Wild Rose of the Canadian Rockies - NFS

Friends, I have not been on top of this blog for a while, got busy in packing / unpacking and moving to a new home! So belated ... Happy New Year!

As I was searching for a subject to paint, I found a book I had purchased during our vacation in Canadian Rockies. Browsing through the pages brought me back the memories of nature hikes, that pure water in the lakes, glaciers, those majestic mountain goats etc. During the hikes, this wild rose was seen very commonly all over the place. I liked this pink rose, but there were white and light pink wild roses too. Also I noticed, all these wild roses, be it any color, had exactly 5 petals ! They don't grow very tall, at the max they come upto our knee. Looking at them while walking feels like they have their arms wide open, as if welcoming you to enjoy the nature in its purest form.

Hope you enjoy this proudy standing wild rose !

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Juicy Oranges.... - NFS

Here is another experiment with light and shadow...
Friends, savor the flavor of these juicy Oranges.

!!! Happy Thanksgiving !!!

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My First Block Study - NFS

After taking the Oil Painting workshop this year in summer, I found a great book - Capturing Radiant Light & Color in Oils and Soft Pastels - by Artist - Susan Sarback. I loved this style of painting and every painting in this book is "radiant" as the name of the book suggests. There are demonstrations in this book that I wanted to try out and this is the first one - The Block Study. Supposed to be the easiest and it is advised to finish this demo in about one hour. However, I took my own sweet time, being a beginner !!
It was fun trying out the effects of light on Objects and their shadow. The blocks in this picture are red and yellow and placed in bright sun, hopefully you can feel this looking at the painting.

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Wild Flowers in Canadian Rockies - NFS

In the summer of year 2008 (i.e last year) we had been to Calgary in Canada. It was the most exotic vacation we ever had !! We went to a National park which has one part on canadian side and the other in Montana, USA - Waterton National park (canadian side) and Glacier National park (US side). One of the days we went to hike in a hilly area. This was the most enjoying nature hike. As we walked the narrow path, we could hear birds and smell the fresh air of the rockies. Both sides of the path were wild flowers so beatifully swaying in the gentle wind. We stopped and sat down in these areas, trying to soak in the beauty of these wild flowers. I specially liked the radiant red flowers, looks somewhat like the paintbrush - take a look.
Hope you enjoy it !!
Love, Prerana

Wild Flowers of the Canadian Rockies

Sept 24, 2009.

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Field of Flowers - NFS

It had been long time that I painted and I have a list of things I wanted to paint. So... I checked this one out on my list.

Enjoy this colorful field of flowers and imagine the sweet fragrance !!

Love.

Field of Flowers - Sept 13, 2009

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My dream flower - the Lotus - NFS

Here is a quiz for you on the Lotus flower:
When you see a lotus like flower in the pond, how do you know if its a water lily or a lotus?

Feel free to answer in the comments section (you will not need to have a google account anymore, I changed it!!) or email.

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I remember the time I started reading about lotus flower was when I used the lotus symbol in the "toran" that I had made during Soniya's wedding. I was fascinated with the facts that I read and the beauty of the lotus of course!

Here are few interesting facts about lotus:

1. In hindu religion, the Lotus is used by goddess of wealth Maha Lakshmi. She sits on a fully blossomed lotus flower.


2. The Lotus flower grows in murky waters and rises on a long stalk above the surface to bloom glorious. Thus untouched by the impurity, lotus symbolizes heart and mind.


3. The Lotus seeds can germinate 200 years after they are shed. Hence lotus is a symbol of strong vital force that could withstand extremely adverse conditions. The lotus flower thus represents long life, health, honor and good luck.


4. The Lotus Flower is the only flower to fruit and flower simultaneously.


5. Above all the lotus represents spiritual enlightenment.

Upper Back Bay - Newport Beach - SOLD

SOLD

It was Saturday - August 8,2009 - my last class for this plein air workshop session.

The weather was perfect - cloudy and gentle cool winds blowing on that day. This painting was a good practice to capture the sun rays that came out through the clouds for brief moments. Hope you enjoy this panoramic view of the Back Bay at Newport Beach as much as I enjoyed painting it !!

Love.