Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary - A soft pastel painting

"There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso

Blessed with enchanting beauty, Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh is built on and around five hills. Eight kilometres from here, is a beautiful wildlife sanctuary, the Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary which is covered with thick forests of pine and deodhar trees. The undergrowth in the forest is well developed and the view all around is mesmerising. The forest has well laid out trekking trails for those who are the adventurous kind. I was more interested in walking around and soaking in the beauty of the surroundings.

The soft pastel painting of one of the scenes that captured my heart is as below. I have also added images of the step by step technique that I followed before I reached the final stage.  

Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary

Soft pastel painting on Canson MT paper

Size 6" X 8"

Step 1. Basic outline and adding a few colours

Step 2. Simplifying the shapes keeping in mind the perspective

Step 3. Almost all the colours are laid down and only

detailing left for the final stage.

To know more about the papers that I use for my pastel artworks you can CLICK HERE.  I have not created a post on the pastel brands that I use, but plan to do so very soon. I have a miscellaneous collection that I purchased over the past five years. By now I know the individual shades of each brand that I use the most and hence I have created a palette where in I organise all my pastels together ie a mix of different brands. The turquoise blue that I use in ocean is not available in the Koh-I-Noor Toison Dor and similarly the violet shade which is predominant in most of my works is a part of Mungyo collection. In conclusion, every brand has its own value and I enjoy using them together as it works well with my artworks.

Thanks a lot for browsing through my artworks.

A Tree

"Drawing is not the form, it is the way of seeing a form." Edgar Degas

Trees mean a lot to me. I love painting them. To me a "Tree" is a symbol of "Beauty, Strength, Endurance, Stability, and Wisdom".

I came across this beautiful old tree with exposed roots, anchored beautifully in the soil at Dubare forest on the banks of Kaveri river ( Near Coorg ). Since I had already created the study work of this tree on a small black Canson MT paper, it did not take me long to recreate this on a bigger paper.

Dubare forest, in Karnataka is known for its elephant camp and the area is a host to beautiful archaic deciduous trees. I did not have time to do any kind of Plein air sketching or drawing but I did manage to photograph many such trees. In the scene as below, there were other trees and bushes in the background, however I decided to keep it simple as I wanted the tree to be in focus.

Perennial

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 6.5" X 9.5"

My works can be seen on my FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM page too. Thank you 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.

Thumbnail sketches in the soft pastel medium

Thumbnail sketches or Preliminary works in soft pastel medium.

As mentioned in my last post, I decided to get back to Soft pastel paintings and the best way to warm up is by creating a few "Thumbnail sketches" or the "Preliminary study works". Thumbnail sketches are fun because it is done more freely and spontaneously. It is a vital step in drawing and painting and I have made it a habit to follow this disciplined routine. 

 The soft pastel sketches sized 4" X 5.5" are done with reference to scenes from Coorg and Himachal Pradesh. The time spent in creating each of these sketches was about fifteen to twenty minutes. It's just one layer of pastels without any kind of detail works.

A scene from Coorg

On the banks of Kaveri river ( Karnataka )

On the way to Ladakh

Journey to Ladakh

Spiti Valley

A lot of planning and effort goes in creating a simple thumbnail sketch which then serves as a reference for my future art work. I try as much as possible to create bigger works of using all my study works. 

As a part of Christmas Day Celebrations, I am glad that I recently got the opportunity to hold a "Pencil Sketching Workshop" for twenty five lovely kids at Sneha Sadan, an orphanage at Jogeshwari west. I got about enough time to teach them value shading, design and composition, shading and blending techniques. Later I demonstrated a "Simple Archaic Door" drawing and all the kids followed the step by step procedure to create the same. It was a pleasure to share my knowledge and technique with the kids and I have offered them to be there for other workshops too in future.

"How you draw is a reflection of how you feel about the world. You're not capturing it, you are interpreting it." Juliette Aristides

A beautiful quote and I love it all the more because I truly believe in it. Every painting that I create is of a "SUBJECT" that I love and feel the connection with it. It is my interpretation of the scene. My intention is not to create a photo realistic image but rather a work which speaks for my creativity and thoughts that went into making it happen.

The cliffs, the water and reflection - A soft pastel painting ( Phi Phi Leh )

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere." Vincent Van Gogh

Nature inspires me to paint. The soft pastel painting as below has been inspired by the stunning colours of the water around the limestone cliffs of Phi Phi Leh ( Thailand ). Creating a painting like this refreshes my memory and I relive the happy moments spent in the laps of nature.

Before I start any painting, as a routine I always create a thumbnail sketch of the scene. I created one for this painting too. Click here to view the same.

Around Phi Phi Leh

A soft pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper

Size 7" X 10"

I love soft pastel medium for its vibrant hues. The more I paint in this medium the more I fall in love with it. Since it is a dry medium my workplace often gets a little messy and dusty but at the end of it, it is all forgotten. All that I remember is a beautiful journey. From start to finish. The pleasure of having completed the painting is a reward in itself.

Thanks for browsing through my works. I do not have a website as of now. Hence I have started uploading some of my works on DEVIANTART. You can browse through my works there.