Here is a portrait of my dog, and a few close ups for the details- sadly it is in total tatters!
Category: Just colour my world
Paintings
Let sleeping dogs lie…
These sketches were submitted as part of an assignment I did for a correspondence course in commercial art!
These were of our beloved greyhound – the old gentleman was nearly 14 years old when these were done.
The next four sketches are of ‘The Doggess Who Wouldn’t Be’ – the most beautiful black Cocker Spaniel with a white throat and that tiny little tuft of white on the tip of her tail!
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Portraits and sketches
I discovered a bundle of sketches which had been packed away in a trunk, while we moved across the country on my husband’s postings! They are in a bad shape – so I thought I’d scan and preserve them before the brittle paper disintegrates totally!
This is sketch of my brother – I’ve always loved doing profiles! My school notebook would be full of profiles of classmates – mostly done in 10 to 15 minutes!
And here is a pencil drawing of a mother with a baby, undated – probably 1978 or 1979. This is likely to have been copied from a magazine…
I decided to teach myself to paint from a book – this is water colour wash – 1970 thereabouts!
Here is another 10 minute sketch – of my mother in law while she meditated
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A higher point of view
I sketched the Moti Dungri (Pearl Hillock) fort some 25 years ago from the terrace of our single storeyed bungalow. The sketch is not dated, but I guess it must have been 1987 from the date on the preceding sketch in the notebook. It must have been a winter day – one would not be on the terrace otherwise! I had never used crayons to colour my sketches earlier – this was a precious Crayola set ( I remember the green and gold packaging) which my son had got as a present from his Aunt in Canada!
Then Jaipur started growing vertically. Our neighbours on the West went up 4 storeys, and Moti Dungri was not visible any longer – not from the lounge window, nor from the terrace. Five years ago, we also decided to grow vertically and our beautiful house was taken down to be replaced by an ugly nine storeyed apartment block. One consolation – the Moti Dungri is visible to us again! Yesterday, as I sat with guests in the living room, I happened to glance out of the window and saw this!
I made an excuse and ran to the terrace to capture the majestic fortress outlined by the rays of the setting sun.
The sun is actually setting a little to the left of the fort. The ipad camera could not capture the richness and brilliance of the sunset – here the colours have been enhanced to what I actually saw. This is how the camera saw it…
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Mirror Mirror on the Wall …G’bai
I regard this painting as one of my better executed ones.
G’bai first came too our house about 20 years ago. She came to do the sweeping and wash the dishes. She was then about 30 years old and married to a factory worker. She had the burning ambition to educate her 3 daughters and 2 sons, and ` make something ‘ of them. When her husband did not have the time to drop her, she walked a good 5 kms from her house to our neighbourhood to work. She worked in about half a dozen houses.
She also was an excellent masseur, and was greatly in demand whenever someone had a baby! She did not disclose all her earnings to her husband; I helped her open a secret bank account in which she would put her savings. She would then buy jewellery for her daughters’ weddings from these savings!
This diminutive yet gutsy lady, who had never been taught to read and write, dared to dream of a great future for her children.
Sadly, none of her children have grown up to her expectations. Today she is financially much stronger and still working – but only as a masseur.
G’bai likes to dress up, but because of the nature of her work, rarely has the opportunity. Here I have caught her preening in front of the mirror. She generally wears only the `maang tikka’ on her forehead; I have dressed her here in all the jewellery she’d probably love to wear!
Painting Title – Mirror, mirror on the wall..
Size – 11.5″ X 17″
Medium – Water colour on handmade paper
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