tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310242852024-03-13T10:28:21.061+05:30Bits And PiecesMRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-20436516363442637782014-08-03T14:13:00.000+05:302014-08-04T10:22:01.867+05:30Win a Painting -The Coloured Wall Giveaway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">My Facebook Art Page , <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecolouredwall" target="_blank">TheColoured Wall</a> turns two this August, and to celebrate I’m giving away not one,
but two of my original watercolour paintings.Here is the first of the
two paintings-</span></i></b></span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">They
say good things come in small packages, and so does this first painting , a
small watercolour , unframed size approx.
6”x 4” . </span></span></i></b></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5Kd1mrUHvA/U9vlx_ivvaI/AAAAAAAAA4c/4WTfADUxnjk/s1600/TCWGiveAwayPaintingOneWatermarkedRS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5Kd1mrUHvA/U9vlx_ivvaI/AAAAAAAAA4c/4WTfADUxnjk/s1600/TCWGiveAwayPaintingOneWatermarkedRS.jpg" height="400" width="251" /></a> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Like
what you see? </span></span></span></i><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>The giveaway begins on Monday ,04 Aug'14 and will end on Friday, 08Aug '14 .</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></b></span><br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">So, If you want to take a shot at winning this painting, </span></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Login to Facebook, Like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecolouredwall" target="_blank">The Coloured Wall</a> , and follow the instructions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecolouredwall/photos/a.479823445368986.116389.479815808703083/832452170106110/?type=1&theater" target="_blank">giveaway post</a>, to participate</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Also , </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">the
second giveaway will happen a little later this month, so watch
this space for a chance to win another original watercolour painting !</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><u><span style="line-height: 115%;">Terms
and Conditions</span></u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-weight: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-weight: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;">1. Entries for this giveaway will be accepted till 11:59 pm IST (UTC+05:30)
on Friday, 08 Aug 2014.</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;">2. For your entry to be valid, you should be connected to The Coloured
Wall on Facebook by liking the page, and your comment must appear on this
Facebook post .</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;">3. At the close of this giveaway, the comment with the most ‘Likes’ will
be the winner. In case of a tie, I will pick a winner at random from the tied comments.
The name of the winner will be announced on The Coloured Wall, and they will be
contacted on the email address provided by them in their winning comment. </span></span></span></h2>
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</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;">4. The winner will be chosen as explained above and will be informed by
email and/or a message on Facebook (so be sure to check the other folder in
your Facebook messages) In case I don't receive an acknowledgement from the
winner, within three days of informing them, the comment with the next highest
number of Likes will be chosen as the winner.</span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;">5. For ease of shipping, this painting will be shipped to the winner,
unframed and suitably wrapped as a hard backed flat package.</span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;">6. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or
associated with, Facebook. By entering in this giveaway you understand that you
are providing your information to The Coloured Wall<span> </span>and not to Facebook. All inquiries related to
the Giveaway or The Coloured Wall's use of your personal data should be
directed to the The Coloured Wall , not Facebook.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: normal;">7. No purchase or payment is necessary to enter this offer.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-90107694051617066172013-08-08T11:58:00.000+05:302013-08-08T13:33:44.316+05:30Do I need to know sketching very well to learn watercolors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">The <i><b>short answer</b></i> to this question posed to me by a <a href="http://tarangsinha.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">reader </a>, on this <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2012/11/a-very-rough-guide-for-beginners-in.html" target="_blank">post</a> is</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>To
be able to sketch very well</i></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>, would certainly add value to your painting</i></span></b>. However , even if you can do some basic
sketching, have the ability to observe, and the will to practice, you
<u>can</u> create good paintings . As you progress along your art journey,
you'll find that sketching starts to come naturally.</i></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">For the <i><b>long answer</b></i>, please continue reading.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">To begin with, I'd like to suggest that you go through this article about the <a href="http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/a/drawing-for-painting.htm" target="_blank">importance of drawing for painters</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Now, even if you think you can't draw well , the good news is that it is possible to learn the kind of sketching you
need to form a base for your painting, with a very simple approach and
some practice. <b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The idea is to basically break down a complex shape into smaller more manageable shapes, while maintaining the
relationship between shapes</i></span></b>. Don't worry too much about the details of the painting , because those can be suggested at the painting stage, with different shades of colour. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">So, for the purpose of illustration, I'm sharing the<b> preparation I did to make my latest painting- <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=634225339928795&set=a.479823445368986.116389.479815808703083&type=1&theater" target="_blank">'Coloured Boats'</a> .</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">I began this painting from a reference photo of some colourful boats, <b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>mainly because it seemed like a simple scene to draw.</i></span></b> I can't post the photo here , because the copyright to the reference photo belongs to the photographer, but you can see it <a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/boats-10?context=user" target="_blank">here</a> on my favourite ( free to join ) artists website, called <a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/" target="_blank">Paint My Photo</a> . </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">If I had painted these boats when I first began painting watercolours, I would have done lots of
measuring or drawn a grid on my paper and then painstakingly tried to
copy the reference photo down to every last detail. Then I would have gone about
adding colour , trying to get the painting as close as possible to the
original and produced a painting like this</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eEm0AAoL9R4/UgM1qD59NxI/AAAAAAAAAw4/yV_e8Lbm70Q/s1600/Orange+Boats_Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eEm0AAoL9R4/UgM1qD59NxI/AAAAAAAAAw4/yV_e8Lbm70Q/s1600/Orange+Boats_Watermarked.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">'<b>Orange Boats</b>' Original Watercolour (c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury. Find more of her artwork on her Facebook page, 'The Coloured Wall' .</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">However, two years of experience have taught me that there is an <b><i>easier, more painting friendly way to create an initial drawing.</i></b> That is why ,once I had decided on the photo I wanted to work from , rather than getting out my ruler and drawing a grid, I spent some time just looking at the photo to see what captured
my attention ( in this case it was the shape of the boats against the
sky) Again, instead of trying to get every detail right in the pencil drawing, I now find it <b><i>easier to get the shapes and the relationship between the shapes roughly correct</i></b>. After this (depending on how patient Im feeling that day), I start my sketch, either directly on the watercolour paper or do a few trial sketches with a pencil on a sketch pad (see this <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2013/06/a-post-full-of-belly-dancers.html" target="_blank">post for this process</a> ). For this painting , however , I took it one step further.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><i>I did a quick thumbnail sketch with a pen</i></b>, on the back of a discarded painting.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XGDDmBD7wMc/UgMWAxxR7tI/AAAAAAAAAv8/ukfx4kZnM10/s1600/Boats+Minor+Ink_Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XGDDmBD7wMc/UgMWAxxR7tI/AAAAAAAAAv8/ukfx4kZnM10/s1600/Boats+Minor+Ink_Watermarked.jpg" height="241" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">'<b>Boats Minor</b>' Ink Sketch on 300 gsm watercolour paper.<b> (c)
Monishikha RoyChoudhury. Size 1.5" x2.5" </b>. Find more of her artwork on
