Winsor & Newton Award : NWS 93rd Annual International Exhibition

I am immensely honored that my painting 'Old Wheels at rest' won the Winsor & Newton Award at the NWS 93rd Annual International Exhibition. A big thank you to NWS, jury of selection, juror of awards, Exhibition director Penny Hill and President Linda Doll :)

Show Dates: November 10th, 2013 – January 11th, 2014
NWS GALLERY, San Pedro, CA

2014 Art Calendar by The Art of Watercolor

I am deeply honored to be a part of the 2014 Art Calendar by The Art of Watercolor, in the company of some of the best watercolorists of the world: Carl Brenders, Paul Dmoch, Marc Folly, Angus McEwan, Atanas Matsoureff, Stan Miller, Ron Muller, Yuko Nagayama, Rogger Oncoy, Shirley Trevena, Stanislaw Zoladz and Zheng L. Feng.

http://www.boutiquedesartistes.fr/le-calend-arts-calendrier-des-arts.html?___store=en&___from_store=fr

Thanks to TAOW magazine.

Watermedia Showcase competition

Yay! A good news: I've won Honorable Mention in this year's Watermedia Showcase competition. As such, my painting, "Old Wheels at Rest," will be published in the April 2014 issue of Watercolor Artist.

A wonderful gift from Escoda

Wow! Received some new awesome brushes, a beautiful leather brush case and an artist brush soap from Escoda. I'm really enjoying the play with all the new brushes that arrived. Thank you very much Escoda for this wonderful and generous gift, and for producing the best artists brushes.

I am in love with both the Reserva (Kolinsky-Tajmyr Sable hair) and Aquario (Squirrel hair) series. I also like Ultimo very much.

Some new synthetics series I tried:

1. Ultimo series is an almost perfect imitation of squirrel hair, which is very soft and has a great capacity to retain liquids.
2. Prado series is an imitation of sable hair. It not only imitates its color, but also its spring.

Test results:

1. The liquid retaining capacity of natural hair brushes (Aquario, Reserva) is about 2-2.5 times as that of the synthetic ones (Ultimo, Prado respectively), and they are the best in terms of quality.
2. However, I must say synthetic hair brushes have perfect points and they don't lose their points quickly. They are more value for money.
3. Natural hairs are more softer (less stiffer) than the respective Synthetic imitations/hairs and they give an amazing feel when you play them on paper.
4. Aquario mops are great while you are painting large shapes/areas. Reservas are great for detail work.
5. Among all the synthetic brushes I have tried(Ultimo, Prado, and Barroco), I like Ultimo the most. They hold a good amount of liquid and have beautiful points.
6. Each hair has a different characteristic. Prado and Barocco have their own advantages, you can punish these brushes since they are more stiffer.

NWS 93rd Open Annual International Exhibition

I am honored to announce that my painting "Old Wheels at rest" has been accepted for the NWS 93rd Open Annual International Exhibition.

Old wheels at rest

Old wheels at rest
48.5 cm X 68.5 cm
Watercolour on Fabriano Artistico
2013

The humble wheel, one of the greatest inventions of mankind, was conceived as a solution to the problem of transportation--of goods, of people etc. But like any other machine, it has its limitations, its restrictions. As humans grow old, their strength, their physical prowess decreases and they aren't as capable, as agile as they used to be. Something similar happens in case of the humble wheel as well; when freshly out of the factory, its fast, smooth, without any friction and issues, but as it gets older, niggles develop, it isn't as capable as it used to be, and people, who used to depend on it for the life / livelihood, now look for other options and desert it, simply because its no longer useful to them. Cycle here, is a metaphor for an old, ageing man- both neglected, both rejected by the very society they work for, spend their time and energy for.

International Watercolor Society Catalog 2013

Biennale Internationale de l'Aquarelle 2013, Namur, Belgium

3rd Place - April 2013 BoldBrush Painting Competition

An exciting news to share with you all. I am honored to announce that my painting "A Gadaba tribeswoman" was awarded the 3rd place in the April 2013 BoldBrush Painting competition. It's really great since it is an all medium contest. Thanks to the juror.

Outstanding Watercolor - March 2013 BoldBrush Painting Competition

A good news to share with you all. My painting "Waiting" was awarded the honor Outstanding Watercolor in the March 2013 BoldBrush Painting competition. Thanks to FAV Staff.

Waiting

Waiting
43.5 cm X 58.5 cm
Watercolour on Fabriano Artistico
2013

Reference photo by - Rohit Markande

DECOR-magasinet

I am very happy to share that a very generous feature article on me and my works is published in the February 2013 'DECOR' magazine (Norway).

This issue carries a four pages article on my works: The text of first 3 pages is in Norwegian and the last page in English (a shorter resume).
Thanks to the editor and writer for such a beautiful presentation and terrific article.

Please note:
Reference image for 'The Bonda tribeswoman', 'The Gadaba tribeswoman' by- Ingetje Tadros
Reference image for 'Devotee', 'Devotee 2' by- Hans Hendriksen

Fantastic Four

I have started my new painting with the four fantastic brushes by Escoda, and I must say they are awesome. What more an artist wants when he/she has got such beautiful brushes (along with the best quality paper and paints) !

The Reserva's performance is undoubtedly the best. Reserva series has got a beautiful tip, extraordinary capacity to hold paint/water, and the Kolinsky sable hairs have got an awesome natural spring. It is a perfect choice for my style, due to its springiness and extraordinary capacity to retain liquids. Size 6 is very good for painting smaller areas, working in details and Size 2 is helpful for minute details. Simply, its better than the best !

Squirrel mop's performance is almost equivalent to the Reserva ones, although the effect you use it for is quite different. Its water/paint holding capacity is too good, and hairs offer great softness. Squirrel hair is softer and less springy than Kolinsky. I am surprised to see that even such a large size brush (Size 18) points perfectly. Size 18 is very good for painting larger areas, especially backgrounds, and softening hard edges.

The Barroco series (Size 10) has an extra-ordinary point, nice spring and the same brush can offer variable and desired brushstrokes by varying angle and pressure.

So for Escoda brushes, thumbs up !

The forgotten values

The forgotten values
33.5 cm X 38.5 cm
Watercolour on Fabriano Artistico
2013











In this modern era, this is how these holy mythological books are treated by some cool (or rather say, pseudo-cool) Indian youngsters. In this painting, this book is treated as some trash, used as a support while burning mosquito coils. I have seen some similar kinda scenarios in reality, so this is happening ! And we have to face the reality, right? That's what my motive is, i.e. to give a message to the new generation through this piece; this is not what these books are meant for. These holy books are a treasure house of knowledge.
I am a bit more inclined to give an Indian touch to my paintings, being an Indian and that is the only reason I have taken the holy Gita as a subject in my painting. No disrespect or intention to hurt any religion/community.