More Birds Continued!

Hoopoe

I did this watercolor on a vintage book page that was layered with absorbent ground. 

Orange Headed Thrush

Thanks for visiting.

(Watercolor by Indira Govindan; Photos: Wikimedia Commons)

Illustration Friday: Mirror

My submission for this week's topic at Illustration Friday.

For more of my art check out my Etsy shop.

Thanks for visiting.

Birds!

Since last week, I have started on a new habit...spending an hour or so every night drawing and painting. To keep my enthusiasm going, I decided to start with birds. These are Indian birds. The image sources for these bird paintings are photos that I had taken and the wonderful Wikimedia Commons. Birds 1, 3 and 4 are from Wikimedia Commons.

These are small art, done on Arches rough watercolor paper. I used watercolors, acrylic ink, brush and pen. I also added a bit of collage using old maps.

Thanks for visiting.

Shooting the Breeze

This is my first submission for the VirtualPaintOut monthly project. This is an intriguing project, about which I found out from a a very unlikely source the polymerclaydaily.

Hosted by Bill Guffly, the idea behind the Virtual Paintout is to "give artists opportunity to gather virtually, and paint or draw in the same area". How is it accomplished? Every month Bill selects a geographic area from the Google Street view. The participants take a virtual walk of the area using the Street View maps and create a drawing or painting of something  they have seen. This concept appeals immensely to my love of travel, map reading and painting.

This month's project is island of Zealand in Denmark.  Zealand's largest city is Copenhagen. Having grown up in a megalopolis, my painting usually inclines towards urbanscapes. I "walked" around Copenhagen for an hour trying to find out what kind of city it is. This is what I found:

a. Bicycles galore--whether neatly arranged on the racks, propped against the wall or thrown carelessly on the ground. The street views were obviously captured during the warmer months and there were many folks navigating the city on bikes. Obviously, there is a strong bicycle culture there.

b. Copenhageners are not given to colorful or splashy dressing. The people were dressed in summer clothes of shorts and tees in very pale, being muted colors. 

c. Finally, Copenhagen is a very homogeneous city--a vast ocean of white devoid of any black, brown or yellow specks.

Given the general lack of vibrant or splashy colors, it was a surprise to find the garishly painted Palads Theater, a mega multiplex theater in the Hammerischsgade district. The colorful theater became the inspiration for the painting above. 


Thanks for visiting.

September Sky

On September 22, the Sun will be exactly above our head as it crosses the Equator moving south. This phenomenon is called the equinox, when the sun rises directly on the east and sets exactly on the west. From our side of the earth, these  are the constellations visible on the September sky.

Thanks for visiting.

Night Sky: Sept 9-15

Both Venus and Jupiter are currently visible in the morning sky now. The Moon joins Jupiter Sept 8 and 9 in Taurus (Moon is exalted in Taurus). (Moon-Jupiter is a powerful beneficial combination.) It will be conjunct Venus in Cancer on Wednesday, Sept 12. Cancer is Moon's own sign and astrologically, two luminous planets together makes the sign shine brilliantly

If you are interested in seeing any of these planetary displays, look towards the eastern sky, early morning between 1a.m and 4 a.m.

Moon and Jupiter together, Sunday Sept 9, 2012

Moon in Gemini from Monday Sept 10 to Tuesday Sept 111, 2012

Moon and Venus together in Cancer, Sept 12, 2012

(Artwork by Indira Govindan based on Astronomy Class, Star-Ledger)

Thanks for visiting.

Photographic Glimpses of the Mall in D.C.

Edith Haupt Garden, Smithsonian Castle

Subcommitte by Tony Cragg, Hirshhorn Museum

Smithsonian Castle

Dhobi Flower

Coatroom sign at the Museum African Art. So Imaginative!

Sun and Moon Signs Etched on the Doors of the Museum of the American Indian

Japanese American Memorial

Japanese American Memorial

I hope you enjoy this little tour of some of the attractions of the Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C.

Thabks for visiting.