Sunday works..

This Sunday I had a sudden urge to get my canvases, paints and brushes out to paint.. and this is what I made..

Lemme know how you liked it...

"Reflected colors"
Oil on canvas paper
11 X 16

"Bloom"
Oil on Canvas Paper
12 X 18

Lately I have been obsessed with color  mixing and creating patterns, as you can see I did in the background of my second painting.. and well, seascapes have always been my favorite!!!

I'm working on..

Well, I have been on a long break after I came back from India.. and now it's time to get back to work..

These are some things I've been working on :

1. Still trying to hone my skills.. for portraits.. so I am working on another one..

2. A big oil painting for one of my dearest and best friend..

I have definitely not forgotten about the blog..
It's just that I have been on a break and Painting takes time!!
Thank you so much for sticking with me... I really appreciate it!!

The "Love" theme

The "Love" theme for my exhibition came to my mind when i saw the painting I gifted my Dad for Father's Day. I asked my Dad if I could display it in the exhibition and further expand the theme and put in some flowers and moments that I had captured in my camera. It included some pictures that I took on my honeymoon in Goa as well as other places I visited with hubby and had loads of memories attached to it.

I included a painting of the inside of a rose which is a spectacular pic taken by a friend.. So I borrowed it...

Tulips being my favorite flower and "they" being the flower that adorns our home whenever it is our anniversary, birthday, valentines or for that matter any special/non special occasion, so "they" had to be included..

So, here are my paintings for the "love" theme..

I Protect you
11" x 14"
Oil on canvas

Love buds
11" x 15"
Oil on canvas

Blossoms
9" x 13"
watercolor on paper

Fly high
12" x 16"
Oil on canvas

In pink of Rose
12" x 12"
Oil on canvas

Morning blues
9" x 13"
Watercolor on paper

Together
9" x 13"
Watercolor on paper

Silhouettes as my next theme.. in my next post...

My first SOLO Exhibition..

My surprise trip to India gave me the biggest surprise.. an oppurtunity to display my talent.. my first ever SOLO exhibition.. and I am all excited about it..
As I had little time on hand I could create just 19 peices which included 3 different themes...

Love
Travel
Silhouettes

The peices include water colors and oil paintings.. with a touch of acrylic paints in it.

I am really thankful for this oppurtunity given to me by Ms. Neepa Sharma and a big thanks to my husband and my whole family for being by my side this whole time and encouraging me to move forward with my dreams. Love you all...

With Love...

Memories are something that stays with you forever.. and some of them takes you way back when you were a kid in high school.. and the first thing that comes to your mind is your best friend.. in my case it was Priyanka Wadhawan..

 We were inseparable or BFF's...
 As soon as we reached home from school the first thing we would do was run towards the phone.. well in those days we didn't have cell phones and texting... we would talk for hours and call each other multiple number of times in a day... My mom used to ask me "itni kitni baatein hai tumhare paas jo khatam hi nhi hoti?? ( what in the world do you girls talk about all day??) and I had no answer to that...
 We lost contact after I moved to another school and then we took different paths for college but one thing was sure we could never forget each other and especially the wonderful time we spent together.. the endless laughter, the phone talks, the seat saving in the bus... ohh that was a wonderful time.. I wish i could go back to that time.. but well now that I am thousands of miles away from her, the memories are the only things I've got with me.. We got back in touch.. a million thanks to facebook... and we've been in constant contact ever since....

Moving on to the art part...

 As you know I had no idea how to make portraits but always wanted to learn them I tried a few pencil sketches and put them on my fb page (here).. I never thought I would be able to make an oil portrait so soon.. But I really wanted to and the first subject that I always thought about was her....

 I requested some of Priyanka's photographs but did not want to make something that she would not like or rather I wasn't sure I could make.. so I waited, practiced some more and then one day it struck me, may be I am ready. I sat down to go through all the photos she sent me and some more from her profile pics.. so I could make my mind which would actually portray her nature, her mood.. and finally picked this one..

With Love...
Oil on Canvas
11" x 14"

With love ..
Oil on Canvas
11" x 14"

To Priyanka,

I hope I was able to capture it..
I want to make another one..
If I have your permission.. and for that you might have to model for me...
Waiting for your reply...



