Pears #6
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
January 31, 2010
January 30, 2010
58. Pears #5
More pears for today. I like how the fabric in this one turned out, with all the blues. But the fruit kinda drove me mad. I am not happy with how it turned out, the highlights especially became too strong. I will work a little more on this one after a while. If not anything, I will mellow down the highlights a bit. This is how strong it actually looks in my reference, but if followed just like that into the painting, it doesn't look good at all. That's a learning :-)
Let me know what you think!
Pears #5
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Let me know what you think!
January 29, 2010
Art for Haiti
140hours is a new company that has revolutionized Art Auctions by conducting them online - on Twitter no less. And now they are having an Art Auction today, the 29th of Jan 2010, to support the cause of Haiti. 100% of the proceeds from the Haitian Relief Art Auction (HRAA) will be donated to the earthquake victims at Haiti. The auction goes live at New York beginning 9 p.m EST and will go on for 48 hours.
A lot of artists and photographers have donated paintings and photos for this cause. You can see all the works that are to be auctioned here. Three of my paintings are also being auctioned. You can see all of them on the auction webpage.
For all Art lovers who have thought about owning an original piece of Art but have never got around to it, this cause is a great way to make a start! Please spread the word among all art lovers so that they don't miss the chance to bid.
I'd like to thank Gary Brant, the CEO of 140hours.com for this opportunity. Great work by you and the whole team Gary!
Under the spotlight
Acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas, 11 * 14 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
on Auction at the HRAA
A lot of artists and photographers have donated paintings and photos for this cause. You can see all the works that are to be auctioned here. Three of my paintings are also being auctioned. You can see all of them on the auction webpage.
For all Art lovers who have thought about owning an original piece of Art but have never got around to it, this cause is a great way to make a start! Please spread the word among all art lovers so that they don't miss the chance to bid.
I'd like to thank Gary Brant, the CEO of 140hours.com for this opportunity. Great work by you and the whole team Gary!
January 28, 2010
Virtual Paintout - Corsica
The virtual paintout blog runs a monthly challenge where artists virtually travel to various destinations, via Google maps, and paint images using Google Street View. Artist Bill Guffey started this absolutely revolutionary concept and has been running this blog for a year now. I have always wanted to take part, and finally got to turn in my entry this month.
The foremost thing that I love about the virtual paintout is that the paintings are rarely "postcard views" of a place. With Street view, you can virtually land just about anywhere within a city/town and get started from there. There is a very high degree of randomness and no two people get to paint the same view. It is also amazing that we get to "visit" so many places, albeit virtually.
The only disadvantage for me is that I am never satisfied with a reference. As and when I come across interesting snapshots, I save the image to my references. But then I do not stop there and start painting. I always want to see what more is there in the place, and end up spending obscene amounts of time on the Google maps itself! It is almost akin to traveling through the place, I spend that much time! This time too, I saved 6 snapshots and ended up painting this one. I might paint the others at a later time.
Corsica looks beautiful, with a landscape that has snow capped mountains, sea views, pretty looking houses all for good measure. Though most of the views had houses, I really liked this view which looked great with all the grazing sheep and afternoon shadows. I must also add that painting all these sheep was super fun. For the first time, I did not even attempt to give any detail whatsoever. I have only painted egg shapes in various sizes, and they look like sheep :) And boy, don't even ask me what fun it was to paint a summery scene after all the bleak looking snowscapes. I LOVED it! :)
I hope to be a regular participant in this blog henceforth :) Check out all the other paintings of Corsica, France. The paintings can also be viewed in Facebook in this album Virtual Paintout - Corsica. Let me know your feedback on this one!
Corsica, France
Acrylics on Canvas Panel, 18 * 24 cms
© Nithya Swaminathan
The foremost thing that I love about the virtual paintout is that the paintings are rarely "postcard views" of a place. With Street view, you can virtually land just about anywhere within a city/town and get started from there. There is a very high degree of randomness and no two people get to paint the same view. It is also amazing that we get to "visit" so many places, albeit virtually.
The only disadvantage for me is that I am never satisfied with a reference. As and when I come across interesting snapshots, I save the image to my references. But then I do not stop there and start painting. I always want to see what more is there in the place, and end up spending obscene amounts of time on the Google maps itself! It is almost akin to traveling through the place, I spend that much time! This time too, I saved 6 snapshots and ended up painting this one. I might paint the others at a later time.
