New animals and old

o many kinds of days have passed. The new year/holiday season does something strange. You are shedding an old skin and yet it is essential that you remember what it looked like. Age old lessons of routine, productivity and good humour will be put to use again. Every year somehow you are getting more aligned to that vision of your work and yourself. That’s the only way forward right?

I’m glad to have met many many creative people over the last few years and re-connected with teachers & friends from way before as well.

It is heart warming and inspiring to see everybody push themselves in their own ways. Some people (my idols) wake between 6 and 7 in the morning and are fit as hell and cook food that is fit as hell and their work really somehow gains a power from that.

There are many things I have learnt and would like to include in my daily living besides the things we already knew. Number one on that is to have a good productive day everyday!

These dear animal people are part of that target as well as some new newmedia things that have been sprouting in the back on my mind. By the end of this year there should be a fair number of the animal people and one or two shows based around them. Wish me luck! I wish you the same!

Will update with finished pictures of the animal people along with some website designs I’m currently working on, Oh and a book cover that’s nearly published! Happy winter from Delhi! We here are enjoying the weather while it lasts, before we are in hell for 8 months ugh-ain.

Diving in and surfacing out

o artist can predict what kind of work they will be creating in the next year. They can predict some aspects – like skill, colour, tone, quality etc all should improve and generally one’s graph should rise but content is some other game. You will also know what elements you use in your work – they will slowly become your language. You never know what is going to hit you emotionally (or hit you in the face) enough to make you think about it, sketch it over and over again until you fix on the correct way to create a visual representation to that thought.

I just got back from a brief residency at Uttarayan foundation for the arts in Vadodara (Baroda), India and feel absolutely inspired and ready to attack the next work thing. Its a beautiful place with great people and a superb work environment. I managed to create two etchings with ten editions of each but for the next time I’d like to take longer and not get so exhausted. Also one can work more on the final touches when there is a longer timeline.

Special gifts attached are Naveen Kumar Chandea’s sculptures. Aren’t they just genial?