WIP: lady with a parrot..

My baby is now 6 weeks old. I am adjusting to the new role of Mom smoothly. With the baby every day I learn something new, something new happens and I do something for the first time..unlike earlier when it was like same day every day:)) I have realized that finding time and energy to paint and be creative is not as difficult as I had thought earlier. I find it very relaxing!! So one evening when the baby was sleeping I enlarged this small sketch I had made in 2010...

 I am painting it with water colors.. mainly because water colors are easy to work with as I have limited time on my hands..

 

It is fun to play with the baby , to see him make bubbles, when he coos and the precious smiles..Even when he is sleeping I feel like looking at him for hours..Thats the reason why I haven't being able to finish this painting..

In 6 weeks I have become expert in swaddling and he has become a expert in successfully coming out of the swaddle in a minute or less:)

Now I bathe the baby alone without any help and it is fun bonding time for both of us. 

My baby loves to look for hours of his playtime(which is at midnight:)) at my great Buddha painting which is hanging over our bed .. I think is big compliment:))

 His interest in my painting makes me dream and make plans to teach him painting and creative things in a year or two:)

will share the finished version of this sketch soon..

Till then..

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Applique art

I have lots of bits of fabric lying in my house which I had collected for years..  Eventually since I have kept them with me for so many years I thought I better start making something out of them..So this what I made from some of the fabrics.

I started with a rough sketch I had made some time back.. Drew it on a newspaper and then cut the pieces of cloth accordingly and then stitched them on to the base cloth.. 

I embroidered the fine lines and the details like the crease of the sari, design on the blouse, veins of the leaves with chain stitch. I practiced the embroidery for eyes before attempting on the lady...Then embroidered sequins, beads and did mirror work embroidery lastly..

I think I went overboard with the jewelry:) But I was having so much fun that I couldn't resist:)) 

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Colorful Singapore

Hello friends.. remember last time I took you on a stroll through the charming old Singapore. Recently while on our way to a newly opened mall we happened to pass through Joo Chiat road/ Katong. We were delighted by the view of  the colorful heritage buildings on the narrow street.  

 This area is dotted by multicolored shop houses and homes that are decorated by sculpted facades of animal reliefs , floral curlicues and hand-crafted ceramic tiles. 

Along the street are traditional Peranakan shophouses build around 1920-30. There are many old coffee shops and cafes. This area is also  well known for local delicacies. 

Formerly this are was near  the sea shore before the land was reclaimed. Notice the lovely colors and the architectural style.

                             We have never been to any of these cafes but from what I hear from friends who have visited some of the tea houses and coffee shops, the interior is  as splendid as the exterior with tall ceilings, ornate chandeliers and  fixtures.

This gorgeous red building is (if I am not wrong) a community center. The golden ornate design on the windows and grills makes it look so festive and glamorous. 

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Valentine's day

 Decorating my home with flowers for Valentine's day..Life has become very busy with my 2 week old baby.. This valentine's day is different..not as romantic like the wonderful earlier ones DH and I had celebrated..this one was spent mostly talking about diapers, pooh and milk..LOL

 

Nevertheless I managed to decorate the house with flowers...

                                    This one I tried to do something like a Ikebana floral design..

The flowers are from a lovely bouquet a friend gave me when she came to see my baby.. 

wish I knew the names of the exotic flowers...

Happy Valentine's day!!! 

xoxo

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Blessed

Thrilled to announce the sweet addition to our family!! 

Our son has arrived!! 

Excited to become mommy and enjoying every moment of it!!!!

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Happy New Year!!

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous New year! 

I found some amazing calendars on online.. These are made by talented artists and are free to download!!!

             Download this fabulous freebie calendar from mygrafico. It has 12 wonderful designer graphics. 

Download this freebie Kokeshi dolls Calendar from Creative mama. 

Download this floral print freebie calendar from Skiptomylou. 

Download this customizable cute freebie Owl calendar from My Owl Barn.

Print on photo paper or card stock.Punch a hole and these original little art pieces are ready to use!!!!


Also thanks everyone who wrote lovely comments on my previous posts and emailed me..
Thanks for the support you all showed to my humble blog..
For all those who are wondering I am due during the end of this month 
and am very excited about it!!!!

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Bal (baby) Ganesha

Some time ago I had posted about the work in progress of Bal(baby) Ganesha (see here)..

Here is the finished version.. I completed it in September somehow slipped from my mind to post it ...

I made Madhubani style flowers on the background..

Used acrylics, watercolors and micro pen ..

A hint of gold for the garlands..

will post the pics after framing !!

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Flower market in Singapore

This weekend we drove to one of my favorite places- the flower market. This flower market consists of many shops selling huge selection of cut flowers from all over the world, plants and potted trees, vases and garden decoration accessories. It is a little away from the city but the destination is worth the long drive.. 

I just couldn't resist taking pictures of these beautiful flowers...

Rainbow roses from Ecuador.. Aren't they pretty!! They are made by a special technique.. splitting and then dipping the stem into different color water.. I had never seen any rose like these before!!

Tulips from Holland...

Roses from India..

Rosa chinensis or China Rose from China..

They have a huge variety of other flowers like hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, lilies, orchids, gerberas and other exotic flowers..Apart from this there is a huge selection of leaves of various shapes and sizes. 

