Artwork for Week # 7 - "Red Tomatoes", Small Oil Painting

Sweet Tomatoes

Oil

6 x 6 x 1 in

2017

Complete Circle of Animals

I am excited and honored to present you the result of my journey of animal portraiture . While researching for this project, I learnt a lot and I hope the viewer will be delighted with the results.

 Circle of Animals

 Collage of zodiac animals in the order

 

About the Artwork

The Chinese zodiac is also called "circle of animals". It is a scheme and systematic plan that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes according to a 12-year mathematical cycle. The term "zodiac" reflects several similarities to the actual calendar of 12 months.

Each year is represented by the names of animals and each is widely associated with a culture of ascribing a person's personality or events in his/her life to the supposed influence of the person's particular relationship to the cycle. Although similar to Western zodiac, it has 12 parts the two have major differences: the Chinese 12-part cycle corresponds to years, rather than months. The Chinese zodiac is represented by 12 animals, whereas some of the signs in the Western zodiac are not animals, despite the implication of the Greek etymology of "zodiac". The animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations spanned by the ecliptic plane.

These sign animals are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Here are the individual oil paintings. Enjoy!

 Little Bunny

  Wild Boar

 Dhole dogs made an entrance in the series as Daisy (as in the collage above) found a happy home.

 Komodo Dragon

 Mother Gorilla with Baby

 Mother Buffalo with the Baby

 Brown Mouse

 Mother Sheep with the Baby

 Cobra

 White Tiger

 Australian Pony

 Rooster

Art, Show, and Long Nights

December is already halfway past and before you know, it would be time to welcome the new year! I like this rush, the urgency, and the festivities this time of the year brings.
The days are short, evenings are early, and the nights are looong. This means more time indoors - more time with family.

In terms of creativity the process takes the different spin. It starts to align to the slower pace of artmaking. I like this nature driven healthy and wholesome intervention for the creatives. In response to season's suggestion, I transition from demanding painting to humble aspect of artmaking, that is, drawing. So, in this time, painting seems to become somewhat infrequent and drawing dominates most genres of my art-work. Which in turn, helps me revisit the fundamentals and prepare better for the later. The drawing and coloring that I can do cuddled up in the couch or bed has its own rhythm. Its like nature telling you to slow down, analyze what you have, and enjoy the basics. And I listen.

This December is no exception. The group show rushed us artists to bring out our best works to show and once it is over, we can happily step back and enjoy the season.

Today, I look forward to meeting friends, old and new during the reception of my solo. Without their support, things hardly make any sense.

I also like to take the moment to show my gratitude towards the gallery showing my work. I am very thankful to the people who made it happen for me. They showed trust in a dreamy newbie - it is a huge step towards encouraging and supporting art and the artist. And in return, this artist assures to keep doing her best!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

"Dragonflies - Face the Sun" - Finished and Free to own!

 Dragonflies - Face the Sun

Oil

9 x 12

You receive this painted drawing as a thank you from me when you pledge to become a patron.

Plus, you will receive the other bonus artworks along the way.

If this one is claimed, I will make one just like this or one of your choice.

Learn to Paint, Paint to Learn

 

  Majestic - Recent Artwork
SOLD

 When it comes to paint, I have always something to work on. Mostly because I finish with a start.

Let me explain. I usually have a subject chosen to paint. Mostly faces. Sometimes one person other times, many. Its either a study or complete drawing. In any case, I have more than one artwork to work on. Although only one gets on the easel but in planning, there is always more than one.

Majestic in a Room

As soon as I reach close to the end, I know exactly which one is next. And when I sign the work, which usually happens around the time the piece ends, I start off the new one. And that's when I clean up the area and call it a day.

Majestic 2

This is a tip I picked from some book and I have to say, it is a wonderful one! Give it a try if you ever find yourself facing a creative speed-bump or painter's block, I am sure, it will help you.

 

Majestic 2 

11 x 14

Acrylic on Paper

Available (Click below to purchase)

 

Tomato - Colored Pencil Drawing

I have been busy painting something that had various shades of yellow, blue and green. There was hardly much scope for red. So to rotate my color wardrobe, I practiced this tomato. There is my red fix!

I am ready to get back to other colors.

Project Nature: Update

Nature Project


As you know, for the research of the Nature project I have been doing most of the following:

• Visiting the parks, farms, and zoos.
• Plein- air studies - rough sketches and drawings
• Taking photographs of the flowers, fauna, hills, animals - everything around us.
• Saving pictures from the 'net and securing permission from the photographers.

I am happy to post that my recent trips resulted in some creative ideas and fun sub-projects. I got to learn some amazing facts about the wildlife and get a curious insight into the lives of domestic animals.

About Myself

Growing up in a hilly and untouristy part of  Himalayas sowed the seeds of  affection for wildlife and especially animals. Hours long walks through the forest followed by the climbing up the hill just to reach the school, seemed like a daily picnic that could beat any of those modern day hikings.

I never realized those unsupervised hide-and-seek sessions in the forests would lead to a life of  independence, curiosity, and decision making.

Just going with the flow was the  only way of life. And that encouraged us to lead simple lives, enjoy even simpler things in life, and securing many years of great health and tension-free lifestyle that we have now come to recognize and appreciate.

Later in life, this spontaneity transformed into greater respect for the nature as I grew up. The fascination that once educated and entertained, later, turned into focus of reverence.


About Nature Series

As life coaches you to choose better as you get older, this decision to bring the nature into the center stage of the creative process, seemed justified.

