Have you been naughty or nice this year?

There's a delightful nip in the air, as the days get shorter and nights get longer. Winter is one of my most favourite seasons, not that we have much of a winter in Mumbai, nevertheless I guess it  has a lot to do with Christmas and the warm and fuzzy feeling the celebrations bring with it! From the looks of it, I've already been bitten by the festive bug, there's a batch of chocolate chunk cookies in the oven and I'm well stocked on hot chocolate and marshmallows!!

This year I'm super excited to showcase my lovely new range of 'Owlie hand-painted mason jars', these lil jars have been such a pleasure to paint, with a palette that's more pastel and not my usual bright bold colour choice and the water colour texturing, there's been a lot of experimenting that's gone into the making of this range and I must say I'm thrilled with the end products. With six spanking new, adorable owlets to choose from, these little babies are ready to spread the cheer!! So come and meet the gang!!!

On a more introspective note, there are so many new design ideas and products I have in mind it almost feels like  theres just not enough time to sketch and paint them! Watch this space for much much more!!

Inhale... Exhale... Paint...  and Repeat :)

Lulu

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Cleo

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Bailey

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Maggie

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Oscar

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Sasha

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Purple mountains and babbling brooks

Last weekend I bundled my clothes, sketchpad and a few art supplies and hit the road for a long overdue road trip. Like most of my trips, this one was a last minute plan with family, to seek refuge in the wilderness, away from the crazy noise and pollution the Diwali weekend was bound to bring in the city.

There's something about the crisp mountain air, that has a way of clearing the cobwebs in your mind and bringing perspective to things that seem stifled and muffled in the city. The last month was a wonderfully taxing one, with the festivities at their peak and customised and last minute requests pouring in. This break was a much needed one, unlike the more rugged and physically demanding trips I normally like to take, this was a weekend of lazying around in the pool, peaceful walks, family banter and all in all just blissful peace and quite.

So with sweet memories of firefly light nights, humming birds and the gentle whisper of the wind, I feel like reenergised and ready to hit the paints!

Serendipitous finds

Thumping through the pages of my very many sketch books I chanced upon a number of sketched and paintings I've done in the past. These illustrations are reflections of the things I like doing or in a way symbolic of my haven. I  think for every artist it's imperative to indulge yourself in things that you do without the 'monetisation filter', there are so many more in various stages of completion [Note to self- finish that shit!!!]

The just for fun, 'just for me' artworks that don't have the layers of customer appeal or selling price are the most fulfilling.

Gypsy heart women and windswept souls

A sketch to celebrate all the wild and wonderful women I know, the gypsy hearts, the free spirits, the fierce and inspiring women who have forever left their footprints on my soul!

Ode -Arthur O' Shaughnessy

We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams;—

World-losers and world-forsakers,

On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world for ever, it seems.

Warrior Goddess- Durga

I recently had the pleasure of designing and painting a 'Goddess Durga'- the warrior Goddess,  teapot for a client for the upcoming Navratri festival celebrated across India. Goddess Durga the very versatile and multi-faceted  is one of the most revered, Goddess in Hinduism. She symbolises female strength and power and worshiped during a nine day festival- 'Navratri' which culminates on the ten day with the Dussera festival, where an effigy of Ravana is burnt, which is symbolic of the victory of Lord Ram over Ravana -good over evil.

This particular commissioned work had its fair share of challenges but I'm very happy with the final result!

Against the grain should be the way of life

One of the most inspirational and motivating ad campaigns I've seen in the recent past. Bravo Adidas!!

Inner child

A beautiful poem I chanced upon today. it's worth the read.

 I feel bad for those who lost their inner child. 

The world needs more adults with young heart, a brave heart, one that's excited and enthusiastic about the wonders of our magnificent world. 

People who believe in miracles, who believe they can make them happen too. 
People who can stomach the horrors they witness everyday and give love even when they are never the recipients. 
People who are kind enough to forgive everyone around them and forgive themselves too when it's the hardest to do so. People who are crazy enough to want to make a difference, even crazier to work for it.


