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 🙏

Monsoon sky - A water colour painting

"The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication." Cyril Conolly

Today’s post is a water colour painting which I created to do a study of “Monsoon sky” using wet on wet technique. I have limited myself to using only four colors namely

• Raw Sienna
• Ultramarine Blue
• Burnt Sienna
• Alizarin Crimson

( Camlin Artists water colour tubes )

Monsoon

A water colour painting on handmade paper 

Size 5” X 7”

In this painting after applying the colors to the sky, I used my mini spray bottle to let the paint flow down with gravity and then I shifted the angle of the paper to direct the flow where ever required. Every new painting in water color medium provides me with an opportunity to try out something new and this adds to the fun and excitement. As I am enjoying working with this medium a lot, I plan to explore it more in the coming days.

On the 25th of this month I am conducting a one day workshop on "Using charcoal and white pastel pencil on toned paper." If interested, you can mail me for registration at manjupanchal5@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting my blog.

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.

A Cloudy sky

"You don't make art. You find it." Pablo Picasso

On my recent visit to Malshej Ghats, I came across some dramatic skies. Being monsoon season the weather was a bit dull and there was not enough light to capture the scene well in the camera. At such times I have to observe and store the information in my memory so that I can retrieve the information at a later time when I actually get down to painting the scene.

The soft pastel painting below is one such scene from Malshej Ghats that made an impact on me and I wanted to create a study work of the same. I call it "Study work" as I have not painted many "Cloudy Landscapes" in the past and am yet to get a full understanding of the shapes, perspective and the colours in the clouds. When handling a new subject, it is more of experimenting and exploring which in turn slowly leads to a great learning experience.

Apart from the dense scattered clouds,what I also loved about this scene in particular is the diffused light that filtered through the clouds and illuminated the water covered fields below.

The Cloudy sky ( A study work )

A soft pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 5"X 7"

Painting clouds is new to me and I find it very challenging. I remember as kids when we drew a landscape, there always used to be a few common elements in it namely mountains in the distance, a small house, a river and fields. The sky was almost similarly drawn by everyone in a beautiful uniform blue and few fluffy white clouds floating around. Those drawing days were fun. 

Now when I look at the clouds closely I realise that there are so many different colours in each cloud other than gray and blue. I am planning to do a little more deep study of this interesting element. In fact it is more like doing "Cloud Anatomy".

Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my works. 

From photograph to charcoal drawing

"While drawing, I discover what I really want to say."Dario Fo

As an artist I am always looking for meaningful quotes as they speak my thoughts and keep me inspired. The above quote holds true, I guess for most of us. It is through our art that we slowly discover what we are trying to convey to the viewers. 

Malshej Ghat is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range in the Thane-Pune district of Maharashtra, India.The site is nestled in the lofty rugged hills of the Western Ghats. The road journey to this place will take you through winding roads, lush greenery on either sides, thick dense fog and countless number of waterfalls touching the highway. 

We visited this place in the monsoon season this year and I found some perfect subjects that I was looking to paint.. My today's post is a charcoal drawing of one such scene from Malshej Ghats wherein the majestic mountain slopes can be seen fading off in the distance. This drawing was not planned but while browsing through my stationery I came across a white sheet of Canson Mi Teintes which initiated the idea of experimenting with this paper out for my charcoal drawing?. 

I love to experiment with new papers all the time. I have created a post regarding the "Papers I use for my charcoal drawings". After using Canson Mi Teintes, I am quite convinced that it will be an added paper in my list for charcoal drawings. It has this beautiful sanded smooth surface ( which I also use for my pastel drawings ) which takes on the charcoal pretty well.

Sometimes it takes just one drawing to come to a conclusion and there are times when you want to check a paper/paint again and again and you are not really sure if it is going to work for you. 

Monsoon at Malshej Ghats

Charcoal drawing on Canson MT paper.

Size 5.5" X 7"

Initial stage of charcoal drawing

The above image shows the initial stages of the charcoal drawing wherein I have "Blocked In" the different elements in the scene, namely the sky, the mountains slopes etc using charcoal powder and my other blending tools.  The distant mountain slopes are kept light and without any details to create atmospheric depth.

In the subsequent layers I use the pencils and the kneaded eraser to create the highlights and shadows

The photograph from Malshej Ghats

which inspired me to create the charcoal

drawing such as above.

