Art Dreams

Portrait in black pencil

2011-09-03T12:12:00.001-07:00

Portraits

2011-08-04T05:26:00.000-07:00

Our ReMarkable poster

2010-06-26T01:02:00.001-07:00

Music Poster

2010-06-26T00:55:00.000-07:00

Mixed media portraits!

2009-08-06T12:53:00.001-07:00

My first mixed media portraits!..loved how they turned out..the process was so much fun!

Children's book illustration..

2009-07-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.ourplacebooks.com/

Wall painting..

2009-07-22T03:31:00.000-07:00

'Good and Evil' -a wall painting.

Pages for Children's journal/workbook

2009-07-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

These pages are ideas I had for a 10-11year old's journal/workbook. The first page topic is 'relationship with parents' which can seem like a maze at times..the second is has the image of a white tshirt waiting for friends to autograph..the third page topic is 'nationalities'..the fourth and fifth are on 'anger' .

Whimsical Illustration

2009-03-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

Just a little sample of a whimsical style of illustration, this was coloured digitally.

Mixed media art Girl!!

2009-03-29T23:19:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed the online class I took to learn new mixed media techniques, this is a dedication to my puppy who passed away years ago. I loved using collage elements and creating texture, the whole process is lots of fun.

For anyone who's wondering, the skull represents death that is inevitable so it goes well with the theme of this painting.

I like how it has turned out and I know how I can change it up next time as well.

Character sketches for Children's books

2009-03-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

These are some characters I created in my sketchbook.

Plants..

2009-01-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

Art Journal.. improvising pushes creative boundaries!

2008-11-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

The background of this page was freeflowing, childlike fun. The theme 'just happened' as I went along playing. All it took was a few watercolour pencils, left over patterned paper,a few embellishments and a whole lot of childish imagination!

This is the envelope I made and the note inside is accordian folded so it springs out. I also like the sparkly blue on the inside of the envelope, makes it feel like a magical surprise awaits me!

This page was originally quite different when I started it, I had stuck words all over and I didn't like the look, it bothered me and kept me from moving forward...so I pulled off the words and made the envelope containing the quote instead and I really like how it looks now. It's really taught me that if something goes wrong you can always go back and fix it! Improvise!!

Card Making...

2008-11-23T22:25:00.001-08:00

It's so much fun to think up designs for cards and play with colourful handmade papers and pretty embellishments. I thought they would make great gifts.. and I made envelopes to match!

Album making: in honour of my beautiful Aunt

2008-11-21T11:55:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying the process of creating this album. I started from scratch making the hard bound cover and stitching in the pages. I wanted to bring out the indian-ness of the old photos and so I embellished the pages using traditional colours and patterns.

My Aunt is an inspiration to me and I was thrilled when I found these beautiful old pictures of her. It's a creative way of treasuring memories instead of cold blank albums and it adds that personal touch! (I'm hoping to make lots more!)

A lil more art journaling

2008-11-21T11:42:00.000-08:00

The Truth of 27.10.08

2008-10-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

Art Tools!

2008-10-25T03:09:00.001-07:00

These are an artist's possessions, these are the tools that help us create. They are the means by which visions become reality. An artist's space is sacred. It is where colour and imagination combine. This is where magic happens.

T Shirt Art

2008-10-15T05:58:00.000-07:00

T Shirts are great to paint on.. I love experimenting with images, colour and of course texture!!
I love the autorickshaw image and I gave it a kitch feel with sparkle to make them artsy icons!
The black and silver was more intricate as I wanted to play with pattern and being a graphic art student, create a balanced design.

'Naughty Molly'...Children's book

2008-10-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

It was a pleasure to illustrate this sweet story book wonderfully written by my sister. It's a few words with a lot of meaning! We both loved how the book came together all hand-done! I really wanted to depict the pages in complete simplicity with a 'cute' touch. I hope this sneak peak adds a little sunshine to your day!

