Children's Book Illustration - 'The Honorable Enemy' from 'The Panchatantra Retold'

Pencil Rough Illustration for upcoming children's book 'The Panchatantra Retold'. The story is 'The Honorable Enemy'.

Inktober Drawing #1 - Dust Bunnies

One of my dust bunnies is still asleep, but Inktober is here. One ink drawing a day this month.

Children's Book Illustration - En Familia

Of course, they all lived in a shoe.

Sketchbook–Sleeping Girl

Sketchbook–Steel Utensils

They sat still and never once complained.

Sketchbook - Aai

Two minutes sketch

Sketchbook–Garden

It was a beautiful garden with a brinjal tree in purple bloom.

Sketchbook - Yucca

 

The  Yucca plant in our garden has sent out this very tall – over ten feet – stalk. We are now waiting for it to bloom.

I got this plant from a neighbor. He was at the Post Office and there were workers uprooting several Yucca plants from the garden there. He asked if he could have some, and they said, take them all. So he brought them back and gave me this one.

I planted it first in a rock garden, which was later sacrificed during our home extension work and the Yucca went in between the grapefruit and the Bakul, both of which were too shady for its liking. It didn’t grow at all there. Then I decided to move it to a sunnier corner and it has been thriving ever since.

Sketchbook–Things

Sketchbook–Oom Jaap

I’ve been sketching my relatives today. Here’s one of them in deep thought.

Sketchbook–Street Crossing

Sketchbook–Singers in Bhaktapur, Nepal

It was freezing cold and they made such beautiful music. It was a privilege to listen.

Sketchbook–Holding Hands

Holding Hands With My Ma

Sketchbook–Pencil Mug

It’s a mix of water-color, charcoal, and lead pencils. I have more, lots and lots more, in a box in the cupboard. Tomorrow I’m going to give them an airing. The phone is an antique that somebody gifted my father – obviously when the model was the height of fashion – and he said, here, you want it? So I have it and it’s my only handset – I’m a cheapskate and I don’t like cellphones. I sometimes think I’m the only person who isn’t glancing down at their hand in public.

Sketchbook–My Left Hand

 

I’ve put myself on a self-improvement regimen. Which means five hours of drawing daily on weekdays -

One hour – human gesture and life study

One hour – animal gesture and life study

One hour – architectural and still life study

One hour -  landscape

One hour – concept

On weekends I go more in depth.  So far, time-wise, it’s working out. The more I do, the more inspired I feel.

Sketchbook–Meijin and Chubary

Sketchbook–Bank Teller

March end. So I went to the bank. Naturally I had to go in the afternoon, and the sun was scalding hot. I love summer though. I associate it with pink water-melon slices, tall glasses of sugar-cane juice with crushed mint, bright yellow jacaranda trees, the shimmering silk of my Ma’s sari, and (amongst other music) Nana Mouskouri’s ‘Amapola’ and Boccherini’s ‘La Musica Nocturna de Madrid’.

Sketchbook–The Chat

I’ve been listening to some interesting art podcasts while I work. It’s entertaining – and inspiring and educational too -  to listen to how other artists work and about the experiences they’ve had. A good list can be found on itunes.

Sketchbook–Rashid Khan, Murad Ali, and Talwalkar

Ustad Rashid Khan performing Raga Yaman. If you haven’t heard him, you ought to. Link -

 

Murad Ali playing the sarangi and Talwalkar on the tabla, accompanying Ustad Rashid Khan (above). It was a very inspiring evening.

Sketches done on an old Dummy book. Because I didn’t want a tree to have died in vain.

Sketchbook–Three Horses

I love working in water-color and reusing/recycling paper. I also love horses.