Corsica looks beautiful, with a landscape that has snow capped mountains, sea views, pretty looking houses all for good measure. Though most of the views had houses, I really liked this view which looked great with all the grazing sheep and afternoon shadows. I must also add that painting all these sheep was super fun. For the first time, I did not even attempt to give any detail whatsoever. I have only painted egg shapes in various sizes, and they look like sheep :) And boy, don't even ask me what fun it was to paint a summery scene after all the bleak looking snowscapes. I LOVED it! :)
I hope to be a regular participant in this blog henceforth :) Check out all the other paintings of Corsica, France. The paintings can also be viewed in Facebook in this album Virtual Paintout - Corsica. Let me know your feedback on this one!
57. Pears #4
Just got back to the pears after some of the snowscapes. These pears along with my usual plastic blue container were used in my setups last year. I am doing more paintings now only from the same old references with slightly different crops. It is strange how I did not think of these crops the last time. I have gone in for closer crops, which have left some objects pruned, like the blue container in this painting. I was in a dilemma, whether to omit the blue entirely, but then decided to go ahead with it. I am in the mood to experiment a little more these days, and I am bored of crops with all objects arranged neatly :)
I still haven't found the Red Bartlets this year, it has only been green pears so far. Once the red ones are available I must pick up some and take some new references. I did pick up a few green pears too, but have not used them yet in a setup.
Let me know what you think of this one! :)
Pears #4
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
I still haven't found the Red Bartlets this year, it has only been green pears so far. Once the red ones are available I must pick up some and take some new references. I did pick up a few green pears too, but have not used them yet in a setup.
Let me know what you think of this one! :)
January 26, 2010
56. Footprints in the snow
These are pictures from the 2nd of Jan 2010, the only day this month that had some good sunshine after the snow. And bright skies just the way I love them. We were walking in our neighbourhood and my daughter wanted to make footprints in the snow. So both of us had a nice time running around, lying down and generally goofing around in the snow covered lawns. When taking this picture, my aim was to click the bright colored yellow house. Incidentally, the footprints also found their way into the frame and I liked it! :) This yellow house always gets my attention, it never goes unnoticed from anywhere. I just tried to make that a little bright and stand out from the otherwise bluish painting.
Let me know what you think!
Footprints in the snow
Acrylics on Canvas, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Let me know what you think!
55. Winter Blues
I absolutely love the deep bright blue of the winter skies, when the sun is shining. The blue skies with the warm sun shining on fresh snow and making it sparkle it a sight to behold. It is so beautiful that I think the term Winter Blues is a misnomer. Nevertheless I chose to name it thus, coz I like how this painting turned out, and the dominance of blue and purple in this. I started with a cerulean blue underpainting actually. It was great fun!
Let me know what you think!
Winter Blues
Acrylics on Canvas, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Let me know what you think!
January 23, 2010
54. Pears #3
These Pears are much brighter than the previous two. I went a little easy on the reds last time, but decided to make the colors pop out this time. I needed all this color after so many of those cloudy snow scenes with no color whatsoever :) It was in direct contrast to the previous painting, and was much more fun! I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
As it is, I suck with titles for paintings. And when a series of the same subject goes on and on to a point where I lose track of how many have been done, coming up with titles for each is impossible! Hence I have stopped even trying to name them :) Let me have your feedback on this one.
Pears #3
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
As it is, I suck with titles for paintings. And when a series of the same subject goes on and on to a point where I lose track of how many have been done, coming up with titles for each is impossible! Hence I have stopped even trying to name them :) Let me have your feedback on this one.
53. Wading through
One more image from the 9th of Jan, when we were surrounded by snow all over. This crossing is near my house, but since it happens to be on the main road, the moving traffic had made all the snow dirty by the time I took these snaps. While I don't like walking through dirty snow, I must say it adds some contrast and color to the setting :) "The morning after" on the other hand was in my street, away from a lot of traffic. And hence it had more white.
Let me know what you think!
Wading through
Acrylics on canvas, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Let me know what you think!
January 20, 2010
52. Retired
This one's done for a monthly challenge on the Acrylics forum of Wetcanvas. I loved the image and did not want to miss it, and managed it just in time.