Illustrations for 'Acid Rain'

2008-10-08T10:39:00.001-07:00

'The 5 stages of grief'- 5 abstract face illustrations I created for a group of College students(my sister included) for a book project. I was quite happy that I was able to move away from my comfort zone and successfully complete the challenge of creating depressing images. The writing was intense, along with these dull grey stroked features against strong dark colours, I think it definitely set the mood.
It was great to see the finished product-the printed books! (I think everyone smiled at the end of the day!)

New thought..

2008-09-20T00:23:00.001-07:00

Today's Thought

2008-09-18T01:10:00.007-07:00

Children's Books

2008-09-18T01:10:00.006-07:00

Towards the end of 2007, I was given the opportunity to illustrate Children's books. It has been an amazing journey, I have learnt so much through the process and I'm thrilled that the first books I worked quite hard on have been published. I really love how they have turned out. These are the two cover pages.
These are wonderful Christian based stories of God's purpose for our lives. The author 'Jonathan Cooper' has been able to bring powerful meaning through the simplicity of the narrative which is quite remarkable. A lot was revealed to me about my life and it's purpose as I worked on the illustrations. So, although these books are for the young, they have meaning for the "young at heart" as well!

My illustrations for Children’s books are simple and playful. Bold colours bring out the mood of each page. I try to awaken the reader’s imagination. I really feel for the purpose of 'inspiring young minds'. I love this particular line of work as I feels it is a great challenge to my creativity and I see each page as a work of art and fresh ideas are always required.

For more information on these books and others on 'God's Creation' wonderfully written by Claire Osborne and beautifully illustrated by Heidi Hendriks and on how to order them, please visit this site: www.saltandlight.com.au

Fun with Photoshop!!

2008-09-18T01:10:00.005-07:00

A digital art portrait of myself!

I love how this turned out. My version of 'Think outside the box' was created from scratch on Photoshop.
These images below are from photos that I turned into digital art:

These images below are what I practised creating on Photoshop, logos, titles, framing and composition:

I feel I've learned so much just by playing around with all the tools and effects. The possibilities are really endless and it can get quite addicting!

Magazine Covers

2008-09-18T01:10:00.004-07:00

The Front Cover (up)
The original characters in the boxes were hand painted by us.

The Back Cover (up)

The Front Cover (up)

The theme given to us, we were thrilled at the visual we came up with.
The Back Cover (up)
Shireen and I were on the Editorial Committee of our Church in the years 2005-06. We were on the design team and we really enjoyed being creative and innovative. We are really proud of how these covers turned out and I feel the imagery gave artwork a more current feel.

Water colour

2008-09-18T01:10:00.003-07:00

Watercolours are interesting to work in, it requires a certain amount of practise and skill, I don't feel I have mastered this media completely as yet. It isn't a forgiving medium, we have to really avoid any mistakes. It can be great fun once you have some practise and know how to control the flow of the water colour. The first painting (2007) is a definite witness to it's flow, wash, transparent, translucent and layering qualities.

These paintings were done in 2004-06

Pencil Shading

2008-09-18T01:10:00.002-07:00

Pencils are great for details and delicate work. These are some of my favourite pieces done in college in 2004-05.

Pastels

2008-09-18T01:10:00.001-07:00

Pastel work done in 2005-06. I love the texture of this medium and it's bold colouring effect.
The first picture is entitled 'Dance'. It depicts statues in a garden in movement, a touch of irony, it is in a way a tribute to this medium as it allows me to feel free and playful.
The second is a village woman who modelled for us in college, I loved the richness of her saree and glow of her chocolate skin and so I naturally chose to work with Pastels.

New Year Party 2006

2008-09-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had! Asked by one of the finer hotels of the city to create the decor for a their 2006 New Year's Party was a thrilling experience. The theme was 'Wild Flower Garden'. Three other friends and I worked hard day and night for 3 weeks on all the props. A cave entrance for the D.J console painted white to glow under the neon lights, 50 large and fluorescent hand painted fabric flowers..
...12 plaster of Paris mushroom stools, 6 grass cutouts..
...1 hand painted wooden tree, 2 white picket fences and a lot of extra details is what made up this fantasy. Was the party a success?..sure did look like it!

