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Thursday, July 19, 2012

17. Rabindranath Tagore - a humble tribute.

A century and a half has passed since his birth, but Tagore's poetry and philosophy remains fresh and contemporary - that, of course, is the reason for his popularity. I wish to draw this mesmerising personality with flowing beard and hair and intense and fathomless eyes, in various moods. The first sketch in a series that I propose to make is here.

"The world has kissed my soul with its pain,asking for its return in songs."








Tuesday, July 17, 2012

14. Fridge Magnets and other artistic knick-knacks

These little knick knacks are made with  MSeal, shaped by hand, then dried and painted.

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Froggy is so tiny (2"by3") I never realised he was cock-eyed till I saw his picture here!

Tortoise shells are made with walnut shells and the bodies with Mseal



used small wood blocks for this
lamp shade with handmade paper

lamp shade with handmade paper


Friday, July 13, 2012

13. Ganesha : Art by Paromita

Om vakra tunda mahakaya, surya koti samaprada, nirvighnam kuru may deva sarva karye su sarvada

Ganesha, the benevolent elephant headed God, is adored by all Hindus. In fact no ritual to any other god can be undertaken before appeasing Ganesha. This was a boon that Shiva granted Parvati when she saw in horror that her beloved son had been bestowed the head of an elephant (long story that).

Ganesha is mostly seen with his right hand raised in benediction and the left holding some sweets, called ‘modak’ or ‘laddoos’. His other hands, (gods are shown having numerous limbs to differentiate them from humans. They are more an indication of their prowess and powers rather than physical hands), variously hold a ‘Chakra’ (ancient weapon used to throw and slice the enemy’s neck) and ‘Shankh’, (conch shell used as a trumpet on the battle field). 

 All Hindu Gods have a favourite ‘ride’, mostly an animal or bird. The people revere the animal the god rides almost as much as the god. Thus owls, swans, tigers and in the case of Ganesha the mouse are animals held in reverence by the worshipers of Laxmi, Saraswati, Durga and Ganpati.


The mural at the top of the page is with acrylic paint. In the first painting above, the artist has maintained half circular movements like the half moon over the god's forehead and in the second painting she has tried to make it look like an idol made of silver.

Here a black and white Ganpati has been made in a statue form.

Three views of the same statue


A mural like effect with paint and sequins
The same picture different treatment- one in warm shades the other in pastel colours



Here's a digital art Ganesha. Made on the computer.


                                      


                                                            
                                  Astract Acrylic on canvas        
                                                           

                                                         

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

12. Ratnagiri – An artist’s delight


Last year we visited Ratnagiri a lovely port town on the Konkan coast. The USP of the town and the reason it is still clean and peaceful is because not many tourists haunt this place. Inspired by the sea and the sun and the sands of Ratnagiri, Parmita painted a number of seascapes. 





This one is a painting, in case you are wondering.


Some pictures of the sea that inspired the paintings.








The Thibaw Palace, where the exiled King of Burma spent his last years and which prompted me to read Amitav Ghosh’s 'The Glass Palace'. A sad and forlorn place.



Tuesday, July 10, 2012

11. Decorating earthen pots – artist Paromita


Earthen pots and vases are works of art in themselves but here they have been made unique pieces by painting different motifs on them.