Y is for Yellow

Do-Something-Everyday, June 29, 2016

It is letter Y at ABC Wednesday this week. Though Y for yellow is quite trite, I chose it because it is not only my favorite color, I also tend to photograph objects that are yellow. Like the one above which I found at a church parking lot in Banbury, England. Some of the other yellow objects here come from my backyard.

Moving on to other topics, the challenge at Try it on Tuesday is 'I believe I can Fly'. I am submitting the canvas collage below for the challenge. This collage is done using pieces of sari fabric and a original watercolor bird painting.

Thanks for visiting.

Embroidery on Canvas Mixed Media Sari Art

Do-Something-Everyday, June 16, 2016

This mixed media art is constructed on a 8" by 10" canvas. At the center is a hand drawn and painted peacock (as you may have guessed, it is one of my favorite birds, in addition to being India's national bird). Around the bird I doodled a dense pattern that adds a great deal of texture. More texture has been given with hand embroidered stitches around the bird which has been embellished with sequins (photo below).

I must confess, it started out differently (see photos below). My original intent was to create this piece on paper (with fabric border) and then mount it on canvas. Half way through, I became dissatisfied with the paper which was too thick and hard to embroider on. So, I ditched the whole thing and started over again this time directly on canvas. I skipped the fabric and instead added doodle on four sides framing the image.

 Thanks for visiting. Linked to Paint Party Friday and Moo Mania.

P.S. Forgot to mention that it is now available for purchase at my Etsy shop.

Mixed-Media Sari Fabric Art

Mixed-Media Sari Fabric Art: Birds on Green Trellis

Way back, when I first opened my Etsy shop I used to make a series called sari art. Using watercolor, I sought to capture the colors, textures and motifs of Indian saris on paper.  Indian saris were a

great source of inspiration and I had a lot of fun making sari art. Then I moved on to other things. 

Recently, I felt a renewed interest in doing them again. This time, I did it a little differently.  The colors and textures of the sari became the foundation upon which other patterns and collaged images were grafted. This added a greater dimension to the art. I am very happy with the effect.

They are now available here.

Zen-Doodle Mixed-Media Sari Art: Swan

Mixed-Media Sari Art: Born Free

Thanks for visiting.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. I am thrilled that the PPF random number generator chose my art for the featured artist last Friday and I am thankful to those PPF artists who left a comment on my blog.

Sari Art: Lacey Circles

This sari art is a work in progress and an evolving one too. It started with the drawing of a stylized swan. Then I decided to put it in relief with lots of circles around it. In the zentangle vocab these circles are called tipple, which incidentally is this week's challenge at I am the Diva. It is one of my favorite tangles.

The completed sari art will be revealed soon.

Linked to Paint Party Friday. 

Sari Art: Birds of Same Feather

When I first started selling my art a few years ago, I used to do a series of mixed-media artwork which I called "Sari Art". Using watercolors and actual sari pieces I tried to capture the complex colors and textures of Indian saris on paper. It was really fun to do  and interestingly enough there was a market for it.  After a while, I moved on to other things.

For this week's Summer of Colors challenge (Purple, Purple, Yellow), I dug out an unfinished sari art. The main section was already painted in purple color along with the purple border which came from an actual sari.  Last night,  I added a couple of paper birds, colored them yellow and added the phrase "birds of same weather" also in yellow.  I like the effect of purple and yellow together.

You will find examples of other sari art pieces on this blog here.


Linked to Paint Party Friday and Summer of Colors.

Thanks for visiting and your comments are always welcome.

Challenge #140: Monotangle Pointillism

This week's challenge at I am the Diva czt is to create a monotangle with tiny dots. I did not exactly do a tile. But, I love using dots in my art. It is actually very calming to do. The one above is my signature sari art done with Indian silk, watercolor and of course, dots.

The one below is more elaborate  with lots of dots, bindis and swarovski crystals.

Thanks for visiting.

Sari Wall Art: Summer Autumn Winter Spring

Energy. Warmth. Hope. Love. Happy. Morning. Midheaven. Sunset. Summer. Autumn. Tomorrow. Light.

These are the words that come to mind when I look at this artwork. It pulls me in and makes me want to stay in its warm glow forever. I think you will feel the same when you see it in person. The photos don't do full justice to the vibrancy of the colors.