This one was also painted on black, like the lilies. For a subject like this with a lot of darks, the black surface was a great start. I wonder why I did not start with using black gesso much earlier. I am tempted to redo a lot of my old pieces with a black surface, especially the apples! :)
Let me know what you think of this one! It was a great experiment with a completely new subject. And next month I am hosting the same challenge in our forum. I am already thinking about what references to provide, that will be challenging enough to my immensely talented friends out there! I have a couple of ideas already, will finalize in a day or two.
Retired
Acrylics on Board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
This one was also painted on black, like the lilies. For a subject like this with a lot of darks, the black surface was a great start. I wonder why I did not start with using black gesso much earlier. I am tempted to redo a lot of my old pieces with a black surface, especially the apples! :)
Let me know what you think of this one! It was a great experiment with a completely new subject. And next month I am hosting the same challenge in our forum. I am already thinking about what references to provide, that will be challenging enough to my immensely talented friends out there! I have a couple of ideas already, will finalize in a day or two.
January 19, 2010
51. School Zone
This place is just in front of my daughter's kindergarten, and I see this spot every day when I go to drop her. And still, it never ceases to amaze me. I love these two houses, the row of trees on either side, and how the lane leads to some fields and then hills at a distance. And this image has been changing so much with every other day. I plan to do a series of paintings with this reference, on bigger canvasses. I already have a few autumn photos and now some winter ones as well. Will wait for the other seasons to unfold and paint them too. I especially love this spot in the morning light, as compared to the afternoon time when I pick my little one up.
I started an early autumn image on a large canvas, a 16 * 20 and it is lying unfinished in my studio. It was coming along nicely but somewhere down the line I kinda lost the steam. So started this one on the small canvas. Now I will get back to the bigger canvas asap. I think this painting too will work well in the larger format. This is probably a good series to think of for next month :-) Let's see!
Let me know what you think of this piece. Even before I realize, the snowscapes are turning into a series too! So the rest of this month will be snowscapes and the pears alternating with each other. I do remember that I promised more landscapes from the Rhine Valley, but I haven't gotten around to them yet! They are all in half baked stages. Phew! So much to do!
School Zone
Acrylics on Canvas, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
I started an early autumn image on a large canvas, a 16 * 20 and it is lying unfinished in my studio. It was coming along nicely but somewhere down the line I kinda lost the steam. So started this one on the small canvas. Now I will get back to the bigger canvas asap. I think this painting too will work well in the larger format. This is probably a good series to think of for next month :-) Let's see!
Let me know what you think of this piece. Even before I realize, the snowscapes are turning into a series too! So the rest of this month will be snowscapes and the pears alternating with each other. I do remember that I promised more landscapes from the Rhine Valley, but I haven't gotten around to them yet! They are all in half baked stages. Phew! So much to do!
January 17, 2010
50. The morning after
This photo was taken last weekend during one of our adventurous trips to the grocery wading through all the snow. We were surrounded by snow from all sides and this is how my street looked.
I hate it when the roads become really dirty and the snow turns into shades of brown and grey thanks to the moving traffic. Nothing beats the pristine look of fresh snow. But then it doesn't remain so for long and I have tried to capture the dirty snow in this one. In front of every house, the pedestrian paths get cleaned up so that people can walk around. And apart from minor bits and pieces of the footpath showing, it was only white all around. There are more snowscapes coming up in the next week. Do let me know your feedback on this one!
The morning after
Acrylics on Canvas, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
I hate it when the roads become really dirty and the snow turns into shades of brown and grey thanks to the moving traffic. Nothing beats the pristine look of fresh snow. But then it doesn't remain so for long and I have tried to capture the dirty snow in this one. In front of every house, the pedestrian paths get cleaned up so that people can walk around. And apart from minor bits and pieces of the footpath showing, it was only white all around. There are more snowscapes coming up in the next week. Do let me know your feedback on this one!
49. Winter Sun
This is the painting that I completed and trashed a couple of days ago. My smallest brush lost its life just when I needed it to do the winter trees and branches a little delicately.:) And I got so irritated with the output from a slightly larger brush. On second thoughts today, I felt I could salvage the painting and don't have to paint over it so soon. So after I bought some new brushes yesterday, went over the trees alone today and I think it is done now.:)
This is a sprawling lawn in my neighborhood, and thanks to the snow, it was covered without a speck of green being visible. The winter sun was shining so nicely and I found the whole scene so irresistible. Let me know your feedback on this one.
