Maharashtrian Lady

I have been wanting to draw a figure wearing traditional Indian dress, here it is a sari, for a long time. I came upon the reference image for this drawing from a blog on vintage Indian photos a few years back. Since I wasn’t doing much figure drawing then and lacked confidence, I filed it away in my folder. Now that I am doing the figure studies, I finally got the courage to do this drawing. I am so glad I am able to finish it. This was an excellent exercise on fabric folds and draping. Reading Barbara Bradley’s book gave me the extra nudge and inspiration to attempt this.

11 by 14 inches on Strathmore Bristol Smooth

It seems there are 108 ways to drape a sari and this particular style is called nuvari and is usually worn by women in Maharashtra, a state east of India.

Magnolia: A Master Study

Magnolia is done under the direction of watercolor artist, Jacqueline Gnott through her membership based learning forum, For the Love of Watercolor. The video for this particular painting demonstrates on how to blend smoothly and how to achieve a rich, dark background and how to paint white flowers. A great learning experience.

8 ³⁄₈ by 9 ¹⁄_{8 inches on 300 lbs. Kilimanjaro watercolor paper}
Reference photo by Jacqueline Gnott

The Rooftop Gargoyle

I painted  this using the rivulet technique that I mentioned in the earlier post. I did not do too much lifting out here since the sculpture was backlit. You can learn more about Susan Avis Murphy’s rivulet technique here.

11 by 14 inches on 300 lbs. Kilimanjaro watercolor paper
Reference photo by Suzanne Wallick 

Figure Study No.11

Another drawing as a part of my ongoing series on Figure Study.

In graphite on a 11 by 14 inches Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper.

 

Standing Lady with back turned,Figure Study No.10

I drew this with white charcoal on a steel gray Canson Ca’grain paper. The white can be used on the highlights and lighter passages of the figure. The face has no resemblance with the model in the reference photo. The scale of the face was small that I found it difficult to measure the facial features from the reference photo. Since this is a study, I am not too concerned.

In white charcoal and pencil on a 11 by 14 inches Canson Ca’grain paper.

 

Welcome Spring

Completed under the direction of the watercolor artist, Jacqueline Gnott.

In watercolors on a 9 by 12 inches 300-lbs. Kilimanjaro watercolor paper.

The Garden Flutist

I did this painting under the direction of the watercolor artist, Susan Avis Murphy, on her rivulet technique as explained in her blog. She has explained this technique in great details and has a couple of youtube videos demonstrating the technique here. There is a lot of scrubbing involved to lift the paint to get the lighter shade. I find that Loew-Cornell’s La Corneille flat brushes are the best in scrubbing out the paint. Their bristles are gentle enough that they don’t damage the paper surface. The glazes must be applied gently so as not to disturb the bottom paint layers. I have cross-posted this painting in my blogger account.

11 by 14 inches on 140-lbs cold-pressed Kilimanjaro watercolor paper

Reference photo:  Steve Lyddon from PMP

Bouquet of Cosmos

I did this painting from an old painting challenge No.57 from A Nos Pinceaux .

11 by 14 inches 140 -lbs. cold pressed Waterford watercolor paper

Flutterby : Monarch Butterfly

This painting is done under the direction of the watercolor artist, Jacqueline Gnott. I have signed up for her learning forum so I will be able to learn better under a master watercolor artist. My schedules clash with local class times and online forum is the next best alternative where you can learn the techniques through videos. I recommend this membership based learning forum for anyone interested in learning more about watercolor painting. In this particular video, I learned how to paint in rich, black background using black pigment and how to paint the colored bokeh in the background.

8 by 11 inches on 300 lbs watercolor paper
Reference Photo : Jacqueline Gnott

 

Flutterby : Great Spangled Fritillary

Finally, I am back to watercolor painting! This blog desperately needs some colors after several drawings. Almost an year ago, I drew the outlines for this painting, applied masking fluid and kept it away. I knew it would be a bad idea to leave on the masking fluid but I lost the painting mojo so much that I couldn’t pick up a brush and finish it. I have been watching a lot of videos and browsing online on watercolor paintings but there weren’t motivating enough to pick up the painting brushes. Earlier this week, I just happened to see this unfinished painting and picked it up to finish the painting. I did the background painting first, knowing well enough that I might have to throw away the painting that removing the masking fluid could ruin the paper surface. After finishing the background, I had a hard time removing the masking but the paper was sturdy enough to withstand the abuse as I scrubbed away every last bit of the masking. I used Kilimanjaro watercolor paper to do this painting.

11by 14 inches on 300 lbs watercolor paper
Reference Photo : Rodney Campbell