Pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper

"Sometimes you got to create what you want to be a part of." Geri Weitzman

The above quote speaks my heart. I stay in a crowded metro city in India and long to be amidst nature. Travelling takes me to places where nature is in its pristine form. Being in nature helps me relate to it better and I feel so connected with the surroundings.

The soft pastel painting as below is a scene that I came across while we were climbing uphill on the mountain slopes at Hee Bermiok in order to get a better view of the snow covered Kanchenjunga mountains. The dense greenery around kept the muddy pathway in shadows. It was a cold and breezy day and the I was attracted to the distant light in the composition. It seemed to add a little warmth in the atmosphere.

Distant light

A soft pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper.

Size 6.5" X 8.5"

For most of my pastel works I use the Mungyo pastels in the beginning to block in the major shapes and later I use the Koh-I-Noor and Gallery pastels. During my final touch up I make use of my recently purchased Sennelier pastels.  

I have selected a black coloured Fabriano Tiziano paper for my present painting. The colours come out very vibrant on a dark coloured paper, however the disadvantage is that it gets difficult to cover up the black at areas where you want subtle shades. Too much smudging dulls the colours. Therefore for my next work I have decided to go with the mid tone paper. CLICK HERE , if you wish to know about the papers I use for my soft pastel paintings.

Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. My blog has crossed 75,000 page views and I am grateful to all the people who have been constantly supporting me in my art journey. It encourages and motivates me to continue painting and to share my ideas, thoughts and techniques with everyone.

Plein air water colour painting in my travel sketch book

"I have no talents. I am only passionately curious." Albert Einstein

One morning at West Sikkim, it rained heavily and the mountains and valleys as seen from the balcony of our homestay, suddenly started disappearing in the mist and clouds. The view was heavenly and I felt the sudden urge to capture the beauty unfolding before my eyes in my sketch book. And I did precisely that. Using my two round brushes and a palette I created my small "Plein air painting". It took me not more than ten minutes to create this small artwork and it felt really good.

Dante Alghieri said "Nature is the art of God." and I believe every word of the quote. I am grateful as an artist to be inspired by nature's beauty which in turn helps me create my art and keeps me busy and happy.

Monsoon in the valley

Water colour Plein air study work in my sketch book

Size 4" X 5"

When I am travelling I carry with me the following,

Two round sable hair brushes

Small 4" X 5" sketch book

( Cartridge sheets )

My water colour palette
with Camlin water colour artist's water colour paints

Carrying a travel kit such as above always helps. I get to paint when there is an opportunity. Moreover the kit is not very bulky and the sketch book has cartridge sheets in it which can also be used for pencil drawings and sketches. These sketch books are easily available these days in stationery shops.

Sketch books are fun. They play a very significant role in learning process. I use them all the time. It has now become a habit. I have a sketch book for every different medium and my collection is growing.

Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and do visit my INSTAGRAM account to browse through my paintings.