While cleaning out my (art) closet, I found a truck load of memories and loads of inspiration.
This past year as you all know, has been very busy. And time has just flown. Can you believe it is already halfway through May!!

I have been so caught up in life and in ‘production’, that I found I was loosing that little spark that kept me happy. Finding my old sketches made me realize just what I was missing. So it’s back to the drawing board for me. Quite literally!

I hope you enjoy these sketches. They are still a work in progress.

These next two sketches were done on bits of old paper that I found in my stash. So they are a little yellowed. The paint you see was already on it, remnants of some old work.
These two are Lucky (top) and Kajal (bottom). I have painted them before, you can see those images here.

The existing paint gave me ideas…
This next one is of Lucky with further work in water colors.

Lucky- It really is all about the light in her eyes.
She is moody, doesn’t like everybody. Very picky. But, if you are one of the lucky few that she likes?… Her eyes light up. She is adorable and incredibly affectionate. Which translated means, you better pet her and keep doing so

This next one is of Bolt. It still needs a lot of work. Both highlights and darks.
Here, he is looking out at the world…

( This one is on white paper. It looks grey, because it’s not a very good photograph!!)

‘It really is all about the light in her eyes… ‘ reminded me of something I wrote last year. I hope you like it.
And no, I did not write it for Lucky
—————————————————————————————————————————————–

I love your beautiful brown eyes

(March 2011)

Did you know your eyes smile when they look at me?
They turn from plain brown to gold.
I see affection most days.
I see question some days.
Some days, they are just warm and melting.
On days, I see anger and frustration too!!
But, they’re always alive when they look at me.
They can pull me together.
They can also tear me apart.
They shout out to me and then…
sometimes, they just whisper my name!!
But, they always light up when they look at me.
You can try and hide from me.
You can also stay away.
You can try and be merry without me.
But, I thought I should let you know…
your eyes always always give you away!!

I was cleaning out some old papers this afternoon. And I stumbled across some sketches and doodles that I did almost 20 years ago!!  One such sketch is this one of my husband, Supreet.
It’s pretty good even if I say so myself

I should get back to pure drawing and sketching. It’s been a quite a while since I did that.

Mojo and Sirius are two Labradors much loved by their family.  Sonya their mum, asked me to paint their portraits, as the two doggies are now getting on in age. And sadly, Mojo has a heart condition which has been causing him quite a bit of trouble lately.
The portraits are done in Acrylics on gallery stretched canvas. Each canvas measures 14″x 18″ approx.

To see additional images please click here.

Mojo

     
Please click the thumbnails to see a larger view.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Sirius

Please click the thumbnails to see a larger view.

I got an email from the editor of a blog called Pocket Change, asking permission to put my blog under a section called ‘Best of the web’. The answer of course, was obvious…

See the post here.

Pocket Change is a shopping blog directory and is part of the Become.com network.
They say – ‘If you’re looking for shopping advice from the latest in organic products to proper pet diets to trends & beyond, check out our niche blogs. Planning a trip? Find out what our customers deem the best options. Giving a gift? Track down the cheapest good quality stuff. Visit our shopping blogs for shopping tips, gift ideas, 2012 hot products, reviews & buying guides they’ll help you get the best deals around!’

Now I know, this might not seem to really align with what I do… but what closed the decision for me was the ‘Best of the web’ section itself, and the people and blogs that have been covered. The write up on each blog is short and sweet with a single image. I stumbled on many blogs that I did not know existed, and after having gone through them, I find myself having book-marked a few!!

Happyness!

Wow!! I am one of Femina’s inspiring women of the month for May 2012!

Thank you Nidhi for the wonderful write up. It was great to chat with you at the Poonchh Collection exhibition at 100 ft here in Bangalore. And thank you to the photographer Nithin Sagi for a wonderful picture.

(Click the image on the right to see a larger view)

The last piece on Theyyam inspired me to keep painting. So here is the next in the series.
This painting on the Kerala dance form called Kathakali, is approx. 3 x 4 feet. It is done in acrylics on gallery stretched canvas.

Also, I thought I should show you some work instead of just press clippings You can see the step-by-step progress pictures here.

A big thank you to Karan for featuring the Poonchh Collection in the April-June 2012 issue of Buddy Life Magazine.

(Click the image to view the article – pdf file)

We made a video, the first of many I hope!!
Reza, Supreet and I have been wanting to make a video for a while now. So the other day, Reza came home at about 10.30 in the evening, to just do some experimental shots and shoots. And he got a monster Canon 5D MK II with him

Now, I was busy trying to finish the Theyyam piece in time for the extremely tight deadline that the team over at BBC GoodHomes had set. Supreet and Reza were of course, just salivating at the equipment they would get to work with. What you see are the usable clips, from an otherwise insane evening of fun and experimentation.

You can see the step-by-step progress pictures of the painting here.

I hope you all like the film. Do tell me what you think of it.

Since the Theyyam piece is a gift for GoodHomes the Magazine, I also want to take the time to tell you all about the absolutely wonderful new layout they have.  And it is their 4th anniversay this month.

Here are a few sneak peaks…

Thank you Mamta Mody for highlighting a cause so close to my heart- The Poonchh Collection, in the April 2012 issue of Grazia. You can read about it’s success here.

And to be featured with like minded souls, is truly wonderful. I want to bring to your notice the amazing work that others are doing.

Project Akshar- projectakshar@sifecbs.org
Forty Red Bangles- www.fortyredbangles.wordpress.com
Project Play – theprojectplay@gmail.com

Click on the last image to open the pdf article.

It was a pleasant surprise to find my work featured in the Chandigarh edition of the Hindustan Times (April 2012).
Thank you to Puja Raina Mahaldar for writing a great piece celebrating ‘Hand painted fashion’.

Click the image on the right to read more…