I would love to visit North Sikkim yet again.

At Thangu, North Sikkim

The road further leads to Gurudongmar Lake

The landscape at Thangu, North Sikkim

A cloudy sky at Thangu, North Sikkim

Local women basking in the sun

My database of photographs from different places is growing and I am having fun painting these beautiful places and people. I have not had the opportunity to paint a landscape from Thangu. However I am almost done with a portrait of the woman as above with the scarf. I photographed her from different angles, had a small chat with her and learnt about her life in general. Time was short and it was pleasure to interact with her.

Have you been to North Sikkim? If yes I would love to hear from you and do leave in your comments. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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.

"Eye and Nose" Study of a Woman

"If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way." Martin Luther King Jr.

I am planning to do a Charcoal portrait drawing of a local Sikkimese woman whom I met I at Thangu, a small cozy village at an altitude of 13,500 ft, and 30 kms away from Lachen, in North Sikkim. We had stopped at Thangu early morning for breakfast before proceeding to Gurudongmar Lake.

There was something about her "Eyes" and the calm expression on her face, which appealed to me a lot. I got talking to her and later requested her permission to photograph her. She obliged and I am so grateful to her for that.

Before proceeding with the "Portrait" which I am planning to do on Canson Mi Teintes paper, I decided to spend some time doing a small "Eye and Nose study". 

Eye and Nose Study

On hand made paper

Size 4" X 6"

I created my first  "Portrait on toned paper" in 2015 . From then on, I have continued working on different toned papers. I purchased a few sheets of hand made paper as above from Paper Mart at Fort but I do not have any information regarding its being acid free. Therefore I use this paper for my "Study works" and for the final work I use CansonMT and Strathmore Toned paper.

If you are into "Portrait drawing", I would love to know about the paper that you use. You can leave the information in the "Comment" section below.

If you wish to browse through my other works, you can visit my INSTAGRAM page. Please share.
Thanks a lot for all your support.

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.

Water colour painting of a mountain slope at Yumesamdong ( North Sikkim )

"Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew." Cicely Tyson

In a quest to discover the mystery behind the water and its role in the painting process, I continue pursue my passion experimenting and exploring this beautiful medium.

The water colour painting as below is a beautiful mountain slope covered with dense vegetation. I came across this view while I was on the way to Yumesamdong in North Sikkim at an altitude of 15300 ft. The two to three hours journey from Lachung to Zero Point or Yumesamdong offers stunning views of nature. The journey is as beautiful as the destination.

I have used flat vertical brush strokes to get the desired effect. This was a new and interesting experience for me and I enjoyed working with Campap paper. ( 200 gsm )

On the way to Yumesamdong ( Zero point )

Water colour painting on Campap paper

Size 5.5" X 8"

I purchased Campap paper a few years ago during some sale at a stationery shop and after using it for a couple of paintings I am beginning to like it. What I like most about this paper is the fact that I can easily lift off colour from the surface using a tissue paper or plain brush. I have placed an order for a 300 gsm Campap paper from Amazon as I want to try out this paper further.

If you are passionate about water colours then you must browse through the works of Alvaro Castagnet, an international water colour artist. His works are very inspiring. When free, I take out time to go through the works of other artists and it helps in lot many ways. Some day I shall write a post on that.

Thank you for browsing through my works and I appreciate your support which drives me to continue my art journey.

Sunrise - A water colour painting

"The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy." 

Henry Ward Beecher

The water colour painting as below is with reference to a scene that I came across on an early morning at Temi Tea Garden, in the south of Sikkim. 

I have used the wet on wet technique on Campap paper. I have this paper in my collection along with many other papers. Now that I am into water colour medium, I am in the process of trying out all the different papers and learning so much about each of them.

Sunrise over the hills

Water colour painting

Size 5" X 7"

Wet on wet technique in water colour painting is a challenging method because it produces highly unpredictable results because there are many factors that matter, like the texture of paper, its weight and the amount of water in the brush etc. However there is something magical about the way colours flow and blend with each other, creating beautiful dramatic effects.

Thank you for visiting my BLOG. My art blog has now crossed 55,000 page views and I am grateful to all the viewers for their support. Blogging has added new life to my art and I now paint more passionately than ever. 

Using Arches 300 gsm cold pressed paper

"Master water first and then paint." Josh Goldberg

Gurudongmar Lake is a stunning lake situated at a height of 17100 ft above sea level in north Sikkim.
The lake can be reached by road from Lachen via Thangu. The approach road from Thangu to Gurudongmar passes through a rugged and enchanting terrain with high alpine pastures covered with many rhododendron trees. It is a difficult journey and most tourists leave Lachen early morning by 4 or 5 am as it takes three to four hours to reach the lake. However once the destination is reached it is an unbelievable sight and the beautiful view all around is mesmerising. To me it was like a dream come true.

Before creating any painting, as a rule I always create a few study works which helps me simplify the shapes, understand the values and colours. Creating a study work also helps me to decide on my technique that I would apply in order to create that particular work. Sometimes it is wet on wet and other times I go with wet on dry technique. I have used my newly purchased Arches cold pressed paper for this painting and if everything works out well I may use it as my preferred choice for water colour medium.

Gurudongmar lake

Water colour painting on Arches cold pressed paper

Size 7" X 9"

In conclusion, I enjoyed working with Arches cold pressed paper. It has a great textured surface which is ideal for landscape painting and being 300 gsm, it can hold water for long and does not buckle much. I am planning to create a seashore painting next on the same paper. After creating a couple of works on this paper I will be able to understand its quality better.

Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks.