IIT Kharagpur En Plein Air Project

Its been a long cherished dream of mine to go and paint my Alma mater Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagput (IIT KGP) on location. And finally its going to come true and how!

A documentary is going to be shot around this whole process of capturing IIT KGP en plein air. Here is a teaser that was made last month and the shooting is schedules for July-August later this year. And to say that I am excited will be an understatement.

Please watch the teaser below.

However to make the film funds are needed. And hence we need your support. You can support this project in 2 ways.

1. By getting sponsorship - There are different levels of sponsorship one can go for. The details are in the table below.

Sponsor Type	Screen Time	Maximum Sponsors	Pricing
Presenting Sponsor	2s + 2s with associate sponsors	1 nos	INR 3,00,000.00
Associate Sponsor	2s along with presenting sponsor	2 nos	INR 2,00,000.00
Co-Sponsor	2s along with all co-sponsors	5 nos	INR 1,00,000.00
Partner	2s along with all partners	10 nos	INR 50,000.00

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A SPONSOR

2. By pledging to purchase a Canvas Prints of the paintings that will be produced - You can pledge a canvas print now. When the paintings are done, you can choose a painting and make the payment. We'll get the print (Unframed Canvas Prints of approximately 2 ft x 3 ft size including borders for framing) and send it to you. The cost of the print is as below.

Cost Per print	Shipping and Handling Charges
	Indian Location	Foreign Location
INR 5,000.00 / USD 100.00	INR 500.00 / USD 10.00	INR 1,500.00 / USD 30.00

CLICK HERE TO PLEDGE A PRINT

I am really hoping for you to come forward and show your support for this ambitious and never done before project.

Invitation to my Solo Exhibition

Its been a long time since my last Solo Exhibition. More than three years. And finally my next solo show is happening. And guess what it is happening at home. This is my first solo show at home and I am really excited with a tinge of nervousness. If you happen to be in or around Bhubaneswar please drop by to say hello. It will be good to see you.

The watercolor wash technique

Watercolor wash technique is one of the most basic watercolor techniques. But still most people painting in watercolor do not get it right. That results in muddy paintings. Though it seems like a difficult technique its actually very easy. I have done a blog post on the same on my blog. It also includes two instruction videos. So check it out and do let me know about it.

Everything you always wanted to know about Watercolor Paper

Hopefully that catchy title worked. :)

Anyway I wrote a post on watercolor paper sometime back in my blog. I thought of sharing it here. I have put down everything that I know on watercolor paper and hopefully it helps. 

Do share if you find it useful.

http://prabalmallick.net/blog/watercolour-paper/

Have a good day.

Moved my Blog

Hi there. As the title of this post says, I have indeed moved to my official page for blogging. I have started blogging a little more seriously now. This blog is not only for penning down my thought on art, life and watercolor, it is also for helping people with watercolor. So I have started writing on stuff that would help not only beginners, but also people who have experience with watercolor.

My previous post was on helping people begin with watercolor in the right direction. And my new post is on everything that you wanted to know about watercolor paper. In future I'll be posting about equipment, supplies, techniques, WIPS etc. And if you want me to write on any particular subject do let me know.

When you go to my new blog, a pop up would come up asking you to subscribe to my newsletter. In case you want to get regular updates on the posts I make, don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter.

That's all I had for now. See you at my new blog page.

Getting started with Watercolor

Though I paint in watercolor now most people are surprised to know that I actually started off with opaque mediums like oils and gouache early in my life. transparent Watercolor medium was always a mystery for me. Though I was drawn to the transparent medium and was always itching to work with it, I did not know where to start. In fact when I did my first watercolor it was so bad that I almost gave up. It took a little perseverance and curiosity to learn which kept me going. And now watercolor is something that I can not do without.

Often I am asked this question on how to paint in watercolors or how to begin with watercolors. This makes me go back to the time when I had these questions for which I found the answers in the hard way. So i thought of putting down a short write up on how to begin with watercolors.

