My Online Exhibition

'Rainy Day, Ahmedabad'

Watercolor on 300 gsm Bockingford Paper

21 x 14 inches

Made this painting recently from a reference photograph that I took a couple of years ago when I went to Ahmedabad. We are expecting some rains soon when the monsoon season sets in the neighboring state of Kerala. This will provide much relief from the scorching heat which we are experiencing right now!

This painting and some others are displayed in my online exhibition on the ‘THE TREE OF LIFE' which started a couple of days ago and will continue till the 15^th of June. Do take a look!

Have a great week ahead :)

Featured in IWS catalog

Very honored to be included in the International Watercolor Society worldwide catalog alongside other great watercolor artists from all over the world!

Bicycle at the market

Watercolor on Fabriano paper 300 gsm

14 x 21 inches

While searching for subjects to click in Ahmedabad, I found this place in the vegetable market. There was this gorgeous soft evening light hitting the wall. When I saw a bicycle parked in the shade nearby, I inquired a seller, who was done for the day and ready to leave, whether it was his. When he answered in the affirmative, I asked him if he could place it near the wall so that I could take a few pictures. He was very amused! Never would he have imagined that anyone would be interested in such a subject. Well….he didn’t know my love for painting bicycles… :-)

Painting Plein air

En plein air, Lal Bagh Botanical Garden, Bangalore

Watercolor on Canson paper

A few days back I was in Bangalore for delivering 2 of my earlier oil paintings to an art collector whom I had met last year. He had bought a couple of my paintings then.

While in Bangalore, I got a chance to paint plein air with my friend Prabal Mallick. Though exciting, painting on location also presented some difficulties. Its really very different from working from the comforts of a studio and reference photographs. I hope you like the result!

My sold oil paintings

Mumbai Moodscape

Watercolor on Fabriano paper 300 gsm

14 x 21 inches

Another scene from Mumbai. I have tried to paint loose…not much details, just wanted to capture the mood!

The Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai

Watercolor on Fabriano Rough paper 300gsm

10 x 20 inches

Thought I'd take a break from Udaipur now…:)

This is the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), one of the most important landmarks of Mumbai and the busiest railway station in India. Built by the British in honor of the Queen Victoria, it is one of the architectural marvels in the country!  Sadly, this was also one of the targets of the terror attacks in 2008!

This subject has been painted by many artists, particularly the local ones. I too had a desire to paint this subject for some time, so when I made a trip to Mumbai last time, I shot some reference photos of the place and worked from them. I chose a wide format composition which I thought suited well for this kind of subject. I dared not paint the complex architecture and simplified it much! 

Boats on Lake Pichola

Watercolor on Bockingford paper 300gsm

10 x 14 inches

Another scene of the beautiful Pichola lake in Udaipur...

Lake Pichola, Udaipur

Watercolor on Bockingford Paper 300 gsm

10 x 14 inches

A simple subject unlike my last painting which was difficult, especially the buildings! This one is also smaller in size, done on a quarter sheet and was fun to paint :)

Golden Refections, Udaipur

Watercolor on Fabriano Rough paper 300 gsm

14 x 21 inches

Early Morning, Udaipur

Watercolor on Fabriano paper 300 gsm

14 x 21 inches

Blue Minar

Watercolor on Fabriano 300 gsm Rough Paper

21 x 14 inches

I chanced upon this photo by Mr.Barrington Russell, a photographer from Denmark, on the internet. He was very kind to allow me to paint from his photograph and also appreciated my work! Thanks Mr.Barrington!

Jodhpur Twilight

Watercolor on 300 gsm Bockingford Paper

10 x 14 inches

This is the clock tower in Jodhpur and the market surrounding it. The scene was very complicated with a lot of people and activity going on. So I just applied thick paint, sprayed here and there, did some drybrushing and put some blobs for the crowd and figures at the bottom right. The idea was to capture the twilight mood and I was happy with the result!

Another good news I wanted to share is that two of my recent paintings were sold outside India, one in the U.A.E and the other one in Canada! It feels so nice when people even from other countries show an interest in your art!

