Alohomora!

May the doors open, may there be a lovely kiddie book to illustrate, not, NOT, oh never, an English textbook! I've been harking back to the days when I painted for kiddie books and magazines. So, when there was this swap of characters from Harry Potter, to be interpreted just as the artist pleased, I jumped at the opportunity. At last, some illustration.

I used the books for reference, not the movies. And, I chose four of the staff at Hogwart's for a portrait session. Here they are: Trelawney and Lockhart and Umbridge and Moody. All these teachers have been painted in watercolours.

My scanner's acting weird, so these have been photographed. That's why the tilt.

Gypsies

I've been painting ATCs on a new site, not WetCanvas. The swaps are more manageable here, for you only have to do sets of three/six paintings upon any theme. The tough part is that you get negative trading points if you don't send your art within the stated time. Oh I love the pressure... or do I hate it? Difficult to describe the feeling.

Anyway, one of the themes was It's a Hard-Knock Life: Gypsies and Vagabonds. Here are my Banjaran. The moustachiod gent is from a photo by MeanestIndian on Flickr CC.

All these cards are in watercolour, on watercolour paper from Auroville. I've made a special attempt to paint them in muted tones, especially after getting drunk on colour with the Solstice paintings.

Puzzle

Here's something I painted in watercolours yesterday. Am thinking of doing more of these. Now, the question is, if I titled this picture Ah, Tree, what meaning does it convey to you?

Sunstroke!

I've been chuckling at the irony of it all. I spent the day painting ATCs for a swap on a new site that I've joined. The swap's called the Summer Solstice/Midsummer Celebration. I kept my old, heavy curtains fully closed to escape the sun's rays, and used up three buckets of water in the cooler through the day so I wouldn't die in his arms, and painted these cheerful images of jollity and passion. Please don't miss the phallic Maypole for all the hair.

Must say I enjoyed splashing about with all these ultra-bright colours. I got them for a fortune in a shop in Bangalore. Now, when I have me all these wonderful paints, mithai, as my artist friend dismissively calls them, where are the kiddy books for illustration? Ah, may Sol and Litha bring me some psychedelic creative opportunity!