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 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

One morning at Vaddi beach in Goa - A soft pastel painting

Painting a seascape

Seascape is my all time favorite subject. I have done a series on them. Painting a beach scene has always been a very relaxing experience.

The soft pastel painting below is a scene from Vaddi beach, Benaulim in South Goa. We were at this beach in monsoon last year. It is a beautiful white sandy beach and the wild creeper as seen on the right appealed to me a lot. I have also created this very scene earlier in water colour medium.

One morning at Vaddi beach

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6" X 8"

The pastels that I used for this particular painting can be seen as below. I selected these shades right at the beginning and then added more colours as and when required. 

The different soft pastels used for creating

the painting as above.

A Quote

"Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment." Claude Monet

Clouds in the sky - A soft pastel study work

The soft pastel painting as below is a scene that I came across while we were travelling recently to Pune. As an artist, when I am travelling I have this tendency of observing nature all around to look for something strikingly beautiful so that I can use the scene as a subject for my future painting. This scene had some elegant clouds floating in the sky and since I am into "Cloud study" these days it seemed a perfect choice as a subject for my soft pastel painting. 

"Clouds" study work

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 4.5" X 6.5"

Art quotes inspire and motivate. It is written by great artists and it speaks about their thoughts and experiences in life. As an artist I feel the connection and these quotes speak exactly what you have in mind. 

"If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint." Edward Hopper

Painting and blogging continuously can get a little saturated at times and there are days when I don't know what to do next. On such "Undecided"days I take to reading. I read a lot, be it books or art related subjects on the net. Browsing through meaningful and inspiring quotes revives me instantly and I am back into my "Planning and executing" mode working on my next project. The whole cycle of drawing, sketching and painting resumes once again.

Thanks for browsing through my works.

A cloudy day at Colva beach ( Goa ) - A soft pastel painting

Getting dusty with soft pastels.

Last year in August/September we were at Goa enjoying the beautiful pristine beaches. One evening at Colva beach, I got to capture the elegantly floating delicate clouds in the sky. I had it in mind to paint it some day and my recent soft pastel workshop provided me the opportunity to recreate this scene. It was part of demo work which I completed later on by adding a few more finishing touches.

Painting "Clouds in the sky" has been in my "To do" list for long. However in most of the landscapes that I have created earlier, I have been focusing on forests, mountains and other elements of nature. Hence I enjoyed doing this seascape from Goa where my main focus has been on clouds. The whole painting is more or less done using a very limited palette ie shades of blues and a few violets. It was a rainy day and all I wanted was to get the feel of the atmosphere. 

A cloudy day 

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6"X 8"

While at Goa, we got to visit many different beaches and I have a big collection of my personal photographs and sketches. It is not always possible to do a plein air sketch as there are so many factors being involved, weather being one. Therefore the next best option is to photograph the scene that you fall in love with. 

Last year in the month of December I attempted a simple scene at Vaddi beach ( Goa ) using the water colour medium. I enjoy all different mediums and if I have to decide regarding which one I enjoy the most, it will get difficult for me to specify ANY ONE. When I am working with charcoals I get deeply engrossed in my black and white works and then when I shift to pastels I feel the same enthusiasm. I guess many artists go through the same emotions. On the whole it if fun shifting from one medium to another as it breaks the routine of getting saturated and gets freshness in the work.

Presently I am also working on an incomplete "Portrait work" which I shall be hopefully uploading soon as it is nearing completion.

Ending the post with a beautiful quote.

"An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision." James Whistler

A seashore at Bamboo island ( Thailand )

"Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction." 
By E. O. Wilson

The white sandy pristine beaches of Bamboo island ( Thailand ) are a very inspiring subject to me.
I visited this beautiful place quite recently during out Phi Phi Leh tour. I want to paint a whole series on these calm and serene beaches. The soft pastel painting below is created on an orange coloured Canson Mi Teintes paper. I selected this particular photograph for its sky, the tall trees on the right and the colours of the sea.

I edited the photograph using the Aviary App as I wanted the composition to be right. One third land and two third sky. While photographing a scene that appeals to me, I take care of the composition but many a times it is not possible as there is not enough time to focus and adjust the various parameters. Hence the next best option is to click and later edit it. The beach was overcrowded but I decided to go ahead with my art without the figures. Will add them in my later works.

Every subject that I select to paint has something new to offer, a different sky, a different perspective, the colours, the atmosphere.This brings about a little change in my normal routine technique and at
times I am forced to do things beyond my comfort zone. I find it exciting. I have also shortlisted a
few works with rocks at the seashore which I will be doing soon.

The Calm waters

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper.

Size 5" X 7"

Pastels are a great medium to work with and I am truly enjoying working with them. Presently

I am a lot into Canson Mi Teintes paper but some day I would love to try the sanded papers 

which can taken in more than two layers. Some very popular ones are UART and Wallis sanded

papers. To know more about different pastel products one can visit Dakota Pastels which deals mainly with pastel products. 

Three seashore paintings in water colour

"The vision must be sharper than the pencil." Bob Brendle

Painting seashore using Camel Artist water colour tubes.

All three paintings as below are sized 4"X 5".They are done on different papers like Canson Montwal, Canson Vidalon, Handmade paper etc. Every paper is different with respect to its texture, thickness etc and I like to experiment with my techniques in order to get a better understanding of the paper.

After having done a series of such small works I may settle down with the papers which suit my style of working. Presently I have small samples which I picked up some time back from ART LOUNGE, the art stationery shop at Churchgate.

The top two water colour paintings are from Goa reference and the lowest one is from Langkawi beach. I am working on some more water colour painitngs of landscapes and seascapes and will be posting the images soon.

My works can be seen on Instagram and Deviantart as well.



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."

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."