Wild Strawberry Bloom - SOLD

In our backyard there was a very small plant of Strawberry and the gardner cleaned the rest. Between spring and now the whole empty patch is covered with this plant and it even has mini strawberries! Few plants still have such blooms and that inspired me to paint this on one of my mini canvas. This is #3 in the itty bitty series of paintings. It can be displayed on a mini canvas on a small easel or can be used as a christmas ornament!
Let me know how you like it.

Wild Strawberry Blossom - 3x3 inches, oil on canvas

SOLD

Contact me if you would like to have one of these. The other 2 in this series are:

Pansy - 3x3 inches, Oil on Canvas
http://celebrations-ppk.blogspot.com/2013/07/pansy.html



Tulip - Pink or Purple - 3x3 inches, Oil on Canvas
http://celebrations-ppk.blogspot.com/2012/01/tulip-pink-or-purple.html

Best Friends - Lorikeets

Their color inspired me to paint it, and their pose suggests as if they have been "best friends" since long time!

These are a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets are colorful parrots found in Australia, Indonesia... A lot of people have such Lorikeets as pets too. I am not sure if I am ready to have such pets, but I had fun fun fun painting them!

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Best Friends - 8x10 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

Desert Tune

Imagine warm, but crisp fresh air... a Desert Tune being played... and far away there is a caravan of camels crossing the desert in this sand dune setting! And now look at the painting... don't you think you have already reached your destination!?

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Desert Tune - 11x14 inches, Oil on canvas panel

 By the way, I got the reference image from the weekly challenge on Wetcanvas online artist community. Click on this link to see reference images and the challenge if anyone is interested in following:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1321114
It was hard to choose an image for reference since all of them are so good. But I setteled for this sand dune, since it reminded me of the trip to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan on sand dunes. We had sooo much fun there, there was no sign of any vegetation and everywhere there were big and small sand dunes. We spent hours climbing the sand dune and then rolling down and then back again. Fun fun...
Normally I should have posted a picture at 2 hours into the painting, but I lost track of time as I did a little bit in the mornings over three days. I believe it must have taken me about 6 hours.

Blue Camas Lily Fields

I haven't seen the real beauty of these fields in person. But the photo was so beautiful that I was tempted to paint it. I found the photo reference in Wetcanvas Reference Images.
This feels like a perfect place to go and relax or have a nice picnic or go on a hike!

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Blue Camas Lily Fields - 11x14 inches, Oil on canvas panel

Bird Enjoying Spring

This bird is sitting on a rock and singing spring time song! I painted this landscape for my Oil Painting Class I am currently teaching.
Artisans Winsor and Newton - water mixable oils are used in this painting. I was fun to use a limited palette from the beginner's set - U. Blue, Ali. Crimson, Yellow, White. 

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Bird Enjoying Spring - 14x11 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel



Chillaxin Seagull at Sunset

Its been a while, had taken a short break from painting. I am so very happy to have finished this painting. This is a scene from Dana Point beach. The photo reference is from Wetcanvas library.

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Chillaxin Seagull at Sunset - 11x14 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

Portrait of Anushka

I wanted to paint a portrait for this year and feel very accomplished. I probably will tweek a little here and there on this painting still, but this is 99.9% finished. Hope you like it and do send me your comments:

Portrait of Anushka - 11x14 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

Here is how the painting progressed:

Anushka - Stage1

Anushka - Two



Anushka - Three



Anushka - Final

Dew Drops Dream - SOLD

I am dreaming... Early morning as I stepped out in the garden, I felt a refreshing breath. The air was filled with a combination of fragrance from roses and morning mist. I wondered where all the roses are, couldn't see a thing in the mist! As I walked in the direction of the fragrance, suddenly SURPRISE SURPRISE !!.... I was greeted by this beautiful Red Rose bud on my path. I admired the dew drops on it. Extended my arms to bring the Rose bud near me to see the dew drops closely. OH NO!.. a thorn pricked me on my finger and I was AWAKE. The garden quickly vanished from my thoughts and I hurried to get ready for a full working day.

But here is the Rose bud of my dream! Isn’t it beautiful?
 

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Dew Drops Dream - 5x7 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD

This time I made sure to take pictures of my process:
Below is Stage 1 - the underpainting...

Dew Drops Dream - 5x7 inches, STAGE 1

 Next is Stage 2 - adding local colors

Dew Drops Dream - 5x7 inches, STAGE 2

 Stage 3 - Refining and adding variations to stage 2.

Dew Drops Dream - 5x7 inches, STAGE 3

Stage 4 is the final stage - adding more variations, highlights, I added the dew drops in this stage. See the very first picture of the final painting.

