Step by step - A watercolor painting of a beach scene

“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” Neil Garman

I recently completed one of my watercolor paintings on Canson Moulin du Roy paper and fortunately remembered to photograph the stages. It was an early morning scene, when we were at Colva beach and it was not crowded. The stretch of sand far across, and the misty look in the distance motivated me a lot and I decided then and there that I shall paint this scene one day. The actual painting starts in the mind, the moment you set your eyes on the place that you love.

The choice of paper is often decided by the technique that I plan to use for that particular painting. For the painting as below, I needed the misty look in the distance and hence was going to use the graded wash technique on wet paper, for which I think Canson Moulin du Roy works good for me. I used a mix of both Camlin and Winsor and Newton Cotman colours.

A Misty Morning at Colva beach

A watercolor painting on Canson Moulin du Roy paper

Size 5.5” X 8”

Step 1. Created the sky using a mix of warm and cool colours, and added the distant foliage on the left. Used wet on wet technique as I did not want to have hard edges in the distance.

Step 2. Created the bushes on the left ( Camlin Artists water color tubes ), the sandy seashore and the ocean. At this stage I have not added details anywhere.

Step 3. Added layers of colours to the bushes on the left to create the form and shadow, and flat wash of colour on the sandy seashore. Added details to the figures on the beach.

Thank you for browsing through my artworks. To browse through my artworks in all the different mediums that I have been working with since long, visit my INSTAGRAM page.

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. 

An early morning view at Temi Tea Garden, South Sikkim

"If you hear a voice within you say ,'You cannot paint', by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." Vincent Van Gogh

While in Sikkim, we decided to spend a day at Temi Tea Garden in a homestay. When we reached there it was late evening and the weather was a bit dull and cloudy. The distant mountains and valleys were all covered in fog. Hence the morning sight took us by surprise as we were greeted by a clear sky, bright sunlight and it was a pleasure as we watched the scene change slowly.

Morning at Temi Tea Estate

Water colour study work on Campap paper

Size 5" X 6"

I enjoyed working on Campap paper. The wet on wet technique worked pretty well on this paper.
Presently I am working on some more water colour study works in my sketch book. After having done a couple of them I plan to create paintings sized 7" X 10" or more.

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Thanks for browsing through my works.

The woods - A soft pastel painting

"Design is like gravity - the force that holds it all together." E A Whitney

Some time back I posted a few plein air studies that I recently did while I was at Karnala Bird Sanctuary. Referring to the sketch and the photograph, I created the soft pastel painting as below.

The pathway lined with rocks and tall trees on either sides provides ample shade to everyone who walks here. The mystery and silence of the woods is captivating. Time stands still. When I am there, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, I feel like I am in another world and I just want to be there soaking in the beauty of the surroundings. Painting a scene like these is like capturing these beautiful moments on paper.

The woods

Soft pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 6.25 X 8.25"

An intricate forest scene always appeals to me as a subject for painting. The shades of green are intimidating and every time I do a scene like this one, I make a few mistakes and these mistakes make me learn a little more about colours, colour mixing etc.

I am enjoying my pastel journey and am looking forward to creating many more such interesting landscapes which take me back in time, and remind me of all the beautiful moments that I spent in nature in solace.

The quotation that I mentioned in the post today is a very interesting one. It speaks for what I believe in. Design and composition is the key to a good painting. It is like a strong force that binds all the elements together and keeps them in harmony. I spend a great deal of time in selecting a good composition for my painting, and then I work on the values and colours.

Thanks for browsing through my works.

Painting a landscape in soft pastel medium

"If I create from the heart; nearly everything works, if from the head, almost nothing." 

Marc Chagall

When I select a subject for my painting, it is almost always because I love the subject and feel connected to it. Nature is so beautiful and inspiring and there are scenes that leave an indelible impression on one's mind. Through my paintings I am making an attempt to keep these memories alive.

While at Karnala Bird Sancturay during the morning hours, the sunlight created magic lighting up the pathway and the foliage at the tips. The scene was so beautiful that it was then and there that I had decided that I will paint it some day. 

It must be an year or so but every time I looked at this photograph on my laptop, I analysed it and then made my calculations regarding the steps that I would follow in order to create it. It looked pretty complicated in the beginning but then I simplified the steps in my mind over a period of time. Then finally one day I made a thumbnail sketch which more or less represented the vision that I had in mind. Referring to my preliminary study and using my Mungyo and Kohinoor Toison Dor soft pastels, I finally created the work as planned. 

