It certainly is wonderful to have a friend who is a photographer and who gives you easy access to his collection. This is based on a photograph taken by Anil Advani for his SOFOBOMO project. Jamal Ahmed, also a friend, is a well known and with 41 solo exhibitions a prolific Bangladeshi Artist.  You can read more about him here.

Approx 12″ X 18″ charcoal in my sketchbook.

Going through my usual settling back in period. A fun photo shoot helped me start the first one and the second happened when I got stuck on the first. Both are at the “ugly” stage but I’m just happy to have started.

The first is based on a photo reference taken at Jama Masjid 3 years ago. The second is loosely based on my recollection of a photograph that I’d seen a few days back. I have not used the reference for this one as I’m attempting to move away from relying completely on photographs.

Update : May 8, 2008 : you can see the finished piece here.

I’ve been a fan of Frida Kahlo for a while but Diego Riviera’s work appeals to me more - for the subject matter and style.

Frida Kahlo 8″ X 10″ Mixed Media on Illustration board

The first 3 are from life. The two still lifes were set up with a small table lamp used as a spot light and the 3rd is of my friend painting. The last is from a photo reference. I plan to create a still life setup at home too so that I can continue to inch closer towards the target of a 100.

The last few days, in Mumbai, have rushed by with a party for a 100 people and lunches out. Stubbornly a few attempts have been made to paint in the midst of all the chaos. From today, we plan on following a routine of drawing/painting every morning till I leave on the 15th.

Update : April 8, 2008 : You can see the finished piece here.  I have now learnt not to panic when they’re at this stage

As mentioned in an earlier post, I’d expected March to be busy month for me. I hadn’t counted then on signing up for singing classes too. And foolishly when the teacher suggested that we do 2 classes a week instead of the one, I agreed. While I’ve loved the classes and it’s nice to scratch out an item which has been on my wish list for a long long time, March may not have been the month for it!

There are 5 days left and 10 pieces need to be posted at the 30dayartist. The image below shows the work finished so far. I leave town tomorrow though and time, computer access is going to be hard to come by over the next few weeks. If you’re trying to get your art act together, signing up for the 30dayartist might be just the thing you’re looking for. Head on there and sign up!

My stay away from Dhaka has been extended by another week and another city, Delhi.  10 days of this break is a painting retreat with two school friends and I’m really looking forward to that.  We did this around the same time last year too.  Hoping to continue to post at the same pace through these 5 weeks. Am I being too optimistic? You bet!!

“Head of a Peasant Woman in a White Cap” (1884) / “The Zouave”, Arles, 1888 / “Portrait of Patience Escalier”, Arles, 1888 / “Portrait of Armand Roulin” Arles 1888

Worked on these 4 starting last evening. I love Van Gogh’s work and it felt like a shame to not participate properly in the current MOM especially as it had been extended by a month to the end of March. While these are not the piece I had in mind I had a super time working on them. Surprisingly they took a lot more time to complete than I had planned for leaving me quite exhausted. I’m happy to report that all this practice using acrylics is helping me get (re)familiar with the medium.

These were made for the Van Gogh MOM thread over at Wetcanvas! and for the 30dayartist.

8″ X 10″ acrylics on illustration board.

I’ve used the palette knife rarely in these past years and then it’s been combined with brush work. Decided to rectify that by making a small piece using just a knife. Ended up using one large and one small. It was still difficult to maneuver and place the paint where i wanted it to.

This second piece was made exclusively with a brush. Because of the palette knife experience the work began with the filling in of the umbrella shapes and the drawing stopped there and the rest was just painted on. There is much more detail in the second one that I wanted.

The next time I shall try using both - the palette knife for the background and a brush to bring out the details in the pt of focus.

10″ X 8″ acrylic on illustration board

Based on image taken on a ferry ride to the point where the rivers Padma and Jamuna meet. I found the bright yellow colours of the Kamranga fruit [ aka carambola, coromandel gooseberry or five finger ] in the little boys basket delightful. Adding this to the the KMP starts that I’m working on.

10″ X 12″ Acrylic on illustration board

Sometimes, when there is a heavy load to bear, you have to walk alone.

This painting has been inspired by Tagore’s poem “Ekla cholo re” (walk alone) and is one of 10 paintings that go on display at the “Friends and Faces” exhibition starting tomorrow and continues till the end of the month.

If you happen to be in Dhaka, please drop by at the Art Gallery, Ground Floor, Standard Chartered Bank, Gulshan Avenue anytime between 9am and 8pm (except on holidays) and do leave us you comments. Look forward to seeing you there.
“Ekla cholo re” 24″ By 36″ acrylic on canvas

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