Working with willow charcoal, charcoal powder and charcoal pencils

The charcoal scene as below is a scene from End Point, Manipal ( Karnataka ). I started this charcoal sketching with the intention of getting the dense forest effect using willow charcoal in combination with the charcoal powder ( Not a branded one. Easily available in art stationery stores ). 

This sketching went through stages of correction or rather I worked a lot more on it to experiment with different techniques so as to arrive at the end result that I wanted. To a certain extent I was successful. However a lot more can be done using the pencils, willow charcoal and the powder. The charcoal sketching helps me in the tonal value study and someday I may recreate the same scene using the soft pastel medium.

At Endpoint, Manipal

Charcoal sketching on Scholar drawing paper

Size 5" X 7"

A painting is like a visual poetry. When I create a painting or a sketching, it is my interpretation of the scene. I paint what I see and observe. For me it is more than just drawing and sketching. It is my visual perception that I give shape to. For every painting that I create, I have a story behind its creation. My passion drives me to paint and sketch on a daily basis and I am grateful for having started this blog in January 2014. Having a blog and the thought of blogging keeps me focused towards my art and it inspires me to work with more dedication. 

Ending with one of my favorite quotes,

"If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint." Edward Hopper

Experimenting with water colour techniques in my sketch book.

Sketchbook has become a very significant part of my art journey. I use it for my small preliminary works in different mediums. These days I am creating water colour paintings in them. I posted about these works earlier too and you can CLICK HERE to browse through them.

The works are sized 4" X 5.5" and are done in a very free and loose manner. Working small helps me to learn better. I start with the reference photo, analyse the elements and then work out the procedure in my mind regarding the technique that I shall be using to create the background, middle ground and the foreground. Then I go ahead and mix the colours as required in my palette ( Camlin artists water colour tubes ) and begin the work.

It takes me roughly ten to fifteen minutes to create each work. Since it is a small preliminary study I have to constantly remind myself to avoid getting into too many details and stop after a while. However many a times I get so involved with my art that I lose the sense of time and overdo the strokes which is not really required.

After completing each of the small paintings I make a small note at the side which in future can remind me of my little experiments that I did each time. At times the painting does not match the vision that I had in mind and it challenges me all the more to try out something different to make it work.

A rocky seashore

Maya bay

Breezy day at the sea

Foggy day at seashore

A tree in shadow

Mandalpatti hills ( Karnataka )

Dense foliage 

Aerial perspective - study work

The sketch book with 40 cartridge sheets in it.

I am loving this sketch book. I purchased it from Art Station, a stationery shop close to my residence.

Posting below a beautiful quote that I came across recently and it so well worded. Anyone who is painting in water colour medium will agree with it.

"Watercolor is like golf. Every stroke counts." Katie Wood McCloy

Experimenting with water colour medium in my new sketch book

New sketch book.

On my recent visit to "Art Station" the art stationery shop, a new sketch book caught my eye and I decided to purchase it. It has 4" X 5.5" cartridge sheets and is slightly different from my previous sketch book which I have been using all this while. It is in my nature to try out something new. It is very exciting and it brings about a change in the otherwise mundane routine.

Sketch books are fun as I get to experiment and explore while creating small little works in a short period of time. I was not much of a sketch book person earlier. It is only much later that I got inspired by this "Idea" which was being so much talked about by many other artists around the world. As of now I am addicted to scribbling, sketching and creating lot many odd works in my sketchbook. Some days when I am doing nothing I just sit back and relax, browsing through one of my old sketchbooks which stirs beautiful memories related to all the work that I created in the past.

Given below is the image of my new sketch book and a few paintings that I created. Each painting that I chose to do was with a specific purpose in mind ( As mentioned below each work ). The time spent on each of them was anything between fifteen to twenty minutes. I also write a small note underneath each of my work with respect to technique or some new lesson that I learnt while creating it. 

New Sketch book.

Trying out the painting of a Door

Experimenting with warm sky

Understanding the background ( hazy look )

The mountains and lake

Trying out some simple technique

to create a forest scene

Understanding the difference between the 

background and the foreground.

The last two study works are created using my photographs which I clicked using my mobile camera while I was at Karnala Bird Sanctuary with my family members. These small studies help me a lot in understanding the steps that I will follow in future to recreate this scene on a large paper. 

I am also posting below an image of my water colour palette which looks real messy but I manage to find all my colours in it. I clean up the bigger pockets before mixing a new colour in it. All colours in the palette are from Camlin artists water colour tubes.

Water colour palette.

A beautiful quote that I came across recently and really loved it. 

"It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds." - Paula Scher

Few more Thumbnail sketches of Landscapes and trees

Painting every single piece of art is a journey in itself. It starts with the visit to a beautiful place.
Then I capture the most breathtaking views in my mind as well as the camera. I make all my
observations pertaining to the colours, atmospsheric perspective, etc. Many a times I squint my
eyes to gauge the right values. Seeing and observing well helps me in rendering the right
colours to get the feel of the atmosphere.

It is much later some day when I am browsing through my photographs that I take the decision
to finally go ahead and create the painting and to capture my memories on paper. Then starts
the process of creating a Thumbnail Sketch followed by the Actual painting.