The Morning Rays

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 7"X 9"

I am back to my pastel paintings but at the same time I am also managing to steal a few moments to create my graphite drawings in my sketch book. Getting addicted to it, I guess. Will be posting a few of them soon.

Thanks for browsing through my works.

The morning glow - Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

"A Picture is a poem without words" - Horace

The image as below is of a painting created from a reference photo that I clicked while we 

were at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary ( Also known as Keoladeo National park ) some years

back. It was early morning and we were in the boat that was quietly moving through the waters

in the marshy wetlands, surrounded by greenery on either sides. The weather was cold, the 

warm sunrays were perforating through the foliage and it was so very quiet. It was a lovely

place to be and is a must visit for all artists and photographers alike.

The national park is a host to more than 366 bird species. It is a major tourist centre and has

been declared a protected sanctuary in 1971. 

Using soft pastels I have tried to capture the morning glow. I have also created yet another soft

pastel painting of a beautiful scene from the same place. Shall be posting it soon.

The Morning Glow

Soft pastel paintiing on Canson ( Black ) paper

Size 6" X 9"

I have submitted this painting in the weekly challenge conducted by DPW.

I have my precious collection of photographs which I have been collecting over a period

of years. Slowly and steadily I am shortlisting them and then as the mood sets in, I paint

them. Some landscapes have been a challenge to paint so they have been

shortlisted long time back but it is now that I am daring to them one by one.

There are a few beautiful forest scenes from Matheran which I plan to do shortly.

One of them in particular has these morning rays hitting only a trunk and part of

foliage in the early morning hours. Rest of the elements in the landscape

are as if in shadow. I took that photograph with the intention of painting 

it one day. I should be painting it soon.

Soft pastel demo work on Strathmore paper

A small soft pastel demonstration done on Strathmore pastel paper during one of my recent soft pastel workshops. There is a slight fold/crumple in the paper as can be seen from the image as below. The crumpling of the paper was caused due to the wet brush which I used on the first layer of pastels in order to get an underpainting of basic colours. 

Later I went on to add more colours of similar values and a few details in the foreground. Richard McKinley, a Master Pastel Artist from America uses the underpainting technique in most of his works and I like his style a lot.

Added two small figures on the beach, taking a casual relaxed walk. Painting a seashore is a very relaxing experience and I am always looking out for more subjects based on sea. 

Small demo work in soft pastel medium

Paper used - Strathmore

Size 5" X 7"

An image of the Strathmore pastel paper pad .

It has 24 sheets of assorted colours

Image: coutesy GOOGLE.

Quotation by Einstein

"Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought."

Plein air sketching - Cloudscapes

"Plein air sketching" or in other words "Painting on location" can be a very enriching experience. I tried my hands at painting clouds as seen on a clear day just outside our Coorg Homestay. All three works as given below are Graphite works ( 3B and 4B pencils ), small in size and are done in my Travel sketch book.

What I enjoyed the most was that I could very clearly see the values, the shapes and I agree with all Plein air artists when they say that painting on location is so much better than painting from a photograph. A photograph never captures the details and colours as eyes can see personally. However if plein air is not possible then a combination of both works well with me as of now but I do plan to do more of Plein air sketches and paintings.

Since clouds were shifting every two minutes and were changing their shapes and shadows as well, I had to be quick to get the basic shape and shading in less than five minutes and I took another ten minutes to complete the shading based on my observation.

Plein air sketching of

Cloudscapes

Size 4" x 5"

All the cloudscapes as done above are either in early morning or just before sunset. Some time later I could make use of these study sketches in creating water colour paintings or I could use it in one of my pastel landscapes. 

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary - a landscape in charcoal

"You never outgrow drawing. It's so fundamental to everything." Debra Groessner.

A winter scene from Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary OR Keoladeo National Park. ( Spread over an area of 29 square kilometres ).We visited this beautiful place in the winters of 2005. It was cold and mornings would generally be foggy. This scene was shot while we were in the boat cruising through the still waters. We had a guide with us who was well versed with all the bird species in the area. In 1985 the park was declared a Heritage site.

I have once again used willow charcoal and mostly camel soft charcoal pencil to create this morning landscape in Charcoal medium.

Morning in Bharatpur

Charcoal sketching on Fabriano Academia paper

Size 6" x 10"

The place was so amazingly beautiful and I may soon do a soft pastel painting of the same scene.

Apart from drawing and painting I also occasionally design ethnic products like NAMEPLATES

which can be viewed at my other blog www.ethnikhomedecor.blogspot.in. If you have any purchase related inquiry you can mail me at manjupanchal@hotmail.com

 OR call me at 9820683983 ( Mumbai )