My art and art techniques

The sealed window

2011-06-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

Those who follow my work know of the fondness I have for drawing pigeons. You may even call it a weakness -like a person on a diet who is helplessly and inexorably drawn(wordplay!) towards the fridge at 1 a.m.

THE SEALED WINDOW
Watercolor and pen on handmade paper
39.5 X 28 cms

A detail -

and another -

Posted earlier at What the Heck is Art?

Tito Bros.

2011-05-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

TITO BROS.

watercolor, acrylics and pen

gurmeet

This was named after a charming children's story by the lovely Mrs.Whattheheck about three garrulous parrots called the Tito brothers.

The pen drawing before throwing colors in-

A detail-

and another-

Posted earlier at What the Heck is Art?

Pigeons and the mosque

2011-05-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

PIGEONS AND THE MOSQUE

watercolor
by
gurmeet

A detail-

Posted earlier at What the Heck is Art?

Part of a whole -Locomotive III

2011-05-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

Painting trains and locomotives is something I just love. Unfortunately, this is something I have been neglecting recently.

This is something I did a few years ago as part of a series. It is a favorite child -

Part of a whole -Locomotive III

Watercolor and acrylics

A detail-

and another-

Crossposted at What the Heck is Art?

Thoughts without dreams,a drawing

2010-12-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

Thoughts without dreams,a drawing

Soft graphite

A detail-

Cross posted at What the Heck is Art?

Art of Gurmeet 2011 calendar!

2010-12-20T06:58:00.000-08:00

The

Art of Gurmeet

2011 calendar

is here!

cover

January

March

October

It is in ready to print format. Just download it from here or here.

Landscape in mist -pen and watercolor

2010-12-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Landscape in mist

pen and watercolor on handmade paper

Details -

The new look Liberty News Central

2010-12-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

The new look Liberty News Central blog is here.

Loads much faster,is cleaner and intends to be meaner and tougher to freedom's enemies(who, like Reds under the bed, are everywhere).

Do check it out and may your kind soul make you hit the tip jar in this season of generosity. Just a dollar will do to help fight for liberty although we won't refuse more.

Peaceless -charlcoal and conté

2010-12-02T06:22:00.000-08:00

Peaceless
drawing

charlcoal and conté

This is almost all charcoal with just a bit of sanguine and gray conté.

An unknown Sikh -a quick sketch

2010-10-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

A quick sketch at the back of a printout-

An unknown Sikh

drawing

graphite

Detail 1-

Detail 2-

Above It All -a drawing

2010-10-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

Above It All

a drawing
graphite

A fair amount of smudging pencil marks with a tissue was required to get the hazy effect.

A detail -

Detail 2-

Detail 3-

Tutorial without words -sketching Parminder

2010-09-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

Step 1-

Step 2-

Step 3-

Final -

Parminder - a sketch

graphite and charcoal

Detail 1-

Detail 2-

The prostitutes of Chilumpara -I

2010-09-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

The prostitutes of Chilumpara -I

acrylics and watercolor

A detail-

and another-

This work carries a history of rejection by otherwise 'brave' art galleries which like to tom-tom their own avant-gardedness. As I have said before, when it comes to actually showing some balls, the avant-garde quickly chickens into devant-garde.

A lttle modesty- a drawing

2010-05-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

A LITTLE MODESTY

Drawing
graphite and colored pencils

Detail 1-

Detail 2-

Previously posted at What the Heck is Art?

Tormenting Pigeons - an illustration

2010-05-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

From an upcoming picture story book illustrated by yours truly-

A detail-

and another-

Also posted at What the Heck is Art?

The Sikhs - Raagi Tirlok

2010-03-01T05:31:00.000-08:00

Continuing with the Sikhs, a drawing with soft graphite pencils-

The Sikhs-Raagi Tirlok
a drawing

Graphite pencil

A Sikh raagi is a musician that sings devotional music, generally in a gurdwara(Sikh temple) which can be seen here in the background.

A detail -

I used a couple of graphite grades -9B for most of the work and a 4B for some of the details.A lot of smudging with fingers was involved -and therefore dirty hands! But that gives the satisfaction of an honest day's work.

Detail 2-

Manjit, a sketch for the series 'The Sikhs'

2010-02-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

This is a quick sketch done on the back of a photocopy paper(the print on the reverse side is visible) with a soft graphite pencil for a series of paintings I have been working on -'The Sikhs'.I shall post some images from that series later.The sketch is roughish -it is an attempt to anticipate and work out problems that might come up- as they always do- when doing the painting.