Here are the images of the sold paintings

Evening glow, Udaipur

Jolly Ride

Have a great day :)

Jodhpur Street #5

Watercolor on 300 gsm Fabriano Paper

14 x 21 inches

Another typical street scene from Jodhpur...and needless to say, a favorite subject of mine :)

A small sketch of the same painting made sometime back...

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Commissioned work

'Autumn Light over Bilbao Townhall'

Watercolor on Fabriano 300 gsm Paper

14 x 21 inches

Another commissioned work for the BETA PICTORIS BILBAO, Spain.

Old Door

Watercolor on handmade paper

10 x 14 inches

(Photo reference courtesy of Ms.Kavita Dixit. Thank you Kavita)

A simpler subject this time...The wonderful texture of the wooden door and the blue wall were just irresistable to paint! Painted this on a rough handmade paper which is very apt for such subjects :)

Marina Beach, Chennai

Watercolor on Bockingford paper

14 x 21 inches

My earlier painting of the same place was liked by many and so I decided to paint another beach scene. I used masking to preserve the whites for the waves. Also the original reference didn't have any figure in the foreground which looked kind of empty. So I chose this woman from another of my references, placed her where I wanted to, after some adjustments in the drawing stage. Hope you like it!

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Jolly Ride

Watercolor on Arches paper

14 x 21 inches

( Photo reference courtesy of Ashok Saravanan. Thank you very much Ashok! )

The colors and the atmosphere in this picture attracted me very much. Also the image seemed to be telling us a story with those two boys (brothers, probably) on the bicycle!

That's why I decided to title it as 'Jolly ride'!

Have a great week ahead :)

The Red Car

Watercolor on Paper

14 x 10 inches

This is a very simple scene and had it not been for the red car it wouldn’t be much to look at! But from my experience I can say that any subject, however mundane, looks good after its painted. I hope you will agree! :)

Udaipur Street

Watercolor on Paper

19.5 x 14 inches

Evening Glow, Udaipur

Watercolor on paper

10 x 20 inches

A view of the beautiful city of Udaipur from Lake Pichola...

Morning over the Lake palace, Udaipur

Watercolor on 640 gsm paper

14 x 21 inches

I worked from more than 1 reference image for the composition and color tones in this one. Also used 640 gsm watercolor paper for the first time. All I can say is I like 300 gsm better!

A small reference sketch

The Red Court Building, Ahmedabad

Watercolor on Paper

14 x 21 inches

The brilliant light falling from the left, on this red court building (civil, most probably…lol) in Ahmedabad attracted me very much and I thought it would make a nice painting! The figures and vehicles add to the scene and are also important for scale.

A good beginning

With Mrs. Martine from Switzerland

I have had a great beginning this year. So far, 20 of my works, including some of my most favorites, are sold. Out of these, 10 were bought by a lovely lady from Switzerland. She visited India this month to buy different works from various artists in order to do an exhibition on Indian theme in her hometown there.

And I just sold 4 works to another lovely lady in Delhi! :)

Now have to make up for these sold ones as I'm hoping to do a one man show this year!

After a hiatus

"Munnar Landscape"

Watercolor on handmade paper

11 x 15 inches

I'm back after a 3 week hiatus...Call me lazy...!! Thats what I told my fellow blogger friend Prabal when he called me up today morning and asked why there wasn't any new post by me :)

Also 2 weeks ago, I had gone on a little family trip to Munnar, a small hill station in Kerala. Really liked the place and missed it after we got back. Though I couldn't paint there on location, I did take photographs and made this small painting a few days back from one such photo reference.

Another news I wanted to share with you all is that my painting titled 'Poster Wall' has won an award in the All India art contest 2012 held by Lokmanya Tilak Trust in Pune. This is my first award ever since I chose art as my profession and I'm very happy about it! :)

'Poster Wall'

The Bilbao Project

'Getxo Marina, Bilbao'

Watercolor, 14 x 21 inches

'5th Parish, Bilbao'

Watercolor, 21 x 14 inches

Recently, I was commissioned to paint 2 paintings of Bilbao city by the BETA PICTORIS Gallery in Bilbao, Spain. The Bilbao project is about painting different scenes of the city by a closed group of artists from different countries, of which I am a member too.

Happy New Year!

