Sketch of a cute goat

we met this goat on our vacation at Kerala 4 1/2 years back at Alleppy or Alappuzha on our house boat trip. we had some cheerful time with it as it came to eat some banana skin.

medium: watercolor on sketchbook.
size: 7" H x 9" W
time: 50. min approx.
source: from own reference picture

© dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved
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Inspirational sketch

"there are inspirations for art everywhere all the time. it's up to us how we respond to these inspirations, by contemplating and expressing in our own ways."

while traveling yesterday morning, i noticed this person with a selling cart under the beautiful morning light. it was a glimpse of only few seconds from a distance as i was riding and had to bring my focus back on road. however the quick glimpse was good as i could grab only the essence of it rather than focusing any details. after coming back home i did a very quick, rough sketch trying to put the vague image on paper. satisfied with what i got, i did another bigger sketch with added elements to it.

medium: watercolor on paper.
size: 9" H x 7" W
time: 50 min. approx.
source: from memory

© dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved
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Fun with colors on a portrait

fun with colors with a portrait study....

medium: watercolor on sketchbook.
size: 9" H x 7" W
time: 90 min. approx.
source: from a reference picture

© dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved
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Value shapes comparision

we often talk about using different numbers of value as shapes for compositional purpose, for example either of 3/4/5 etc. also we often do a quick thumbnail or detailed value sketch before going for the colored version to use as a 'road map', more specially for watercolor, to construct the composition in stronger way. but afterwards how often do we check or know if we have achieved it closely if not exactly.

so this is a small exercise i do most often if not every time after a sketch or a painting has been completed in color and turned into a digital format. i not only often do a value sketch before the colored version, but also convert the final digitized color version back to grey scale or completely desaturated it discarding all its colors keeping only the value shapes to see if the colors i have used holds the desired initial value shapes.

as you already know, all colors apart from their hue and intensity also holds a value of its own. all colors are relatively more or less darker or lighter than the other ones and vise versa and more than often we ignore this hidden but important aspect of colors as we get carried away with our emotions while applying the beautiful hues. and at the end the results may be disappointing because of not using enough value range and contrast from light to dark resulting the painting as 'flat'. by observing a finished painting or sketch as a grey scale or desaturated image helps us to check and analyze this again how close we are to our initial planned value sketch.

© dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved.
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Portrait of a Goat

A portrait sketch of a goat from couple of days back. thanks Cipa for the beautiful reference picture!! I love it when there are beautiful patterns of light and shadows.

medium: watercolor on sketchbook
size: 9" H x 7" W
time: 60 min. approx.
source: from a reference pic

© dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved
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Ulsoor lake sketch

sketched this view of Ulsoor lake situated at the heart of bangalore city from a picture clicked by Shyam Deshpande. this lake has these small islands in the middle with their specific names and some trees on them which give them beautiful contrast to their backgrounds. it's also a nice place to visit early in the morning or to view the sunset.

medium: watercolor on sketchbook
size: 9" H x 7" W
time: 60 min approx.
source: from a reference picture.

Reference picture courtesy Shyam Deshpande. Used with permission.

© dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved
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Quick still life studies

when we do not have enough time in hand, it's better to go for a simpler still life setting to do a quicker study. few fresh vegetables, natural light from the window and here are couple of studies in different mediums.

graphite and watercolor on cartridge paper sketchbook

© dhruba mazumder, 2014
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Sketchbooks project

here are few sketchbooks i recently stitched and bounded. these all are hardcover sketchbooks with brilliant quality acid free paper ideal for a quick sketching in both dry and wet medium. graphite, pen, ink, watercolor works very well on the papers. they are lightweight and easy to carry anywhere.

these are available for sale. if you are interested to purchase in any of these and to know about exact availability with details, kindly send a message or write a mail to me at...

dhrubafinearts[at]gmail[dot]com

btw, i also use the similar kind of sketchbooks :)!

kindly note: the cover designs may vary for actual available sketchbooks than the pictures shown here!

