Gaban, Chapter 1: Rainy Season

 

It is the rainy season- Savan, the fifth month of Hindu calendar…it is drizzling now and then. It is afternoon, but seems like evening already. Swings have been placed in the mango orchards. Girls and their mothers enjoy using them. Some are on the swings; some are pushing them. In this season, women’s childhood memories are aroused. It seems as if it washes away the worries of their hearts and replenishing their soul. Hearts are filled with hope. The green of the saris seems to bond with the greenery around. 

Munshi Premchand: Gaban (Embezzlement), 1931. Chapter 1. 

Digital Book illustration using Procreate. 

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.