The Sikhs -Manjit, a sketch

Soft graphite pencil

Detail 1-

Detail 2 -

Taj Mahal -Morning Haze

2010-02-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

An unexpected work. I was looking to do something else but somehow ended up painting this-

Taj Mahal -Morning Haze

Charcoal and Watercolor

The drawing was done directly in charcoal, gently smudged to get the hazy effect but done so carefully as to not mess up and lose the natural transparency of the watercolors.

Just three colors were used - a deep yellow, Prussian blue and Burnt Sienna.

Detail 1-

Detail 2-

Monkey skull in charcoal

2010-02-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

Did a bit of studying of monkey skulls in order to create a simian character for a picture book.This is a sketch done for the learning purpose-

click for a larger image

Monkey skull - a sketch in charcoal and graphite(a 9B pencil)

The handsome gentleman in spotlight is(or was) a scion of the rhesus family.

Posted earlier at What the Heck is Art?

Rajasthani Man, a quick sketch in charcoal

2010-01-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

Rajasthani Man

a sketch

charcoal

Detail 1-

Detail 2-

Detail 3-

Traffic Light Pigeons

2009-11-06T06:21:00.000-08:00

This is in watercolor and a couple of gouache shades- blue and white.

The final painting followed some peliminary sketches, one of which is this-

and a few composition workouts-

As you may see, I decided on the last composition.

Update-
Oops! Forgot to post a detail from the painting -

Crow and the water pipe

2009-09-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

A dainty but bold watercolor – by (ta-da!)me.

Click for a larger image

Crow and the water pipe

watercolor on specially prepared paper

21 X 27.3 cms

Technique-
This was done when I was in an wild, experimental mood. I had to do something different, I had to experiment, to do something, anything that would challenge the bourgeois complacency, question the violence that lurks beneath our consumerist civilization, to…to…

Ok, I was kidding about the bourgeois/consumerist bit -I am not interested in playing that game.That is too easy –one can do anything idiotic and and get somebody to mouth the usual meaningless artspeak, say-

“The phenomena created by him reveal the omnipresent but invisible, strong yet unnoticed, essential yet overlooked. An encounter with his works discloses not just the world surrounding us but also the self within. Often casting himself as the subject and creator, (artist name) allows the viewer to transgress the boundaries between elements, as they connect and converge into one another, questioning the very nature of reality. ” *

Ok, whatever.

No, that is just too easy and not good for my conscience. So instead of taking it out on your patience I took it out on a hapless sheet of watercolor paper that was stuck to a board –I don’t mean it happened to be stuck on a board by chance or fate or it’s bad karma but that I had taped it there several days earlier hoping to start something sometime.
First I attacked the poor bugger with a broad brush dipped in somewhat generous amount of texture white.While this surface was still wet I sprinkled some coarse ground white chalk over it so that on drying one would get a textured surface. My sadistic self was not yet satiated. On this still damp surface I scraped in a few strokes of a hard bristled toothbrush to create even more texture.

Ok, BDSM part over.

What this does to the surface is to make it totally non-absorbent when dry. When a watercolor wash is applied on it, it lies delicately on it without it being able to take refuge in the fibers of the paper.This wash,even when dry, can be easily disturbed –which can be a pain in you know where(one can easily spoil a lovingly applied patch of color). But it can be a great advantage –one can manipulate the washes to one’s purpose. Lifting out color, scratching it out or changing it in other ways –even wiping it off almost completely with a wet brush or a damp tissue (as one can do in oils) is a breeze.
It’s tricky –like a woman; the washes require sometimes cajoling and at other times some firm, aggressive handling –like a woman, I said. But I think this technique has great potential.

Anyway, here is the result in detail -

Deatil 1-

Detail 2-

* The artspeak is from the promo literature of an exhibition of works by A.Balasubramaniam called (IN)BETWEEN at the Talwar Gallery. Unfortunately there is no direct link to the text – an irritating result of overreliance on javascript popups.

Old City – a study

2009-09-17T11:09:00.001-07:00

A very quick pen and wash I did-

Detail 1-

Detail 2-

Old Arabic town

2009-09-14T15:10:00.001-07:00

Some preliminary sketches I did for illustrations for a picture book – the ambience is old/ancient Arabic towns-

Click for a larger image

A practice piece -Harbor in purple-blue

2009-04-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

This is the first post on this blog.Cheers! Drinks all around!

Here is a quick practice work I did using a photo taken from a magazine.Therefore I do not intend to display or sell the work-

Harbor in purple-blue
by
Gurmeet

Watercolor and pen

It took me less than an hour . This is a fast technique like most pen and wash ones and a very satisfying one too for impatient souls like myself.