-- Dana Hindi

A sea of Elephant Gods and a trip to paradise

As a city is overtaken by a sea of  Elephant Gods, the sounding of drums beckons me to escape this chaos, I took refuge in my home away from home - 'my little slice of paradise' this weekend. A place where my terrace garden comes alive with luscious green foliage, grey herons sit perched precariously on nests filled with hungry fledglings, I feel one with nature and so blissfully unaware of the religious fervour that grips the city.

I packed my paints, canvases and art supplies and spent a delightfully refreshing weekend slowly soaking in what nature has to offer. With hot cups of tea to fuel the engine, I sat on my terrace under a pale blue sky with only butterflies as a welcome distraction. What would have otherwise been a stressful weekend turned into paradise and a very fruitful exercise indeed.


Later that evening I took a stroll down memory lane, a large isolated, greenery filled patch known to only a hand few, where the sound of crickets and the croaking of frogs filled the fresh rain kissed air. Have you ever heard the crackle of electric wires?- as they sway like swings abandoned by impatient children, it's a surreal feeling walking below them, so much power just waiting to be unleashed, to light up homes and lives...

Feel like an electric wire today as I sway to the rhythm of life, careless, unabashed at the stares shot my way at this display of arrogant oblivion.

Holding my dreams close to my heart I swing higher and higher to the point of tipping over! Dreams that come alive when the world sleeps and the mind wanders into the wonderful unknown. Where magic takes over and reality is but a distant blur. In the twilight I sit with arms stretched out in the hopes of touching delicate candy floss clouds, I catch myself thinking silly thoughts - How wonderful would it be,to be able to take a ride on a wispy white cloud?!

Love the crackling electric wires for weaving dreams built on webs of futures untold. Love that I took the time to create a space where I could work and relax at the same time.

From the bowels of Gods own country- Kathakali dancer

Kathakali, an Indian classical dance form that found its roots in the temple towns of Kerala, is truly one of the most vibrant and enigmatic dance forms. The heavy caked layers of makeup, the over exaggerated facial features, the heavy  rich layers of clothing and the tantalising long silver nails makes for a treat for the eyes. I remember watching a Kathakali performance at one of my cousins weddings in Kerala and every graceful move and facial expression left me awestruck. Another influence or  rather a memory I have of Kathakali as a dance form is a movie I watched - ' Vanaprastham' with the South Indian actor idol 'Mohan Lal', thank God for subtitles for us pseudo- mallus, the movie wouldn't have made much sense without it. It unveiled a side of the art form that most people don't get to see, a melancholic tale riddled with alcoholism , caste discrimination it's definitely a movie I recommend.

From an artist point of view, the Kathakali dancer is a challenge because it goes against the fundamentals of proportions and aesthetics. Starting with the almost ghoulish base colour of a face which is green, to add to it there are facial features that are over exaggerated, like the bloodshot eyes, the heavy kohl and almost unrealistic lip shape. There is many a Kathakali artwork I've come across that lands up making the dancer look unappealing.

The challenge is capturing the beauty in the non-conformity. It's not an easy task and I'm not sure I've been able to do so, but every Kathakali dancer kettle I've painted tests that.

A dragonfly in my mind's eye

Some nights feel like they are made of magic, where you feel an almost primal need to express something. This artwork started like most, a faint glimmer in my mind's eyes and with each brush stroke morphed into something beautiful and heartfelt. If you've followed my artwork and blogposts you'd know I do have more than just a soft corner for dragonflies, so much so that I've had one inked on my body. 

At the fag end of every Monsoon season, I find myself standing on my terrace engulfed in a sea of dragonflies, it's a surreal experience where you smack dab in the middle of a bustling city and yet in your mind you feel like you're in a lush field filled with dragonflies, so real is the feeling that I can almost smell the fresh grass and feel the soft mud between my toes.

This artwork which is still a work in progress, is a humble expression of all of those feelings I've felt over the years. My little haven and escape from the realities of living a fast paced city like Mumbai.

