Water colour painting on Arches cold pressed paper

"The only time I feel alive is when I'm painting." Vincent Van Gogh

I am sure every artist will agree with the above quote. If you are passionate about painting, you will realize what it is like to paint a little everyday. It brings a lot of joy and end of the day when you look at your work, no matter how small or big, it feels absolutely great. Then you gear up for yet another day of painting and begin your plans as to what to create next?

Pangong Lake, also known as Pangong Tso is situated in the Himalayas, at 14,270 ft above sea level. It is about four to five hours journey from Leh. This stunning lake which keeps changing its colours is one of the biggest tourist attractions of the country. I am yet to go there but am so fascinated with this heavenly place that when friends send me photographs, I cannot resist painting it. 

My today's painting is with reference to a photograph sent by a student and I am grateful to her for the same. I have used Arches Cold pressed paper and a combination of both Winsor and Newton and Camlin water colour tubes. I am beginning to love this paper as it stays wet for long and that enables me to add colours without the fear of having hard edges. 

Serenity

Water colour painting on Arches CP paper

Size 6.5"X 8.5"

If you have been regularly browsing through my blog you will know that I have still not zeroed in on the right paper for my water colour artworks. I have definitely shortlisted a few good ones and Arches is one of them. Selection of a paper is a very personal choice for every artist. Most papers are good but its just that each one of us find our comfort level in some particular brand.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am presently working on a series of few charcoal landscapes as my one day "Charcoal drawing workshop" is coming up soon at Art Station, Andheri west. Will post them soon. If you are interested in attending you can drop me a mail at manjupanchal5@gmail.com

Thank you for browsing through my artworks.

Pangong lake, Ladakh

"The Earth does not belong to us: we belong to the Earth." Marlee Matlin

That's a meaningful quote which reminds us to take care of the beautiful natural world around us.  

Pangong lake in Ladakh is a stunning lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. I created a small water colour painting of this lake yesterday on Strathmore water colour paper. 

To get the beautiful shades of blue in the lake I have used Winsor and Newton cotman colours namely cerulean blue and ultramarine blue. For most of my water colour artworks I am presently using a mix of Camlin and Winsor and Newton, Palette.

Pangong Lake, Ladakh

Water colour painting on Strathmore paper

Size 5.5" X  8"

My art is deeply influenced by the beauty of the natural world around us and places such as above continue to inspire me to pursue my art journey. Escaping into the world of art is my idea of meditation. It keeps me busy and happy.

If you wish to attend any of my art workshops you can write a mail to me and I shall get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for visiting my blog and please take a moment to leave a comment.

CLICK HERE to browse through my available paintings.

A water colour painting of a view at Pangong Lake, Ladakh

"The only way to deep happiness is to do something you love to the best of your ability." 
Richard Feynman

Yestersday I watched a documentary on Richard Feynman, an American Theoretical Physicist and was very inspired by his life, works and philosophy. I went through some of his quotes and have posted one of my favorites to share it with all of you.

Today I am posting my third water colour study on Fabriano Artistico CP paper. I am beginning to like this paper. The subject that I have chosen is yet another beautiful view at Pangong Lake in Ladakh. At 14,270 ft above sea level, it is a stunning lake in the Himalayas and offers some great views for artists, photographs and nature lovers.

I worked a little slow on this painting and was more patient with the colour mixing, especially of the distant dry barren mountains. For the ocean I have used ultramarine blue from Camlin and Cerulean blue colour from Winsor and Newton Cotman series. I purchased the Cotman series quite some time back and now am putting it to use as some colours have started drying up.

At Pangong Lake, Ladakh

A water colour painting on Fabriano Artistico CP paper

Size 5" X 7"

I am also posting the initial stage of this painting where in I have just completed the first layer of colours for the background and the lake. For this particular painting, I tried to keep the painting procedure very simple. I finished the lake in one layer itself.

Initial stage of the painting

At Pangong Lake

Thank you for browsing through my works.

Trying out Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm Cold Pressed Paper

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary." Pablo Picasso

As I mentioned in my last post that I am in the process of trying out different water colour papers available to me. One of the last papers on my list was Fabriano CP paper. So I finally tried out a painting on Fabriano cold pressed water colour paper. The water colour painting as below is a quick study work of Pangong Lake in Ladakh. 

I have not yet been to this heavenly place but have used reference photograph provided by a close friend. I am grateful to her and all other friends who keep sending me some great photographs of nature in order that I can continue to stay inspired in my art journey.

Since it was meant to be a study work, I did not really pay much attention to the distant mountains and its shadows. I completed it in a short span of forty minutes or so. In my next painting I will have to be more careful about the anatomy of mountains and perspective which is very important in landscape painting and I struggle with it all the time.

Pangong lake
Water colour study work
Size 5" X 7"

Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm paper is a great paper to work with. It has good water retention capacity and is acid free. I purchased a single big sheet and it is water marked "FABRIANO + ARTISTICO" on its shorter side. I will continue to work on it for some time before making my choice between Arches and Fabriano. Both are used internationally by water colour artists and each artist finally makes a personal choice regarding the selection based on different factors.

What I am looking for in a paper is 

• It should have good water retention quality
• It should be acid free
• It should be a professional quality paper
• I should be able to life off the colour easily from the paper
• It should be readily available in nearby stores

So far I have tried out Brustro, Campap, Strathmore, Arches CP, Fabriano studio quality, Fabriano HP and Fabriano CP. After another few paintings I will be able to shortlist either one or two of my favourites which work best for me. In the meantime the exploring and experimenting shall continue.

Thanks for browsing through my blog.