One step at a time! - Original Painting of Children in Oils

This father son duo was also spotted along the banks of the Alster in Hamburg. The lighting was perfect and I hope I have managed to do justice to it. After painting on 6 by 6 inch panels since a while now, 8 by 8 seemed like it was BIG! And here I keep dreaming of 30 by 40 and the likes. :-) It wasn't that bad though and I quickly got used to the size. 

This painting is done on stretched canvas, and the sides are painted in a neutral colour so that it can be displayed without a frame. 

One step at a time!
Oil on Canvas, 8 by 8 inches
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SOLD - A Better View - Reworked

Regular followers of my work would recognise this piece from my 30 in 30 challenge in January 2014. It is one of those paintings where I knew something was not right but I could not point a finger at it. So after a good two months I picked it up again today and reworked it. I fixed quite a few things. There weren't major changes with respect to the proportions and stuff, but a lot of smaller changes here and there. I also pushed the values a bit more as it was full of mid range values the last time. 

A Better View
Oil on Board, 6 by 6 inches
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A look at both the pictures together to see the changes. Do you see all that has been fixed? :-)

SOLD - Bottoms Up! - Original Painting of Children in Oils

I had painted these little girls a long time back, and the result was abysmal. It is one of those paintings that went straight to trash without a thought, when I was doing my periodic review. So this is not a rework, but a completely new painting with the same reference. A bright sunny day and two curious little girls probably trying to spot some fish. What's not there to love.

Bottoms Up
Oil on Board, 6 by 6 inches
SOLD

Oh and by the way, I can't even begin to tell how difficult it is for me to open the fridge every time and ignore those lemons calling out to me ;-)

SOLD - Finishing Touches - Original Oil Painting of Children

A companion piece to the previous beach paintings -

Finishing Touches
Oil on Board, 6 by 6 inches
SOLD

My beach paintings would make a great display when combined, a collage like below.

Beach Paintings by Nithya Swaminathan

SOLD - Team Work - Original Oil Painting of Children

I love scenes of children building sand castles. Watching them go about the process with all the seriousness gives me so much joy and the perfect opportunity for a lot of nice paintings. I have quite a few nice references and will be doing a couple of more pieces on this theme. They would make for a great collaged display too. 

Team Work
Oil on Board, 6 by 6 inches
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I find capturing wet sand extremely challenging, struggling to match the color and value every time I mixed it. Accommodating all the figures into the small canvas with the right proportions was a huge challenge too and I had fun! And I am quite happy with how this one turned out. 

SOLD - Under Construction - Original Painting of Children, 6 by 6 inches

Under Construction
Oil on board, 6 by 6 inches
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A better view - Original Oil Painting of Children

This reference has been sitting in my library for ages, nearly 3 years. Somehow everytime I wanted to get to it, it felt too complex, not right for the size of canvas at hand and so on. I wanted to include the child and an adult in the composition and my smaller canvasses were probably too small. As crazy as that sounds, till today, it never occurred to me even once that I could omit the adult altogether.:-) 

When I was in the middle of another painting yesterday and very frustrated by how it was turning out, this little girl popped out and just pushed me to paint her. Started this yesterday and could complete it today, and I am reasonably happy with the outcome. I hope you are too! Thanks for looking.

A better view
Oil on board, 5 by 7 inches
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So that marks the end of the 30 in 30 challenge. I have not completed 30, not even half of it. But it has been awesome. I shall write a detailed review tomorrow about my experience.

Go after it - original oil painting of children

The little boy chasing his football again. I painted this one as a companion piece to my earlier painting "Kick off". The colours are a bit more muted in this one I think. I don't think I'll ever get enough of painting kids, one of my absolute favourite subjects to paint. 

Go after it
Oil on board, 7 by 5 inches
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This is my 5th painting in the 30 in 30 days challenge. Unfortunately, my vacation ends today and I hope I can get some painting done even amidst my work week starting tomorrow. Oh well! 

"Say cheese" - 30 in 30, #4

I happened to spot these kids at a popular tourist attraction a couple of years ago. While I wanted to capture the girl taking a picture of one of the boys, I was pleasantly surprised to find the onlooker boy also in my reference. I have used a mix of the brush and the palette knife for this painting. The girl is one using the palette knife, and I have also used the knife for the foreground. The farther steps and the two boys are all done with the brush. They were two tricky for the knife and I could not risk messing up the painting. 