I hope it helps.

Capturing Toronto

I am not sure how, but somehow I completely forgot about making this post. I would have done it about 50 days back had this not completely slipped out my mind. After all this was the first time I was painting outside India and that too the summer landscapes of Toronto. Summers are the best time to be in Toronto. Everyone is out enjoying the sun and the warm weather after the tough winters. Hence there is a buzz all around. I was there for a month and went out painting at every opportunity I could find. 

Here are some of the works I did and I immensely enjoyed doing these. And to add icing on the cake I happened to meet up a few artists just by pure chance. It was a joy to interact with them in that short time. I really cant wait to get back there and paint again. 

p.s The beer in Toronto was great too.

En Plein Air at St Lawrence Market

En Plein Air at Distillery District

En Plein Air at Harbour Front

En Plein Air at High Park

En Plein Air at Queen's Park

Chilika Explorations

About four months back I had made a trip to Chilika lake (again) with my family. We traveled on an open boat for about 3 hrs to reach a small island. The island had a small temple where people from the land came to offer prayers sometimes. We managed to cook our lunch on the boat which we devoured sitting under a tree in front of the temple. It was the migration season so birds from far away countries gave us company all the time. 

Among all this I was struck by the serenity of the majestic lake once again. After I returned for the last four months I have been trying to replicate the 'feel' on paper since then. I wont say I have been successful, but the journey has been good. Here are some of the works that came out of this journey.

Chilika Explorations - XI

20 x 28 inch

Chilika Explorations - VII

21 x 14 inch

Chilika Explorations - X

10 x 14 inch

Chilika Explorations - II

21 x 14 inch

Few WC sketches

Double Delight

This year has started with a bang. 2 of my works got selected for two of the most prestigious annual shows of India. Namely the annual shows of Art Society of India and Bombay Art Society. The exhibition for Art Society has already been wrapped up. The Bombay Art Society show starts on 23rd Feb at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and will be on till 29th Feb.

Working Class of the Temple City

21 x 14

Selected for Art Society Of India

Working Class Series - V

21 x 14

Selected for Bombay Art Society

A little piece of Goan beaches

I spent the last 5 days of 2015 lazing around in Goa and soaking up the sun in its amazing beaches. Was lucky to manage few works while lying on the beach bed. Hope you enjoy these.

En Plein Air at Aswem Beach, 29 Dec, 2015

9 x 12 inch

 En Plein Air at Baga Beach, 30 Dec, 2015

9 x 12 inch

En Plein Air at Aswem Beach, 31 Dec, 2015

9 x 12 inch

Quick sketch on Aswem beach

Arise O Son of Kunti

Maj Somnath Sharma grew up listening to stories from Bhagvad Geeta from his grand father and was inspired to become a soldier. Little did anyone know then that eventually he will be an example of courage and determination and a source of inspiration for generations to come. 

He came from a family of soldiers and doctors and did his schooling at the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (Now Rashtriya Indian Military College). Later he joined the Royal Military Academy and then was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment (later 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment) of the Indian Army. The last battle that he fought was the battle of Badgam to defend the Kashmir valley. 

Under heavy fire and outnumbered seven to one, he urged his company to fight bravely, often exposing himself to danger as he ran from post to post. Despite the forward two platoons falling, Sharma desperately clung to his position with the depth platoon.

While he was busy fighting the enemy, a mortar shell exploded on the ammunition near him. His last message to Brigade HQ received a few moments before he was killed was

"The enemies is only 50 yards from us. We are hopelessly outnumbered. I will not withdraw one inch but fight to the last man last round." (from Wikipedia) 

When he was martyred in battle of Badgam a copy of Geeta was recovered from his pocket. Posthumously he was awarded the very first Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award of India.