her Facebook page, '<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083" target="_blank">The Coloured Wall</a>'.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Since I had no fear of destroying expensive watercolour paper, this gave me a lot of confidence to <b><i>begin drawing and let any mistakes that may happen, just happen</i></b> . Also, the initial purpose of this drawing was to get a feel for the shapes of the boats. If you look at the sketch , at a glance you can see that the tops of the boats start from approximately 40% of the way from the top horizontal edge , and that they are basically just a number of wide 'V' shapes at the top. <i><b>What is important , is the angle of the adjacent shapes with respect to each other.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Coming to the bottom edges of the boats, I followed a similar approach, taking each boat one by one, and for each successive boat, I started my drawing looking at it's size with reference to the previous one, till I reached the last one. Again, working from left to right I drew the broad triangular shapes of the shadows of the boats keeping in mind the proportionate distance ( of the narrowest part of the shadow) to the bottom right edge and corner of the paper. Confused? Look at the shadow of the left most boat , and then continue looking at the shadow of each of the boats,from left to right . You'll see that they are roughly at an angle to the bottom edge of the page, and the last few shadows actually end on the right vertical edge of the painting . Also, another thing I kept in mind while drawing was that relative shape and size of the spaces between the shadows cast by the boats.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Once the shapes were there, all the drawing needed was actual darkening of the shadow shapes to give the boats and sand some depth. From the <a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/boats-10?context=user" target="_blank">reference photo</a>, I could see that the shadows were deeper under the boats on the right of the page(far away from the viewer) and lighter in the left most boats ( nearer to the viewer), so I put in darker marks for the deeper shadows cast by the far away boats and lighter marks for those cast by the nearer boats. Also, the boats themselves are lighter and darker in some parts, so I darkened the parts that were darker. Then with a few random shadow marks in the sand, my sketch was finished.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Once the drawing was done, I just put in some dabs of colour to get a feel for the finished painting, and that is how I ended up with this -</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZMsYWsqIy_A/UgMf5LsRE0I/AAAAAAAAAwM/4MV__mpFnuA/s1600/Boats+Minor+Ink+and+Wash+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZMsYWsqIy_A/UgMf5LsRE0I/AAAAAAAAAwM/4MV__mpFnuA/s1600/Boats+Minor+Ink+and+Wash+Watermarked.jpg" height="252" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">'<b>Boats Minor</b>' Ink and Watercolour Sketch on 300 gsm watercolour paper.<b> (c)
Monishikha RoyChoudhury. Size 1.5" x2.5"</b> . Find more of her artwork on
her Facebook page, '<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083" target="_blank">The Coloured Wall</a>'.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">By doing this, what I've achieved is basically a reference painting, with minimum time and effort (it took about 15 mins from start to finish) and lots of pleasure and confidence. I plan to use this approach in most of my future watercolour paintings, because, you see doing something of this size</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ljqR_4mRw5E/UgMice-IdcI/AAAAAAAAAwc/sirclNM4t2s/s1600/Boats+Minor+Ink+and+Wash+Size_Watermarked+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ljqR_4mRw5E/UgMice-IdcI/AAAAAAAAAwc/sirclNM4t2s/s1600/Boats+Minor+Ink+and+Wash+Size_Watermarked+.jpg" height="273" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">'<b>Boats Minor</b>' Ink and Watercolour Sketch on 300 gsm watercolour paper.<b> (c)
Monishikha RoyChoudhury. Size 1.5" x2.5"</b> . Find more of her artwork on
her Facebook page, '<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083" target="_blank">The Coloured Wall</a>'. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">is a good way to lose the fear of drawing, and attempt something bigger, like this</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ICygj8P3Yvk/UgMjQEeOkDI/AAAAAAAAAwk/4B6O5gD0Iw8/s1600/Coloured+Boats+Watermarked+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ICygj8P3Yvk/UgMjQEeOkDI/AAAAAAAAAwk/4B6O5gD0Iw8/s1600/Coloured+Boats+Watermarked+.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent">'<b>Coloured Boats</b>' Ink and Watercolour Wash on 300 gsm Watercolour paper, <b>© Monishikha RoyChoudhury . </b></span><span class="userContent"><b>Size 13"w x 9"h . SOLD</b> .</span>Find more of her artwork on
her Facebook page, '<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083" target="_blank">The Coloured Wall</a>'. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">So if you want to paint, and don't know too much about sketching, I say dive in anyway,you might surprise yourself. What do you think ?</span><br />
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MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-14339294673842640582013-06-04T10:00:00.000+05:302013-06-09T15:53:37.328+05:30A Post full of Belly Dancers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">A few days back, I had , "a beat stuck in my
head" after watching a random video of belly dancers on you tube, and I knew I just had to paint one .Normally I paint directly from a single photo reference, not deviating too much from the original photo.However since , I couldn't find a satisfactory photo reference on my favourite reference photo site <a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/" target="_blank">Paint My Photo</a>, I knew I had to actually work to translate the beat onto paper. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">So I began by looking at a number of reference
photos, and quite a few videos of belly dancers in action. Then , I did <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a few pencil and ( one) colour sketches to find a pose that felt
right to me. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zPd0uXj4WA4/UazBs8AEUuI/AAAAAAAAAuU/veiKAJ3HWXc/s1600/Belly+Dancer+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zPd0uXj4WA4/UazBs8AEUuI/AAAAAAAAAuU/veiKAJ3HWXc/s1600/Belly+Dancer+1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Belly Dancer Sketch 1</i> <i>(c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury</i></span></td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MaCiX-Da0xs/UazB1xv-4wI/AAAAAAAAAuc/cQOIrWGx6Nw/s1600/Belly+Dancer+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MaCiX-Da0xs/UazB1xv-4wI/AAAAAAAAAuc/cQOIrWGx6Nw/s1600/Belly+Dancer+2.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Belly Dancer Sketch 2 (c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N2r5AP0ESLo/UazB2KnUY5I/AAAAAAAAAug/2alBwPs1DLg/s1600/Belly+Dancer+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N2r5AP0ESLo/UazB2KnUY5I/AAAAAAAAAug/2alBwPs1DLg/s1600/Belly+Dancer+3.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Belly Dancer Sketch 3 (c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DFYoj8kJk3g/UazB2PDPPFI/AAAAAAAAAuk/pGDo1q4ZuwM/s1600/Belly+Dancer+Final+Sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DFYoj8kJk3g/UazB2PDPPFI/AAAAAAAAAuk/pGDo1q4ZuwM/s1600/Belly+Dancer+Final+Sketch.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Belly Dancer Final Sketch on 300 gsm Watercolour paper, (c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Once I had settled on<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the pose that
I liked, I did a free hand watercolour sketch on a sample of watercolour paper
I would <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>use <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for the final painting, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to see how the colours, that I had in mind , would look on paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x73XUEcVQOU/UazCc_A5UII/AAAAAAAAAu0/f8wr365QWlk/s1600/Belly+Dancer+Freehand+Watercolour+Prep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x73XUEcVQOU/UazCc_A5UII/AAAAAAAAAu0/f8wr365QWlk/s1600/Belly+Dancer+Freehand+Watercolour+Prep.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Belly Dancer Freehand Watercolour Sketch on 300 gsm Watercolour paper (c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury</span></i></td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Now, this is not my usual process of painting, in that I generally don't have the
patience to do so much preparatory work before actually painting what I
want to paint.The reason why I've decided to record this process here is to remind myself when Im feeling lazy, that preparation is worth it!</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the process , so here's the final painting-</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zrVuSRekNL4/UazCwe_BIPI/AAAAAAAAAu8/cfSI9oqEq3k/s1600/Belly+Dancer+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zrVuSRekNL4/UazCwe_BIPI/AAAAAAAAAu8/cfSI9oqEq3k/s1600/Belly+Dancer+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">'<b>Belly Dancer</b>' Original Watercolour , (c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury , Size 6"x 9" </span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Also, in case you're interested in looking at ( or buying) more of my figurative and other watercolours, do visit my Facebook page, '<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083?ref=hl" target="_blank">The Coloured Wall</a>' . If you're interested in buying greeting cards or museum quality prints of my artwork, please visit my <a href="http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/monishikha-roychoudhury.html" target="_blank">profile</a> on <a href="http://fineartamerica.com/" target="_blank">Fine Art America</a> . </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-55084140059344841322013-03-16T18:24:00.000+05:302013-03-16T18:24:07.230+05:30Book Review - My Lawfully Wedded Husband and Other Stories<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘My Lawfully Wedded Husband and other Stories’ by Madhulika Liddle</b></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i>
</i></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Published by Westland<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ltd,</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Price
Rs 250</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have always been an avid book reader,
and anyone who dared come between me and an unfinished book did so at their
peril. However<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>since my son was born , experience
has taught me <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that no matter how much I
might want to finish my book in one go, staying up at night <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when the kid was asleep was a sure way to
bring out the grouchy mamma in me . So in the interests of <s>my sanity</s> the
kid’s wellbeing, my bedside table is now largely populated by short story
collections. That is why, when BlogAdda offered me a chance to review this book,
I jumped at it and hung on with all my might. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Coming to the book itself, as the
title suggests, “My Lawfully Wedded Husband and other Stories” is a collection
of short stories by Madhulika Liddle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first story in the collection begins with
quite a matter of fact declaration by the protagonist, about how ‘I<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> killed my first human when I was twenty one’</i>.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And right away I thought – “This
is not a book to read at night if you’re the highly sensitive type who hides
under the covers at the slightest of unexplained night sounds in an empty house”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, since my three year old was sleeping
soundly next to me, I decided to allow my curiosity to get the better of my
afternoon siesta, and carried on reading.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The common thread that runs
through all the stories is a generous dose of dark humour with a twist in the tail.
