This is the first painting I did after I came to the U.S. It is of Emerald lake in Yosemite (from a hike). I liked this particular view because it caught the deep blue mysteriousness of the lake and the feeling of openness lent by the distant snow covered peaks.
Jan 8th 2002
Machupuchare(fish-tail).
I chose this subject for the unusual shape of the mountain. Unfortunately, this
painting did not come out well. Firstly, I did not really analyze the subject
and picture in advance how the painting would look. Secondly, I paid too much
attention to the little details and thirdly, I tried to be completely faithful
to the subject. Since then I have learnt much. Degas puts it much better, when
he says, "There is really courage in attacking nature frontally in her
great planes and lines, and cowardice in doing it in details and facets."
I also like what Van Gogh says, " Do not quench your inspiration and your
imagination; do not become the slave of your model."
Winter 2002
My favorite painting is this one of the Mustagh Tower. I chose the subject for the mysteriousness and power of the mountain. What I did differently here was to be patient! I painted this painting over many many days (I overdid the waiting a bit). But it made me think much longer about my subject and the effect of light.
Spring 2003
This is painted from a photograph (I don't know the name of the mountain). I liked the serenity of these mountains and in particular because this scene reminded me of a night on a trek in the himalayas. It was a full moon night and we had come out of our tents to look at the moon. We were in a high valley (around 14,000 feet) and were surrounded by five snowy peaks called the Pandav peaks. The air was sharp and cold and the peaks were razor edged and icy. I tried to capture some of that brilliancy and cold light in my painting.
October 2004
My brother took a photograph of the mountains in Himachal (India) and I painted it as I liked the way in which each successive mountain range leads the onlooker closer to the distant snowy peaks. This time I was more confident about my own imaginative powers and played around with the colors.
November 2004
I painted this from a National Geographic photograph of the Selkirk mountains in British Columbia. It is my largest canvas so far (3 feet x 2 feet) and I had a lot of fun painting it. I liked the photograph for its sense of expansiveness and scale. The painting has turned out extremely differently and I actually like it! I painted it over many months and had a chance to think about what I wanted to convey. I was reading a lot of Van Gogh's advice on colors and experimented a bit with them in this painting. I had quite a bit of trouble with the glaciers as can be seen. But I like the flowiness of the mountains and the ice.
March 2005
I decided to have a little fun and be a bit more adventurous with oils. So I tried two still life studies of a bird of paradise flower. I really liked the flowiness of the lines and the contrasting diagonal line of the main tree.
Spring 2005
The other study of the flowers ....I liked the touches of light on the blue parts and particularly the boat like curves of the flowers. But I think the sharpness in the tips does not harmonize with the painting.
June 2005
This is a painting of one of the many idyllic scenes in Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park.
At this point I had been studying many books on painting techniques and all the ideas and recommendations were now solidifying in my mind and becoming my own. I was quite pleased with this painting. for I learnt two things-that small touches of color bring out the major color and that distance can be represented by grayer colors.
November 2005
This painting is of a scene from the Banff Convention Center. I tried to do it very quickly (in one sitting) and was happy with the way my foreground and mountain turned out. I also managed to depict the drama in the clouds like I had seen it, but I couldn't quite show the misty effects on the mountain top.
November 2005
This painting is of a mountain range in Banff (I don't know the correct name!). I agonized quite a bit over this painting, but am very proud of it. I tried to be brave and paint lighting effects and I think I have been successful to some extent. The only thing I don't like about this painting is that the colors have become muted as I worked over them so many times!
December 2005
This latest one is of Brackett Creek Cabin (Bozeman, Montana). I like the viewpoint as it seems precarious and on tip toe and the cabin seems all cozy and snug (at least that's what I hope it looks like). I tried not to rework this painting too much and decided to stop early.
January 2006