Love,
Mehak

There's another portrait coming up.. this time in water colors.. stay tuned...

Pirates of the Caribbean..

Hubby wanted me to paint something for his office.. something from Disney...
He being a big fan of the Pirates Of The Caribbean series...
I painted this...
This is the sequence in which I painted it...

giving the base

Filling in the rest of the base and making the features

Completed with background and highlights..
8 " x 10"
Oil on Canvas
Pirates of the Caribbean

you can also follow me now on bloglovin
 <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3493250/art-and-life?claim=gnn83rhf825">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Thank you..

A very big Thank u to all who helped me figure out the name for my painting.. I got some really thoughtful responses...

I have finally chosen the name for my painting...

"Pensive" suggested by Maneet (maneetgupta.blogspot.com)

Pensive
12" x 24"
Oil on Canvas

Still Waiting....

My seascape paintings have taken a halt as I have couple of projects at hand... I need to complete..

This was one such project.. It was also my first full figure painting with attention to details of the skin and of course the dress...
I have tried to give a different texture to the background..

Pensive
12" x 24"
Oil on Canvas

Please suggest a name for this painting.. I would really like to know your opinions and suggestions..
i will be really happy to hear from you.. :)
You can leave a comment below or email it to me on mehak3012@gmail.com
Thank you.. :)

Out In The Sun..

Seascapes are really interesting to paint as every time the water is different.. this time it's not exactly a seascape.. it's more of a "lakescape".. if that's even a word..

This was a photograph I took when hubby, me, my brother and parents went to Lake Tahoe on a vacation. One of my favorite photographs and now a painting.

and yes, these are my legs and those are my shoes..

Temme what you think about it... :)

Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
Out In The Sun

Lover's Beach..

As I told you before I have fallen in love with seascapes and am planning to paint a few.. here is the second one in the series...

Lover's Beach...

Back in Cabo this was one of the most beautiful beaches there.. you had to take a boat ride to get there and may I mention " a glass boat ride ". Although not much was visible until u reach near the beach where you actually see fishes swimming in the water.. It's a beautiful site.... The water is Crystal clear and the weather there stays perfect all year round...

Lover's Beach
8" x 10"
Oil on canvas

Comments and suggestions are always welcome...

New Found Love for Seascapes..

Ever since i've been back from Cabo San Lucas, we went there to celebrate our 1st anniversary... A must visit place... ,I've been wanting to paint a seascape..

 The beaches at Cabo were breathtakingly beautiful...We would run to the beach every evening to watch the beautiful sunset from the beach, with ships and boats in the waters, it was so beautiful out there...

 I was thinking of our amazing time there while I was painting this piece.. The vastness of the ocean, the sound of the waves gushing towards the shore and ofcourse the beautiful sunset..

Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
Cloudy Sunset

There are a lot more paintings on seascapes coming soon.. Stay tuned

Do leave your comments.. I love to hear from you all.. :)

Happy Birthday Maneet

Wishing you all a very happy new year...
 Hope you all enjoyed your holidays.. Like I did, visiting my cousins on the east coast and celebrating new year and loads of birthdays including mine.... It was an awesome time..
 I have been talking about a big project lately.. And in today's post I am going to reveal it... I made this painting for Maneet (u can check out her lovely blog here) for her birthday which was on 6th January and I wanted to gift her something personal..
 So I made this painting for her..

Oil on Canvas
20" x 24"
Sunshine in Seattle

I would Love to hear all your comments on this one...

And A Very Very Happy Birthday Maneet... :) :)

Black Magic

Sometimes When I paint I forget what time it is.. and that is what happened today.. started painting at about 11.30.. I am working on a big painting with loads of details and it takes up most of my time.. so I thought while it was resting by which I mean drying... I started another small one.. titled "Black Magic". I improvised and took help of a photograph I found in one of the advertisements that came along with the newspaper in the morning.. I knew I wanted to do something with that photograph the minute I lay my eyes on it..  I cut the photo out so I could incorporate it into one of my paintings.. dint know I will use the photograph today itself.. Going back to my original story... I started at about 11.30 took a break for lunch at about 2 wen I set the big painting down for "resting". But I still had the urge to draw and paint something and not waste my time watching something on the netflix.. So I sat down to draw the initial sketch.. and the process of starting a new painting  is always fun cause you know that you are going to get something new and different from what you had originally planned to.. the thoughts just flow in as you paint.. it's like writing a story or a novel.. You don't really know what will happen until you've reached the end.. so well I've again lost track.. As I was all involved and totally occupied with my painting process.. the phone rang.. it was my husband's and I realized that it was five and I haven't made anything for dinner... so.. we had sandwiches.. best option ever.. especially when u forget to make dinner... and Husband helps you out... :) :)