From the deceptively normal Delhi girl in ‘Sum Total’, the enterprising Madhu
in Bombay, the ambitious young housekeeper in a quaint Goan village, the heartbreakingly
naïve prostitute Hourie to the gullible young girl from Chennai , all the
characters are quite believable and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>interestingly<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>diverse. The writing seems effortless and is
very easy to read. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stories however ,
vary from <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the ho hum , ‘Feet of Clay’,
to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the beautifully written ‘Tale of a
Summer Vacation” in a sleepy Goan village , <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the spine chilling ‘On the Night Train’ ,
and the absolutely<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not- for- reading- alone-
in- bed- at- night horror quickie “Silent Fear”.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My personal favourite is the
story set in Goa, which promises love and romance at the onset and ends up with
a wicked twist. However, despite the fact that love and romance do not quite
triumph in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to hate the villain of the piece as
much as I should. Given the fact that I’m almost always <s>the goody two shoes</s>
on the higher moral ground, in my opinion this is a corker of a story. Either
that or I must be really wicked at heart; that is to say, I stick to my opinion
that this is the best story of the lot. The other story I liked better than the
rest <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is “The Howling Waves of Tranquebar”.
I can’t say much about it for fear of spoiling it for anyone who may be
thinking of reading it, but suffice to say that this is one of those stories
with atmosphere, at the end of which you giggle nervously and thank your stars
that the story ended the way it did!</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">All in all, this is a book to own,
to read once then leave on the bookshelf, and then read again after a few months later.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This book review is a part of
Blog Adda’s <a href="http://blog.blogadda.com/category/book-reviews" target="_blank">Book Review program</a>. Click on the link to receive free books and participate in this great program.</span></span></div>
MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-40293910006083745092013-02-19T14:00:00.000+05:302013-02-19T14:02:01.283+05:30Of Woodland Walkways and Pretty Shoes <span style="color: #4c1130;">I have been on a tree and woods painting spree last month ,struggling to get better at this particular subject . Here are the results, in the order that they were painted.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DAt9e-LE5Xk/USMaX-vm4qI/AAAAAAAAAqs/q28m2pGrF94/s1600/Walk+Way+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DAt9e-LE5Xk/USMaX-vm4qI/AAAAAAAAAqs/q28m2pGrF94/s1600/Walk+Way+Watermarked.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b><span class="userContent">'Walk Way ' </span><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent">(c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury . </span></span>Original Watercolour </span></span></span></b></span><b> on 300 gsm Watercolour Paper. </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h3d_1Eu6KSU/USMbHHUTJtI/AAAAAAAAAq0/VQGdLdeSeec/s1600/Misty+Trees+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h3d_1Eu6KSU/USMbHHUTJtI/AAAAAAAAAq0/VQGdLdeSeec/s1600/Misty+Trees+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b>'Misty Trees' <span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent">(c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury . </span></span>Original Watercolour </span></span></span></b></span><b> on 300 gsm Watercolour Paper. </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qXbHiLgN60M/USMhUcjCu8I/AAAAAAAAArI/7yno_t7hT9M/s1600/Sunny+Trees+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qXbHiLgN60M/USMhUcjCu8I/AAAAAAAAArI/7yno_t7hT9M/s1600/Sunny+Trees+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b>' Sunny Trees ' <span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent">(c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury . </span></span>Original Watercolour </span></span></span></b></span><b> on 300 gsm Watercolour Paper.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WX2e-DMFO2U/USMi8ZTM1pI/AAAAAAAAArU/oqZZNJCoKWM/s1600/Woodland+Walk+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WX2e-DMFO2U/USMi8ZTM1pI/AAAAAAAAArU/oqZZNJCoKWM/s1600/Woodland+Walk+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">'<b>Woodland Walk</b>' <span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent">(c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury . </span></span>Original Watercolour </span></span></span></span> on 300 gsm Watercolour Paper.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Of course after I painted 'Woodland Walk', I got a little too ambitious and tried my hand at painting trees and flowers on a larger scale and fell flat on my face. I know from experience that when that happens, I need to take a break. The trouble is that </span><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">sometimes a girls' gotta look at some pretty shoes and if said girl has
humongous feet, she has to settle for either window shopping or painting shoes. </span></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M7F_ufto49Q/USMkVNzl92I/AAAAAAAAAro/-rEYWx1H3IE/s1600/Shoes+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M7F_ufto49Q/USMkVNzl92I/AAAAAAAAAro/-rEYWx1H3IE/s1600/Shoes+Watermarked+Reduced+Size.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b>'Shoes' <span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent"><span class="userContent">(c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury . </span></span>Original Watercolour </span></span></span></b></span><b> on 300 gsm Watercolour Paper. </b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span>And now, I think I'll get back to painting some more trees , unless of course I get sidetracked by some new photo on my favourite source of inspiration , <a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/" target="_blank">Paint My Photo </a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">Speaking of getting sidetracked, guess who has been writing for <a href="http://www.parentous.com/" target="_blank">Parentous</a> once<strike> in a blue moon </strike>a month for the last few months and has forgotten to mention it on her blog. Also, in case I haven't mentioned it before ( or you haven't noticed the link on the sidebar) and you like my paintings and want to see more of them regularly , come take a look at my Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083" target="_blank">The Coloured Wall</a> which is updated far more regularly than my poor neglected blog.</span><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></a>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></a>
MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-44814634353360168862013-01-02T10:16:00.000+05:302013-01-02T10:16:07.868+05:30 A Fresh Year Begins<div style="color: #351c75;">
<b>Wishing all of you, a very Happy New Year.</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i5F4gIQPmyM/UOO1YcH-AKI/AAAAAAAAAqA/869HXP3gHpY/s1600/Fresh+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i5F4gIQPmyM/UOO1YcH-AKI/AAAAAAAAAqA/869HXP3gHpY/s1600/Fresh+Watermarked.jpg" height="316" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fresh" Original Watercolour (c) Monishikha RoyChoudhury</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5LBdLFj4we0/UOO266CKszI/AAAAAAAAAqY/75092bB-w_Y/s1600/Shells+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5LBdLFj4we0/UOO266CKszI/AAAAAAAAAqY/75092bB-w_Y/s1600/Shells+Watermarked.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #351c75;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Shells" Original Watercolour (c) Monishikha Roy-Choudhury</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="color: #351c75;">
This past month, I've been traveling , on vacation meeting friends and
family. These paintings were painted for a friend who wanted a shell themed painting and since I didn't know what she would like, I decided to paint these two and let her choose whichever one she wanted. </div>
<div style="color: #351c75;">
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<div style="color: #351c75;">
Although they were
painted about a few weeks apart, in retrospect, I can see that Im
actually quite partial towards certain colours. Can you see which ones? </div>
MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-40894504610618481322012-11-15T12:26:00.001+05:302012-11-15T12:26:33.653+05:30A Very Rough Guide for Beginners in Watercolour Painting<span style="color: #783f04;">I've been dabbling in watercolour painting for approximately two years now, and after high praise from family and freinds, I decided to see if they would appeal to unbiased observers too. Luckily they did, so after selling a few paintings and launching my facebook page, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083?ref=hl" target="_blank">The Coloured Wall</a> , I also wrote a <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2012/08/artistic-milestones.html" target="_blank">post</a> about how I had managed to sell my first few paintings . Then, in the spirit of shouting it from the rooftops, I promoted this <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2012/08/artistic-milestones.html" target="_blank">post</a> on <a href="http://www.indiblogger.in/" target="_blank">Indiblogger</a> too. A very welcome outcome of this was a new friendship with a blogger, <a href="http://thatandthisinmumbai.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">sudhagee</a>, who liked my post and also some of my watercolour paintings enough to buy them. That is how these paintings found a new home, where they are loved just as much or more than they were in mine.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXPj-RGY9eU/UKRUbOn1OKI/AAAAAAAAAoY/EMDqJfw01xQ/s1600/3+Roses+Sketch+Watermarked+Low+Res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XXPj-RGY9eU/UKRUbOn1OKI/AAAAAAAAAoY/EMDqJfw01xQ/s1600/3+Roses+Sketch+Watermarked+Low+Res.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><i><b>'Roses</b></i><b>' </b>Original Watercolour painting (c) Monishikha Roy-Choudhury</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dwsCb80LZTc/UKRUhFH0AEI/AAAAAAAAAog/540SjtEL1_g/s1600/Dancers+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dwsCb80LZTc/UKRUhFH0AEI/AAAAAAAAAog/540SjtEL1_g/s1600/Dancers+Watermarked.