melancholia
/ˌmɛlənˈkəʊlɪə/
1: severe depression characterized especially by profound sadness and despair
Tense, irritable, I crashed into a fit of melancholia and found myself crying over inconsequential problems.— Susan Wood
2: a sad quality or mood
There’s a touching melancholia to his voice …— Ralph Novak
Like Wallace’s breakthrough novel, “Infinite Jest,” “The Pale King” is pervaded by an air of melancholia, an acute sense of loss.— Tom McCarthy
I’ve been experimenting with abstract art recently, and it has been fun – challenging too, but fun. I find that I tend to slip back into slightly familiar territory when I am painting abstracts – adding in leaves, plants, flowers, or figures as a focal point and to try and bring everything together.
In this latest piece that I did, I was determined to keep it completely abstract, using only lines and shapes and color to tell a story. And what a story it turned out to be!Continue reading
When I’m lost in the painting process,
there are impulses that arise,
dictating my color choices.
Ideas bubble up to the surface,
changing the direction of my painting.
Symbols appear between layers of paint and under my fingertips, Continue reading
“That’s your solution? Have a cookie?’ Astrid asked. ‘No, my solution is to run down to the beach and hide out until this is all over,’ Sam said. ‘But a cookie never hurts.” ― Michael Grant, Gone
It is no secret that most of us are suffering from information overload these days. From constant social media updates, the latest science and history lessons courtesy the University of What’s App, 24×7 news channels, to thought leadership articles and even humble blogs – content has exploded, and we are bombarded with opinions and views no matter which way we turn.
As with most things in life, this content explosion can be both good and bad. Continue reading
I spent May immersed in the 31 days of painting project. This wasn’t about creating 31 paintings {I’m crazy, just not that crazy!}; rather, it was about spending 31 days painting a single canvas. It also wasn’t about how much or how little you painted on a particular day; rather, the only rule, per se, was that you had to alter the canvas in some way. That could be the addition of a ton of paint or the making of a few simple marks.
The entire process is a meditation on painting, and life. About releasing attachment and being open to the process. Of enquiry and allowing instead of forcing and imposing your will. And as expected, a process like this one, can teach you a lot - about painting and about life.
So without further ado, here are my lessons from 31 days of painting.
Sometimes, I come to the painty table to play; at others, to relieve stress. Sometimes, I approach my art practice as therapy; at other times, I allow my emotions to direct my colour choices and mark making. And sometimes, I come to the page with deep reverence and to give gratitude for the many blessings in my life.
This was one of those times.
I’ve long wanted to paint a Buddha, but I didn’t want to paint Him with the usual peaceful face and closed eyes - you know the kind of Buddha painting I’m talking about, right? The ones that you find hanging in most home interior stores - pale blues and calm yellow tones, with a huge Buddha face, eyes closed, a serene look on His face.
What does it mean to be open to the mystery of the universe?
This is a question I’ve been contemplating since a while. And as usual, when I have a question that requires deep contemplation, I take it to my art table. Through writing, throwing down layers of paint, playing with stencils and different mediums without any end goal in mind, I work through the question in my mind.
My answer comes through the marks I make on the page.Continue reading
I believe that what we focus on, grows. Where we focus our time and energy determines what shows up in our lives. The more we think about a particular thing, the more laser focused our energy and time and effort is on a particular endeavor, the higher the chances that it will manifest in our lives.Continue reading
I’m not much of a doodler, but when I am stressed, I find myself turning to Zentangles. It’s just so calming to put on some music and focus on creating intricate patterns.
You’re busy, you have NO time, and you have NO space. You have NO art skills and NO supplies.
{Don’t you think there are too many NOs here?}
Anyhow…. I am here you to tell you that YOU CAN STILL CREATE ART!
I painted this piece in a tiny 3.5×5″art journal using only watercolor pencils and some white paint and yellow acrylic ink in the last step to bring it all together. And I love how lose and abstract it looks.
I created it as part of a 7-day speed art Instagram challenge hosted by Eli Trier. Her original idea was to have challenge participants do each prompt on a different sheet of paper, as an exercise in learning how to loosen up and get over the fear of a blank page. I decided to combine all the daily prompts on one page {without even knowing what each day’s prompt would be}, and it turned into the perfect summer art project {you can see it evolve, step-by-step, on my Instagram account}.Continue reading