Fida

SAHMET is organising an exhibition of 8"x10" paintings by artists known and unknown. This is for M.F. Hussain, whose 94th birthday is on the 17th of September. I got to know of this very late, but just had to paint something because I love M.F. Hussain.

I thought I'd mimic his way of abstracting personality through details of dress or appearance, minus the features. Therefore the white hair, and the glasses. Then, I wanted to bring in his film poster painting. Finally, I thought I'd put in these lyrics because they capture exactly what I feel very often: Ik khwab se dekha hoon, tabeer nahin banti... tasveer nahin banti. (I keep trying to paint a picture, and the picture doesn't get painted. I have this vision, but it refuses to be put down on paper.)

For Hussain, in exile in a faraway country, with love.

Celestial Critters

I love the ideas people come up with for swap-themes. This one was about "animal guides/power animals". I thought that mooshikan would fit the description: just think of the poor fellow having to carry that elephant-headed tub of motichoor laddus about. Then I thought, hey, let me do the vahanas of the gods and goddesses. I wrote the slokas with my Micron pen, and the pictures are watercolours. Couldn't find a good sloka for Yama's buffalo, though. The elephant is supposed to be Airavat, by the way. The first case of a white mammal growing colourful in his old age.

I, Me, Myself

Here are some self-portraits I did recently. Watercolours on handmade paper, the first from an old photograph of how I used to be fifteen years ago, and the other two painted from the mirror. They were both painted at the same table, lit by the same window, just a couple of days apart. I swear. Maybe the brown portrait is the true one, because it shows my inner self: a self well-hidden under ten extra kilos.

Peter Max Inspired

I discovered Peter Max through this swap in his honour. Most of Max's bright and colourful work was evidently done in the 70s and 80s. Maybe Max' childhood in Shangai was what whooshed his work with colour. He uses lots and lots of pure colour; no blending, no mixing, absolutely no limits on the palette.

Here are my paintings, all in watercolour. I was apologetic about them being in watercolour and therefore not quite as bright as these photos show them to be... the max that wasn't possible, was the way I put it, and I love my dreadful pun, so there. However, after looking at some of the artist's watercolour work, I think I haven't done too badly with the colour. Only acrylics could be really truly gaudy.

Leafloat

Lotsapotsaluv (Yesssssss!!!)

The Oranges Swimming

Monochromatic Women

I could have gone on painting more of these women, but I've got to catch the deadline. All of these are watercolours. The green one is a bit of an experiment. The sepia lady has gone through innumerable versions: I just love the solid seated firgure in a sari. Always have. The red one is copied from a sketch by William Frost. The blue girl is my favourite.

Say, any of you ladies and gentlemen willing to pose in the buff for me?

Lammas Animals

Looks like I'm stuck in an animal groove... little Indian animals, creatures of the rainforest, and now, the animals of the harvest. And, in case they seem to be just a set of animals, I've chucked in some oats and paddy and pearl-millet and wheat... for good measure. Heh-heh. Note those bright colours, too.

One of the things that struck me when I was reading up on Lammas, was that the boar is connected with the earth, fertility and the harvest in the West too. In India, the wild boar is the animal associated with Bhoo Devi, the Earth Goddess. Interesting, or no?

All of them are in watercolours. There are little lines and dashes of bronze acrylic too, though they don't show up in the photos.

Rainforest Creatures

I'm absolutely pleased at the way these paintings have turned out. All the creatures are from the forests of India and Srilanka. They've been painted in watercolours, with Micron pen outlining. What I like about them is the grey and black and white background which sets off the main subject.

Grey does indeed make colour sing.