Free Calendar For You

Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 29, 2016

September is ending in a wet and grey mood. The temperatures are definitely cooler and the leaves have begun to acquire their autumnal hue. The beginning of fall is always a little melancholic but the month of October lifts the spirits as it envelops us in its beautiful colors with the message that the festival season is about to begin.

To celebrate the start of the new month, I have a free monthly calendar  for you. I designed this calendar using my own art. You can see the picture above and the link for download is below. Feel free to print it for your personal use.
October Calendar. 


Last week, I showed here the beginning of the threshold floor art. It is now completed.

Thanks for visiting.

Linked to Moo Mania. (Fall Colors)

Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eva and Kristin for hosting.

Welcome Fall 2016!

Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 22, 2016

One of my favorite collage techniques is using vintage book page as background in my paintings. Once upon a time, I used to do this by either directly painting on the book page or collage the art on the book page using glue. Now, Photoshop enables me to do this digitally while preserving both the book page and the artwork. The book page is from an old Tamil (my mother tongue) magazine. The artwork is a watercolor of the last flower blooming in my garden on this first day of Fall. I scanned both and digitally collaged them in Photoshop.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eva and Kristin for hosting.

Speaking of Fall, I spent most of my afternoon today sprucing up my front stoop with a new floor art (kolam/ rangoli) in readiness for the festival of Navrathri that is starting next Friday. The one I did last year had become quite weather worn.

This time I am doing something different from the typical South Indian style of floor art. The two photos below are progress shots. It is still very much a work in progress. I will post a full photo once it is completed.

After a quiet August, with cooling temperatures and ripening berries, the birds and the critters are back in my yard. Yesterday,  I saw all 8 robins, 4 bluejays, 4 starlings, two finches, a nuthatch and a titmouse, a chipmunk, rabbit and several squirrels, all at the same time. This is how spring started. The predictability of nature's rhythm is indeed very comforting.

Thanks for visiting.

K is for Kateri aka Catherine

Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 19, 2016

For this week's challenges, I am posting a few photos from hundreds I took on my visit to one of my favorite places in the U.S., Santa Fe, New Mexico. The photo above is the statue of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha installed outside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. She was the first North American to be canonized by the Roman Catholic church. She was an Algonquin-
Mohawk woman from New York but here she is all dressed up in New Mexican finery looking suitably beatific. I suppose a little bit of artistic license is okay.

Linked to Image-in-ing and, ABC of Wednesday where the letter is K this week. My word is Kateri which is the Mohawk version of Catherine, the name given to her upon conversion to Christianity.

Thanks for visiting.

Russian Sage

Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 14, 2016

With autumn just a week away the only plant that is blooming in my yard is Russian Sage (Perovskia atripcifolia). Despite its common name, it is not part of the sage family and it is not native to Russia. It's also sometimes confused with lavender because of the violet flowers but as you can see above its leaf shapes are completely different. Like lavender and sage, its leaves are aromatic when crushed and has a long history of use in traditional medicine.The flowers are supposed to be edible though I have never tried them. The flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies.

A couple of days ago, I was inspired to paint this faithful perennial. I painted it directly without doing a sketch first. I used just two colors: green and violet. Which makes it  a perfect candidate for Try it on Tuesday's this weeks challenge to use just two colors for the project.

Also linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eva and Kristin for hosting.

Thanks for visiting.

J is for Justice

 Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 13, 2016

 It is letter J at ABC Wednesday and my word is Justice. These are photos of the Royal Court of Justice in London, UK. The top photo was taken from the lower deck of a double decker bus. Initially, I took the picture of the building for the architectural details. At a closer look you will notice the placards propped against the rails and the people looking curiously at them.

The photos below were taken standing across the street a little later. This time you can see protestors holding up the placards. I zoomed in closer and the placards read "Inquest for Dr. Kelly". Not sure what the case was about but it was an interesting juxtaposition to see the protestors in bright daylight against the dark interiors of the chambers where justice is being served.

Thanks for visiting.

Marching Orders

 Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 12, 2016

Sometimes, a picture is really worth a thousand words. One summer afternoon by the Hackensack river during high tide.

Linked to Image-in-ing.

Thanks for visiting.

Doodling on Ceramic Tiles

Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 8, 2016

These are mandala doodles I created on ceramic tiles that were left over from a kitchen renovation project. I did several of them one weekend. All the drawings were completely improvised and done without any tools except Sharpie markers. They are not permanent, of course. They can be wiped off completely with nail polish remover and replaced with a brand new drawing. This impermanence appeals to me. It makes me bolder in how and what I draw.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to EVA and Kristin for hosting.

Thanks for stopping by.

I is For Iridescent

Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 5, 2016

Another week and another challenge at ABC Wednesday where it is letter I this week. I chose the word Iridescent which means "showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles". This is an image of an European swallow during mating season. A inquisitive pair landed on my front yard giving me  infinite opportunities to photograph them from different angles. These photos were taken a while ago. Also linked to Image-in-ing and Our Beautiful World.

Here are a few more:

Thanks for stopping by.

How Did it Get So Late So Soon?

Do-Something-Everyday, Sept 1, 2016

Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Eve and Kristin for hosting.

It is hard to believe that it is September already! At this time of the year, I am always reminded of Dr. Suess's quote:

"How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's noon. December is here before it's  June. My goodness how time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?"

Couple of days ago, I reopened my Etsy shop after closing it for a month. I took this time to not only create new art but also to make them into prints to sell at my Etsy shop. The prints are done using Epson's ultrachrome pigments and Radiant white watercolor paper. I am very pleased with the quality of the prints. Here are a few samples.

Below are some photos of the Passaic river that flows nearby. The 80 miles (130 km) long river meanders through northern New Jersey before emptying into Newark Bay harbor. The originating point of the river is about 30 miles from my town and therefore the river is a fairly thin here. It is pretty big near the harbor.

Thanks for stopping by.