1st B'day Party Invite

Arnav's turning One. Can you believe? I am so excited to have created his first party invite. It turned out rather impressive.




This is the inside...


I hand die-cut the airplane wings for some fun!

Adopt a dog card

My very good friend and cubemate at work is thinking about adopting a dog. At times I heard him voice out to me that he wasn't sure about being 'ready'. I wanted to create this card for him as a confirmation that he indeed is ready and sometimes out of fear we are fooled into thinking that we do not have the courage, that we aren't ready. Have you thought that the very reason such a birth of contemplation might occur due to the fact that you are ready. Otherwise where does this debate stem from? So you have already started the first step of being ready and accepting. But there is a bit of doubt to brush away and blow out of your vision.

So your subconscious knows it that you are ready but you must pass one more test of asserting to yourself somehow or someway that you are indeed READY.

forgive

I created this piece of art for my best friend and her husband to hang in their cute apartment but never really presented it to them. I find this Oscar Wilde quote quite interesting and wanted to commit myself to a poster design featuring his quirky communication.

Hope you like it.

Out of the Scene

This morning I woke up with nothing but my blog's thought in my mind. Once I heard somewhere when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself out loud 'Today is a great day!'. I did that too. I smiled.

As some of you can see, I've been out of the scene for such a prolonged time. This is because suddenly one beautiful day, the Universe graced Akhil and I with a lovely surprise in my womb. I am carrying our first child for the past four months and recently found out that it is indeed a little boy who will enter our world of happiness come August. And as any child full of mischief and twinkles, he too has caused quite a bit trouble for his young mother; I've just been suffering incessantly with nausea. It's amazing the transformations that happen to your psychology during this time and I allowed myself some time to live in the grace of what the moment was offering without any other distractions.

I am finally back feeling great in my health just as is intended by the course of life and need to get reading up on blogs that I missed; collect materials for my own blog; and come back to the art scene.

I must say one thing. My child has made me more peaceful and makes me feel closer to all things created. So with that renewed and refreshed sense of respect, I'd like to share this lovely rose that I took a photograph of.

Salvation and Butterfly

Lately I have realized that I am absolutely okay with not blogging every single day or making it a point to beat myself with worry over missing two or three days of blogging in a row. Now I find happiness in doing it when I truly feel like it. And the readership will come. It may come slow but it will definitely come.

So lately, I have placed trust again.

I still have to blog about 2 more days on France. On my down time, I am working on it.

No rush.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying painting and drawing while Akhil watches hours of endless t.v. :) For some reason I kept staying away from painting. I kept convincing myself that no ofcourse it doesn't make me happy or any such thing! When I am done with a piece, the surge of emotion I have tells me I am convinced falsely. So here's a little stroke of happiness I found over the weekend. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it.

I am still trying to find my style. It's been many years. I don't feel that I am good or even decent so far. I want to run to the finishing line ofcourse but have to remind myself that this is a process just like all else in this wonderful life of ours.

I gifted this one to a friend of mine for her b'day

Manifest

I have been working on a couple of manifestations recently and thought I'd share this art I made inspired by my experience. Have you experienced manifestation?

Reality

But I didn't know!

How many times have we blamed someone only to have them turn around with a bewildered look, defensively opening their arms out wide to say...

Rule of thumb: If this is said genuinely, forgiving is the best deed. :)

I wish I had

How often does time pass by and lines appear one by one demarcating what we could have, would have, but never did. I have always tried to stay away from feeling defenseless or helpless from not knowing what to do. I believe that each one of us should do what we wish we had. Time fleets and the only secret it tells us are these inner desires, longings, wishes and dreams that are awaiting to be enacted upon.

Here's to wishing you had.

Mixed Media: Water color and ink pen

I miss you

Yes Honey

I don't know if these are any good but I sure am having some fun doing them.

This illustration came to me when I was in the midst of doing yoga. While doing yoga in 98.6 degrees of heat, why I would think of a guy holding a remote control saying 'yes honey' while watching desperate housewives is something I really don't even want to ponder.

I do like doing these mini illustrations with type entwined. I can get a message out yet carry out fun little shapes in elementary form. And I am sure, like me, you'll know at least one person who can directly relate to the man on the couch. :O

Dialogue

What we say and what we mean.

I am happy making these illustrations. To tell you the truth, I am in absolute glee that I have decided to get back into paintings, drawings, collages. They allow me to openly express what I want relayed without running through approvals.

When I am tired from graphic design, I turn to simple things like paint and paper. Please comment away on stuff you see. It always gives me encouragement and I would love to have a dialogue with you, my reader. :)

Own Now

Here's what I've created today.

'Own NOW'

Fern

I really love this image. I photographed it at Grand Canyon. A delicate fern standing in a backdrop of the formidable canyon. It inspires poetic thoughts.

I think beauty and strength; grace and determination; life and age.

Dwell inside. What do you feel when you see this image?

I am alive too

Here's a sketch I am working on. I still need to color it. I am going to try my best to keep this an acrylic only base.

I worked on it some more and here's where it stands -

Will share more progress
(I've never really documented the progress of an artwork. This will be interesting)

The light in me reflects the light in you

I haven't posted anything lately largely because I've been working the spaces of my house a bit. There's still a large shopping list but I am one of those people who likes to take time in filling up her humble abode. I am not a rusher. I want to study the nooks, the hallways, the open spaces and draw up a thousand possibilities for functionality and beauty. It's not easy to find the perfect coffee table that serves my husband, my dogs, my morning coffee and at times - my tired feet.

That is my excuse for not blogging for a while.

I've also been working on a visual piece.

Yoga is my love. One day, I shall certainly post about it. For now, I want to share with you what I hear from my teacher everytime I finish up a session of yoga. In a very sweet and soothing voice, I hear these enlightening words from her soul, 'The light in me reflects the light in you'.

The light in me reflects the light in you

Ants

I took this photograph at my home in Pandalam, Kerala. They were all on a mission and I couldn't really see where to but most definitely they were on a mission.

Beginnings

'I am the thread that runs through these pearls.' by Vivekananda.

I've been trying to get back to sketching and painting. I have seen that what I need most is patience. At times, there is a literal block stuck in the passageway of creativity or artful thinking. I need concepts. I need to visualize them in my interpretations. Then I need colors. Selective brush strokes and techniques. Type that illustrates and upholds my concept.

'I am the thread that runs through these pearls'

Bloom

I painted this a few months ago just as a spontaneous act of boredom. As I was starting out, I remember becoming really nervous and intimidated by the sight of a blank canvas asking me questions. My mind swarmed through countless images that I could possibly put down when from a place deep or on the surface, the image of white flowers emerging from the darkness came through. I love jasmines and maybe that's why the shape translated from the subconscious.

I will have to say that after painting this and analyzing it, I gain a true insight to jasmine flowers emerging from the blind time, barriers, intimidation, and just having that resolute blooming time.

nook of my home