The crystal clear waters of Phuket and Phi Phi Leh - Few photographs

"To me photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an

ordinary place. I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with

the way you see them." Elliott Erwett

When I am travelling, it is not always possible to create a sketch or a painting on the spot. So
I have to rely a lot on the photographs that I capture. I try to focus on the scenes which I feel
can help me create some beautiful paintings of the pristine nature around me.  

Later when I am at home and if the photograph is not up to my satisfaction, I edit it a bit
removing a few elements, adjusting the horizon etc. I love photography but it is a big field in
itself and I am still learning. I use a digital camera as well as a new Canon 7D. Manual
photography is new to me and quite challenging, therefore as and when I get time I refer to
Photography manuals to get a better understanding of it.

Posting a few photographs as taken by me while we were on our recent tour to Phuket,

Phi Phi Leh and other islands closeby. The crystal clear water, its ever changing colours,
is all so captivating.

At Bamboo island 

The calm waters and the submerged rocks.

At Rawai beach at Phuket

The sparkling still waters

At Bamboo island

Around Phi Phi Leh

The colour of the water reflecting back at the rocks above.

I have started new works using the soft pastel medium and they are in progress. Will post them as 

soon as I complete them. In the meantime I have also started uploading a few of my works

on Deviant art as it will allow some of my paintings to be seen together in a Gallery format which

is not possible on the blog.

Rocks under the water - A charcoal sketching

This is my fourth charcoal sketching of "Rocks under the water". When I did my "First one", it was out of curiosity. Later I did two more as I enjoyed the whole process. The transparent quality of water and to be able to see simple objects like rocks underneath is an amazing experience.

I started this work last week and progressed on it little by little as the rocks underneath in the foreground were placed at different levels and the depth had to be created by adding right amount of values. In all it was a great learning experience.

Nature has always been there around us in its beautiful forms but somewhere down the line we got so busy with our lives and now "Through my art" its like I am rediscovering it.

The rocks below

Charcoal sketching on Strathmore drawing paper.

Size 5" X 7"

Quotation

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order."

By John Burroughs

Submerged rocks - a charcoal sketching

The charcoal sketching done as below has been done by referring to a beautiful photograph sent by a friend who visited Manori beach recently. The water gently hitting the rocks at the shore and the transparency allowing the rocks underneath to be visible made for a good composition. Since the view of the rocks is from above, there is a lot of perspective involved in the initial drawing. It was a good learning experience.

Presently I am using my Strathmore sketch pad for my charcoal drawings . Getting used to a new paper.

 

Rocks under the water

Charcoal sketching on Strathmore paper

Size 4.5" X 4.5"

 

For the above work I have mainly used my Camel soft charcoal pencil. It works well on this paper. 

 

 



Kilim Geoforest - rocks under the water

I had this photograph on my ipad for months and it was in my "TO DO" lists but somehow
this work never got started until last week. After having done the charcoal sketching of
rocks under the water from my Lonavala photograph I finally decided to get started with
this one too.

This close up photograph was taken while we were at the beautiful beach at Kilim Geoforest in Langkawi, Malaysia.The ripples and reflections were a challenge and I am still not very
satisfied but while doing and redoing to get the final result I learnt a lot. One rock on the upper
left was partly above the water and rest of the rocks were submerged and it was important to
observe the directions of ripples as the water movement took place. Also there was lot of
perspective in the diagram to be taken care of. I did this charcoal sketching over a period
of six days and went slow and held my patience.

The submerged rocks

Charcoal sketching on Fabriano paper

Size 5.5" x 7"

Apart from paintings and sketchings I also take out time to design Nameplates for the wall.

You can view my innovative ethnic nameplates on my other BLOG.

Rocks under the water - a charcoal work

On my recent visit to Lonavala we got an opportunity to visit a small serene lake area in the Naval campus. The evening was setting in and the sunlight pretty low but I was fortunate to get some good pictures of rocks under the water at the shore line using my mobile.

This is one subject which always appeals to me. I used the charcoal medium to create this quick study sketch of the view.

Rocks under the water

Charcoal sketching on Canson ca grain paper

Size 6" x 8"

Materials used:

• Camel charcoal pencil
• Conte charcoal pencil
• Kneaded eraser
• Tortillons or blending tools
• Canson ca grain paper

I recently came across the water color works of RAMESH JHAWAR and I really loved them. If you are into water colours, you must check out his works on his BLOG. I too want to get into water colours again but a little later.