Brush strokes into bliss

Wish every Saturday afternoon could be like this, in seventh heaven!!! With some Eddie Vedder in the background and a myriad of colours to paint with I couldn't ask of more!! Here's to many more paint filled, blissful afternoons!!

That sketchy business

Finally got down to some sketching today, after what seems like eternity. With orders mimicking the monsoon downpour I was feeling a little inundated the last couple of weeks. I love the side projects I undertake, the paintings or sketches I do just for my own jollies!! It's these seemingly insignificant things that gives me peace of mind and the chance to switch off from purchase orders, shipment pickups and the usual paraphernalia associated with selling my artwork. It's what keeps the engines running even when the fuel tank is low.

There's something mesmerising about roosters that draws me to them and that's the reason why I've sketched and painted them, so many times in the past, their colourful plumage gives me the leeway to go wild with my colour palette. But it's not just the obvious, there's a hint of arrogance in their strut and way they announce their presence to the world at the crack of dawn. Or maybe the root of this fascination is a mix of the above, along with all the storybooks I've read in my childhood, I have no clue! This one isn't as colourful but has a whole lot of detailing, had a blast pouring my self into it completely.

Clenched soul

Have you ever felt like the universe every once in a while, conspires in ways that might be inexplicable! I got to dip my feet in the pool of this 'universal conspiracy' today. What was a run of mill meeting with a close friend of mine which is heady mix of inane conversation, laughter, short walks and long conversation about the things we do best, break down life into little superficial formulae that we both know don't hold true in reality.

Down to the brass tacks and what baffles me and sends a shiver down my spine - I picked up a bunch of books she had recently picked up, one of which was Pablo Neruda's- Twenty love poems and a song  of despair. I knew the second I laid eyes on it, it was a book I'd read and picked up a few months ago. It might be a weird thing, to do, but I like to randomly open a page of a book of poems and let destiny take its course.

This is me some hours ago at my friends place, I randomly landed on the poem titled -Clenched soul, as usual curiosity always gets the better of me, so I made my way back home and decided to revisit my copy of  Pablo Neruda's Twenty love poems and a song  of despair, as I randomly flipped through the pages  I happened to land smack dab at Clenched soul once again.

Let's just leave it at something inexplicable, because I can't explain or comprehend how every line in the poem means something to me at this very moment in time, let alone how I flipped through the same book twice in one day and landed on the same poem!

Ohhhh you brilliantly beautiful and ever surprising life!!

At my friends place

At home

My starlit paradise!

Last week was gruelling, with a sudden surge in orders, a backlog of work that couldn't be finish thanks to the rain Gods gifting me with brilliant weather, as well as an unwelcome and unhealthy does of the sniffles. With the pressure building up, on Saturday evening I decided to throw caution to the wind and just forget about work for one evening and do what I wanted to do, which was sketch instead of finishing work.

With my room  filled with the warm reassuring twinkle of fairy lights, some country music playing in the background and every shade of colour at my disposal, guess it turned out to be the perfect solution. Pssssttt yes I did have to work my butt off on Sunday but it was totally worth it!!

Cheers to making your own paradise and more evenings like this!!  

Baby Zoe spreading her wings!!

Owls are one of my favourite designs to draw, paint or sketch! I've recently tied up with the wonderful people at Postergully.com where you can find my artwork on a whole spate of wonderful products- we now have laptop skins, laptotpsleeves, coasters, mugs, wall art,hoodies, T-shirts for men and women, storage boxes, cushion covers, notebooks, cell phone cases and a whole lot more!!

Am so thrilled to introduce you to lil Baby Zoe in her new digital avatar!! Check out more designs at Pyjama Party on Postergully

Baby Zoe- Laptop skin 

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Baby Zoe notebook

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Hoodies

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Baby Zoe- Wall art  Italian Wooden frame

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Baby Zoe I phone 6/ 6S case

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Baby Zoe- Accessory box

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