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