A Tree

"Drawing is not the form, it is the way of seeing a form." Edgar Degas

Trees mean a lot to me. I love painting them. To me a "Tree" is a symbol of "Beauty, Strength, Endurance, Stability, and Wisdom".

I came across this beautiful old tree with exposed roots, anchored beautifully in the soil at Dubare forest on the banks of Kaveri river ( Near Coorg ). Since I had already created the study work of this tree on a small black Canson MT paper, it did not take me long to recreate this on a bigger paper.

Dubare forest, in Karnataka is known for its elephant camp and the area is a host to beautiful archaic deciduous trees. I did not have time to do any kind of Plein air sketching or drawing but I did manage to photograph many such trees. In the scene as below, there were other trees and bushes in the background, however I decided to keep it simple as I wanted the tree to be in focus.

Perennial

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6.5" X 9.5"

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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

A Charcoal sketching of an early morning view at End Point, Manipal

I just completed a Charcoal sketching with reference to a view from "End Point, Manipal"(Karnataka ). During one of my morning walks that I came across this scene and it appealed to me a lot. The distant land slowly faded away and merged with the Arabian sea. The wild growth in the proximity and the intertwining blades of grasses and branches all around made the foreground very dramatic and in all I loved the composition.

For this particular sketching I made use of willow charcoal to lay down the initial leaves as seen on the left. Later I added the details and the variation of values using my different charcoal pencils. For the background I have used my charcoal smudging tools. Since the view is taken from a cliff, the land at the distance is pretty much hazy, so I did not have to add any details to it.

A morning at End Point, Manipal

Charcoal sketching on Scholar drawing paper

Size 5" X 7"

I have started integrating the willow charcoal in my charcoal works quite recently and feel that I am still on an experimental level. Every time I create a small work I get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each tool. As I work more and more, my technique will slowly evolve. I have started two more small works in the same medium to get a better understanding of this beautiful versatile medium.

When I have time on my hands I devote a little of it to browsing through some beautiful photgraphs of nature. I recently came across some stunning photographs taken by Kalyan Verma who is a wildlife photgrapher, a naturalist and explorer dedicated to documenting wildlife and enviornmental issues that define our time. 

Ending the post with a very meaningful quote

"A good artist has less time than ideas." Martin Kippenberger

A soft pastel painting of a morning scene from Coorg ( Madikeri )

Soft pastel painting

If you happen to be at Coorg ( Madikeri ), a beautiful morning scene such as below is a common sight. Coorg is amazing all throughout the year. It is a small hill station close to Mangalore. 

I started this forest landscape in soft pastels during one of my soft pastel workshops and later spent a few more hours working on it adding the finishing touches.

A simple morning walk in nature helps me come across a lot many potential subjects for painting. This scene appealed to me a lot for its "Light and shadow" play on the trees, the foliage and the road. I have used a black coloured Canson Mi Teintes paper for this painting but in future plan to try out other coloured papers too.

A morning at Coorg

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper.

Size 6" X 8"

An inspiring quote

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." Vincent Van Gogh

A walk in the woods - Coorg ( Madikeri )

In the past few days I have created several thumbnail sketches of Landscapes and seascapes 

using the soft pastel medium. The plan was to create final pieces of art referring to some of 

them. Along with the study sketch, I will also be using the original photograph taken by me.

The first soft pastel painting that I have finally selected is inspired by my visit to Coorg, ( Madikeri ). Coorg is a very quiet and peaceful hill station in Karnataka. Its green all round 

the year and a paradise for photographers and artists. Any road you take leads to some great 

views. The trees, the bushes, the red soil, the distant hilly mountains, you can spend hours and 

hours soaking in the beauty of the surroundings.

The image below is of a soft pastel painting created referring to one such sights that I came 

across during my routine morning walks. The early morning sunrays, the fence running across 

on the left, the green foliage around, some wild flowers, each element adding to the beauty of 

the landscape.

No matter how many landscapes I do, everytime I am doing a forest scene, the greens intimidate

me the most. Getting the right green becomes a challenge. Therefore I use soft pastel palette

which is a combination of Mungyo, Gallery and Kohinoor soft pastels. Each brand comes

with a different collections of "Green shades" , therefore combining all of them I get fairly

different shades from bright to dull. The Camlin brand too comes with some beautiful greens.

A walk in the woods

Soft Pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper.

Size 6" X 9"

Soft Pastel Palette

A Mix of different brands.

Another of my soft pastel painting is in progress referring to my Phuket and

Phi Phi islands visit recently. From forest, I am moving to cliffs and mountains and some

breathtaking views of white sanded beaches.

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please share with friends. Thanks for browsing.

Reflections in the water - soft pastel work

One of my favourite photographs taken at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. It has been on my laptop since last year or so. I finally decided to give it a try in my way. I started off by selecting the black coloured Canson Mi Teintes paper. I started off by simplifying the bigger shapes and coloured 

them as a whole using the soft pastel medium. Blended the colours using my fingers. 

Then I fixed the layer with Winsor and Newton fixative.

In the second layer I added the tree trunks, foliage and other details. Signed at the bottom left 

with a white pastel pencil. I have also made use of the black charcoal pencil at places especially

to create the thin branches.

Solitude

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6" X 9"

What is most challenging in any forest landscape is the greens. No matter how many shades 

you have, you still fall short of the right shade. Unlike water colours, oils and acrylics

it is not easy to get the green shades by mixing different colours. Moreover with

my past experience I know for sure that if I use more than two colours on each

other it creates a muddy effect and the freshness of the colour fades away.

I have created a few more small Demo works in soft pastel medium and I shall

be posting them soon.

Adding colours to a Seascape ( Langkawi island )

The pastel painting below is created with reference to my photograph taken at  Langkawi 
( Malaysia ). All my recent works of beaches have been created on Twilight paper by Canson. 

I decided on this reference photograph as it gave me the opportunity to work on the background trees and forest, wherein I have not created any sharp edges and the details too are subdued. I have added darker and more saturated colours in the foreground tree which is casting its shadow on the sand.

Morning at the beach

Soft pastel painting on Canson paper

Size 6" x 8