On the way to Dhankar Monastery

"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home."  GARY SNYDER

Dhankar is situated at a high altitude ( 12744 feet ) in Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh . Reaching Dhankar and viewing the world around literally makes you feel at the top of the world. Painted below is a Commission work in watercolour, of a beautiful scene at Dhankar. It is situated between Tabo and Kaza, two beautiful small towns surrounded by deserted, barren land and mountains.

The air is pure, the wind chilly, the clouds so clearly visible in the sky. There are homestays for tourists which we were unaware of when we visited about more than two years back. Had we known, we would have stayed there for may be two full days soaking in the breathtaking views.

Dhankar, Himachal Pradesh

water colour painting on Fabriano paper

Size 14" X 18"

Not available for sale

For this particular painting I have used Fabriano water colour paper. I purchased the Fabriano water colour pad of 24 sheets some months back as it was on a discount. This paper is cold pressed, 300 gsm and fairly good for landscape works. But for wet on wet paintings I would prefer the Arches.

Fabriano studio water colour paper pad.

Experimenting with water colour techniques

Painting with water colour medium is teaching me new lessons everyday. Each day is a new revelation. I am getting more deep into "COLOUR STUDY" as I realise that some colours work and some don't for a particular scene and atmosphere. Then there are transparent and opaque colours, warm and cool colours. Knowledge about these fundamental aspects definitely helps in better painting.

Everytime a painting completes, I evaluate and analyse the artwork looking for areas where I could do a little better next time. Given below are two small study works on hand made paper using camel paints. Both the scenes are from my "TRIP TO HIMACHAL". The scenic beauty of Himachal is unparalleled. Its truly a paradise on earth. Painting scenes from Himachal gives me true happiness.

It revives the beautiful memories of the past. 

Two water colour studies of landscapes

from Himachal on handmade paper.

Joseph Zbukvik  ( Eminent water colour artist from melbourne )said in one of his interview's that "If you succeed everytime, you are not painting properly." 

Read his interview HERE. Courtesy Artist Sterkhov