What I enjoy the most is the entire procedure or the steps involved in creating every single
painting. I do it loosely and with a free mind not worrying about how the painting will
eventually look in the end. Not every painting meets my expectations. I make mistakes and I personally that these mistakes help me learn better because it gets me "Thinking". I reevaluate
my technique and colour theory and try to analyse how and where I went wrong?

In conclusion Every painting that I create makes me "Experiment and Explore" and the whole
journey of art is a thrilling experience. Given below are some more of my recently done
thumbnail sketches using soft pastels.

Thumbnail sketches from

Himachal, Phuket and Coorg.

" We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to."  Terri Swearingen.

I came across this beautiful quote recently which is so inspiring. We all need to make a 

collective effort to save trees and to maintain the beauty of the nature. When I am travelling,

I come across some amazingly beautiful old trees and I do not miss out the opportunity

to sketch it out or capture it in the Camera. In the above collection of Thumbnail sketches

I have done some study works of trees too and hopefully soon I plan to create some artworks

referring to them.

From photograph to thumbnail sketches - soft pastel medium

Most of my landscape paintings are inspired by NATURE.

Over a period of years, I have shortlisted a whole lot of photographs for my future artworks.
The intention is to create Landscape paintings as and when I get time. Therefore I decided to
create a series of thumbnail sketches which will help me visualize the final outcome as
the painting will look on completion.

Thumbnail sketch or study sketch is "The most important deciding factor for me" to go ahead
with the final painting procedure. I have used charcoal and water colour medium too for
creating these small study works but this time around I have used only soft pastels. The size
is more or less, always 4" X 5".

Given below are four thumbnail sketches created by referring to photographs taken by me
on different locations.

Thumbnail sketches

Created on Fabriano Elle erre paper

and Canson Mi Teintes paper.

After completing the thumbnail sketches, I analyse the final colours, values, composition etc

which helps me to decide whether to go ahead with the painting or redo the thumbnail sketch

by making the required changes. 

The upper two sketches turned out fine as planned in the mind but the lower two were a bit complicated scenes with a whole lot of overlapping elements. So the technique and steps that I followed did not quite work out. Therefore I may have to redo the lower two by following a totally different plan altogether. The photographs that I referred to for the lower two thumbnail sketches

are as below. They are from LANGKAWI island ( Malaysia ) and I am definitely planning

to do both these landscapes some day in my style.

Two landscape photographs from Langkawi ( Malaysia )

Creating thumbnail sketches, I feel, has brought about a lot of discipline in my art journey.
I was inspired to do so after seeing many other artists doing the same. My personal
experience also taught me that whenever I went ahead with a large sized artwork
without a preliminary study, the painting either got ruined or did not turn out
satisfactory.

Experimenting further with water soluble graphite sticks ( CAMLIN )

Since I am enjoying the newly discovered water soluble graphite medium, I decided to create a
few more landscapes with forests, mountains etc and in every small little study work, I tried out
something different. Some experiments work and some don't and I make it a point to jot down
my learning experience underneath in the little space so that when I am browsing through it in
future I will know about MY TRIALS and THINGS THAT I MUST AVOID DOING. It helps.

For instance, I overdid the layers in one of the study works in my regular sketch book, and was
not too happy with the results. So I mentioned "Overworked" alongside.

Working with graphite sticks has made me realise that the more simple I keep it, the better it looks and I need to STOP working on my art at a particular time. In the final layer, in some of the sketches
I have used a normal 6B graphite pencil to increase the value by creating darker strokes.

The 4B Camlin graphite stick

which I have sharpened at the tip.

Landscape study works created using

Camlin water soluble graphite sticks

on Cartridge sheets.

It is fun to work with water soluble graphite BUT I am definitely missing using a sharp pencil

like tip. Hence when I visit ART LOUNGE next week to do my art stationery shopping, I am 

definitely going to buy some good brand of water soluble graphite pencil. I have already 

mentioned about the art sale that is on presently at ART LOUNGE which is situated close to

Churchgate station.

A little experimenting with textured handmade paper.

I mentioned in my last post about experimenting and exploring the new possibilities of using

the textured hand made paper ( From Sun Papers - Fort ) for my soft pastel paintings.

The soft pastel painting of a seascape is a quick study work on blue coloured hand made

paper with beautiful textures on it. I wanted to try out the underpainting with water 

before adding the second layer of pastels.

After having drawn the rough outline with white pencil, I blocked in the initial colours in 

my usual technique and then instead of blending the colours I ran a wet brush over the sky, 

followed by the other elements. Everytime I painted on a different coloured area, I made 

sure that I washed the brush again in clean water. After having done that, I let the paper 

dry. The paper being thick, fortunately did not buckle.

Once the paper was fully dry, I added the second layer of pastel colours and a few details 

at places where required. In all I enjoyed using this paper. It is very reasonable too. I 

purchased it long time back but I think it should not be more than Rs 60/- a sheet.

Seascape on Blue handmade paper.

Just an experiment.

I love soft pastel medium because of its rich and vibrant colours. Moreover it is a dry

medium and one does not have to wait for it to dry. We do not need many tools around.

Just the pastels, a kneaded eraser and a sheet of paper. 

The pastel colours do not fade or crack in time. I do not have to worry about the painting

catching fungus though I still take precaution to keep Silica Gel around

my art work to absorb the moisture around.

One of my favourite Quotes

"I dream my painting and then I paint my dream." Vincent Van Gogh