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><b>'Dancers</b>' Original Watercolour Paintig (c) Monishikha Roy-Choudhury</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #783f04;">That, I thought was that, till a month or so back , when Sudha ji, sent me a mail telling me that she had got my paintings framed, and the walls in her house , actually painted a in a colour meant to compliment them! All I could say in response was that I was "flattered and honoured" and <u>that</u> was quite an understatement. The best part is that , she didn't stop at that. Which is why, this Monday , I began my week with quite a Diwali gift, a post about <a href="http://thatandthisinmumbai.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/roses-and-dancing-girls/" target="_blank">Roses and Dancing Girls</a> .</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;">While thanking all those who appreciated my paintings, and the few who have asked some questions about the creation of the more popular painting,"Dancers", it occurred to me, that there are quite a few people like me out there. People who are probably learning their way through watercolours , the way I am, one painting at a time. So , in the spirit of sharing, I'm answering a few questions that someone has asked me about my paintings . The answers are of course,based on my experience and not to be taken as "expert" advice, because I'm a novice myself. So these are my tips for anyone who wants to start with watercolour paintings</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Use the best materials</b> you can afford . I read this somewhere on the net , and it applies to watercolour paintings too, because all other things being equal, I've found that cheap paper and student quality paints give very unsatisfactory results. See for yourself, here is my first watercolour painting ,<a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2010/04/old-mess.html" target="_blank"> The Old Mess</a> (done on 120gsm paper, with very cheap chinese paints) and this is my second watercolour painting, <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2010/08/not-quite-flower-vase.html" target="_blank">Leaves in a Vase</a> done on the same paper, with Camel artist quality paints. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Experiment with different papers</b> to suit your style . Watercolours tend to dry out very quickly in Indian weather conditions,so you need to find the type of paper that suits your style of painting. I generally paint, wet in wet, or wet on dry, in 15 - 30 min sessions spread over two or three days (because there are too many demands on my time for me to do anything more than that ), so paper that dries too quickly or buckles easily is very frustrating for me. That is why , after experimenting with handmade paper in a few paintings like <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2012/02/tropical-flower.html" target="_blank">Tropical Flower</a> I now use heavier, standardised watercolour paper . Here is an example of the results, I got using the same paints on Arches 300 gsm watercolour paper, </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8dmEN7NFUps/UKRccuwyCqI/AAAAAAAAAo0/apHmyMMjKJI/s1600/Lily+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8dmEN7NFUps/UKRccuwyCqI/AAAAAAAAAo0/apHmyMMjKJI/s1600/Lily+Watermarked.jpg" height="320" width="197" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"<i><b>Lily</b></i>" Original Watercolour , 4" x 6" (c) Monishikha Roy-Choudhury, also available on The Coloured Wall</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>To draw or not to draw</b> .</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"> Most of the time, I plan my painting ,and create a light preliminary drawing with pencil or watercolour pencil , on the paper, before applying paint. However there are times when I paint a trial painting directly with the brush , on smaller samples of the paper I'm going to use. The "Roses" and "Dancers" were both a result of such "trial" painting! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Brushes- Flat,Round,Small,Medium,Big, Natural Hair or Synthetic</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">I've used them all depending on my requirements. Here I deliberately do not want to mention specifics because I'm not qualified to explain the technicalities of using a particular type of brush. However, what I can tell you is this, I generally use soft , pony hair brushes, both flat and round as required, ranging in sizes from 12 (for bigger areas)<b> </b> to size 0 for adding fine details .</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Help, the paint is running away!</b> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">Many artists refer to watercolour painting as "controlling the flood" . Other than mixing colours on the palette, it's a good idea to allow colours mix on the paper too, and create beautiful effects, so don't try to "fix" the painting too much when the paint is wet, because it will look lighter and probably not as bad as you think it is , once the paint dries. Allow "happy accidents" to happen, but also learn from them, because you might want to recreate that effect sometime in the future. </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>Read</b> <i>(atleast a bit)</i> <b>about basic colour theory</b>. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">You can also refer to standardized colour wheels , which will give you an idea of how colours work next to each other , but the best way, in my opinion, is to use your paints and make a colour wheel out of the colours you have, or paint a few strokes of the colours you plan to use in your painting, next to each other ,on a sample paper.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b>What to Paint </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;">My husband is my somewhat unwilling but most honest critic, and his opinion matters quite a bit to me. When I wanted to paint from a reference pic of dry trees, he thought that it would be quite a boring painting. However, we've been married long enough for me to do my own thing, so I went ahead anyway, and here is the finished product<b>, </b>which I love and he thinks is very realistic , but not a painting that appeals to him . So, my advice is, to paint whatever appeals to you , regardless of whether someone else thinks it's a good subject or
not.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><b><br /></b></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o8LvQA1ZPUA/UKRvDPST_WI/AAAAAAAAApI/E-P7WwsU4vs/s1600/The+Promise+of+Spring+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o8LvQA1ZPUA/UKRvDPST_WI/AAAAAAAAApI/E-P7WwsU4vs/s1600/The+Promise+of+Spring+Watermarked.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;">"<i><b>The Promise of Spring</b></i>" Original Watercolour (c) Monishikha Roy-Choudhury</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;">Here I must mention that the advice that I've received from other artists is , that it is a must to paint from life. I agree, when you draw or paint from life, it has a fresh quality to it,(see <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2010/08/not-quite-flower-vase.html" target="_blank">Leaves in a Vase</a> ) but for someone like me painting from life is very rarely possible, so I paint from photos. Since, Im not that great a photographer myself, I paint from copyright free photos, available at this wonderful , free to join , website called <a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/">Paint My Photo</a>. In my opinion , apart from getting great subjects to paint and motivation from other artists , the biggest advantage of painting from copyright free photos on Paint My Photo , is that the resulting artwork is an original painting. </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;">So, to those who want to get started with watercolour painting , and don't have access to actual art classes, what Im saying is this, surf the net for articles and videos on techniques for
painting the kind of subjects that you like to paint, and as far as
possible, paint for yourself, not to satisfy anyone else's tastes. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">That is all that I can think of right now, so if you have any more questions or tips, please do ask or share in the comments .I'd be delighted to hear from you.<b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;">Leaving you with an image of my latest watercolour painting, "<b>Can-Can Can They</b>" </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6qrpGfu4v0/UKR83N2U44I/AAAAAAAAApc/QxE6_jcAJvA/s1600/Can+Can+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6qrpGfu4v0/UKR83N2U44I/AAAAAAAAApc/QxE6_jcAJvA/s1600/Can+Can+Watermarked.jpg" height="236" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<br />MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-64184864771438476502012-10-22T13:44:00.002+05:302012-10-22T22:56:30.876+05:30Book Review- “Barnabas : Bombay’s First Private Detective”<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Handwriting"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Thank
you <a href="http://blog.blogadda.com/">BlogAdda</a>, for sending me my very first book to review as a part of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>your book review program. As a book lover, I
was thrilled to receive a free book, and a good one at that. I hope this is the
first of many such experiences! So here’s my take on </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Barnabas :
Bombay’s First Private Detective”</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">written by Sangeeta Nambiar, published by
Westland Ltd. </i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></b></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; text-align: justify;">
As the name suggests, this is a
“detective” story set in British India, and the protagonist is an unusually
named young man, Barnabas C Mehta. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; text-align: justify;">
In addition to his unusual name,
Barnabas also has an unusual upbringing, as a result of being the son of an
Indian cook and the protégé of a well read, Indian at heart, British bachelor,
his beloved “Francis Kaka”, who is also his father’s employer and friend. His
past success at locating a missing husband, and the fact that the husband of
the missing woman, Thomas Stanton wants to his wife to be found, as discreetly
as possible, are the reasons why Barnabas is called to investigate the mysterious
disappearance of an English woman, Rose Stanton.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the book, Barnabas combines a ready wit, a
keen intelligence, a knack for observing the little things about ordinary
lives, and the advantages of his background to ferret out clues from the multi layered
colonial world of the British sahibs, memsahibs, their Indian help and various