Papers and handwoven sari silk pieces were painted, stamped, stitched, embellished to create this one of a kind mixed media art. The artwork is mounted on an 8" by 10" back stapled canvas. It can be hung as is without framing.

Available here on Etsy.

Thanks for visiting.

New Sari Art

These sari art are a fusion of design and colors from many saris that I have worn in my adult life.

This art is composed of two layers. The smaller central piece is an embroidered leaf appliqued on to painted watercolor background. This smaller piece is then adhered to a larger background which has been first painted with a contrasting watercolor and enhanced with delicate vine like patterns. The overall effect of the colors and the patterns is striking and pleasing at the same time.

The art is mounted on a framed back stapled canvas and can be hung just as is (staples will not show).


The sari which measures approx. 7" by 8 " is mounted on an 8x10 canvas.

Thanks for visiting.

Sari Wall Art : All about Love

The inspiration for this artwork comes from the Sanskrit drama Shakuntalam. Shakuntalam (Story of Shakuntala)is considered a masterpiece of the classical Sanskrit Indian drama. Composed by poet Kalidasa, it dates to the reign of Vikramaditya (5th cent A.D) described as the the golden age of ancient India.

The original story of Shakuntala is a small chapter in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It is basically a love story with all the familiar ingredients such as love at first sight, promises broken and redemption and reunion. Its protagonist is Shakuntala. Born to a celestial nymph and a human, she is abandoned at birth by her parents and is raised in a hermitage. One day, Dushyanta, the king of Hastinapura (Delhi) comes hunting in the forest and chances upon the hermitage. He and Shakuntala fall in love. He gives her a ring with a royal seal and pledges to send for her after returning to his kingdom. And things start going wrong for Shakuntala.

Due to a sage's curse, the king loses all memory of her and fails to send for her. Shakuntala, now pregnant, travels to his palace. However, on the way she loses the ring the king gave her and is unable to show any proof of their involvement. Heartbroken, she returns to the hermitage and in due course gives birth to a son. A few years pass by. Meanwhile, the ring is found and returned to the king and, as soon as he sees it he regains his memory of Shakuntala. Determined to right a wrong he goes looking for her. At the hermitage he sees this this young kid playing with a little lion cub. Impressed by the little boy's courage he asks him his name and the child answers "I am Bharata, son of Dushyanta". Deeply moved, he picks up the child and just then Shakuntala comes looking for the boy. Of course, all misunderstandings are cleared and the couple are reunited. The king, Shakuntala and their son return to Hastinapura and after his father's death, Bharata becomes a powerful and a famous king. It is said that Bharat, another name for India, comes from its most famous king, Bharata, the son of Dushyanta and Shankuntala.

Shakuntalam was the first Indian language drama to be translated into English by Sir William Jones in 1789. It is also the subject of an Italian opera. It continues to be a source of inspiration to dancers, musicians and other artists including my inspiration for this sari wall art

Remaking Art into Art: Sari Wall Art

Whether it is hand woven or made in a textile mill, whether it is natural silk or cotton or polyester, whether it is brocaded or embroidered, whatever its color, style or regional origin, Indian sari is a work of art. It is not only a work of art, it is uniquely Indian and you will not find anything to match its rich diversity in any other part of the world. It survived two hundred years of British rule and has managed to reinvent and thrive despite encroachment of jeans and other fashionable garments.

I love saris and I have tons of them. I got my first sari at age 16 and I still have my silk wedding saris bought 25 years ago. Yet, I hardly get a chance to wear saris these days in the US. The desire to feel the richness of the material and beauty of the design led me to create this collection of Saris as Wall Art .

Indian sari has three sections: body, border and the shoulder drape. The wall art pieces usually depict the body and the border. Every piece develops organically--using mixed media of watercolor, color pencils, permanent ink and genuine sari pieces in cotton, silk or polyester, I let the colors and the materials direct me in my composition. Sometimes, the end product looks very different from what I envisaged at the beginning. But none can be mistaken for anything other than a sari. The two dozen or so sari art in this collection cover a range of saris, from handloomed cotton to Kanchipuram silk and a bright palette of colors. You can view the entire collection here: