Olive Oil and Onions

Olive oil and Onions, Oil on Canvas Board, (10" x 12")

Many Hindus in India (and I believe across the world too) abstain from onions for a period of about four months from Shravan to Karthik (which roughly coincides with August to November). Therefore, to ensure that the onion merchants dont go out of business I thought I can atleaast use some onions in my paintings.

I did this one after a long time, nearly 2 weeks since my last painting.

Please let me know what you think about this. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Still Life

Vintage Car and Dubliners, Oil on Canvas Board, (10" x 12")

I am really enjoying doing these still lives in oil. The car is a small wooden toy and it was quite difficult getting all the dimensions as well as the tones right. I hope to do better the next time I do this subject.
All comments and critiques are welcome.

Veggies

Still Life with Veggies, Oil on Canvas, (10" x 12")

This is another of my firsts. I haven't painted vegetables before. I wish I had made the spring onions a little more convincing.
All comments and critiques are welcome.

Plate and Fruits

Plate with Fruits, Oil on Canvas, (10" x 12")

This is my first painting with fruits. I hope they do appear convincing. This one was done alla prima, just like all other paintings of mine. I have come to realize still life painting can be a very convenient thing for making various experiments with squinting etc. because there is no time limit, no model that moves and if painted with indoor lighting colours and values also remain constant. It would be really great to know your opinions on this and also the painting.


Thank you all for stopping by and taking a look.

Female in Profile

Female in Profile, Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 10"

I did this from a photograph I found on Deviant Art. The owner of it (also the model here) allows people to use her photographs for art work with prior permission. She calls herself Curious Peaches.
I hope I haven't made this beautiful girl look like she has a case of typhoid or jaundice (with so much of cadmium yellow being used there). I find it is really difficult to make warm  mixtures look bright. When I add white to make a mixture bright to simulate the bright light, the mixture invariably starts appearing cool. Many of you must have gone through this problem and might have found excellent solutions for it too. Any suggestions in this matter shall be more than welcome.


Thank you all for stopping by.

Still Life with Almonds

Soya Sauce and Almonds, Oil on Canvas Board (10" x 8")

Two days ago my wife made some delicious chowmein. While she was cooking I noticed this Soya Sauce Bottle and liked its unusual shape instantly (perhaps it looked unusual to me because I hardly ever much attention to the kitchen). I painted this one on a deep red background to go with the chinese food theme (Chinese restaurant sign boards in India are mostly painted with this kind of red :)).

I am not very sure if the almonds make any sense here. Besides they seem to be pointing out of the painting.

Thank you so much for dropping by. All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Huts in Andaman

Huts in Andaman, Watercolour on Paper, (7" x 14")

I love these huts that like along the edges of fields. I did this one from a photograph I took during our visit to the beautiful Andaman Islands. I did not like the upper portion and so decided to crop it to this size.

All comments and critiques are most welcome.

A New Painting and Something Very Important!

Railway Colony III, Watercolour on Paper (17" x 14")

This is another painting I did from one of my sketches of the Railway Colony. I hope you like it.


I have something rather important to share with you dear readers. I have changed my blog address to http://www.pencilsandbrushes.blogspot.com/ with the title "PENCILS AND BRUSHES" . Earlier it used to be http://www.vd-art.blogspot.com/ with the blog title "VINAYAK DESHMUKH ART".  However it seems some else by the name of Deepak Yadav is now using the blog address vd-art.blogspot.com and it is now apppearing in the blog lists of all the followers of my blog with the title "VINAYAK DESHMUKH ART" which is not correct since none of them are actually followers of this blog. In fact this blog does not have even a single follower as of now.  I had requested the blog owner Deepak Yadav by making a comment on one of his posts to change his blog address, but he has deleted it promptly which suggests that he has done it intentionally.


Thank you all for reading so far and I hope to rectify the situation at the earliest. All suggestions and advice regarding this problem as well as regarding the painting are most welcome.

Havelock Island, Andaman

Havelock Beach, Watercolour on Paper, (7.5" x 11.5")

I did this small sketch from a photograph of Havelock beach of Andaman. Its supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches of Asia. It is a great place to be and surely an artist's paradise. 


All comments and critiques are most welcome.

Still Life with Lemons .... Oil on Canvas Panel

Still Life with Lemons, Oil on Canvas Panel (8" x 10")

Another low key still life with my dark brown TEE as the drapery. I discovered something doing this .... lemons and bottles are not easy stuff to paint ;-)


Thank you for stopping by.

Low Tide #2, Watercolour

Low Tide #2, Watercolour on Paper (15" x 10")
Here's another boat painting! I am somehow not being able to get rid of the "boat" mood.
Thanks for stopping by

"Sense and Sensibility" and a Small Sketch

I have long been a fan of the 1995 movie "Sense and Sensibility" with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. I felt it is the best movie ever. I still feel so, but recently I had the opportunity to see another version of it that has Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield. I think this one ( a TV miniseries by BBC, directed by Andrew Davies) is just as lovely, except of course for the Emma Thompson magic. But nothing to take away from Hattie Morahan who has been just as fabulous. 


I think the world has been deprived of some fine literature because Jane Austen died at the age of 36. I an wathc these movies at least a thousand times and not get bored. Do you guys feel the same way?


Thanks for reading so far. I will leave you with a small sketch I did the other day.

The Violinist, Pencil on Paper, (8" x 8")

Innocence - Pencil on Paper

Innocence, Pencil on Paper (8" x 8")

I love doing pencil sketches once in a while. This is a sketch of a young Indian girl from a rural background.

All comments, suggestions and critiques are most welcome.

Lane in Trimbakeshwar, Twilight: Watercolor on Paper

Lane in Trimbakeshwar: Twilight, Watercolor on Paper, (15"x11")

This is a painting of another beautiful town, Trimbakeshwar. This place is quite close to Nashik in Maharashtra. The place is famous for its Shiva Temple which is one of the jyotilingas. The town as such has its own charms as a place to be painted. I did this one from a photograph I had taken during our visit to the place.

Thank you all for stopping by.

Nrusinhapur III - Watercolor on Paper

Nrusinhapur III, Watercolor on Paper, (11" x 15")

This is another painting of the beautiful Nrusinhapur village. I did it today from one of the many photographs I took of the place. This is going to be a wonderful week with 3 holidays for most of us here in India. I am looking forward to getting some painting done.

Thank you for stopping by.

Nrusinhapur II - Watercolor on paper

Nrusinhapur II, Watercolour on Paper (11" x 15")

A visit to Western Maharashtra and Kokan in particular is always full of visual delights. Nrusinhapur is one such place where the houses have tiled roofs and likely to have so for a long time to come. The village is a watercolorist's paradise.


P.S. I recently made my first international sale.

Those eyes have seen it all!

Those Eyes Have Seen it All, Oil on Primed Paper (11" x 15")

I did this painting from a photo of an old man from my hometown. I modified the original reference to suit my needs.

The eyes of this man betray a depth of thought and experience gained over a lifetime. That wisdom in his eyes is what I wanted to capture. 

All comments and critiques are most welcome.