other Indian characters<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>. At a few<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>junctures <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the course of his ‘jasoos-giri ‘ , Barnabas
comes up against a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>racist police
Inspector Finnigan , who is, in the manner of most professionals in detective
stories, mostly antagonistic and dismissive of the efforts of the private
detective.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; text-align: justify;">
It is a fast paced story, but somewhere
near the middle of the book, I felt I could guess the identity and the
motivation of the murderer, and started to lose interest in the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, right at that point there came a
twist in the tale that made me think twice about who the murderer might be. The
story ends in a gathering of most of the people involved, to unmask and explain
the motivations of the murderer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; text-align: justify;">
As I read<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the book,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had a feeling of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>familiarity,
as if I had<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>seen or read<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>something<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>similar, but I just couldn’t<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>put
my finger on it. Once I sat down to write this review, I realized, that whether
intentionally or not, from the colonial setting to the unmasking of the murderer,
the author has written in a simple, logical and elegant style, which has an
Agatha Christie/Arthur Conan Doyle like feel to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apart from the fact that the book is a page
turner, the writing is also of the kind that conjures up mental pictures of the
characters and the situations involved. In fact, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a sense of seeing the places, the people
and hearing them speak, while I read this book and possibly that is the reason why,
I have a few minor quibbles with the dialogue in some parts of the story. To
name just two, in my opinion, in British India of the 1940s, a young English
woman, is more likely to have described a person as being “mad” rather than
having a ‘personality disorder’, and it seems unlikely that a twenty-something
Indian man in the same period would have ‘pumped his fist victoriously in the
air’ as a reaction to good news. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #660000; text-align: justify;">
However, as I said earlier, these
are very minor incongruities, in what is otherwise a very well written mystery.
That and the fact that it is written by an Indian author, and is not autobiographical,
chick-lit in English, is what makes it different from the crowd, and definitely
worth a read.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Edited to Add:</b> This post was originally published on Oct 18, but due to some rather over zealous spring cleaning of my drafts folder , I've managed to accidentally delete it from the published posts too! </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Reply to Umashankar's comment on the original post</span></span></i></b><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> "</span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Emerging beyond the shadows of Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie is
not everyone's cup of tea. I quite liked the way you have assessed the
strengths and weaknesses of the book." </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Thank you for your kind comment. Like I said, the book is well written and interesting enough for these minor incongruities to jar too much .</span></span></i></div>
</div>
MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-67315143574991474832012-09-13T07:38:00.000+05:302012-09-13T07:38:19.260+05:30The Evolution of this blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #b45f06;"> or The Reason Why This Blog Limps Along At Times</i></h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvMUWB3aJ3o/UEuGPLHT3NI/AAAAAAAAAjU/uIMM0KHATYg/s1600/Flowers+for+a+Rainy+Day+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvMUWB3aJ3o/UEuGPLHT3NI/AAAAAAAAAjU/uIMM0KHATYg/s320/Flowers+for+a+Rainy+Day+Watermarked.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"Flowers For A Rainy Day" Original Watercolour, (c) Monishikha Roy-Choudhury</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="color: #b45f06;">
When I started blogging , ,six years ago, I was enamored with the idea of sharing my thoughts with other people. People who I'd meet because they were like minded , had similar interests, and I'd be able to discuss things that touched my life without having to wait for my husband to come home, or call up my best friend and explain the background, or just escape the negativity that sometimes surrounds me because of my full blown case of foot-in-the-mouth-tis. This happy state of affairs lasted for a month or two , and things reached a point where I was actually dreaming about what I'd write, and how people would react to it. Then one fine day , after trying to edit a post so that it would remain interesting and yet not divulge too many personal details,it dawned on me that my life though very interesting to me , didn't need to be shared in all it's minutae with the world at large. </div>
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Now, I have always shyed away from following, what is now advertised quite openly as a strategy to get more comments, more readers,more traffic , namely "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" , mainly because I don't see the point in getting quantity over quality . I'd rather have a few friends who drop by because they like to, than go around making the equivalent of small talk on blog posts which are of no interest to me, and most likely vice versa. So this blog, went to sleep for a few years.</div>
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Life continued, sometimes very unremarkably, and after a tough phase where we struggled with trying to have a baby, came a happy but tougher phase when we finally became parents. Any honest parent will tell you that they've had moments when they thought they just could not clean up any more messes , when they were ready to just run away, and they turned round and looked at that innocent face and willingly went back to being their little tyrant's slave. Any parent , who has a blog will tell you that those are the moments that they decided to blog about their child, and just how cute and perfect said child is, even if it meant that there would be some amount of eye rolling and barfing amongst the reading public who were not quite on the same page! And that is exactly why I revived this blog some two and a half years ago.</div>
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Some frenzied months of blogging, and finding a few more good friends later, the kid began walking and I had no choice but to unplonk myself from in front of the computer and follow, catching breakables and shovelling food in one end ( and praying that it would stay in for a while) and losing myself further into mommyhood. So of course, the blog dozed fitfully, waking up every now and then when a few photographs were thrown it's way.</div>
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As things became a little less chaotic, I found that I actually got some sleep and could squeeze out some time to paint. So I did just that, and one thing led to another, here I am , the mother of an "adorably naughty" three year old, injecting some discipline into my life and doing what I knew I should have done a long time ago,namely learning how to paint and become a <strike>famous</strike> artist when I had all that time in my non <strike>slave</strike> mommy days. </div>
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However, I have been incredibly lucky to have actually sold a few watercolour paintings within a year of taking it up as a hobby, so Im going to be sharing my experiences as a learner along the way in posts to come, and if you find that Im away for a while or that the blog is sleeping, don't worry, I'll be back with a new painting or an Artimator update or just some random photos every once in a while. </div>
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If you're <strike>still</strike> reading this, you know why this is such a randomly updated blog , and that you're going to have many more updaty sort of posts coming your way before I actually get time to write a real post, like this one. </div>
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And for those of you wondering, if there is a point to this post, there isn't. I felt like actually writing something for a change , but just to thank you for sticking around, here's another <strike>pretty</strike> picture for you to look at , so please forgive me for this rather rambling post .</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"The Back of Beyond" Original Watercolour , (c) Monishikha Roy-Choudhury</b></td></tr>
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MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-78079047012176547712012-09-10T15:11:00.000+05:302012-09-10T15:16:14.499+05:30Chase those Monday blues away<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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with a healthy dose of Vitamin C . </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VvZ5kxEOgkk/UE2y69u1DBI/AAAAAAAAAkE/s8ev7kHy1Ng/s1600/Glow+Watermarked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VvZ5kxEOgkk/UE2y69u1DBI/AAAAAAAAAkE/s8ev7kHy1Ng/s320/Glow+Watermarked.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"Glow" Original Watercolur, 7.5" x 5.5" (c) Monishikha Roy-Choudhury</b></td></tr>
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And if you want to hang this or other original ,colourful artwork on your wall, come see my Facebook page,<span style="color: #073763;"> "</span><b style="color: #073763;">The Coloured Wall</b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #073763;">"</span> </span> by clicking on the link in the sidebar or leave a comment here with your email id/ blog link and I'll get in touch with you. </div>
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MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-90179123958855785532012-08-30T11:11:00.002+05:302012-09-10T15:26:29.353+05:30Artistic Milestones<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<b>Autumn Woods</b>" Original Watercolour , on Canson watercolour paper. <span class="userContent"> Size 9.5" x12.2"</span></td></tr>