Say Cheese
Oil on board, 7 by 5 inches
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If you like my work, make sure to "like" my page on Facebook and subscribe to my blog by mail so that you don't miss a post. Have a good Sunday!

Kick off - Happy New Year!

Firstly, wish you all a very happy new year 2014. Hope the new year brings in a lot of happiness, good health and peace to you.

I have been away from the easel for way too long, almost 2 years. We had our second baby in Nov 2012, and I was enjoying my time with the little one during my maternity break that I did not get to paint at all. Not even sketch, zilch. Just when she started with her daycare and I was bracing myself to resume, life took a nasty turn. I lost my mom four months ago, and that has kept me away from everything. Gone too young, too sudden, before even we could grapple with what was happening. I kind of lost interest in everything, including art. However, I am glad that 2013 is over and think that I am now in the frame of mind to start painting again.

I am now picking up my brushes and knives after an eternity, feeling very rusty, enjoying myself nevertheless. I am now turning to art to help me cope with grief, and to give me the strength to move on. I signed up for Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, just to give myself that motivation. When I finished this painting today and signed it, the high that I got was unimaginable. Made me realise what exactly was missing in life all these days.:-) I hope I get to finish 30 paintings this month and that gives me the push to paint more through the year.

Kick off

Oil on Board, 5 by 7 inches

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My website is a work in progress too, as I could not spend time on it. I am looking to fix things in the coming days. Stay tuned.

Wish you a blessed new year once again! Happy painting!

Who's that? - Beach painting of children in summer

This is the same little girl from the previous painting, I loved painting her all over again!

Who's that?
Oil on board, 5 by 7 inches
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What's that? - Oil painting of children in Summer

I have a thing for kids with curly hair. I find them irresistible! And that's what caught my attention first about this little girl too, that big bush on her head.:)

What's that!
Oil on Canvas, 5 by 7 inches
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Busy bee - Original Textured painting of children in summer

Busy Bee
Oil on Canvas, 5 by 7 inches
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Extra Baggage - Small Oil Painting of Children in Summer, 5 by 7 inches

Kiddo trying to hurry up and match pace with dad. Summer impressions, 2011.

Extra Baggage
Oil on Canvas, 5 by 7 inches
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"In safe hands" - Textured small oil painting of children, 7 by 5 inches

Taking cautious steps for a first time experience with water. :-) Exploring the world, one step at a time.

In safe hands
Oil on Canvas, 7 by 5 inches
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"Daddy!" - Original Textured Oil Painting of Children, 5 by 7 inches - SOLD

This little girl is from a reference at a park nearby. When I saw her picture, the first thought to cross my mind was that she was running towards her dad. That's how my girl runs to her dad, and I am sure all of them do.:-)

Daddy!
Oil on Canvas, 5 by 7 inches
SOLD

I started this one originally with the canvas in the portrait mode, and the shadow was getting cut off midway. The husband was vehemently against it and suggested it would look better in the landscape format. Looks like he was right, as I like it better than what I started with. There's a reason why he is my biggest critic you see. And do I even need to mention how kicked and proud he was about me titling the painting so. Ugh!

"Mine"craft - Original Small Textured Painting of Children, 5 by 7 inches

This one was painted exclusively with the knife. Because of the limitations of using a knife, I could not capture intricate details, but I quite like the overall mood it captures. Also went a little crazy with the colors, let me know how you like it. 

Click on the image to view it larger, or better still, click on the bidding link to view the details of the knife work.:-)

Minecraft
Oil on Canvas, 5 by 7 inches
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Bliss - Original Small Textured Oil Painting of Children, 7 by 5 inches

Bliss is biting into a juicy popsicle on a hot summer day. :-)

Bliss
Oil on Canvas, 7 by 5 inches
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Click here to bid.http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/31557

Blue on a Bike - Original Small Textured Painting of Children, 5 by 7 inches

On the first of his very many rides, a little boy discovering the magic of life..:)

Blue on a Bike
Oil on Canvas, 5 by 7 inches
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Click here to bid.