I bought roses from India and some beautiful leaves to create a simple arrangement in a tall vase for the dining table..

Plants and flowers arrive here according to festivals..Christmas trees and Poinsettia are the flavor of the season now.. You can buy carnivorous plants as well which are so amazing to look at:)

If you are looking for plants like hydrangea or mandarin then you will have to wait for the Chinese New Year.. That is the time when the market is full of all beautiful variety of exotic plants!!!


This  is a wholesale market which means apart from the huge variety , it is also quite reasonably priced compared to the flower shops in the city and online as well. It is very tempting to buy more than what you really had in mind for!!

This flower market is at 555 Thomson road, Singapore. 

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New painting: The great Buddha

I am very impressed by the marvelous statue of The Great Buddha of Kamakura, Japan. It is a tallest statue in Japan and is surrounded by sakura or cherry blossoms . The bronze statue is 43.8 ft tall. You can read more about this here. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Courtesy: Travelers digest

I wanted to make a painting of Buddha for a long time and after I saw the pictures of Kamakura's Great Buddha I made this sketch. 

Before starting to paint, I researched about the facial features of Buddha. According to the Buddhist scripts, Buddha has a glowing smooth spotless skin.His complexion has a golden sheen. His cheeks are radiant, fully rounded. His eyes are deep blue and has long thick eye lashes like an ox. His eyebrows are arched like a bow.His hair are thick black with curls and bluish tint to it. His features are sharp and slender. His head is in a shape of a turban. His ears lobes are long which almost reach his shoulders. His neck is not very long. He has even proportionate shoulders and neck. His mouth always has a beautiful smile.

I also researched about The great Buddha statue. Found a very good source here.

Color symbolism is used in a wide variety of fascinating ways in Buddhist art and ritual. In Buddhism, especially in Tibetan Buddhism, five colors (pancha-varna) symbolizes a state of mind. These colors are the five colors of white, yellow, red, blue and green. This site on Buddhist symbols has beautifully explained the meaning and how these colors transform the emotions.  

Accordingly I started painting. The canvas is huge- 3ft by 4ft. It is the biggest I have ever painted on till date. 

I painted with shades of red and orange for the face with golden tinge. I have incorporated all the five colors in this painting. This is how it looked like mid way through..

I think texture is the most important thing in a good painting. As you have seen in my earlier paintings ( Gulmohar and Peacock) I am trying out new textures in each one. In this one I have created texture for hair.

Then I painted cherry blossom with thick texture paint 

on both sides..

Then I painted lotus on the bottom side...





worked on the golden sheen on the face and silver glow behind the head..

I haven't varnished it yet.. heard somewhere that pregnant women should stay away from varnish and other chemicals..I will varnish it later.

I have another canvas of the same size on which I want to start painting now that this is done!!!  

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Weekend retail therapy

I am on hunt for some good decor items for the house.. Most of the items I have are small and cute.. Now that there is a baby on its way in few months..I want to decorate the house with big , bit heavier items which won't come in small ones hands. Also they should be made of sturdy material like wood instead of easily breakable material like ceramic or unsafe like glass..So this weekend we went shopping ..

We went shopping to a lovely place in Singapore - Dempsey hill. Dempsey Hill is a lush green area with a resort-like ambience. This relaxed and laid back place has old world charm and real-world comforts. The area has lots of restaurants, cafes,furniture shops which have exotic collection of  original, rustic and colonial furniture, antiques and accessories from all over Asia. 

Sharing with you some pictures I took..loved this door handle in the shape of Bodhi tree leaf..

One of the shops had a wonderful collection of Buddha statues.. 

I am totally hooked on these two ladies.. I really wanted to buy them but I saw no one in the shop ..will have to make another trip just for them :) 

One more shop had lot of intricate wood carvings, Ganesha and Buddha statues..I will share with you what I bought from these shops soon..I just wish I had shopped more:))

This Plumeria or Frangipani tree near the parking was a stunner.. picked up some flowers which had fallen down.. I love the smell of these flowers...

will share the pics of the items I shopped soon...

Have a lovely week ahead!!!!

           

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Diwali Decorations

Hi beautiful people!!! Hope you all had a wonderful holidays and festivities..I still have a holiday hangover..Sharing with you some of the pictures of Diwali decorations in my house last week!!!

This is how my center table in the living room looked like..Floated lots of flowers in a brass urli along with some floating candles..I changed the flowers everyday..sometimes orchids..sometimes roses ..sometimes marigold and rose petals..Around it is designer Rangoli..It really looks good on glass surfaces!!

Outside the main door I made traditional Rangoli from chalk powder..I was bit lazy so I used stencil to make these patterns...

Flower garlands on the main door with mango leaves and lovely door decorations which my mom send me from India..

Few more wall hangings she sent me I have hung them from the ceiling near the Ganesha paintings..

     That's how my balcony looked like.. Fairy lights have such a magical effect..

Some more pics of the decorations in my house... 

I am updating the blog after quite some time....I have just started my third trimester .. feeling tired now but of course I have more time on my hand as I am full time home now..I have lots of baby projects in my mind.. Hope to complete them in these 2-3 months!!! will share the update on my new painting soon..Stay tuned!!!!

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