Hi,

Its been a long since my last post. I was down due to poor health for past six months. But recently got my painting stuff out of the closet and made a fresh start. In the beginning it was a shaky start but Sachin Naik advised me to start on a small format. Here are few of my attempts. I am happy with the result as I did not think I would reach this far. The weather in Pune is gorgeous, ideal for watercolour painting, lots of sun shine, not very warm and plenty of colours and hues.


Old Pump House

This is where I re-started. This Old Pump house is in the middle of a small lake. It used to house a steam powered pump and a boiler on the ground floor. All of that is gone, but the old faithful pump House is still there, in the middle of the lake. Very few actually know of its existence, so mostly it is undisturbed. I have completely failed to capture the beauty of the placid lake, but that will need some advanced technique.


Tree trunk behind the Temple

I was fascinated by the tree trunk that has ruffled the stone tiles of the temple. I liked the force of nature at play. The tree itself is quite handsome, I plan to paint it some day. It being behind a temple, the spot is almost always busy, I need to practice working in a crowd without loosing concentration.

Side Entrance to the Garden

These red stone steps with open gate, guarded by two sturdy pillars are inviting enough to visit the garden beyond. I have exaggerated the perspective for the effect. I painted the same spot again, this time with correct perspective but felt the drama was missing. The trees on the right had a Grey Hornbill's nest with young birds that had just started flying. Their calls of excitement was a constant background.

Ganesh Temple at Tulasi Baug

The early afternoon sun light falling on the side wall and the reflected light on the front of this beautiful temple was quite interesting. I knew it would not have lasted till the end of painting. So I just photographed it and painted later from it at the studio. I was happy with the light and shade effect I could capture. Also Ong Kim Seng's book on Light and Shade was fresh in my mind. I know I still have to go a long distance, but personally I am happy with this beginning.

Forest Dept. Hut

I was attracted by the blue wall of the hut. But while sketching, the lone pillar became the focus. I tried to place Orange and blue adjacent to each other to get a colour contrast. Only regret is I could not capture the dreamlike scene and poor scanning has dulled the colour to the point of a washed out painting. I plan to paint the same spot again but on a larger format. Here I have tried to simplify the subject by eliminating lots of cluttering trees and foliage. Overall a satisfying effort.

I plan to write again with some insights I have got so that I can track my progress.

with best wishes

.