"Market Street, Jodhpur"

Watercolor on Fabriano paper 300 gsm

14 x 21 inches

Year 2011 had been a good one for me. And I wish that 2012 would be better, not just for me but also for all of you...HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 :)

Featured on Chris Beck's blog

I'm so happy and honored that my wonderful friend and a very talented watercolorist, Chris Beck from USA has featured me on her blog! Thanks a million dear Chris! I really appreciate it... :)

See my feature on her blog here.

Featured in PRATIQUE DES ARTS

The response towards my Year end sale sale was good. I have sold 7 paintings so far. Hope to sell some more!

Meanwhile, I’m very excited and happy that my art has been featured in this month’s issue of PRATIQUE DES ARTS, a French art magazine. It’s a great feeling that my work is being recognized at international level and its an important achievement for me! J

Year End Sale!

Since I’m painting only in watercolors now, I have decided to offer all my other medium paintings (oil, acylic, pastels etc.) at half the price till this year end. Some of my earlier watercolor paintings, mostly small, are also included in the collection. I’m doing this for two reasons. One, I really want them to find good homes and second, I want to paint more! You may view the collection here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rameshjhawar/sets/72157628206975583/

Anyone interested may please let me know via email. My email id is

rameshjhawarart@gmail.com

Lemon seller, Udaipur

Watercolor on paper

14 x 21 inches

Tomato Seller

Watercolor on handmade paper

11 x 15 inches

Towards the Clock Tower, Udaipur

Watercolor on paper

21 x 14 inches

Bike in the sun

Watercolor on Paper

14 x 21 inches

(Photo reference courtesy of Adam Shane. Thank you Mr.Adam)

Another bicycle...

Used a Fabriano Rough paper for the feel of the textured wall...

Poster Wall

Watercolor & collage on paper

14 x 21 inches

(Photo reference courtesy of Mr.Manu Thomas. Thank you very much Mr.Manu)

Back to one of my favorite subjects - bicycles...

But for the lovely textured old wall with those old torn posters...typically Indian, this subject would not have been worth painting. I very much enjoyed painting this one as I could use a lot of watercolor techniques here - masking, wet in wet, wet on dry, dry brush, lifting, spattering etc. to create the texture on the wall. Finally I did some collage work, pasting those little posters and painting them over with little color and adding some shadows to make it look very realistic.

Hope you like it :)

Udaipur Vista

Watercolor on paper

14 x 21 inches

This view of Udaipur city is from the hill temple of godess Karni mata. The temple is approached by ropeway cable cars. The view of sunset from this point is the major attraction but by the time I reached the top, the sun had gone down but the sky still had that last glow of light...

Udaipur Sunset

Watercolor on Arches Paper

10 x 20 inches

I was gone to Mumbai for a week and hence couldn't upload any new work!

This scene from Udaipur is of the same place as my last post although in a different mood and color! Hope you like it. Comments welcome :)

SOLD

'Jag Mandir, Udaipur'

Watercolor on Arches paper

10 x 20 inches

Four of my paintings were sold today and I am feeling very happy about it. This one was very recent and one that hadn't been posted yet on my blog. Again I had problem capturing the exact hue of the blue with my camera in this one. The original painting looks much better! The other 3 paintings may be viewed here, here and here :)

Landscape # 2

Watercolor on paper

11 x 15 inches

Another painting of the same place...

Hasanur landscape

Watercolor on paper

11 x 15 inches

Hasanur is a beautiful forest area on the way to Mysore from my place. While driving to Mysore last year, I spotted this beautiful location in Hasanur. A cool breeze was blowing as the rain clouds began to gather and there was not a soul in sight. The distant blue mountains looked wonderful and the whole atmosphere was so quiet and peaceful that I just stopped there for a while. I painted this from one of the pictures that I shot there and I think I have been able to capture the feeling!

The importance of sketching

The importance of sketching has always been stressed by the masters. Some may feel that when painting from photographs, its not really necessary to do a preliminary sketch. I, for one, used to feel the same. It may be okay in case of simple subjects but when some subjects are really complicated, you need to simplify, or when you feel that some colors may be changed or pushed to create a mood, then a sketch or a little study really helps.

Anyway…doing a small sketch is always so much fun J