Oil On canvas
8" x 10"
Black Magic

Looks a little comicky..( is that even a word) anyway, doesn't it???

Misunderstood..

Today morning.. while I was having breakfast.. my husband called up and told me that he was sending an important e mail.. and that I'd be really interested in it...
As soon as I got the mail.. I got really excited.. it was an art exhibition and it said that any type of artist could participate.. I got more excited.. I thought this was my chance of exhibiting my talent..
I gathered up all my painting stuff and started a new painting.. at 8 in the morning.. this was the first time I had ever painted so early... I painted for 5 hours straight... as I was on the verge of completing the painting my husband called up again..to tell me.. that I could not participate as the exhibition's artists have already been selected.. which he confirmed by talking to them on phone.. Moreover, it was an exhibition where you could sell your paintings and I do not have the license for that... I was disheartened but in the midst of all the confusion and excitement this is what I painted....

Oil on canvas
16" x 20"
Misunderstood

Inspired by: Alexandra Grecco's collections.. If I only had a heart dress.. 

Happy Diwali...

Diwali.. the festival of LIGHTS.. One of the biggest festivals celebrated in India and my favorite.. with diwlai melas (fair).. the twinkling and shining bazaars.. decorated with colorful lights and shops laden with sweet boxes.. yum yum indian sweets..  :) 

Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
Welcome

This being our first Diwali together as a married couple made it all the more special... To give it a special touch I painted these as gifts to all our lovely friends as a token of friendship.. :)

Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
Twinkle

The name "Diwali" is a contraction of "Deepavali" which translates into "row of lamps". Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas or dīpas) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. (Wiki)

Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
Lone Diya

Firecrackers are burst in order to drive away evil spirits During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. (Wiki)

Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
Let There Be Light

One more to come... Stay tuned....

Up to date....

Wanted to share some of my work with all you people.. This is some of my work that i did prior to joining the blog world... :) They have been on my facebook account for a long time now..

Orchid
Oil on Canvas Paper
11" x 16"

This was my first painting in US..  I gave my heart and soul to it.... :)

Love Birds
Oil on Canvas Paper
11" x 16"

The Love birds painting could use a lot of changes.. I guess I just kind of lost the love of it.. and left it...as it is....

Sleepy
Oil on Canvas Paper
11" x 16"

..I entered an Aaron brother's competition with this painting.. under the pets section.. got a lot of votes.. but not enough to win..  I really liked the way it turned out. :) :)

Lilies
Water Color on Paper
11" x 15"

First attempt with watercolors... :)


More of my previous work to come soon.....

Mysterious...

I have been on this painting for about 2 months now.. well not exactly 2 months.. took a month break in between.. :)
 Now that its complete I could not wait to share it with all of you... :)
Please leave comments.. it helps me grow as a painter as well as realize mistakes... :)

Mystery
Oil on Canvas
16" x  22"

 If you don't have an account you can leave a comment anonymously and add your name in the comment itself..

A pending gift..

I know I am a week too late for a father's day gift.. but it was in the making and i wanted it to be a surprise.... I have finally finished my second painting for father's day... Hope papa likes it....

Fly High

Oil on Canvas

12" x 16"

Tell me what u think about it.. :)

Incredible India..

Trying to capture the real essence of India in my paintings...

The Backwaters or Lagoons in Kerala are a sight..... and a must see...

India Series : Kerala

Oil on Canvas

12"x16"

Goa.. Our Honeymoon destination... It has everything one wants.. peace and calm as well as incredible night life and shopping experience...

India Series:  Goa

Oil on canvas

12"x16"

There are still more to come.... work in progress.... :)