Fearless in Chittagong, Bangladesh

Bangladesh was the place to explore in the Virtual Paintout challenge two months ago. I missed the challenge at that time but there were so many visually engaging sights there I had to do a painting even if it was past the deadline. This image of a little girl riding on the back of a cycle rickshaw packed with water cans at Airport Road, Chittagong caught my eye. There is barely any standing room but the girl is tiny enough to squeeze in and hang on to one of the ropes holding the cans in place. Only a child with no sense of fear could do it.The road had only light traffic with mostly bicycles and cycle rickshaws. So the girl was quite safe that way. But what was interesting was to see a girl in such bold position when there were so few girls visible in public.

It took me several tries before I got the proportions of the girl right to the stack of cans and the father driving the cycle rickshaw. I made the colors of the salwar-kameez brighter. I am not totally satisfied with the overall picture but will do for the present.

Thanks for visiting and your comments are always appreciated.

Submitted for paintpartyfriday

Taking Artistic Liberties :Cesky Krumlov

For the month of May, the artists at Virtual Paintout travel to Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic. It is one of those picture postcard places, serene, bland, orderly and neat with nary a trash can in sight; for that matter, even humans are tucked neatly away. It had plenty of pretty  sights to paint but I didn't find them inspiring. I like my street views gritty, grimy and garish. After zooming around quite a bit, I found a spot that looked somewhat dingy and in transferring it to paper, I took lot of artistic license to liven it up. The painting was done on mixed-media paper with pastels, pen and watercolor. Below is the photo from Street view.

I am submitting this also for this week's Paint Party Friday

Thanks for visiting and your comments are always appreciated.

Virtual Paintout: Bhutan

Border Crossings (watercolor)

This month at the Virtual Paintout we travel to Bhutan, the Himalayan mountain kingdom which along with its Buddhist monasteries is also now known as the "land of happiness". Initially, I hovered over Thimphu, among the monks, lamaseries and the prayer flags. Bored I wandered around other lines of Bhutanese street view and landed on Samdrup Jhonkar on the Bhutan-Indian border. Despite the bucolic surroundings, it looked lively with lots of foot and vehicular traffic. These two Indian ladies walking with umbrellas open to protect against the sun near the border checkpoint caught my attention. Not sure if they are coming or going or whether they have come to shop or to sell.

I am also submitting this for Paint Party Friday.

Thanks for visiting.

http://goo.gl/Itz0pl

Virtual Paintout: Washington D.C.

For the month of February, 2014, we take a trip to Washington D.C. at the Virtual Paintout. It is one of my favorite cities in the world. The Mall, museums and the surrounding areas remind me of New Delhi. My favorite eating place is actually the Indian stall in the Union Station. Being a vegetarian, I have never been to Ben's Chili. But it is a big landmark, so I picked it.

Thanks for visiting.

Trip to Venice (Virtual)!

It has been a while since I participated in the Virtual Paintout challenges but this month's topic lured me back. For the month of December 2013, we have been asked to travel to Venice to partake in the beauty of its canals, gondolas, the bridges and the colorful architecture of its buildings. Many artists have captured this place on their canvas and this is my take on Riva degli Schiavoni.  (Watercolor on Arches Rough, 8.5" by 11").

Thanks for visiting.

Virtual Paintout: Valparaiso, Chile

This month we visit Valparaiso, Chile at the Virtual Paintout. Valparaiso is a historic city and is also one of  UNESCO Heritage sites. But, as I was taking a virtual tour of the city, I was beginning to think that it might as well be called the graffiti capital of the world. I found spectacular street art everywhere and the city seemed like a living museum. Take a look here, here and here.
So, I decided to capture one of the street arts as a painting for my submission. I found this on the gate of a regular home on a well maintained street. I found the sneering asymmetrical face intriguing (or is it a beaten up face?) and wondered why someone would choose to have it painted outside their home. On the same street down a couple of homes, there was another set of flamboyant drawings. Provided I get vegetarian food to eat, I would definitely like to visit Valparaiso, Chile.

Thanks for visiting.

Snow in Slovakia!

The location for this month's Virtual Paintout is Slovakia, a beautiful country with many historical sites dating to pre-medieval period. This week's topic at the Illustration Friday is "SNOW". I decided to combine the two themes and, created one piece of art. What you see above is a segment of the Town Hall Square in Bardejov, Slovekia, one of Unesco's World Heritage sites. It is a place with an interesing hsitory, but I don't know if it snows there. Well, here is to artistic liberty!

This watercolor  painting was done 5" by &7" 140lb coldpress watercolor paper.

Thanks for visiting.

Virtual Paintout: New Brunswick

We visit New Brunswick, Canada for our Virtual Paintout project. Rural and thinly populated, it reminded me of Maine. With so many river systems and surrounded by the sea on three sides, one cannot but notice the amount of water on its topography. The bridges straddling the rivers are also very striking. There was plenty to paint and I chose New Brunswick 134 as my subject for this month's challenge.

Watercolor on Arches 140lb rough, 6.5" by 5".

Thanks for visiting.