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As some of you may have guessed by now, I've been smitten with the painting bug of late, and that my medium of choice is watercolours. Well, this month has seen two milestones in my artistic journey, I have sold a my very first lot of watercolour paintings!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Doing a happy,very ,very undignified jig now)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Okay, serious face back on</span></div>
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The second milestone, largely catalysed by the first is the launch of my Facebook page,</div>
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"<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083?ref=hl">The Coloured Wall</a>" </div>
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(You can see it on Facebook, by clicking on the badge in the sidebar. )</div>
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While Im not great or famous as an artist (not by a long shot), I would love it if you'd drop by and take a look at my original artwork, and let me know what you think.</div>
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MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-24066413981516676042012-08-16T07:55:00.000+05:302012-08-30T22:39:08.906+05:30Psychedelic Sand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">is what Im calling my latest original watercolour painting.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cvC3SGaRkU8/UCxO7iGMrvI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/pFojaFBwe_E/s1600/Psychedelic+Sand+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cvC3SGaRkU8/UCxO7iGMrvI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/pFojaFBwe_E/s320/Psychedelic+Sand+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"<b>Psychedelic Sand</b>" Original watercolour on Arches paper</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">and if you want to see all of my paintings, have a look at the Picasa album on the sidebar or if you want to see most of them together , look <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/p/my-original-watercolour-paintings.html">here</a> .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Update : This painting is one of the first paintings that I've sold :D </span><br />
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<b>For the latest information about my paintings and prices , please visit my Facebook page, "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coloured-Wall/479815808703083?ref=hl">The Coloured Wall</a>" or write to me at monishikha@gmail.com </b></h4>
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MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-2488258704812564222012-08-03T11:53:00.000+05:302012-08-03T11:53:05.304+05:30For the record<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">It's been a while, like it always is, between posts. I have the tendency to start something, like blogging and then quickly lose interest in it when life becomes more<strike> interesting </strike> hectic, so before I lose interest again, here's whats been happening, in the last few months</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Moved houses across the length of the country , and packed in lots of stuff and experiences along the drive from cool Conoor</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">to hot hot hot Jodhpur!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Met a <a href="http://hellomommyhood.blogspot.in/">blogger friend</a> and clicked so well with her that I realised I should do it more often.What say <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/02585808654856582998">Manasi</a> ?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-<i>Almost</i> met another blogger friend, because she had some scheduling problems, oh well, maybe next time we do a cross country trip! (<a href="http://momofrs.wordpress.com/">Noor</a> , you'll have to tie that phone of yours to a dupatta)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-The Artimator has turned three</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> and FINALLY begun school ! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-999YESdcaxc/UBtjK49yRII/AAAAAAAAAcg/vYvVrOUoH2A/s1600/P1040628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-999YESdcaxc/UBtjK49yRII/AAAAAAAAAcg/vYvVrOUoH2A/s320/P1040628.JPG" width="282" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Settled into a new house, and still managed to stick with my latest obsession, Watercolour painting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Speaking of which , have you seen my latest <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/p/my-original-watercolour-paintings.html">watercolour paintings</a>? I've been gifting a few of them to friends, and am planning on selling them online. Anyone interested in gifting one to their friends?</span></div>
</div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-70197361358616963962012-03-10T20:49:00.000+05:302012-06-28T13:26:53.723+05:30An Incredible Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Anyone who knows me , knows this about me, I like my afternoon nap , and I like it long, and for the sake of having an unchewed head , until about <strike>15</strike> a few minutes after I wake up, it's best not to ask me to do anything resembling work . Oh wait, that was before I became the <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2010/05/letter-to-artimator.html">Artimator's mater</a>. Should you like the pleasure of my company in decent clothes,the best way (to avoid head banging and nail chewing injuries) is to ask me (nicely) atleast a few hours in advance. In short, in those good old days, waking me up from a nap prematurely and asking me to get ready quickly and leave the house was a task not to be undertaken by anyone who wanted to have a peaceful evening.</div>
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As it happened ,one <strike></strike> evening,around 6 ish, a few years ago, since the <strike></strike>spouse was woken up by a call on his mobile, I was lying in bed just lazily wondering <strike></strike> who it was (that dared), when the spouse finished his call and said something to me that caused me to literally jump out of bed, for the first time ever in my life.</div>
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Five minutes later, I was dressed <strike></strike> and standing at the door, politely actually asking the hubby whether he would be able to make it out of bed the same day (a feat that gave me great satisfaction,because usually I am at the receiving end of that one!)</div>
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Now, if you have read some of my older posts like <a href="http://minisblog.blogspot.in/2010/03/weekend-tales.html">this one</a>, you might have an inkling that planes and air shows are a very normal part of the hubby's and (by extension) my life. I just cant get enough of watching aircraft fly, but the sad part is that other than traveling in commercial aircraft, a few odd times, my feet tend to stay firmly on the ground. The Indian Air Force does not allow anyone except pilots and personnel in uniform (so to speak) to fly , ride or go for a joy ride in their aircraft .Since I don't qualify for any of these criteria, being married to a fighter pilot, does NOT mean that I would ever be allowed to get a joy ride, unless I decided to join up, which may happen if pigs were to sprout wings one day. </div>
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Anyway, getting to the point,( there is one) you see, as he finished that phone call , the hubby turned to me and asked whether I would like to get an aerial view of our house , and if yes, then would I kindly be dressed and awaiting the chauffeur a.k.a the hubby at the door in 5 minutes flat. Being the good wife that I am , that's exactly what I did. A few minutes later, as we were zipping along to the runway, he explained , that there wasn't a sudden change in IAF policy, but there were a couple of ex-military pilots, who had flown in a politician,in a charterted helicopter, and landed at the only airport in the small one horse town that we were living in at the moment. That airport, happened to be the IAF base where my hubby was posted to at that time, and since they had a little extra fuel to burn and a soft corner for the "fauj" , they had offered and been authorised to give a few families joyrides, on a first come ,first fly basis. Since the news was spreading faster than wild fire, and the sun was about to set, the race was ON.</div>
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As it happened, having a fighter pilot for a hubby translated into a chauffeur with race winning driving abilities,and I was one of the few lucky ladies who got the chance, about 15 minutes after THE phone call, to be flown low over our house and all our friends houses, and wave at the same friends as they went about their very very ordinary evening walks!</div>
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<b><i>It was truly , one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and that is why, this is my entry for the </i></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.mahindraxuv500.com/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="hP" id=":80">Mahindra XUV500 "Incredibl<wbr></wbr>e Stories" contest!</span></span></a></h1>
</div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-1126745297317834852012-02-29T14:00:00.000+05:302012-02-29T14:00:38.788+05:30Artimisms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Artim was just talking to my father i.e. his "dadu" on the phone, and as usual, after the conversation I was asked to translate a few of the newer Artimisms. That's when my father suggested that I put down some of the explanations in writing ,so that we could remember this when he's all grown up<strike></strike>. I was about to laugh it off, but I realised that I HAVE actually forgotten a lot of his "babyness" in the process of getting him to grow out of it! So, in the spirit of not forgetting, I'm planning on posting a few Artimisms here,beginning with </div>
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"<b>Helitotter</b>" which is his latest object of interest and bedfellow! Should I need to pursuade him to eat his "<b>um</b>" or that is "<b>Tytoshleep</b>" or to listen to mamma, it is also the potential hostage of choice. Of course,sometimes hostage taking does not work ,and mamma begins to spew smoke from the ears! </div>
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Apparently,the best way of pacifying the "mammacano" , is <strike>doing what she asked</strike> holding her face in still little hands and saying "<b>Mamma Raagkona</b>" (Mamma Dontbeangry). Most of the time this does work, but if it doesn't then little baby hands are folded across chest, and mamma is told quite sternly , </div>