Winter Sun
Acrylics on Canvas, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
This is a sprawling lawn in my neighborhood, and thanks to the snow, it was covered without a speck of green being visible. The winter sun was shining so nicely and I found the whole scene so irresistible. Let me know your feedback on this one.
January 16, 2010
48. Pears #2
So we continue with the next painting in the "new" series of pears. I am curious to hear any critique or feedback on these pieces. Compared to the pears I did a few months ago, there is a definite change in technique, colors and my approach to the paintings. Which one do you like better? While the older set had too much of red popping out, I am varying the colors a little more now. I am keeping it looser too, not being too hard on the edges. And another key difference is that these pieces are painted on black, whereas I painted on a white gessoed surface last time around. That makes a huge difference, and I love painting on black!
I wonder which one looks better, do let me know what you think! More Pears to come in the coming days.
Pears #2
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
I wonder which one looks better, do let me know what you think! More Pears to come in the coming days.
January 15, 2010
47. Back to the Pears
I was working on some snow landscapes yesterday, and they were kind of driving me crazy. I did not want to pick up the smallest brushes and nitpick with details, but thats what I am tempted to do. It is like an instinct, I just use the smallest brush when it comes to buildings or any other details. I did finish a painting but trashed it in the end! So much for all the nitpicking!
So wanted to loosen up today, and decided to paint a familiar subject. All too familiar aren't they? Do you remember these pears from about 6 months ago? I was real quick on this one, just iicked up a big 1.5 inch flattie, and did this in less than 45 minutes. I decided to stop it when it reached a decent shape, with flaws and all that. It was awesome to paint that way. I really needed this to get back into rhythm!
Oh yeah, I have a lot more of the same pears coming up. This time, I have cropped them much closer than what I did last time. Generally, I do not crop images in a way that a part of an object gets pruned. This time I have experimented a bit and come up with some different crops. I hope the compositions work. Stay tuned for more fruits :-)
Huddled
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
So wanted to loosen up today, and decided to paint a familiar subject. All too familiar aren't they? Do you remember these pears from about 6 months ago? I was real quick on this one, just iicked up a big 1.5 inch flattie, and did this in less than 45 minutes. I decided to stop it when it reached a decent shape, with flaws and all that. It was awesome to paint that way. I really needed this to get back into rhythm!
Oh yeah, I have a lot more of the same pears coming up. This time, I have cropped them much closer than what I did last time. Generally, I do not crop images in a way that a part of an object gets pruned. This time I have experimented a bit and come up with some different crops. I hope the compositions work. Stay tuned for more fruits :-)
January 12, 2010
Stuttgart Christmas Market - WIP
This is the painting that I am working on currently, a cityscape clicked during one of the Christmas Markets that we visited last month. This picture is from the Weihnachtsmarkt of Stuttgart. Cityscapes are new for me, absolutely unknown territory and building perspective generally gives me jitters. I am trying to work on some of my weakest areas in landscape painting, viz. buildings and a general feel of distance. It is also shot from an interesting angle, from atop one of the rides we went in. I am not sure if this qualifies as an aerial view, it is like a balcony view perhaps :-)
This is only part of the painting, the backdrop so to say. There is a lot more activity in the foreground and we are not yet there. I am taking this one slowly, as I don't want to mess it up :) Watch this space for more updates, and the finished painting hopefully next week.
Weihnachtsmarkt Stuttgart - WIP
Acrylics on Canvas, 16 * 20 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
This is only part of the painting, the backdrop so to say. There is a lot more activity in the foreground and we are not yet there. I am taking this one slowly, as I don't want to mess it up :) Watch this space for more updates, and the finished painting hopefully next week.
January 11, 2010
46. Waterlily #18
This is the last of the waterlilies, for now that is. I kinda got tired by the time I finished this one, a little bored with all the lilies. So I just decided to stop with one today. I wanted to squeeze in one more, but not at the cost of me not enjoying the process anymore. I've had enough flowers for now! As mentioned earlier, my original plan was to do these lilies over this month but they are now done much faster. I might get back to couple of more of these later in the month, but I am not sure. I may or may not do more. There aren't many references left anyway.:)
Apart from this I also worked on a couple of larger paintings today, and will post them during the week. And we shall move onto a new subject tomorrow! Let me know all your critiques and feedback on the lilies. I had a blast doing them, did you enjoy them as much? Let me know!