This painting was done during Sanskar Bharati youth artist camp in Mumbai (24 Dec to 27 Dec 2015). The challenge was to create a 2x3 ft painting in acrylic depicting the childhood story of a famous personality which will serve as an inspiration for young generation. The painting had to be created completely from imagination without the help of any references. This was really a heavy challenge attempting which gave a huge amount of learning. And a big thank you to Kamath Vasudeo sir without whose guidance I would have been completely lost. Also thanks to Sanskar Bharati for selecting me for the camp. It was great to meet artists from all over India and learn from them.

Invitation to Group Show at Mumbai

Finally its Mumbai... Huh..

I am not only delighted , but also feel blessed to be part of this watercolor group exhibition in Mumbai, which features my idols and some other great artists.

Below is the invite and other details. 

I hope to see you in Mumbai

Exhibition Title - Fluid Expression

Venue              - Nehru Art Center, Worli, Mumbai

Time                - 20th to 26th October, 11 AM to 7 PM daily

Workshop Series

The subject matter for this series is quite unusual. Its nothing like anything that I have done before. I t was challenging, frustrating and yet lot of fun in the end.

Presenting my workshop series...

Workshop - I

21 x 14 inch

Workshop - II

14 x 10 inch

Workshop - III

21 x 14 inch

Workshop - IV

21 x 14 inch

At the Railway Station

The last time I painted in a railway station was probably before two years. There is something about the nature of railway stations that is always so interesting to paint. I really cant point what exactly it is. May be its the sound of a train approaching the station or leaving it, the burst in noise levels when a train arrives. People having reached their destination or people trying to get to their destinations. The hawkers becoming very active upon the arrival of a train and then just waiting for the next one. The wide open spaces, the wires hanging in parallel to the tracks which seem to be moving somehow. Whatever it is there is always so many interesting things happening in a railway station. 

After a long time I returned to the station and enjoyed myself absolutely. 

Plein air at Lingaraj Station 5th July 2015

14 x 10 inch

Plein air at Macheswar Station 18h July 2015

10 x 14 inch

Few More..

Here are a few more WC sketches as I had promised in my last post. A couple of them have resulted in very moody paintings. More on that later...

Watercolor sketches

I dont always do a watercolor sketch before doing a painting. But generally I do it if I am not very conversant with subject or I have not been able to resolve the subject in mind. And sometimes I do it just for fun.

I never use fresh paper for these sketches. I use the unpainted side of paintings which have not made the cut (which gives me quiet a bit of paper to play with. ;)). And I do them quick and sometimes in a couple in parallel. And these are never bigger than half of a quarter sheet.

Here are few WC sketches. I'll post a few more in my next post.

Winter Light III and IV

Here are the last 2 from my winter light (mini)series. While the last two had a dominant color, these two are mostly about the grays. The second one was a challenge as I was trying to depict the very first light of the day which hits the earth even before sun is visible on the horizon. The light is trying to break out of the haze of the winter morning. Such a difficult light to capture. But I was happy with how it turned out.

Winter Light - III

21 x 14 inch

Winter Light - IV

14 x 10 inch

Winter Light Series

The other series along with working class series that I was working on is now done. The series is called Winter Light. The winters here are the best time in the year in terms of temperature and humidity. The temperature is usually between 25 degree to 12 degrees. The quality of light is drastically different from how it is in summers. Its quiet soft especially in the mornings. In this series I have captured the light of different phases of winter mornings. Here are two of them. The rest I'll post in my next post. Thank for viewing. 

Winter Light - I

21 x 14 inch

Winter Light - II

10 x 14 inch

Another One

Adding one more from my working class series here. This one came out quiet different. The subject also I thought was really different from my usual subjects. I did quiet like the final outcome. Hope you guys like it too.

Working Class - IV

14 x 10 inches

Working Class Series

Its fun to work on a series. Its even more fun to work on more than one series in parallel. One of the series that I am working on right now is called Working Class. Posting all the work that I have done in that series till now. 

Happy painting.

Working Class - II

10x14 inch

Working Class - I

21x14 inch

Working Class - III

21x7 inch