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"<b>Artim, Raagkochey</b>" (Artim isangry )</div>
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Of course now that mamma has no choice but to laugh, some amount of "t<strike>i</strike>ackle t<strike>i</strike>ackle t<strike>i</strike>ackle" must be brought into play before things are back to normal, and a few "<b>Gimmekshiss</b>" and "<b>Lavyoos</b>" are exchanged . Pretty soon the Artimator is back to doing exactly as he pleases while mamma is back to "<b>doin Computar</b>" or "<b>kookiinng</b>" or "<b>paintin</b>" She may surface occassionally to ask Artim ,</div>
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"<b>Whatsthetaaime</b>", because didnt you know, it's always "<b>Noinethatty</b>"!</div>
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There are also times , when mamma is asked</div>
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"<b>Mamma, baba where</b>?" </div>
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to which the most common answer is "Baba office gachey" (Dad's gone to the office)</div>
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This generally happens, when mamma has strapped him into his seat in her trusty Nano, while she <strike>hopes not to bang into anyone </strike>on
her way to/around/or back from grocery shopping. So just to keep him from
falling asleep in his seat and causing general crankiness later, mamma
tends to ask him,</div>
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"Artim, what you doin"</div>
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and of course the answer is</div>
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: inherit;">"</span><b style="color: #45818e; font-family: inherit;">Artm sttininananoonachair</b><span style="color: #45818e; font-family: inherit;">"</span><br />
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Then there are times(other than "<b>noinethatty</b>") , when mamma feels the need to engage in the following dialogue ,</div>
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"Excuse me Artim" <i>(what is he upto now)</i></div>
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"<b>Yaasss</b>" <i>(answer in less than 5 secs, she wont suspect a thing)</i></div>
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"Wassaname"<i> (well, he answered soon enough,still gotta check)</i></div>
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"<b>NamisArtm</b>"<i> (who is scribbling on the wall but wont be by the time you get here</i>)</div>
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"OOOOH" <i>(I'll just finish cooking this, then go check on him)</i></div>
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"<b>Aychuse me mammmaaaaa</b>" <i>(still-got-time-to-finish-this-line)</i></div>
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"Yass" <i>(while that cooks, might as well get his milk ready)</i></div>
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"<b>Wassaname</b>"<i> (almost-done-but-that-plaster-needs-to-be-scraped-and-tasted)</i></div>
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"Mamma" <i>(whats-that-noise)</i></div>
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"<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>OOOOH</b></span>" <i>(hiding-the-pencils-behind-my-back-should-do-the-trick)</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>ARTIM!!!</b> </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uW6cgb-QoUs/T03h14dN9NI/AAAAAAAAAY0/nGs3jgy_XqY/s1600/P1030876+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uW6cgb-QoUs/T03h14dN9NI/AAAAAAAAAY0/nGs3jgy_XqY/s320/P1030876+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-61166138673954430872012-02-27T21:12:00.000+05:302012-02-27T21:13:50.630+05:30Banaquit Resting and Crocus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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are the names of my latest attempts at watercolour painting, in an absolutely unusual streak of painting more than once in a blue moon. One of them I like, the other was a case of finishing what's on one's plate! Can you guess which is which?</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AIS6s_AUeH4/T0uippYmFLI/AAAAAAAAAYk/6eZkAogBmXg/s1600/BananaquitRestingEdit1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AIS6s_AUeH4/T0uippYmFLI/AAAAAAAAAYk/6eZkAogBmXg/s320/BananaquitRestingEdit1.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bananaquit Resting" Watercolour on handmade paper, from a reference pic <a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/north-carolina-falls#%21/photo/bananaquit-resting?context=user">here</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ukr0UZ9iHY/T0ugdk_Lt0I/AAAAAAAAAYc/OGEaoT4nSAw/s1600/CrocusEdit1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ukr0UZ9iHY/T0ugdk_Lt0I/AAAAAAAAAYc/OGEaoT4nSAw/s320/CrocusEdit1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Crocus" Watercolour on handmade paper,from a reference pic,<a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/crocus-8">here</a></td></tr>
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<br /></div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-47683922326594490162012-02-16T12:39:00.000+05:302012-02-16T12:45:47.237+05:30Tropical Flower<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #674ea7;">A few days back, I came across some water colour painting videos on you
tube ,in which they were using a technique called "masking" . Normally
, in water colour painting, one paints from light to dark, but the way I
understood it, masking basically involves covering up areas that one
wants to reserve as white with masking fluid, for painting in lighter
colours(or leaving it white) later . As usual , watching people paint
inspired me to try it out myself, which I did using a </span><i><a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/tropical-flower" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #351c75;">reference picture</a></i><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #674ea7;"> from this </span><i style="color: #351c75;"><a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/" style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">website</a></i><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #674ea7;">. This is what I came up with after a few days of intermittent effort. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhVtsYgqWjg/TzyjurrfbZI/AAAAAAAAAXk/PKoPCYCkSwc/s1600/TropicalFlowerEdit+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhVtsYgqWjg/TzyjurrfbZI/AAAAAAAAAXk/PKoPCYCkSwc/s400/TropicalFlowerEdit+copy.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Tropical Flower - Water Colour on handmade paper </span></td></tr>
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<br /></div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-39750217313555590642012-01-14T20:39:00.000+05:302012-01-14T20:39:53.867+05:30Bay View<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, Happy New Year readers ! This year began on a bittersweet note, the hubby is out of station for a few days, but my mother is here to stay for a few days. And that is why I could squeeze out some time for another of my attempts at teaching myself water colour painting. It's not perfect, but I've reached the point where I must stop. The original picture is not mine, but taken from a website which allows members to upload photos and also paint from photos uploaded by other members. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fi6-o9KVXRg/TxGYxHIk0vI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/csneFEGrUZA/s1600/Muchalls.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fi6-o9KVXRg/TxGYxHIk0vI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/csneFEGrUZA/s320/Muchalls.bmp" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/muchalls-bay?context=user#%21/photo/muchalls-1?context=user">Source:Paint My Photo</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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And here's my attempt</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TysCq4SiYAU/TxGZUk7U_6I/AAAAAAAAAXY/1UcZE2G68yY/s1600/Watercolour1+001+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TysCq4SiYAU/TxGZUk7U_6I/AAAAAAAAAXY/1UcZE2G68yY/s320/Watercolour1+001+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-38904663168733477262011-08-28T20:40:00.001+05:302011-08-29T07:09:54.351+05:30Barn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="color: #3d85c6;">These last few days have been, as usual, very hectic, but somehow I've managed to squeeze out some time to attempt another water colour painting for a challenge taken from this <a href="http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/somerset-county-2?context=latest">photo</a> at a nice website for painting enthusiasts . Going by the quality of entries, I hav'nt really got any hope of winning, but the very idea of a deadline and the urge to do some thing un-mommyish for a change were the spur to paint this </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IivhQS09hs/TlpZ2943c8I/AAAAAAAAAW0/8nqRTz41gyc/s1600/P1030482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IivhQS09hs/TlpZ2943c8I/AAAAAAAAAW0/8nqRTz41gyc/s320/P1030482.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-87653520997982311902011-07-05T21:08:00.001+05:302011-07-05T21:09:06.076+05:30What Mommyhood taught me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K6Ao9TitiYU/TfuiT1MyKOI/AAAAAAAAAFw/u2PLy8Wma9s/s1600/momnkid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K6Ao9TitiYU/TfuiT1MyKOI/AAAAAAAAAFw/u2PLy8Wma9s/s320/momnkid.jpg" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;" width="310" /></a></div><div style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Well, it's been a long time since I've posted anything here, and rather than own up to sheer laziness, I'm going to blame it on being a mom to a very active and curious little boy. So it's only fitting that I break the blog fast with a post that I've been tagged to do by <a href="http://hellomommyhood.blogspot.com/">this lady</a> on "What Mommyhood taught me".I have a sneaking suspicion that Im going to be in mommy school for a long time to come and may not be a very good student at that, but still , here's some of what I've learnt so far,</i></span></b></div><div style="color: #3d85c6;"><br />
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<ul style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><li>To keep a straight face against all natural instincts to the contrary, while telling the kid in a stern voice, to "Keep-it-back/That's-Not-For-You" . Of course,the monkey has learnt this lesson too, because more often than not, he turns around and wags his finger at me while holding the said object and informs me "Mamma, Noffaayooo".</li>