Waterlily #18
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Apart from this I also worked on a couple of larger paintings today, and will post them during the week. And we shall move onto a new subject tomorrow! Let me know all your critiques and feedback on the lilies. I had a blast doing them, did you enjoy them as much? Let me know!
January 10, 2010
45. Waterlily #17
After one lily with no green, I switched to this one with a lot of green. I like the images with these huge lily pads. They are such a joy to paint! These giant sized lily pads apparently can support a lot of weight and stay afloat, despite the delicate nature of the leaf. I remember a photo in the Wilhelma park showing a toddler sitting on a lily pad :-) I'd like to someday try painting these lily pads and flowers in a more realistic style as well, as there is so much detail to capture in there.
I also tried changing my approach to this whole painting a little bit. In all previous paintings, I did a rough sketch and painted the water leaving out the floating leaves. This resulted in the water being a little choppy and not very smooth. With this one however, I did not do an underlying sketch at all. I just painted the water in various shades of green first. And then painted the leaves and flowers over it.:) So the edges where the water surrounds the other objects are not broken and choppy.
This one was also very quick, in complete contrast to the previous painting. This one almost painted itself. That's the most joyous state to paint in, where the painting simply "knows" where its going and we just go with the flow. Happens so rarely, but the feeling is completely worth the wait.
I'd greatly appreciate all your comments and any feedback on this one. Thanks for looking!
Waterlily #17
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
I also tried changing my approach to this whole painting a little bit. In all previous paintings, I did a rough sketch and painted the water leaving out the floating leaves. This resulted in the water being a little choppy and not very smooth. With this one however, I did not do an underlying sketch at all. I just painted the water in various shades of green first. And then painted the leaves and flowers over it.:) So the edges where the water surrounds the other objects are not broken and choppy.
This one was also very quick, in complete contrast to the previous painting. This one almost painted itself. That's the most joyous state to paint in, where the painting simply "knows" where its going and we just go with the flow. Happens so rarely, but the feeling is completely worth the wait.
I'd greatly appreciate all your comments and any feedback on this one. Thanks for looking!
44. Waterlily #16
A waterlily with no trace of green today.:) The lighting is not great, a rather cloudy image. I liked the reference for the bluishness, it looks like its washed in purple. Only a couple of days back I was telling how the even numbered ones have turned out better, but that's not the case today.:) This one was quite laboured, I was not at all happy with the result and was going on tweaking this one. The second painting of today was a breeze in comparison.
Your comments and feedback is most welcome!
Waterlily #16
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Your comments and feedback is most welcome!
January 9, 2010
43. Waterlily #15
Second painting for today. I think the composition is not quite balanced, as the right side has all the flowers and I wonder if the left side holds any interest to the viewer. I am not entirely sure of this composition working. I will leave it for a couple of days, and if I feel it is not right, then add something more to balance it out.
Let me know if you have any feedback. 9 days into the month and I am so averaging 2 paintings a day, which I am very happy about :-) I hope I am able to pull off two more tomorrow as well.
Waterlily #15
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Let me know if you have any feedback. 9 days into the month and I am so averaging 2 paintings a day, which I am very happy about :-) I hope I am able to pull off two more tomorrow as well.
42. Waterlily #14
It looked for a moment today that I may not be able to complete a painting at all. The whole morning was gone in a snow expedition here for us. Several inches of snow had accumulated overnight, and so a trip to the grocery turned out to be a two hour long adventure. After all that we were quite worn out and I did not expect I'd be able to get any work done today. But thankfully, I could engage my little one with some stuff and started this painting from scratch and finished it.:)
Let me know what you think of this one.
Waterlily #14
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Let me know what you think of this one.
January 8, 2010
41. Waterlily #13
It is hard to believe that we are 13 paintings up already in the series! This is by far the fastest I have worked in a long long while. I was expecting that I'd be painting lilies the whole of this month, but looks like it won't even last till middle of the month. I am now hoping to wrap up the series early next week. And there are at least 5 more lilies to come.:)
I don't like this one at all. It is the weakest painting of the series so far in my opinion. I actually called it complete yesterday, but was not at all happy and chose not to post it. Tweaked it a bit today, but still not happy. Calling it done anyway. While I am okay with the reflections and the leaves, I think the flowers turned out miserable. I will probably get to it after a couple of days, when I can tweak it some more. What do you think?
