Dighalipukhuri , a painting in watercolour

Dighalipukhuri Watercolour

             A very tough subject for me. 

Watercolour painting: Dighalipukhuri watercolour

A color study
Dighalipukhuri, Guwahati, Assam,

Camel Artist Watercolor on Fabriano Studio Quarter sheet watercolor pad

Watercolour painting: Back to Chandrapur

Back to Chandrapur

Camel Artist Watercolour on Fabriano Studio 300 gsm COLD PRESSED paper
Quarter sheet

Acrylic painting: Tossa de Mar

Tossa de Mar, Spain
Camel Artist Acrylics on canvas board
61 cm X 76 cm

Acrylic painting: Plein air in Dighalipukhuri

Plein air in Dighalipukhuri
Camel Artist Acrylics and Pebeo Acrylics on Canson Montval 300 gsm rough
11X 14 inchs.

Pencil sketch: Chandrapur Farmers

Chandrapur farmers.
Pencil sketch on classmate sketchpad
12 inch X 16.5 inch.

A very common sight of the Indian countryside are the farmers at work. India has an Agro based economy and the farmers are considered to be the backbone of it. Since, Chandrapur is the only countryside I have access to, I have decided to sketch them and capture them. Hope you like it.

Pencil sketch: An afternoon in Chandrapur

An afternoon in Chandrapur
27cm X 34cm
Pencil on classmate sketchbook.
Chandrapur is my most favourite location in terms of plein air sketching and painting. The untouched beauty of nature, the serene village atmosphere and the presence of the mighty river Brahmaputra adds to the overall beauty of the place. This is the first plein air sketch done in Chandrapur.

Acrylic Painting: Momo Hut

Momo hut near Wireless, Guwahati
Camel Artists Acrylics on handmade paper
11X 14 inchs.

So here it is...a Momo(Dimsums)/fast food outlet which is situated just a few block away from my home. It is a fast food outlet, a small shop that sells traditional Indian and Chinese food. Yeah no people outside..cause they are cooking for me. And yes I have tried to paint it as it is. I know the name TONDOOR should be TANDOOR but I have painted that just like the original one.

On  serious note, this is an evening scene. Everyday I cross paths with this beautiful place and I must admit I am tempted to paint this scene. From morning till night this outlet caters to the needs of hundreds of people who likes Indian and Chinese fast food. At first I found it very difficult to paint it since I chose a night scene instead of a day time scene. After I painted this scene I showed it to one of my dear friend and he told me that this painting as something in common with a few paintings of Edward Hopper. I never knew I had something similar to the paintings of the great Edward Hopper. So, I checked his artworks and I was literally blown away by his night scenes. He is one of my very favourite painter till date. Thank you very much to my dear friend Ramkrishna Paul for showing me the works of the great Edward Hopper.

Acrylic painting: Sunset near Jagiroad.

Sunset near Jagiroad, Assam
Acrylic on Canson Montval 300 gsm rough
11 X 14 inchs

Pencil sketch: FOOLED BY THE FOLIAGE

FOOLED BY THE FOLIAGE
Near Guwahati Refinery.
Pencil sketch on classmate sketchpad.
A3 drawing sheet.


Foliage are the toughest subjects to draw....that doesn't mean that you should stop trying. I have been a victim of constant demoralization by the people of art fraternity that one can never master the art of drawing and sketching foliage. I would however like to differ in this statement by saying that every art a painter does is a reflection of his current skill level and his vision of the realistic subject he is willing to draw or paint. As for me, this is by far one of my best attempts to make foliage and I am very happy with the results.

Watercolour painting: The tale of the forgotten river ferry

Forgotten Jolpori (The tale of the forgotten river ferry)
Camel Artist Watercolor on Fabriano Studio 300 gsm cold pressed paper
13.4 X 10.6 inches

Watercolour painting: Lake Windermere

Windermere Nabb ferry
Wetcanvas reference photo
13.4 X 10.6 inches
Camel Artist Watercolor on Canson Montval 300 gsm cold pressed paper.


Lake Windermere in England is a fascinating subject. This watercolour is actually done as a participation in a Wetcanvas watercolour challenge. This is painted from a photo reference by a gentleman in Wetcanvas. I have taken permission to paint this watercolour from the photographer. I did learn a lot from this painting and it was a wonderful experience.

Pencil sketch: Barthakur Clinic Hospital

BARTHAKUR CLINIC HOSPITAL, Kharghuli, Guwahati, Assam.
Pencil on Classmate sketchpad34cm X27cm.
Yes the banner is a bit off balance....just like it is..originally...The subject is Nursing Home situated on the banks of the River Brahmaputra in the beautiful hilly area of Kharghuli. The sketch is done on spot using charcoal and pencil. I found the rendering of the tree a bit tough. It was a good try.

Secrets to drawing magnificent pencil landscapes that nobody knows.

All rights reserved. Copying, sharing, and reusing of the image without prior permission is strictly prohibited.

 

Landscape in pencil after J.D.Harding.   (Low Resolution on the left and High-Resolution Image on the right side, 3006x4041 pixels at 300dpi)

(Inspired by J. D. Harding's style of Victorian landscapes)

34.7 X 27.5 cm

Faber Castell and Staedtler Mars Lumograph graphite pencils on A3 size Classmate drawing pad. 

                   Landscape in pencil represents an absolutely fascinating subject. When someone starts perfecting the art, the scenery is one of the very few topics which seems very approachable. Everyone begins with skies, hills, valleys, rivers, houses, roads, and foliage, grasping them individually first and then putting them all together into a beautiful composition. As the artist progresses towards gaining his skills, modern and contemporary styles and layout become familiar to him. After some time, different mediums and contrasting styles of painting are also introduced in their landscape art. 

 But we cannot talk about landscape drawing without mentioning one of the 19thcenturies, England's most respectable watercolorist, art teacher, and an art critic, James Duffield Harding (1798-1863). One cannot deny the fact that he continued to remain a professionally trained artist and an equally accomplished sketcher throughout his life. This is absolutely precise when you look at the artworks that he created at the time. 

 His idea of learning basic shapes and perspectives before even learning to portray any subjects is considered one of the most critical lessons in sketching. The practical advice that his great lessons offer allows anyone to master landscape and still life with is and skill. He emphasizes the use of hand-eye coordination and drawing from life, which he feels the most significant stepping stone in befitting a tremendous draftsman.

 The secrets of landscape drawing in pencil that J.D. Harding emphasizes are:

Learning from nature. 

Nature is the best teacher and contains the answer to all the problems that we, artists, would face. Harding's specifically wanted artists to engage in sketching to acquire the power of minute observation. This would allow us to decode the secrets of nature hidden in plain sight.

  Practice.

After observing nature's vast resources, an artist cannot possess the skill without practice. Learning by practicing by sitting amid the environment is the best way to gain mastery over a subject.

  Not being mechanical. 

Harding, especially urges the student about the importance and superiority of those mental imitations in nature. This would allow an artist to express what he perceives instead of merely replicating what he witnesses.

Suffice to say that Harding's lesson is genuinely the gems that we all crave in learning to be extraordinary sketchers. His secrets, if followed correctly, will eventually benefit a person who loves to gain the skill of drawing. This would transport him to an unprecedented level in today's world filled with innumerable copycats.

Landscape in coloured pencils

Summer Meadows
Watercolour and watercolour pencil on normal paper
A3 size.