Linocut

2008-09-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for the relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed. The cut areas can then be pulled from the backing. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing can be done by hand or with a press.
For more information on this process check this site:
www.fimp.net/howtomakealinocut.html
The prints were done in 2005-06 at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

Intaglio

2008-09-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

Intaglio printmaking techniques - engraving, drypoint, etching, aquatint, stipple, mezzotint.

These are the 3 techniques I mainly worked in:

Engraving
Engraving is the oldest and most common of the intaglio techniques. Lines are cut into a metal plate using a tool called burin or graver. After the process of incising lines has been finished, the plate is inked. Then the surface of the plate is cleaned and only the ink in the incised lines is left. A dampened paper is put on the plate. With the paper being pressed firmly against the plate, it absorbs the ink left in the lines.

Etching
For etchings the plate is first covered with an acid-resistant wax or resin ground. Then the image is incised into the wax or resin layer with an etching needle. Finally the plate is dipped into acid. The acid bites into the exposed lines where the wax or resin was removed. These acid-bitten areas hold the ink.

Aquatint

Aquatint is a special form of etching. It is created by etching sections rather than lines of a plate. First a porous ground of powdered or melted resin or asphalt or a similar ground is dusted onto the plate. Next the plate is heated from below and as a result the applied dusty coat adheres to the metal and is acid-resistant. The acid is spread over the plate and bites into the tiny holes left in the coating. Similar to mezzotint, aquatint is a technique to produce prints with the effect of printing rather whole areas than just lines. Typical for acquatint are the finely dotted areas.

These prints were done in 2007 at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.

Lithography

2008-09-09T00:54:00.000-07:00

These are some of my lithograhy prints, done at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in 2006-07.

The Basic Idea:The essence of the technique is the affinity of oil for oil and the repulsion of oil and water.
Stone lithography was invented in 1798, and it was the first new printmaking technique to emerge in about 300 years. Stone lithography became very popular as a medium by the 1830s. People used stone lithography to create color art for books, as well as for more pedestrian things like labels, flyers and posters.
Stone lithography's popularity with artists came about because it was the first printmaking medium to allow the artist to naturally "paint" or "draw" onto a flat stone (limestone) to create an image. The artist creates the work directly and naturally.

The basic idea used in stone lithography is extremely simple:

The artist draws/paints on the stone with a greasy substance. For example, a litho crayon is a soft waxy/greasy crayon. There are also litho paints and pencils. The stone picks up this greasy substance and holds it.
The stone is moistened with water. The parts of the stone not protected by the greasy paint soak up the water.
Oil-based ink is rolled onto the stone. The greasy parts of the stone pick up the ink, while the wet parts do not.
A piece of paper is pressed onto the stone, and the ink transfers from the stone to the paper.

For more information about the technique and process check this site: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/stone-lithography2.htm

Art on a bottle

2008-09-08T07:56:00.001-07:00

It's so much fun to find things that we usually discard and intead bring out their artistic potential.. it really gets creative juices flowing.. I guess we could term it 'Creative Re cyling'.. you feel a sense of pride as you see ordinary things transformed..
Something new to think about:

Artists add life to an otherwise dull looking world.
God knows the importance of art, He would have created and painted everything the same otherwise.

Words that describe

2008-09-08T07:19:00.001-07:00

These are words that I feel describe my art style and the direction I would like to perfect myself in. I find is so helpful to simplify what might seem confusing. I looked at other artist's work and wrote down what I connected with or what made me go 'wow'. It made it more clear to me what I was passionate about and what made me go 'wow' about my own art.

