artgraf test run

Artgraf pigment block test run.

maddy

Ink wash on A5 sketchbook

anusree

A5 sketcbook and pencil

charcoal portrait

speed sketch

breaking the 24 post a year checklist,  successfully entered the 25 count...

speed sketch

graphite and a bit of steadtler EE pencil on A5 sketchbook!

speed sketch

Another speed sketch - graphite on paper

speed sketch

Medium: graphite on A5 sketch book

failed attempt

speed sketch

This one is made with a sketch pen, yes it was a bright coloured sketch! It had gone through a filter in instagram and hence the broad dark strokes.  The subject is an actress from a sitcom and I believe it turned out well.

speed sketch

This is another speed sketch.  Stop reading further and guess who it is.  I'm sure that once I reveal it you'll frown saying,  it doesn't look like her. It's fine... give it a try.

speed sketch

Here's a speed sketch in A4 sheet with staedtler stick 430m blue pen, I'm copying the image from my instagram where I've applied a filter :)

lonely

This picture was posted by one of my friend in instagram. It was really appealing since the light and shadows were making patterns and reflections which we couldn't resist to mark in to the sketchbook.  I don't believe I've done justice to this one. But with my limited watercolor skills I've captured it and here's the result.

2017 wrapping up.

Hopefully this would be the last watercolor portrait that has been done in 2017!  Still more to improve I know...

colleague sketch

For me making portraiture becomes easier when I'm in that creative spike where I don't feel any hesitation to make graphite marks on paper! being in sync with the subject also matters to a great extend.  This piece of work came out of urgency, she gave me a deadline of 12 hrs. In fact I wanted to do it better which would've eaten up couple of hours, but sometimes things done in a hurry brings out appreciable results!. What do you say?

she disappeared in to the crowd.

It was a journey as usual by train, back to the silicon valley of India. It's a one night journey for me, infact for many onboard to reach their work location after spending the weekend with dear and near ones.


I woke up early in the morning(which is a very rare thing). By that time most of my fellow passengers were up and busy sorting out their luggage and stuffs, I cursed myself for not booking a train that would have reached a bit more late. While reaching out for my shoes below the lower birth, I saw a beautiful girl,  nice sight to start a day with!!!. She was so beautiful that I quickly(but in a controlled way) got up, had a face wash and even put on my glasses to get a clear vision.

Strands of hair flying in the air, gentle smile on her face, her wheatish brown skin in the morning sun and the shades in her body formed by the moving train .  I couldn't take my eyes of her, she was such a beauty!!! From there on artistic and the aesthetic senses took over. I wanted to make her my next subject, to be freezed in to my sketchbook. But somethings cannot be locked up, you have to set them free to enjoy the beauty (dear friend you'll not see her sketch here). I thought n number of reasons to get her attention, she was least interested :(.  And was busy with her cellphone tapping as if there was bugs running in the screen, in fact she was composing some message. Why this girl is typing such a long message? why can't she just ring  and speak up? whatever, in total she swept me away. Finally the destination reached, as my other hundreds of failed love at first sight, this girl also departed.

part II
(usually I don't drag this much for blog posts. Yes I know it really sucks but the situation here demands it, hence this part).
I hurriedly got in to a bus to reach my home at earliest, there were no window seats vacant as some lucky souls occupied them but I got a normal one(Yes, I do love the window seats). Gradually the bus got crowded, and to my surprise found that same old girl with her backpack, struggling to keep herself stable in an overcrowded bus. She managed to keep her bag below a seat and again started to tap her phone.  Man! what is wrong with this girl? why is she doing this kind of stupid things?

The conductor was asking her for the destination point, she simply turned her phone and showed the text she made in it. God! I was frozen seeing that, she was a mute. The next 15mins of my journey, I was simply observing her with some unexplainable thoughts. She got down in a stop before mine and disappeared into the crowd, but she's still there in my memory...

sps.

personalised cups

disclaimer: this post doesn't  mean to hurt or defame any person/organization. For anything regarding violation of policies or anything you can write to me, I'll move this out to the draft section  :).

I work for an organization which feeds around one lakh fifty thousand souls. No I'm not into food industry. Just to make it clear(in case you pictured it wrong), I'm working for an IT service provider.

Evening 4'oclock, if conditions are favorable we usually come out for tea.  More than enjoying the tea we enjoy looking at the girls.  Wait... Why are these guys and girls carrying their own personalized tea cups(coffee mugs). Whenever I've see that, thoughts pour in........

might be because they are afraid of getting diseases transmitted through cups(even if it's sterilized).

might be for multipurpose. Yes I've a friend who has a huge cup with a large base, she usually takes that only for the morning break, she puts cornflakes and mix it with milk, have it as her breakfast. Normally this happens when she turns up late. I really envy her for that. Being an early raiser usually @9,  after reaching office most of the times I've to be satisfied with the brunch.

May be it reminds them of their dear ones who presented it with the wonderful wordings and sometimes with a cropped image.

One day I got a strong valid reason that gave me more clarity on this, here is the situation. As we do normally, selected a nice cup which was kept upside down in the deck. Took some hot water and dipped a tea bag. I noticed a dark red patch of color to the brim of the otherwise white cup. Guess what? Yes it was a patch of lipstick(I actually got it confirmed from my test-lead who was a lady and was with me for coffee). Was that a mistake from the pantry boy? the lady with the lipstick? or me choosing the wrong cup from the deck labelled "Clean Cups"?.  Anyways, now I got a printed one for myself. And I'm still searching for that lady with the dark red lips...
sps.

when was the last time you felt happy?

I asked this question to a friend. He thought for a while and replied that it was not big things, but while at that moment he felt more content. He told me two instances:
1) when he enjoyed a movie on the TV(alone, don't take it wrong, it was a U certified one), and
2) when he found he has put on weight around 1.7kgs (actually he's trying hard to put on weight). He added that, he badly wanted to do the fist pump but pushed aside that idea as it was a hotel where he checked the weight.

Now, coming down to my situation, I've felt happy on a day when I wrote 3 lines of css code that fixed an issue. It's unexplainable, over the three years of my experience I've never came across such a mood.

"Every body is wishing a Happy New year. And searching for happiness...." I came across such an article in a local newspaper, it was quite interesting. I did my part of searching the net for the happiness. Here is what I got.

• Happiness is like an epidemics, if we are into a group of such people. it can instil on us as well.
• Always keep a smile on the face, its also infectious. Moreover, we can never think of a negative thought with a smile on our face.... :)
so keep smiling :)...............

sps.

people

The thought of some people gives a seotonin(happy hormone) rush, while the thought of others makes us feel depressed and gives a sting of hatred. All this happens because of the experiences we had with them. I'm not discussing about the fair people around me, whom I had known for a long time. This is about the "sthayi bhavam", after all first impression is the best impression(its not so- at least for me). I've met lot of people with a facial expression that reflects 'all the troubles in the world is with them'. And I've also met people (note: who are not fair) but have a pleasant smiling face, oozing with confidence. I admire them and wonder what thoughts are going inside them. I wish I could chase them and learn how they maintain that bhavam. Its not the makeup, color or build that makes them stand out, but the mere pleasant mood. But how did they manage to get in that mood? and, remain in that mood through out? I'm still searching for the answer...