Just a thought — WIP

So here’s the thing. Creating art is a multi-step process. First, you have to stop imagining and start doing. You have to scale that wall of fear that exists between the perfect piece in your mind, versus the piece (often beyond control) that will appear on the canvas. Then, when you’ve gotten your material and your fear in hand, you need to demonstrate some patience. Yes, you have this urge to see how the final piece will look, but you know that the look you want can not be achieved until you wait for certain layers to dry. Finally, you …

Artist Case Study 2: Kwang Ho Shin

I begin by mentioning again one of the things that emerged as I experimented with pouring paint: influencing the paint. Jonathan said that a beautiful poured painting is the result of a kind of harmony between the painter and the paint, each anticipating the other’s next move in a beautiful symphony. That is definitely one of the ways in which we can arrive at the kind of painting we imagine. Another way, I discovered, is to use textures (and this is something I have used with inks earlier to make calligraphy paintings). If you create a textured underpainting before pouring …

The Day of Lists

The Day of Lists

Ah, Jonathan was right! This blog has the ability to just grow and grow in the sneakiest of ways! Like mushrooms! I mean it becomes like a juggling act between doing and writing. The doing comes more naturally and happens faster, leading the writing to lag and become a thing that happens more in the head than on the blog. Until one fine day you have a gigantic list of the writings that need to urgently be completed while the doings keep prodding you and saying, ‘hey focus on us, focus on us’. So, today will be the day of …

The Art Institute of Chicago

The Chicago trip… what can I say? It was a medley of moments; distressing, uplifting, thrilling and overwhelming all in turn. I’m still working on completing the visual journal and then will post details of the whole experience. For now, let me write this blogpost on the highlight of the whole trip: a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago. Can you see the stars shining in my eyes as I say this? Where do I begin? Walking into the Art Institute of Chicago is like walking into a miniature replica of this world where every room leads you to …

Inside the peach there was a stone

Inspiration can come from the most random of sources! A few weeks ago I watched Alias Grace, the adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel. I was intrigued. I was mesmerized. I was moved. Because isn’t that what society does? The actions of women are taken and discussed and judged till the truth vanishes and all that remains is a woman pretending to be who you want her to be. The man interviewing her was severely flawed himself and yet society gave him the task of discovering whether this woman was flawed or not. Grace Marks became a sort of expert on …