</ul><div style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><ul style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><li>That if the kid is awake and out of visual range, silence is NOT golden. In fact, it's almost a sure sign that there is some cleaning up of house,kid and clothes looming in mamma's immediate future .</li>
</ul><ul style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><li>To marvel at how little it takes to make the kid happy, how long it takes me to figure out what that little thing is,and how easily he forgets what grouches the two of us were in the process!</li>
</ul><ul style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><li>Spelling and rapidly at that , things like B-I-S-C-U-I-T-S while asking the spouse if he wants any with his tea, lest a certain person/sponge who has been taught by grand-persons-who-shall-remain-unnamed to say "beeesheeet" should pipe up after having filled his stomach with the same! </li>
</ul><ul style="color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><li> That when the kid's ears go back and heels are dug in due to the mulish genes( inherited from the pater as he's only got the good stuff from me) kicking in , distraction is the name of the game. Unfortunately, mamma hasn't learnt this lesson too well and is often too distracted by the sheer volume of the tantrum to apply it on time!</li>
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</div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-36375663298474953872010-10-07T12:25:00.000+05:302010-10-07T12:25:26.386+05:30The Good , The Bad and The Rant<strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Good</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Being able to go to a dance class, </span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Bad</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Being able to go to a dance class for just three weeks.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Good</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Knowing that the tiny weight loss is real,</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Bad</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Being asked by a "well meaning" acquaintance , "Why have you put on so much weight?"</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Good</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Telling said acquaintance "Actually, I've lost some weight!" </span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Bad</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Not being able to tell said idiot that he's being rude and insensitive and doesnt have a clue!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Courier New;"><strong>The Rant</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Courier New;">What is wrong with people? Do they not understand that pointing out obvious things like weight gain to heavy people is insensitive to say the least. Whats wrong with me? Why do I put up with idiots like that in the name of politeness? I dont need to explain the obvious, yet I do. Yes, I have eyes, I try , I succeed, I fail,I try again WHEN I can, like everyone else does at many other things in life.</span>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-40113165953988843762010-08-31T21:08:00.000+05:302010-08-31T21:08:01.290+05:30At the stroke of midnight<div style="background-color: #d9d2e9; color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>I had painted this, a few months ago, for my mom, who seems to think that I'd like nothing better than to sit and paint glass(maybe she's right).</i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: #d9d2e9; clear: both; color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TH0g2f7ZO_I/AAAAAAAAAU4/ssvdEY3hNv0/s1600/P1000724+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TH0g2f7ZO_I/AAAAAAAAAU4/ssvdEY3hNv0/s320/P1000724+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div style="background-color: #d9d2e9; color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><i><span style="background-color: #d9d2e9; color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The picture was taken before it was framed, hence the bland white thermocol background. The folks are due in a few days, so things like this will (hopefully) be made on demand , while the kid is babysat by grand folks. </span></i>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-35239150056470964232010-08-25T13:55:00.000+05:302010-08-25T13:55:40.292+05:30Not quite a flower vase<div style="background-color: #ffe599; color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I follow a few painting blogs, and some time back , got bitten by the watercolour painting bug. So last week, I just decided to let Artim do what he wants, and let the maid deal with him, while I scratched my itch. Here's what came of my interruption filled two hours with watercolours and a few leaves in a flower vase.</div><div style="background-color: #ffe599; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="background-color: #ffe599; clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/THTMv7esO5I/AAAAAAAAAUg/Z_zwb0x9ni8/s1600/P1010371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/THTMv7esO5I/AAAAAAAAAUg/Z_zwb0x9ni8/s320/P1010371.jpg" /></a></div><div style="background-color: #ffe599; color: #45818e; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I know I have a long way to go, but I just loved the satisfaction that I got from indulging myself . The best part of course was showing the hubby that I could actually "leave the kid to his own devices and clean up later", once in a while. Actually, more than that, because that's exactly what I am doing now while he watches the gardener do his thing, with his nose (and hopefully not his tongue) pressed against the screen door. Of course he would like nothing better than to assist the gardner...</div><div style="background-color: #ffe599; color: #45818e;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/THTSd8cYv3I/AAAAAAAAAUo/6EntEFN988g/s1600/P1010125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/THTSd8cYv3I/AAAAAAAAAUo/6EntEFN988g/s320/P1010125.jpg" /></a></div><div style="background-color: #ffe599; color: #45818e;"> </div><div style="background-color: #ffe599;"><br />
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</div>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-23851430159890355482010-07-15T08:55:00.001+05:302010-07-15T08:56:20.702+05:30The Arti ONE<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Some moments seem endless,and yet a year later, I can scarcely remember the discomfort of the restless nights, the hospital stay , the pre-op room ... When I looked at the clock then, every minute, wondering , praying , hoping to come out of it with some of my old self back, little did I know, that a year later , I wouldn't even care. All that I remember now is that first loud,lusty cry which made me smile and forget all about asking the long suffering anaesthetist for a blow by blow account of "What are they doing now?". All that I see now is my precious sleeping bundle of joy a.k.a the little slave driver, who'll wake up soon and drive us , his devoted slaves nuts, as he has for this last one year</span>.</span></em> </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TD59LlobvBI/AAAAAAAAAUY/dpdzFHxf9dQ/s1600/P1010271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TD59LlobvBI/AAAAAAAAAUY/dpdzFHxf9dQ/s320/P1010271.JPG" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"><br />
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<span style="background-color: #ead1dc;"> <em><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Happy Birthday Artim</span></em></span>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31024285.post-54908763384661035192010-07-13T13:49:00.001+05:302010-07-13T13:49:50.512+05:30May I have your kind attention please,<span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><strong>My dear friends, readers (if any) , blogging friends and all combinations thereof,</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><strong>How have you been? Sorry, for the long absence folks, things have been busy and Artim's ma has been lazy-er than usual .Other than </strong></span><span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><strong>that I've been well , as well as one may deem sitting around and getting heavier by the day to be.</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><strong>And now for the Artimator update,</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47;">-One tooth has made it's mamma biting appearance.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwas7ysNQI/AAAAAAAAAT4/-BoxVgON6DM/s1600/P1010154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwas7ysNQI/AAAAAAAAAT4/-BoxVgON6DM/s320/P1010154.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">-The house is yet to be baby proofed, so Artim has taken matters into his own hands</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwa1Z1Cp3I/AAAAAAAAAUA/qc1lWW_WZks/s1600/P1010105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwa1Z1Cp3I/AAAAAAAAAUA/qc1lWW_WZks/s320/P1010105.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwX_IMgD6I/AAAAAAAAATY/IV7RX60XROg/s1600/P1010024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rw="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwX_IMgD6I/AAAAAAAAATY/IV7RX60XROg/s320/P1010024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><span style="color: #741b47;">- The garden has been inspected and watered, for which service , the gardener may or may not be thankful.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwaA7wdokI/AAAAAAAAATo/ab1kWCis3Ew/s1600/P1010125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwaA7wdokI/AAAAAAAAATo/ab1kWCis3Ew/s320/P1010125.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwafrxeENI/AAAAAAAAATw/2kW5oHS8VpU/s1600/P1010189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vibSYshktl8/TDwafrxeENI/AAAAAAAAATw/2kW5oHS8VpU/s320/P1010189.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #741b47;">-One set of grandparents are being visited , with a vengeance. The others are waiting for their turn.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;">And now her laziness, the Artimater's mater is going back to her book/nap, catching up/storing up her strength for the 15th of July.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">love,</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Mini/MRC/Monishikha</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">PS: Piper and Shail, thanks for the tag, will be posting it soonish, as soonish I can think of what to say.</span>MRChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14650179854013176989noreply@blogger.com0