Waterlily #13
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
I don't like this one at all. It is the weakest painting of the series so far in my opinion. I actually called it complete yesterday, but was not at all happy and chose not to post it. Tweaked it a bit today, but still not happy. Calling it done anyway. While I am okay with the reflections and the leaves, I think the flowers turned out miserable. I will probably get to it after a couple of days, when I can tweak it some more. What do you think?
40. Waterlily #12
One of my friends commented that all the even numbered lilies have turned out better than the odd numbered ones. I have to completely agree with that, and also add that it is coincidental. I don't assign an even number to the better paintings :-)
Which ones do you like? Any favorites so far?
Waterlily #12
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
Which ones do you like? Any favorites so far?
January 7, 2010
39. Waterlily #11
Today was a weird day. My daughter had her kindergarten reopened after a 3 week break today. And I had about 5 hours of uninterrupted time for myself to paint. But as luck would have it, I was totally not feeling well. The only thing I wanted to do was sleep, but somehow managed to keep myself awake and complete 2 paintings. I have three more at about 90% completion, which I hope to get done tomorrow. :)
This one was a toughie. All the underwater leaves and the dirt etc gave me quite a time. Such beautiful leaves in such hopelessly dirty water :) Let me know how you like it.
Waterlily #11
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
This one was a toughie. All the underwater leaves and the dirt etc gave me quite a time. Such beautiful leaves in such hopelessly dirty water :) Let me know how you like it.
38. Waterlily #10
I decided to keep this painting really simple, not play around too much. So this one took very less time, less than an hour for the whole painting. That's normally way less time than I take for a painting of this size. The other lilies were all around two to two and a half hours I think. This is one color combo that really appeals to my senses, purple with green. I like how the purple flowers look against all that green. And these lilies are so very different from all the other ones, in that they almost look like spikes and not delicate petals :)
Let me know your comments!
Waterlily #10
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
Let me know your comments!
January 6, 2010
37. Powder coated
This one's too from a neighbor's garden, along our stroll :) I don't have to tell you that there was not a human in sight, as no sane person goes walking in this kind of weather. Apart from the fitness freaks of course! (I almost faint seeing the runners.) All the playing in the snow resulted in a throat infection for me, so pathetic that I had to go in a search of a doc today, it being a holiday here and all that! I hate going to the doctor, and this trip today took away 1 hour of my precious time. I could've done one more lily otherwise. Huh!
This reference is full of pebbles, completely covered in snow. I wonder if the structure of the pebbles comes across clearly. It is a beautiful reference and I am not sure if I have done justice to it. I admire artists who paint snow that actually looks like snow, it is a big challenge. And it is one of the top most things that I want to improve in my art. I hated how I painted snow last year, in all those winter scenes. It looked pathetic beyond any redemption! So I continue taking baby steps in the direction to "painting better snow" :)
Powder Coated
Acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
This reference is full of pebbles, completely covered in snow. I wonder if the structure of the pebbles comes across clearly. It is a beautiful reference and I am not sure if I have done justice to it. I admire artists who paint snow that actually looks like snow, it is a big challenge. And it is one of the top most things that I want to improve in my art. I hated how I painted snow last year, in all those winter scenes. It looked pathetic beyond any redemption! So I continue taking baby steps in the direction to "painting better snow" :)
36. Cotton Candy
I love winter and how beautiful the landscape looks in winter. Even without snow, there is something very appealing about the barren trees and the muted landscape. In my opinion, it is even more a visual treat than fall. If only the weather wasn't so hopeless, I'd stroll around clicking everything that I could lay my eyes on!
On the 2nd of Jan, we woke up to a complete white cover all around. The New Year started with so much snow that we were quite thrilled to see it. My daughter loves to play in the snow, make snowballs, run around leaving deep footprints and all that. So we just went for a walk and clicked some pictures of the snow. This painting is from a garden in one of the pretty houses along my road. I love to feel fresh powdery snow. And the winter sun shining on the snow was so lovely that it immediately tempted me to a painting!
Snow being such a difficult thing to paint, I am not sure how I did. I am not entirely happy, but I am working on it. Let me know your comments.
