Trying a cloudy sky using water colour medium.

"Avoid illustrating. Express the intangible, the atmosphere, the smell....the sound, the feeling of the place."Alvaro Castagnet 

It is important to know and understand water colour as a medium and reading quotes by master water colorists every once in a while helps. I enjoy reading quotes by Joseph Zbukvik, Alvaro Castagnet and others. I also take out time to watch them doing their paintings. It enlightens me and encourages me to never give up.

Today's post is a painting of a beautiful sun kissed sea and I am sharing a poem which I came across recently while I was browsing through PINTEREST.

The Sun kissed sea

A beauty rare, beyond compare,

is sun kissed sea,

No scene so calm, no scene so fair,

As this to me.

When floods of light dispel the night,

The morning kiss on waves

which sparkle with delight,

Is loveliness.

When ends my day, I trust and pray,

My voyage be

O'er the waters, where some golden ray,

May kiss the sea.

The Sun kissed sea
Water colour painting on hand made paper
Size 7"X 10"

With my soft pastel palette, all organised and cleaned up, I am ready to begin with my pastel art. To begin with I shall be doing a few thumbnail sketches or study sketches, which will help me warm up. Small study works are great in order to understand the composition, value masses, colour etc. It helps you visualize the final outcome. If it looks fine in its initial stages then it encourages me to go ahead to create a bigger sized artwork on the same subject.

Are you into doing study sketches too? If yes, do write to me and share your experience. It will be fun to know more about it.

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Kata beach Phuket - A soft pastel painting

"I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living." 

Robert Henri

I am sharing a poem that I came across recently and it speaks for all those who love, appreciate and value nature. ( Courtesy : POEMHUNTER )

In thy nature is beauty

In thy nature is Earth

In thy nature I find my worth

In thy nature is peace

In thy nature I find myself

In thy nature ever lasting greens

In thy nature there is more to be seen

In thy nature a beauty untold

In thy nature everything is worth more than gold

By Stephanie McGrath 

The soft pastel painting below is of a scene at Kata beach, Phuket. ( A rain forested, mountainous island in Thaland ).  Most of the beaches on the island are just amazing. This particular beach had these beautiful rocks on one side with a few trees in the background. The distant hills were a hazy mix of blues and greens. It was fun painting this scene. The sunlight that touched the surface of sea waves created lovely sparkles.

The Kata beach ( Phuket )

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 7" X 9"

When sunlight falls on simple objects of nature it helps reveal its form, shape and the colours. With the changing light changes the shadows and colours. This light and shadow play in nature fascinates me and continues to be a source of inspiration to paint more.

I am painting since very long but started blogging in 2014. It has been a great experience and more than creating the art itself I am loving this journey which is helping me to get in touch with a lot many art enthusiasts. I have also recently started uploading my works on INSTAGRAM so if you like my works please follow and share. 

Thanks for browsing through my works and please leave your comments to let me know what you feel about them.

A Rocky Seashore at Bamboo island - A soft pastel painting

I love painting seascapes. Having spent my childhood close to the sea, it brings back memories.
I have a big collection of photographs and sketches yet to be painted and I don't think I will ever get tired of painting this subject. In fact the more I paint the more I fall in love with it.

The seashore as below has been created using very soft pastels ( Mungyo and Koh-I-noor ). I rarely use the hard pastels. In fact I have just one set with me and I never felt the need to purchase more. The scene below is from Bamboo island, part of Phi Phi Leh ( Thailand ).

In this particular painting I got to create a few textured rocks, the froth on the sea waves and their shadows. While adding the waves in the shallow waters I had to pay attention to the perspective in the scene. In all painting this scene was a new learning experience. I am looking forward to creating a few more seascapes soon.

A Rocky Seashore

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 7.5" X 9.5"

I am blogging after a long "Diwali festival" break. As an artist I would love to paint and blog everyday but I have this priority list in which my art is sometimes not at the top. There are other very important personal things to be taken care of. However as and when I get free time to myself I devote it passionately to my art. 

The next painting that I may begin is of a forest pathway from Coorg in soft pastels. It has been a long pending assignment which has already painted visually in my mind and I just have to put it down on the paper. 

Last week while browsing through the net for nature and wildlife photographers in India and I came across some amazingly beautiful photographs taken by Rathika Ramasamy. I am truly inspired and have become a big fan of her works. If you are into photography or nature study you must visit her site.

Ending with a quote  - "Art does not reproduce what you see. It makes us see." Paul Klee