Sunday, October 28, 2012

Taking a Chance

First of all, thank you my dear friends and visitors for taking time and leaving a comment. It means a lot to me! I appreciate it a lot :) Also, to all my new followers a big welcome and a thank you. Hope you will like and love visiting Hues n Shades :)

This week's prompt is:

Headline Prompt: Taking a Chance: When did you take a chance or a leap of faith? How did it turn out? What did you learn?
Color Prompt: What color do you like least? Use it!
Quote Prompt: "Don't refuse to go on an occasional wild goose chase -- that's what wild geese are for." Anonymous
I had to do this last minute as I have lot of things going on right now. But surely I didn't want to miss this as well. So here's my interpretation.

Its always a dilemma to take a risk. When I had to leave a full time job because of few health issues I was totally frustrated. I had my downs and as they say when there’s none to help…we have to help ourselves… I had to do exactly that. I took to my hobby, my passion and turned it to a full time job. I am happy about it. I dream and aspire to secure a fulfilling space in the art world. My focus remains that but there are those troubled times when you wish for an anchor and just remain calm and still which most of the times, I struggle with.
As for the colours, as my blog name suggests I love each and every hue…I just can’t choose one from the other. But there are a few colours which I tend to use less…like shades of brown, purple, violet and maroon …so they are my choice here.

A5, Acrylics 




For more of Fall Fearless Fly Challenge submissions, visit Artists in Blogland
I am linking it to Paint Party Friday as well.

Please do not use/reproduce the content (words as well as images) without the written consent of the author.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

DIY @ Craftsia

Isn't it always nice when you are invited to a friend's place or some place that has great stuff. Its true for real and virtual world alike. I had been invited, likewise, to a really nice place - Craftsia run by
the owner of Indusladies, Jey. The invitatio however came from Ms. Vandana Rajesh who takes care of the content of the site. Its an Indian online market place for unique handmade items. You can buy or sell wonderful pieces of art here.
I have done a guest post for Vandana on acrylic painting...it would be really great if you could spare some time and check it out...would be even greater if you could actually try it out :)
Here's an excerpt:
"Paintings are a beautiful work of art that can add a magical touch to almost any space. Having a painting adorn your wall can be an absolutely satisfying experience and can add immense value to your home décor and ambience. As part of Craftsia DIY Wednesdays we bring you a tutorial on how to make an acrylic painting by guest blogger Deepa Gopal Sunil. Now, you can make a painting and enjoy the compliments that come your way..."
DIY Tutorial on Acrylic Painting @ Craftsia
Since you need to login at the site, you can leave your 'valuable' comments here :)

To have full glimpse, pls visit the link Craftsia

Linking it to Paint Party Friday - Join the Fun!

Have a Wonderful Day!

Please do not use/reproduce the content (words as well as images) without the written consent of the author.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Gajalakshmi (Kalamkari Painting)



Gajalakshmi, 7*10 inches,
Pitt Pen and Watercolour on Watercolour paper


Kalamkari or Qalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile, produced in parts of India. The word is derived from the Persian words kalam (pen) and kari (craftmanship), meaning drawing with a pen.
The art of painting using organic dyes on cloth was popular in several parts of India, but this style of Kalamkari flourished at Kalahasti (80 miles north of Chennai) and at Masulipatnam (200 miles east of Hyderabad) in Andra Pradhesh.
The Kalamkari tradition chiefly consists of scenes from Hindu mythology. Figures of deities with rich border embellishments were created for the temples. In Masulipatnam, the weavers were involved in the block printing art, while at Kalahasti, the Balojas (a caste involved in making bangles) took to this art.

Owing to Muslim rule in Golconda, the Masulipatnam Kalamkari was influenced by Persian motifs & designs, widely adapted to suit their taste. The outlines and main features are done using hand carved blocks. The finer details are later done using the pen. Under the British rule the designs as well as the end use of the fabric differed - for garments as well as furnishings. During this period floral designs were popular. The artisans were made to create even portraits of English men.
The Kalahasti tradition which developed in the temple region mostly concentrated on themes form Hindu mythology, epics (Ramayana, Mahabharatha), images of Gods and heroes.
The artists use a bamboo or date palm stick pointed at one end with a bundle of fine hair attached to this pointed end to serve as the brush or pen.
The dyes are obtained by extracting colours form parts of plants - roots, leaves along with mineral salts of iron, tin, copper, alum, etc., which are used as mordants.

Karrupur is a style of Kalamkari that developed in the Thanjavur region during the Maratha rule. The Kalamkari work was a further embellishment to the gold brocade work in the woven fabric, which was used as sarees & dhotis by the royal family during the period of Raja Sarfoji and later Raja Shivaji.

After independence of India, the Handicrafts Development Board took up the task of reviving this art, which had dwindled due to lack of buyers. This style owes its present status to Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhayay who popularised the art as the first Chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board.

The specialty is that the finished products are mellow. Bright colours are used but the finish is not gaudy. The fabric looks better and better with further washing, with the designs standing out even better against the background.

description courtesy:India Heritage/Wikipedia

 Linking it to Paint Party Friday - Join the fun!



Monday, October 8, 2012

Inventing The Future (FFF Challenge)

Fall Fearless and Fly is an Art cleanse challenge happening in Artists in Blogland led by Jessica Sporn and Carolyn Dube.

Headline Prompt: Inventing the Future: Where do you want to be 5, 10, 15 years from now. What's holding you back? What's propelling you forward? What do you need to do or stop doing to create your future?

Color Prompt: Warm colors (reds, oranges, pinks, yellows)

Quote Prompt: "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." Abraham Lincoln.

Here's my version to it...


Mixed Media - acrylics, face paints, pitt pen and paper alphebets



Hope you like it :) 

Linking it Mandarin Orange@ Lorikart as well.

PS: As part of the art cleanse, I have decided to try a new template for my blog...I have gone for something simpler :)
What do you think about it??? Pls do let me know.

Please do not use/reproduce the content (words as well as images) without the written consent of the author.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Stream of Consciousness

There are times when you don't know where your brush/knife is taking you...you just allow yourself with the flow...like the Stream of Consciousness...flow, flow and flow until you reach your destination, anawares...something like that happened here!

Mixed Media  - 9*12 inches

Acyrlics - 9*12 inches

Mostly, unless and until, I am prepared beforehand with some theme; I enter into this consciousness :) I like it as it just doesn't pressurize and you have a light feeling of flying...
How does it work with you???

Linking it up to Paint Party Friday....visit for more colourful art:)

Please do not use/reproduce the content (words as well as images) without the written consent of the author.