But as I explore, I am further humbled by her magnificence. Its huge. Its beautiful, Its generous. Its everywhere. Its overwhelming generosity presents many questions including the most important one:

Where to begin from?

Let me start with the sense of gratitude. I am thankful for everything Mother Nature has gifted us with. This abundance should be our cue. Take only as much as you can return back with interest. And then go with it.

More on it as it comes...

Come Join Me: New Project Nature

I am working on the latest art series themed Nature.  In this series plan is to create a number of artworks that will give a glimpse of the offerings of nature.
Paintings will range from flowers to landscapes, abstract interpretation to realistic animal portraits and everything in between.
Once finished, it will be submitted for public viewing, publishing, and sale.


Timeline

The painting will begin asap and the series will end by June, 2015.

The preparation of the work involves following:

• Visiting the parks, farms, and zoos.
• Plein- air studies - rough sketches and drawings
• Taking photographs of the flowers, fauna, hills, animals - everything around us.
• Saving pictures from the 'net and securing permission from the photographers.
 

You are Invited

Please come  join me in this project.  If you have any ideas or photos that you would like me to paint, please feel free to contact me. I will be very happy to discuss it with you in my studio, online or over the phone.

You can share your pictures.  You will receive the photo credit.
Also, I will post the cross reference to your blog or a social media shout-out, whichever you prefer.
Any details about the image will help adding more dimension to the work. So, please feel free to elaborate on what, where, and why about the image.

You can share pictures taken by others as well. If sharing pictures for which you are not the photographer, please make sure you photocredit the person and secure the permission for the use of the images.



What kind of images will work best?

• Exotic animals, flowers, fruits, especially those I don't have access to photograph myself
• Natural scenery - interesting compositions, colors, water, unusual angles 
• Your own pets 
• Anything that you think can relate to beauty of nature

Contact Information


You can leave a comment here, or on facebook or linkedin.
You can also email me at bhavna.misra@gmail.com with Nature in the subject line.

I would look forward to hear from you!

Hand Lettering, Language, and Art

 Dream Big!

Growing up, like most kids, I would doodle and draw all the time. The margins of the notebooks were filled with smiling faces, bright eyes, random shapes, spirals, cubes, and figures. Expressing through arts, as they call it, was a happy outlet.

It definitely helped me focus better and think clearly. Maths was my favorite. Having to write less and expressing more was best balance that my right and left brain made through maths and drawings.

Playing with words and letters was another favorite. Writing the alphabets in different possible ways was an exercise to explore how to convert a word into a picture. Adding a visual appeal to what's been written in plain and simple words seemed like a right thing to do. Many letter were quite prominent in getting the preference such as B.  There were more than a fifty different ways to write B. And I tell you, this was over the top fun. It pleases me to know there are training schools that teaches you this natural artform. (Check course Lettering 101)

 Have a pen, will draw!

Classmates would ask me to write their names in different letterings and I was more than happy to oblige. I remember one of my classmates, how she would insist on touching the surface of the paper to feel the letters written. I would laugh it off but she insisted that it felt different when its written well. Oh, how I would like to believe her! Looking back, I wanna tell her how right she was. To me, its very comforting to see something written well.

My Name

(Two Point Perspective)

 
Even without a training, we look at something, we know when its aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.  That's sometimes called to have an artistic eye.  We all have it. How much we relish it, is a personal choice. To gauge the artistic talent, many teachers find it a useful tool to check the hand-writing. Its not accurate, but its a good starting point.

Say it with a song!

I am triligual. I can read and write three languages. When using one, my mind automatically translates it into the rest of the two. I can read in one and speak in the other without breaking the flow. Long time ago, this got me a job of news reader, in broadcasting. But that was a different story. Here the point is, its a privilege to be able to express with the aid of words and pictures.

Speaking of languages, I often contemplate the idea of learning sign language but haven't yet. I hope I soon do.  

In the meantime, I ask you to try playing with your words. Make your words sing to you, doodle if you like, create a visual story. Give it a try.  You'll enjoy it, I am sure!

Sep 2 : Day 24

By the end of the day I hope to get a few things covered:

Underpainting done
Pictures taken of the work
Make the phone calls

Day 22 and 23 (Aug 28 - 29) : Weblog Update

I had some rough sketches and charcoal studies on what will work on what. I guess I will be using a size 12 x 16 or larger for most.

A long weekend and finally a chance to get back to work!

Rough under sketch for a model:

Day 19 - 21 (Aug 25 - 27) : Weblog Update

Its getting close to a 30 day mark! Kind of a milestone figure for this series. This is a beautiful number if you think about it. "Do something for thirty days and becomes a habit!"  So, I look forward to keep working this way til I hit 30. And assuming, by then, it will be my habit to paint routinely, I will be all set for the remainder of the work.

It also makes me want to work harder to convince myself to set higher goals and chasing after it!

This week I changed the medium. Little bit. From soft pastels to oil.

There are some techniques that are common for both types of pastels but I feel, the output is dramatically different.

Both are, however, not interchangeable. Both have merits and limitations in setting the mood, building the layers, and delivering the results.

This week, I created two paintings, start to finish. Its part of another deadline that I had to chase. Both are differently themed and somewhat loose in approach of portraiture.

Drapery : Some Warm-up

A purely academical way to acquaint ourself to the details of the folds, creases and shadow-play on the fabric.

A practice work on paper using pencil. Artificial lighting. The fabric is placed on edge of the board with another corner pinned back on the board surface.

Having to use just one color, forces to separate the different shades and hence add the depth.