While on location, I try and take a few different photographs with different compositions and later after a little editing I use the image that looks good to to be converted into a painting. I also do a few quick "Thumbnail sketches" using my charcoal pencil and sketch book to roughly block in the value scale in the scene. It always helps. 

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM , where in I post my latest artworks regularly. 

A water colour study work of A Cloudy sky at the beach

"Watercolour is probably the most satisfying of all mediums. Although difficult in the beginning, after practice its mysteries will unfold, providing the utmost pleasure for the dedicated." Robert Lovett

Water colour painting is getting fun. Painting a little every day is helping me loosen up my style. It is a great learning process. I am moving ahead one step at a time.

The painting below is something that I wanted to try out since long ie a cloudy scene during monsoon in Goa. The landscape in Goa during monsoon is magical.With the onset of rains the sky changes dramatically into different shades of gray and blue. With every new painting, I get to explore a little of colour mixing. For the grays in the sky I have used ultramarine blue and burnt sienna. The three primary colours too mix to give a good gray colour. 

The paper that I have tried out for this painting is Brustro 300 gsm. It is difficult to do wet on wet on this paper as it starts drying up pretty fast, which then leaves hard edges. Therefore for my future works I will have to rethink about this paper as I am more for wet on wet works.

Monsoon Magic

Water colour painting on Brustro paper

5.5" X 7.5"

My art is about finding simple beautiful scenes in nature and bringing them to life on paper, to relive the happy moments for ever. Presently I am trying out the seascapes and mountainscapes in water colour medium but later some day I would want to do forest scenes too. Before getting to the forest landscapes I need to get a proper understanding of the "Mixing of greens" which can be very intimidating. I am in no hurry and would love to go slow, one step at a time.

My sincere thanks to all the visitors for browsing through my works.

Plein air water colour painting in my travel sketch book

"I have no talents. I am only passionately curious." Albert Einstein

One morning at West Sikkim, it rained heavily and the mountains and valleys as seen from the balcony of our homestay, suddenly started disappearing in the mist and clouds. The view was heavenly and I felt the sudden urge to capture the beauty unfolding before my eyes in my sketch book. And I did precisely that. Using my two round brushes and a palette I created my small "Plein air painting". It took me not more than ten minutes to create this small artwork and it felt really good.

Dante Alghieri said "Nature is the art of God." and I believe every word of the quote. I am grateful as an artist to be inspired by nature's beauty which in turn helps me create my art and keeps me busy and happy.

Monsoon in the valley

Water colour Plein air study work in my sketch book

Size 4" X 5"

When I am travelling I carry with me the following,

Two round sable hair brushes

Small 4" X 5" sketch book

( Cartridge sheets )

My water colour palette
with Camlin water colour artist's water colour paints

Carrying a travel kit such as above always helps. I get to paint when there is an opportunity. Moreover the kit is not very bulky and the sketch book has cartridge sheets in it which can also be used for pencil drawings and sketches. These sketch books are easily available these days in stationery shops.

Sketch books are fun. They play a very significant role in learning process. I use them all the time. It has now become a habit. I have a sketch book for every different medium and my collection is growing.

Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and do visit my INSTAGRAM account to browse through my paintings.

Trying out Canson Vidalon paper

"Art does not have to be pretty. It has to be meaningful." Duane Hanson

Monsoon seascape created on Canson Vidalon cold pressed paper. I plan to continue experimenting with my water colour techniques on different papers. I selected the painting as below so as to work on a monsoon sky. I have used wet on wet technique for the sky and for the foreground I have added layers and a little glazing technique in the end. 

The water colour paint worked pretty well on this paper and I would definitely want to shortlist this paper for my future works.

The Monsoon sky

Water colour painting on Canson Vidalon paper

Size 5.5" X 7.5"

My artworks can be seen on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK and DEVIANTART

Thanks for browsing through my works.

Watercolour study of clouds

Having fun with watercolours. Inspired from the photographs taken at Goa, created two small water colour paintings of clouds in the sky as seen in the monsoon period. For both these paintings I have tried out Strathmore water colour paper ( 300 gsm ).



Water colour paintings

Cloud study on

Strathmore paper
 

Quotation by Einstein

"Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."