Cotton Candy
Acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas, 5 * 7 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan
On the 2nd of Jan, we woke up to a complete white cover all around. The New Year started with so much snow that we were quite thrilled to see it. My daughter loves to play in the snow, make snowballs, run around leaving deep footprints and all that. So we just went for a walk and clicked some pictures of the snow. This painting is from a garden in one of the pretty houses along my road. I love to feel fresh powdery snow. And the winter sun shining on the snow was so lovely that it immediately tempted me to a painting!
Snow being such a difficult thing to paint, I am not sure how I did. I am not entirely happy, but I am working on it. Let me know your comments.
35. Waterlily #9
I was painting some landscapes today, since early morning. And since they were going along decently, I did not stop them midway to do a flower. However, since the snow paintings were over sooner than I expected, I also managed to squeeze in a lily today. :) And since it started snowing and was very cloudy, I was literally racing against the daylight to complete the painting and take a snapshot. Nothing bugs me more than completing a painting just to realize that it is too dark for a photo!
Due to the forced circumstances, I think I stopped this piece about 15 minutes short. I'd have definitely done something more, just that I cannot figure out what now.:D Let me know what you think!
Waterlily #9
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
Due to the forced circumstances, I think I stopped this piece about 15 minutes short. I'd have definitely done something more, just that I cannot figure out what now.:D Let me know what you think!
January 5, 2010
34. Waterlily #8
My references for these paintings are all from the Wilhelma Park and Zoo, in Stuttgart, Germany. I have about 40 images clicked as randomly as I could, with no intention to paint them. Painting a flower scares me, if I have not mentioned that a million times before. I believe I have a strong, rough hand which will render a flower as anything but delicate. But then why on earth did I click so many snaps you wonder? I was in a complete hangover of Monet's waterlilies at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris. I was floored, and was unable to get up even couple of weeks later. :) So I clicked these snaps, with the hope that someday I could paint them. I did not expect that day to dawn so soon!
As I was sorting out my photos more than a year later, it occurred that I could give these a shot. And I so regret not having taken some more better snaps. The pond had lilies of all colors, yellow ones, white ones etc. My references though are mostly pink. If we go there sometime later, I should make it a point to click more snaps, with the intention of painting them!
The Wilhelma by the way is a really nice park, totally worth a visit and definitely so if you have a toddler. My little one enjoyed it to the core, and we enjoyed it too. They have a simulated Amazon forest, a butterfly park where butterflies come so close and even sit on you, and so on. And our favorite in the park was the little Polar bear, who enjoys a rock star status there.:) People flock and wait in long queues to catch a glimpse of him.:)
What do you think of this painting? Do let me know!
Waterlily #8
Acrylics on Board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
As I was sorting out my photos more than a year later, it occurred that I could give these a shot. And I so regret not having taken some more better snaps. The pond had lilies of all colors, yellow ones, white ones etc. My references though are mostly pink. If we go there sometime later, I should make it a point to click more snaps, with the intention of painting them!
The Wilhelma by the way is a really nice park, totally worth a visit and definitely so if you have a toddler. My little one enjoyed it to the core, and we enjoyed it too. They have a simulated Amazon forest, a butterfly park where butterflies come so close and even sit on you, and so on. And our favorite in the park was the little Polar bear, who enjoys a rock star status there.:) People flock and wait in long queues to catch a glimpse of him.:)
What do you think of this painting? Do let me know!
33. Waterlily #7
I got to complete 3 paintings today, which is a very good rate considering my speed. I think one of them was done from scratch even, and the other two were half done. Whatever be the case, I am quite pleased. My biggest learning in doing this series is not how to paint a flower, coz I may not do a flower beyond this. The learning is infact knowing when to stop!
I am normally very difficult to satisfy, as is every other artist about his/her own work. So what I end up doing when a painting is about 99% complete, is pop it in front of the mirror, fix some issues, correct more mistakes. There have been occasions when I have realized the drawing itself is not okay and done over parts completely. That kind of takes away the initial charm from a painting. This time, I am consciously refraining from all those antics. Not that I am very satisfied or anything, but I am telling myself that I can make the next piece better, instead of correcting the current piece beyond limits. I am having fun this way.:)
Let me know what you think!
