It is the end of the week and I am quite exhausted by discussions of death, destruction and discord. So it is a good time once again to take a break and figuratively dust off some of my old art work (that is because I have not painted anything new) and share them with readers.
The last two times I put up some of my original paintings (Virtual Exhibition # 1) and some faithful copies (Virtual Exhibition # 2). Today I have picked two paintings which are somewhere in between. These paintings are based on photographs I found in magazines. But they were painted from memory - I did not have the originals before me when I executed the paintings. As the originals were photographs and mine are paint and brush versions of the same and because I added and subtracted quite a bit from the original compositions, the end products are not really copies. However, since I borrowed the basic idea, I hesitate to call them true originals.
(As usual, please click on the pictures for a larger image.)
One bleak February in Nebraska, I was struggling with a painting that was going nowhere. Both the weather and the creative mind block were cause for some frustratration. I wanted to put the work aside and start something fresh but couldn't come up with a good idea. Then during a trip to the local library while browsing through an issue of National Geographic, I fell upon an article on Rajasthan, the colorful desert state in central India. Rajasthan is not far from Delhi and the photographs in the article made me painfully nostalgic for the hot, arid summers of northern India in the surrounding gloom of a midwestern winter. I could not check out the magazine. I made a quick sketch of the picture on a piece of paper and later transferred the image on canvas. What transpired was a very satisfying piece of art work that progressed with speed and enthusiasm. I finished the painting in high gloss varnish which lent it a luminous overtone. It is framed in antique gold frame and hangs in a room that gets the afternoon sun - resulting in an attractive glow. It always pleases me to look at this painting because I remember how happily I worked on it.
As evident from my previous paintings, I like to use bright, bold colors. From time to time I would toy with the idea of making something muted using shades of black, grey or brown - like a charcoal drawing or an ancient sepia tinted photo. But I never got around to it until I came across a photo (painting?) in a science journal (I don't remember which one). There was a picture of a man and a boy in identical, old fashioned top hats and long coats standing by what looked like a canal. The entire picture was in varying shades of brown. I found in it the perfect template for my two toned ambition. Again, I made a rough sketch of the figures and started the painting with much anticipation. But much to my surprise and dismay, even though I felt I was doing a pretty decent rendition of the original, nothing looked right. The hatted and coated man and boy, who looked quaint in the photo, looked comical on my canvas. While the original was "dark and moody," mine looked "dark and muddy". Rather than abandon it, I decided to change a few things while giving up the hope of a strictly two toned painting. I modernized the man's clothing and gave him an umbrella, suggesting rain. The little boy was changed to a little girl in a bright yellow slicker to contrast with the dark clad man. I drew a lamp post on the side to introduce some more yellow and that allowed me to add it also to the sky. And lo and behold, the painting gained a focus and acquired a mood .. and still retained the look of an old photograph!
I can't decide which of the two I like better! I especially liked the tree and the sense of vastness of the field that the two women are crossing. I wish I had your facility with the human form- I still struggle with that.
It's amazing how you turned the second picture from 'dark and muddy' to 'dark and moody' just as you had originally intended.
P.S. Some days back,I found this link to a gallery of contemporary Indian art that was quite worth a look. Lots of modern/abstract depictions of traditional subjects too.
Posted by: Sujatha | August 04, 2006 at 10:18 AM
I have it on good authority that there are no intellectual property violations triggered by using these paintings as desktop wallpaper images. I myself am using "Mist," and I'm very happy with it. It's a beautiful painting, Ruchira.
Posted by: Dean C. Rowan | August 04, 2006 at 04:00 PM
Nice paintings. I particularly like the one of the women in the field, which well captures the common aesthetics-- clear, harsh lines and muted variations of gold-- of hot summers (a la The Stranger) and barren winters (a la Nebraska...or, shudder at the memory, Minnesota).
Posted by: Anna | August 15, 2006 at 08:53 PM
It is interesting that Anna picked up on the common aesthetics of the two paintings. Other than the fact that both happen to be inspired by magazine photos, I put them up together for the similarity in their color schemes. I used almost identical colors in the two paintings. For the most part, they are gold, amber, midnight blue / black and alizarine crimson. But because of the difference in the colors of the skies and the light on the horizon, one picture is cold and the other summer hot.
Posted by: Ruchira Paul | August 15, 2006 at 10:27 PM
Fantastic paintings. Your use of colors and brush strokes is truly tremendous. I think I like the one with man and child walking with umbrella. Something about it gives me a peaceful feeling...like a first rain in springtime or a heart-felt talk with someone close.
Posted by: EduFunToys | November 16, 2008 at 07:34 PM
Painitngs are toog good. All artists with such great abilities are reqiored to come and participate for Freedom Of expression.
www.rangrasiya.com
Posted by: Vaujnath | January 08, 2009 at 03:01 AM