The St.Mark's Cathedral Mural

2008-09-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

What an honour for my friend Shireen and I to be able to create a mural for the new Community Hall to celebrate St.Mark's Cathedral's 200years! We have both grown up in this church and being close friends for so many years this was a special project for us. We began by sketching the church outline onto the wall...
.... next came hard labour, chiselling off the wall plaster to get to the rough brick surface(a great way to release any frustration btw) so that the tiles would fix in well. Shireen then manually broke the strips of tile for us to create the mosaic outline, we then fixed in each tiny piece with cement, reworking parts till it reached perfection. We then filled the inbetween parts with plaster and painted it white to match the rest of the wall.
.... two months later, a few pounds lighter and with a new found respect for each other's talent and patience, we were lovingly polishing our completed, very modern and classy looking, 6x11ft + 2 trees,black and grey mural that will hopefully be around for the next 200 years! It was great to start our careers by doing a little something for God who has, well, given us more than just a little something.
What was our biggest reward? While on a break overhearing a little boy stop to gaze in amazement and say "Wow, it must have a million pieces!".... hmm sure did feel like it!

Pop Portrait

2008-09-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

Portrait of my sister, done in 2006 for her birthday, of course I feel I can do it better now, but I do like how it turned out, it has a 'hard' modern look and I really like how striking black and white can be and I know she likes black and white a lot as well, it really stands out against her orange wall! I do appreciate realistic portraits but I personally feel that an artistic twist on reality adds to the uniqueness of the piece, the artist's style should show through. So, this above is my acrylic Pop art version of my gorgeous sister, below is the reference photo.
I think she likes how it turned out as well!

This gets me going creatively..

2008-09-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

I really find this so helpful. It really helps to read quotes and words that you believe in. Adding an artistic touch like just a splash of colour makes it look even more pleasing. I love collecting quotes that motivate me or just making my own quotes for things I strongly believe.
The first quote I found and I feel it gives me lisence to play artistically as sometimes I want things to turn out just so perfect as I see in my head (even though it's just for me) that I end up not being creative at all. I have learnt now that most times 'imperfection is perfection'!
The second is a quote I made for myself to help me workwise. I am my worst critic and so this helps me fine tune my work till i'm pleased..instead of wasting time thinking "should I, shouldn't i" i just do it, otherwise it's like a small itch that never seems to go away!

Art Journal peeks..

2008-09-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Art Journaling has really become the foundation from where I create all my other artwork. It is so freeing to be able to let go, not care what anyone thinks, make a mess with colour and be totally satisfied at the end of it. It's all about the process of creating, playing. It's so rewarding to go back to these pages for inspiration (colour combinations, layout, medium, technique). It is so therapeutic and enriching after a stressful day. I don't think you need to be an artist to art journal. There's no one to judge you here. I think everyone should try it. Even just filling pages with words that mean something to you with a stoke of colour or bits of gift wrap paper. It really opens your mind and frees your soul.

Texture and Colour..delicious!

2008-09-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

A peek at what I'm working on currently.

Soul Art

2008-09-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

I want my artwork to speak to your soul. My intention is to create art that makes you think. Deep thoughts and emotion reflect in each piece. My depictions are mainly people centered. I love combining unusual patterns and texture. I use mediums like pastels, crayons, thick acrylic paint. I love the impact of black and white for some images as much as I love bold colours for others.

My inspiration is drawn from the journey of life, experiences and reactions to it, be it spiritual, personal or worldly. The end result is Truth painted on a canvas that speaks to the soul; very often it is an unexpected result which teaches me something new. I obsess over anything artistic, creative and unique. My prayer is for God to use my hands as His paintbrushes to create art that serves a purpose, as I strongly believe art is good for the soul!

A lil somethin about me

2008-09-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

Activities I love love love
Painting or anything to do with art,
coffee with good friends(and don't ya'll kno d result of that!)
monkeying around with family n friends,
finding God in the little things,
travelling,
swimming,
going to the beach (could sit there for hours),
playing in the rain..
Favorite Quotes:
Everything that happens happens for a reason and the reason is always good.
Sometimes the truth hurts but it also sets you free.
Make each day count.