Hi,

First week of November, it rained like Monsoon in Pune and around. Going out for painting was impossible. I had no choice but to remain indoors. While the weather outside was gloomy, I needed colours. I decided to practice few techniques from paintings of my favourite artists. I cut out a small window on a white paper and placed it on their paintings where I found an interesting technique used. I was not too worried about the accuracy but wanted to see the effect, with an eye on the rains, looking for signs for it to clear out. Here are some results.

Here I wanted to try if three distinct layers i.e foreground, mid ground and background can be shown clearly using color tones fore ground dark and sharp, while mid ground with mid key tomes and background with blurred and receding colours. This is one of my favourites of Sachin Naik showing temple at Kelshi. I think I should have used more bluish hue in the background to create a feeling of distance. This I think should help in distinguishing three layers on the spot.

Leaving white paper to show the brightest part of the painting, is advised, but I tend to get paint all over including the brightness. This exercises made me to consciously save the white, have bit of darker colours to frame it so it looks really bright, the result is the gloriously sunlit wall of a hut.
However the white patch on the top left kind of disturbs the white wall, lesson learnt indeed...

Painting trees can be a vocation on its own. It is very delighting to paint trees, but I personally like painting the trunks as the weathered surface has a lot of drama in it. I have tried to get a 3D effect by painting dark to light. I suppose more needs to be done, but this has helped me to observe tree trunks more closely. Some gain...

Tilled roofs are a delight to paint. The changing colours due to uneven moss formation and shadows of nearby trees create a fascinating effect. However thus far, my roofs lacked the fluidity which only watercolours can offer. This try exposed me to it. I was shy of adding more hues to it, but I can see there are numerous possibilities..

I like the effect loose strokes achieve. Many of great artists have mastered it and it looks as if the painting was done without effort. The brush moves like a magic-wand and a great painting emerges. I no doubt aspire to go to that level and this is just the beginning :-)