Waterlily #7
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
I am normally very difficult to satisfy, as is every other artist about his/her own work. So what I end up doing when a painting is about 99% complete, is pop it in front of the mirror, fix some issues, correct more mistakes. There have been occasions when I have realized the drawing itself is not okay and done over parts completely. That kind of takes away the initial charm from a painting. This time, I am consciously refraining from all those antics. Not that I am very satisfied or anything, but I am telling myself that I can make the next piece better, instead of correcting the current piece beyond limits. I am having fun this way.:)
Let me know what you think!
32. Waterlily #6
For a long time, I always thought waterlilies as lotuses. The lotus being very common in India, I had seen only the lotus and never a lily, and could not really differentiate one from the other. It was only after I started seeing paintings and photos that I got to know that the waterlily also looks very similar to a lotus. Never bothered to learn the difference though, until a friend popped up the question couple of years ago.:)
Do you know the difference between a waterlily and a lotus? Have a look at this video, that says the difference is actually in the leaves and not the flower. It seems the lotus leaves do not float on the water but are well above it. I did not know this either, as I thought the lotus leaves too float. I remember from several years ago, my grandmother used to eat on a lotus leaf for specific occasions. It is not for festivities though, as a banana leaf is.
I am really pleased with this piece, it is my favorite so far. I think I really found my groove in this one. What do you think? Let me know your comments!
Waterlily #6
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
Do you know the difference between a waterlily and a lotus? Have a look at this video, that says the difference is actually in the leaves and not the flower. It seems the lotus leaves do not float on the water but are well above it. I did not know this either, as I thought the lotus leaves too float. I remember from several years ago, my grandmother used to eat on a lotus leaf for specific occasions. It is not for festivities though, as a banana leaf is.
I am really pleased with this piece, it is my favorite so far. I think I really found my groove in this one. What do you think? Let me know your comments!
January 4, 2010
30. Waterlily #4
The weather has been absolutely horrible here over the last two days. All I can see in every direction is a cover of white, it has snowed non stop since yesterday! So all I could do was sit inside and paint :-) Got some more work done on the next Rhine valley pieces, and completed 2 lilies for the day.
Waterlily #4
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
Your feedback is welcome!
January 2, 2010
Rhine valley view - Completed
Got to complete the first rhine valley view painting today. This is the other series that I will be working on this month, along with the waterlilies. I have some more images with nice views of the wine growing valley, with the Rhine as a backdrop and will be doing those soon. I hope to do a moonlight view as well, lets see. That depends on my confidence to do moonlight, which is currently zero.:-) As it is I have miles to go with daylight, and where do I begin with moonlight?!!
Evening sun at Assmannhausen
Acrylics on Canvas, 12 * 16 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
I have photographed this view from inside a cable car, with very bright light from the left. And in the photo, the entire upper left corner is too bright, almost white because of the glare. I felt that somehow grabbed too much attention, and I have reduced the intensity of the area. That helped me bring back the focus to the brightest spots in the vineyards.
Its been a long time since I did a big landscape, the last I did were all the tiny poppy fields, which itself was a long while back. I have tried to keep it looser than I always did, I like the effect it gives. I am also consciously working on improving my comfort with color, mixing and the likes. There's a long way to go, and I'd like to hear any comments or feedback.
29. Lily love #3
Some pink lilies for today. I had a tough time with this one. I am not sure if the under water effect is achieved well. Let me know what you think!
Waterlily #3
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
28. Waterlily #2
Yet another waterlily. Same as the last one, this too is on a black gessoed surface. I am really enjoying painting on black, and I like this one better than the previous one. I think after a long long time I have not used red in my paintings! When I see all of my recent work, the red just jumps out at me :-) Let me know what you think.
Waterlily #2
Acrylics on board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
January 1, 2010
27. Hide and seek
My first painting for the year 2010. I am a complete novice with flowers, this is I think the first ever time I am doing a flower. But, there are lot more to come. I have a handful of references, and I think this whole month will be flowers. Not a bad way to start the year right? :-)
This one's painted on a black surface, after a black gesso background. I have gone in for a looser approach, tried to keep the colors a little low key, and I would love to hear any comments on the same.
Hide and Seek
Acrylics on Board, 5 * 7 inches
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan
This one's painted on a black surface, after a black gesso background. I have gone in for a looser approach, tried to keep the colors a little low key, and I would love to hear any comments on the same.
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