Rose

I painted this as part of the project for teaching Foundation Oil painting class for Adults which started yesterday!
I enjoyed using brushes only and with Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil and very limited palette: Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine, Phthalo Green (BS), Yellow Ochre, Titanium White.
The painting is ready to hang, no frame required!

Rose - 12x12 inches on Gallery Wrapped canvas



Rose - sideview




Rose - sideview



Beauty In Shambles

Friends, this is a place in India - city called Bundi, near Kota, State - Rajasthan. The city of Bundi is known for its ornate forts, palaces, and stepwell reservoirs known as "baoris". The beauty and serenity of this ruins captured my attention. Hope you enjoy it!

Beauty in Shambles - 11x14 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

Hey Look - There's an Owl on the Tree!

This painting comes in continuation of the Fleamarket painting. Just across the road from the Fleamarket, there are trees in line all along the sidewalk. On the sunny afternoon it felt nice to walk in the cool shade of these trees. Just then, I happened to look up an spotted an owl on the tree. Quite a good luck on that day!

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Hey Look - There's an Owl on the Tree! - 11x14 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

A Chat in the Flea Market

In the morning it was a cloudy day, but by afternoon it became bright and sunny. I knew I would enjoy my visit to the Jamestown Village Vintage Fleamarket in Old Town Tustin. It is the joy of strolling alone in such places. I throughly enjoyed window shopping the antique shops and walking around among the people in the flea market. It seemed that these people in my painting met after a long time, had lots to catch up and had a gr8 time chatting!

Hope you all enjoy the painting!

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A Chat in the Flea Market - 16x20 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

A Glimpse of the Beach City

The air is sultry, noise level is high, hustle and bustle of people, and gray atmosphere could make someone dizzy. Nevertheless, against all odds, this is a city of opportunity – the commercial and entertainment capital of India – Mumbai. To balance out the “dizziness” there is this vast ocean where one can take a deep breath, look at the horizon and feel the promising air – a definite assurance of a bright future! So friends here is an attempt to capture a glimpse of the beach city.

Enjoy!

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A Glimpse of the Beach City - 8x10 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

MetroCity - Mumbai Coastline

It always amazes me - tall buildings right next to ocean... This is an attempt to capture Mumbai coastline from a distance.

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MetroCity - Mumbai Coastline - 8x10 inches, Oil on Canvas panel

Did you like it?

A Beautiful Evening On the Beach - SOLD

Living in Southern California is a privilege, even in winters we have beautiful evenings on the beach! Here is an attempt to capture one such beautiful evening. Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed painting it!
I wish you the best of Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year!

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A Beautiful Evening On the Beach - 9 x 12 inches, Oil on canvas Panel

SOLD

A Paradise of Coconut Palms - from Goa, India

This painting is done from my own collection of photos. It took me down the memory lane. Fun times! - my Husband and I went on a trip to Goa. On the way to one of the beaches, we passed this paradise of Coconut Palms. Needless to mention, we stopped there to take a picture! :)

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A Paradise of Coconut Palms - 11 x 14 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

Hope you like it! Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated.

A Lonely Man on the Beach

I am sure this person felt better after walking to the beach, feeling that fresh air from the ocean and inspired by the vastness of the ocean!

This one is painted using palette knife also.

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A Lonely Man on the Beach - 11 x 14 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

The Playful Prints - SOLD

We go to the beach, for us the Pacific Ocean is the closest. But almost all the year round the water is very very cold - ice cold. Even the idea of dipping the feet in the waves gives a very cold feeling. But still looking at the magnificent ocean, the rythmic sound of waves, the fresh open breeze... how can one come back without experiencing the waters - at least by getting the feet wet in that chilly waters of the ocean !? This is the moment I wanted to capture in my painting... waiting for the first wave to hit on your feet, but at the same time moving a bit backwards as the wave is approaching. There is an excitement in that freezing cold feeling and once the first wave hits, it becomes a play to move forward in the sand as the wave leaves... and then move backwards as the wave comes again. Look down at your feet, and there is a pattern of your own footprints - very interesting.

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The Playful Prints - 11 x 14 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD

Dazzling Agave (pronounced as uh-gah-vay)

Now here's my new experiment with colors! I took a simple green succulent and wanted to make it look abstract. Hope you like my fantasy -  

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Dazzling Agave - 12x16 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

I tried to take the best picture here, but nowadays I feel its a challenge to take a picture of my painting. In person, the painting looks a bit different since one can see the depth of color and its variations. The camera doesn't really capture all of it.

About Agave: These kind of succulents are found in abundance in southern and western United States. It was considered sacred plant by Ancient Mexicans. It was a belief that the liquid from this plant purified the body and soul.

I thought this will be interesting for you all to know that the juices from the agave after fermenting, leads to the drink called tequila.