© dhruba mazumder, 2014
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A little bit about Artistic Block

artistic block is a term where one get stuck without much inspirations to work on, self doubt, lack of creative influence, failing to express etc. leaving a person blank. this can be momentary, few days, weeks or even months if not years. it gives the feeling that, all the creativity is over and we cant do anymore expressive works, we are finished in artistic term. however if we think positively, this is also a good time to experiment, experience and learn new things and scale new horizons with very less expectations. this can be either experimenting with a completely new medium, approach and style, subject, working time letting yourself more open towards experimenting new things with much less expectations for end results unlike of regular artworks that you have been doing so far. this may be the correct time to browse through the inspirations that you have always tried to explore. you may never know what new ability you could discover of yourself just because that you have never given the chance to experiment.

a very quick experimental sketch based on a profile picture of Kruttika Susarla. thanks Kruttika for the pic.

watercolor on awoen sketchbook.
size: 7 1/2" H x 5" w approx.
time: 35 min approx.
source: from reference pic.

© dhruba mazumder, 2014

Looking at the shapes of Light & Shade

give me some light and shade and i will try to capture it the most abstract way. many have wondered how i capture the most mundane objects. well its those beautiful light and dark shapes attract me most. when i saw this view, i had hardly any time to capture it on my sketchbook as the settings sun vanishes in quick seconds. so i captured the basic shapes in simple lines and added few notes for future reference. later on i completed this sketch with color from these notes.

it's almost impossible to let go a view like this in vein! happy sketching/drawing/painting!

© dhruba mazumder, 2014

Wish you everybody a Happy Magh Bihu, Lohri, Pongal, Sankranti

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Wish you everybody a Happy Magh Bihu, Lohri, Pongal, Sankranti...!!!
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this one is from couple of years back. a simple still life setting with natural light coming in from windows. a graphite sketch first for the composition and the watercolor version. a reminder to myself, i need to do these more often...!!

mediums: graphite on cartridge paper
watercolor on handmade paper

© dhruba mazumder, 2014

On location at Varkala Beach, Kerala.

this one is from beautiful Varkala, Kerala. there's a pure joy when one sketch/draws/paints on location as you can feel the atmosphere, sound etc around you, hence the other senses are also connected to it and keeps the artwork even more refreshing in one's memory.

medium: watercolor on cartridge paper sketchbook

© dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved.
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Keeping the color palette clean with frsh colors

well, according to the master watercolor artist Charles Reid, one way of judging how fresh the colors are in your just finished painting by looking at the color palettes you have used to mix colors for the painting. if the colors are still fresh in the wells and mixing areas, chances are they will be fresh in your painting as well. these are my palettes after a finished painting today. the wells were not cleaned up in the middle of the painting process and used from start to finish. apart from only few, most of the colors used were allowed to mix directly on the paper.

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 © dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved

On location viewing UB city, Bangalore

found an old on location picture from last year after the completed sketch along with the subject.

watercolor on sketchbook
size: 9" H x 7" W

this beautiful picture is courtesy Priya Sebastian. thanks priya!! you can check her illustrations at Priya Sebastian's Illustrations!!

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 © dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved

As the colors flow

a quick water color study today. wanted to pain as loose as possible with more suggestive brush marks than defined elements.

medium: watercolor on canson paper
size: 9" H x 7" W
time: 30 min approx.

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 © dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved

Another source of inspiration

a sneak peak about my source of inspirations for these kind of quick sketches. there is always something interesting around you to capture in the paper. for me, it's the play of light and dark abstract shapes that catch my attention at any place and time that inspires me most, a thing i can't ignore ! it's a good idea to give another closer look at these shapes trying to observe them in abstract manner and not as simple subjects what we are logically aware of. and if you still find them interesting it's the right time to do that quick sketch!!

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 © dhruba mazumder, 2014. all rights reserved