Season of Oranges

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It's the orange season now here in India and they are available everywhere. In our growing up days, having them under wintery sun was we used to look forward to every year!

Medium: watercolor on sketchbook
Size: 10" H x 6 1/2" w
Time: 40 min.
Source: live

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 © Dhruba Mazumder, 2014. All rights reserved.

Areca nut and Betel leaves

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Areca nut and Betel leaves are used in northeast region of india in all sort of formal occasions and rituals, apart from chewing for their mild stimulant effect. Known as 'Tamul' [areca nut] and 'Paan' [betel leaf] in Assamese, not long ago, they were used to offer in pairs as a formal wedding invitation to guests [ along with verbally explaining the whole schedule of the event!] and other formal of occasions. The Areca nut tree may grow approx. 30 feet in height and the betel leaf plants are grown on the trunk of these trees. The husk of areca nut is green while it is fresh and the nut inside is soft, as it ripens the husk turns orange and the nut hardens like wood.

Medium: watercolor on sketchbook
Size: 10" H x 6 1/2" W
Source: live

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© Dhruba Mazumder, 2014. All rights reserved.

Fresh Olives Sketch

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While roaming around yesterday near the jetty in Guwahati, I noticed few street vendors selling fresh olives. Now these brings back my childhood memories when we used to climb the olive trees to pluck them fresh off the branches. We used to shake the branches for the ones not reachable by hand and there would be a shower of riped olives !! Here olive is a popular fruit to pickle in a very traditional age old way. Btw, olive oil in our cooking is only a recent addition!!

Medium: watercolor on sketchbook
Size: 6" H x 5" W
Time: 40 min. approx.
Source: live

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 © Dhruba Mazumder, 2014. All rights reserved

Banana in atercolor II

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The 2nd edition of the banana peel sketches from couple of days back !

Medium: watercolor on sketchbook.
Size: 10" H x 6 1/2" W.
Time: 60 min approx.
Source: live.

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© Dhruba Mazumder, 2014. All rights reserved.

banana in watercolor I

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I had been exploring other mediums recently and watercolor took a backseat for quite sometime. Couple of days back I was trying to sketch some bananas in watercolor and I was not able to concentrate or focus fully. Half hearten efforts never lead to satisfactory results, I need to engross in the process of sketching/drawing/painting. Yesterday while sketching this, I tried to focus more !

Medium: watercolor on sketchbook.
Size: 10" H x 6 1/2" W.
Time: 75 min approx.
Source: live.

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© Dhruba Mazumder, 2014. All rights reserved.

Brushstrokes studies in Watercolor

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I have been thinking lately to practicing more expressive brush marks while painting with watercolor. Watercolor can be tricky at times and certain results are hard to achieve. In these two quick exercises, the aim was to use the brush directly in a calligraphic way to define forms and not blend too much between the strokes so that brush marks can be more visible giving a textural look. The downside of this may be of showing off too much unwanted marks ending with a feel of overwork. These are done on cartridge paper. The two studies done above are between 5-7 minutes and the colors were put down and let to blend on the paper itself.

Medium: watercolor on sketchbook [cartridge paper]
Size: 11" H x 7 1/2"W

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This sketch is done in similar approach with bold and loose directional brush strokes to create marks attempting textural results. Any surface detailing is not the concern of this exercise, instead it's the broken brushstrokes of different values and colors I was looking for to define volumes. On the right are the brushes used for this sketch. The sketching time for this one is 30 min. approx.

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In the above image, you can notice the simple setup for this quick watercolor sketch. Keep the subject near the window and pickup the sketchbook and color.

Medium: watercolor on sketchbook [cartridge paper]
Size: 11" H x 7 1/2"W

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© Dhruba Mazumder, 2014. All rights reserved.

Season of water melons

 

I think this is the time of the year for watermelon as they are available everywhere. From roadside vendors, small carts, neighborhood shops to supermarkets, everybody is selling them. Considering the daytime warm temperature Bangalore is going through, this fruit is the right choice to have now. And of course for some painting too as they are great examples of complimentary colors !

medium: watercolor on sketchbook
size: 5" H x 6 1/2" W
time: 45 min approx.
source: live

When you have such an interesting element in front, you can not just have only one sketch! So, here's the 2nd one I did of this watermelon !

medium: watercolor on sketchbook
size: 5" H x 6 1/2" W
time: 45 min approx.
source: live

© 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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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

one of the many fruit sellers at the neighborhood weekly suburban market. they come in their vehicle loaded with all these colorful fruits and set up the same as a makeshift shop, i think they keep going to different localities 7 days a week! i loved these weekly markets that are held in different parts and corners and mostly i guess outskirts of the city. they are very colorful and full of characteristic. this weekly market is just 5 min walk away from my home and is held on every thursday. i went to this market few times before and always thought of sketching the next time i visit again. today, i took my sketchbook and colors and did couple of sketches. and it was a very nice experience as i was working with two sketches at the same time as either one of the subject will be blocked by crowd or vehicle!! btw, i bought some vegetables also :)!!

medium: waterproof gel ink and watercolor on sketchbook
size: 8" x 5 3/4"
time: 45 min approx.
source: live

sugarcane juice seller at the neighborhood local weekly rural market.
 
medium: waterproof gel ink and watercolor on sketchbook
size: 8" x 5 3/4"
time: 45 min approx.
source: live

this was more of an experimentation with colors rather than trying to paint a subject. sometime bak i read a comment by another artist that using or dropping some complimentary colors while still wet creates nice vibrancy [cant remember the exact words] and i think it is true. i dropped blues and purples on orange and yellows and it seems to work nice!

medium: waterproof ink and watercolor on sketchbook
size: 5 3/4" x 8"
time: 25 min approx for the sketch. added the texts from web later on
source: live