Is it enough? Is it good? Is it okay?

o you think you have something – an idea – something to start. You think you have a timeline – you think you know when its going to finish and be ready. Hahaha, always starts the same way. So ready so sure. As one progresses and thinks and makes stuff more ideas start popping up. What if there was a seal? What if the fish are taxis? What if they are metaphors of release from sadness, coming up ? Right. So we add those new details, and more. Slowly things are changing, for the better. More details, more stories. Oh but the deadline. Flight out in 29 days! I want to put everything! Energy levels vary everyday, some days are for giant brushes and painting backgrounds and covering ground. Other days are for tiny details and small point and adding depth. Very exciting very exhausting. I know this feeling from graphic design too, adding flourishes – making things more functional, more memorable, more beautiful. What keeps your brain and body ready to perform well? Exercise, good food, good friends – good breaks make good work. Now I rest, until tomorrow.

 

A video from the mural: one of week one

Why there is no such thing as too much sketching.

he more I work the more I think. The more I find myself realising reasons and systems within work, and the more I want to write – to make sense of all these mini AHA moments ( as they would say in Srishti, my design school.) Today, for instance – I was drawing grass blowing in the wind. I was thinking how some years ago I would have been very nervous. I would have put more detail and wanted every grass blade to be perfect and in that obsession missed out on the fun. I would have stressed about how the style or treatment of the image was too childish and cartoon- like.

But, today I felt so free, just letting my hand do some shit and following it with my mind – as opposed to the other way round. Another point was decisions. Small things like how many shades of green to use and how many types of grass to include into the drawing. Researching photographs, trying to copy photographs in an exact manner – all this is good of course but one misses out all the fun while stressing on details. Sometimes ending up in an over detailed thing at the end.

Sketching frees you from seeking reference and continuously cross-checking your drawings. Of course this doesn’t mean I think I draw very well or that I know everything about light and shade, line, colour or perspective. It only means that when it’s time to create you have some sort of a bank of information in your head which you can draw from, (pun intended) uninterrrupted.

A liberating thought was a quote I read somewhere which had the gist of “to paint is to look at the world with the inside of the eye.” I know it sounds floozy but to me could be a meditation almost. Styles within painting are many and from medium to medium they vary within a single person as well – but the tone, the voice is what now interests me. What are you trying to say? Doesn’t mean that one is better than the other, as people back home keep repeating – everyone goes through the same things, you end up at the end of life in the same place, it’s just about time and the sequence of events! So I feel like my mind is growing more painting cells and that can’t be a bad thing!

It’s so good to be in a different country on an assignment – so far i’ve worked with the best of work environments – the idea of a design or art brief in Europe is how it should be. Much to my liking, you are left alone after you have convinced the client that you are capable of delivering. You don’t have stage-wise approval of every detail, your knowledge base is respected and most importantly commisioning a design/an artwork does not mean the client directing it!

Freedom goes a long way and so does fair pay – one can truly push one’s limits when you know quality is all that matters. Blissful work conditions, except the wind!

Just turn up and fight – day after day

veryday is slowly getting set to a pace. I have always imagined hitting 30 to be a time when you yourself will find a rhythm that suits you. All concerns will magically arrange themselves onto shelves in your brain. Much like Dumbledore setting back a busted room in one of the Harry Potter movies. Yes, I’m sorry if you hate the whole JK Rowling body of work but I can tell you I have seen them more times than is normal. Anyway, not to digress -I am aiming for this epiphany by the time I hit 30. Not that you can plan such things – but all we can do is try.You know the whole work – fitness balance thing. God knows artists and designers like many other people are always in studios, working away; as yoga mats, sneakers, skipping ropes and weights gather dust. Its not so difficult in theory – a pace, a rhythm, a routine but sometimes work will bring down upon you THE problem that you will have to sit with for hours hopefully not days. You will stare at it, curse it, have a tea, curse it again, leave the studio, come back and maybe see a solution. Its these times that are detrimental to the balance that is so important for our minds to work well and our bodies to feel fit. Yah, everyday is slowly getting set to a pace, its getting there. Im not saying there’s a permanent solution but I think I might have some tricks to help me. Perhaps they should be listed categorically.

Here’s some of the work I did recently. An acrylic on canvass commissioned painting that I was talking about in my last post freshly finished. Untitled, 2×4 feet.

 

An album cover and the album art for Mumbai based funk/ nu disco duo Madboy/Mink’s  debut EP

 

And a logo for Regendre, Quelle genre? Quelle gender? A London based blog exploring issues and successes in the LGBTQ community.

 

 

I love art and I love design. Both have a lot in common & the knowledge of both adds a lot to each other.

I always imagine Marc Chagall’s thought could perhaps include design as well “Art must be an expression of love, or it is nothing.”

Until next time amigos, we don’t know what joys life will bring by then but see you soon.

Life and Times

ood things have been happening. I am now much more comfortable being a non office goer. I am happy to say that I did not die without routine. I thought i would wither into a corner of the world and quietly perish because I would be “all on my own”. I have been spending time equally on design projects, personal projects and commissioned illustration/art projects. Some scholarships are on the horizon, more about that soon! Oh but as always work is never-ending (in a good way) and everything is still difficult (in a good way).

I made the album art for Ramya Shankar Bhat’s The Indian Lullaby Project -1. These nap tunes are composed from Indian Karnatak Classical style music.

Also, its been a while since I made posters as part of my personal work. Here’s oneto re-begin them.

Some process photos from a wall mural I recently made for Max hospitals.

And snap shots of a commissioned painting in progress

I love working on a couple of things at the same time. I feel the brain has to be a little overwhelmed, (like in a tennis match) in order to really churn out those creative juices. Cant say I’m always relaxed with this approach but it works 90 percent of the time!  See you with more work soon!

The wind is in the trees

Process sketches and the final artworks from a commissioned assignment  by Designhabit for the Virasat e Khalsa (Sikh history) museum at Anandpur Sahib . The architect is the brilliant Moshe Safdie. Brief: What would the forests have looked like in the Siwalik foothills in the 18th century. Pen and Ink. Work in progress.

something from this weeks work

Had fun making this. 

Style exploration

Todays trial and error has resulted in this. Vectors can be fun. I’m learning how.

Octopus in progress

ery thrilled at painting this wall. I find it a bit deflating that until I am asked, I hardly do self initiated work (except computer illustrations)< Bad Behaviour. Since I got my new house, I have been planning things for little corners – sculptures and painting the walls and all sorts of fun things. You shall be seeing some new sort of stuff – handmade is the key word. So, without further delay I invite my friend the octupus, he is still a bit shaken at being pulled out of the water and is still gathering all of his self. But all the line work is almost done, some more things are coming with him and I will update you on that once he feels a bit more together. BONUS* a special photo of this weeks favourite book.

An octopus for the wall

Something is stirring on the wall in office. I haven’t hand drawn things for what feels like eternity. I love painting.  My new house is going to see some more action on this front. Have you recently done something at your house yourself? Made a corner look special or made a lamp? Such a thrill. Will update with photos as the octopus progresses.