Rural India - a village scene in watercolour and pen

Artwork Title : Rural India 

Watercolour and pen on paper

© Shubhankar  Adhikari 

Saraswati Puja 2016 celebrated

A village scene in the evening

© 2015 Shubhankar  Adhikari 

watercolour and pen on paper

Here in this artwork you can see a scene of a village. Here I have used watercolour and pen. I have used opaque white to paint the distant village huts. This is a fully imaginative work . I am happy with the final outcome.

Cityscape - Heritage building

Painting on paper (11" x 7.5")

© Shubhankar  Adhikari 

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year 2016. This is my first post for the year 2016.  My last year remained very eventful. Hope the year 2016 will bring much busy and creative moments for me.

Indian hill village

Artwork Title - 'Indian Hill Village"

watercolour art on paper 

© 2015 Shubhankar  Adhikari

A busy market scene

watercolour sketch on paper (11" x 7.5")

copyright © 2015 Shubhankar  Adhikari

Rural India - A village scene painting in watercolour

Title -" Rural India"

Painting on paper (11" x 7")

© 2015 Shubhankar  adhikari 

Happy to share with you a very recent work on Rural India. Wishing you all a very "Happy Diwali". 

Auto in the city - watercolour sketch

                                               Title - "Auto in the city" 

watercolour and pen on paper (size 6"x 4")

© 2015 Shubhankar  Adhikari

Sharing a very recent artwork on city auto service. I have used here  pen and  watercolour. Auto sevices are one of the most inevitable part of the city life. Many commuters have to rely on this service because other services are not always available everytime. 

"Shubho Bijaya" wishes to you all

Fine Art photography by Shubhankar  Adhikari

© 2015 Shubhankar  Adhikari 

Celebrating Durga Puja Festival - Wishing all of you a very happy "Shuvo Saptami"

Busy traffic at Dalhousie Square , B.B.D.Bagh , Kolkata

Painting on paper

Title - "Busy traffic at Dalhousie Square"

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

This is another watercolour painting I have done recently. Dalhousie square is one of the busiest place in Kolkata. For numerous reasons  I have to visit here occasionally. In this composition I have intentionally used the white while painting the bus and the zebra crossing.  

Kolkata's Heritage - G.P.O. building, Dalhousie Sqaure, B.B.D.Bagh - watercolour art

Kolkata's Heritage Stucture - G.P.O.

Watercolour on paper (11" x 7")

© Shubhankar Adhikari

Mahishadal Rajbari (Palace ) ,Purba Medinipur, West Bengal

Watercolour art on paper (11" x 7.5")

© Shubhankar Adhikari

New painting brushes just arrived

Shantiniketan - Bolpur recalls

"Shantiniketan Recalls"

Watercolour and Pen on paper

Kolkata city urbanscape

" Urbanscape"

watercolour painting on paper ( 11" x 7.5")

New palette just arrived today

Just received my new palette from our local art dealer. 

Amidst Nature

                                                 

Watercolour painting on paper ( 14" x 11")

© Shubhankar  Adhikari  2015

10 Tips - How to care your fine art brushes

Like many artists I have a special emotional bond with my brushes.I love them all for their individual shape,balance,degree of spring,weight etc. As we know tools are very important for developing and maintaining our work and style, so we should  give much more emphasis on caring our precious brushes . Here in this blog post I am sharing some  painting brush caring tips which I have experienced through my own artistic journey.

10 tips are as follows :

1. Don't allow your paint to dry out on your paint brushes.

2. As soon as your work is over you should clean your brushes properly. Don't procrastinate  in this regard.

3. Never keep your brushes vertically in water or solvent.

4. Always purchase best quality brushes if affordable.

5. While painting  use porcelain brush holder or other brush holders  to prevent your brushes from damage.

6. Never ever rest your brushes bristle down , it can prove fatal .

7. You can use your crusty and frayed brushes for alternative purposes ,so don't throw them away.

8. Always reshape your brushes immediately after cleaning. This exercise will keep your brushes in order to perform their highest potential.

9. Don't pull on the bristle while cleaning the brushes. Never allow the pigment to come on the ferrule while painting.

10. Always use best quality brush storage system like holders ,zip up case,folding wallets,wooden or metal cases to prevent your precious brushes from damaging.

Hill Townscape

Watercolour painting on paper 

© Shubhankar  Adhikari 2015

As you know hill townscape is one of my favourite subject to paint. Sharing another hill townscape based on Mirik,Darjeeling ,India. Enjoying the monsoon these days. 

Kolkata Cityscape - Elias Road , Agarpara

Watercolour paintings on paper (11" x 7")

© Shubhankar Adhikari 2015

Recently visited Agarpara's famous Giribala Temple beside the holy river Ganges.When I was entering the temple through Elias road , I noticed this beautiful Shiva Temple standing beside the road .I planned immediately that I should paint it.

Happy Nature

Watercolour painting on paper

© Shubhankar  Adhikari 2015

Abstract Naturescape

Abstract naturescape

©  Shubhankar  Adhikari

Sharing a recent work on naturescape with you all.

Entrance

Watercolour and pen on paper (11" x 7")

Title - Entrance

©  Shubhankar  Adhikari

Sharing a recent work from "Door & Entrance " series 

Visited Ganges near Giribala Temple Ghat , Agarpara ,Elias Road ,Kolkata to gather some creative inspirations

Last friday morning I visited Giribala Temple and also the adjacent ghat at Agarpara ,Elias road, Kolkata. I was mesmerized by the view of river Ganga (Hooghly)  here. The place was very quiet . Some people were sitting on the steps of the ghat. A boat is also visible here. I have gathered many creative  ideas from here. Later I will convert those ideas into paintings. Already I have completed two works .I will post them afterwards.

Save trees, save nature

paintings on paper

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

Visited a village near Kolkata to do some open air painting

Last week  I visited a beautiful village near Kolkata. The place was surrounded by coconut trees,paddy fields, village huts, ponds,bamboo trees ,birds,cows, etc. The place was very calm and quite , so I felt no problem doing my painting works. 

Creating new composition on my keyboard for future projects

Playing raga Ahir Bhairav on my sitar

Ahir Bhairav is one of my favourite raga. I often like to play this raga in the morning. After my each day riyaz (practice) I often create some new paintings on paper or canvas. 

Busy creating new compositions on my sitar

Busy creating some new compositions based on different Indian Ragas. Here in this image you can see my sitar is waiting to be played by me in my music room. My music room is one of my favourite place ,where I used to keep myself busy practicing sitar for hours. It helps me to give better performance  in the concerts. 

Busy in creating a new artwork inside my studio

                                                          © Shubhankar  Adhikari

Busy inside my studio ...........creating new artworks.................my solo show is knocking at the door.

Unforgettable Jalpaiguri , Northern West Bengal

watercolour and pen on paper (11" x 7.5")

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

Title - Unforgettable Jalpaiguri

This is a work on which I have used only pen and watercolour. I made the initial sketch with pen then applied watercolour step by step. Old building with different architectural flavour always evokes me to paint and draw. I noticed this beautiful building while travelling beside the river karala. I turned nostalgic immediately. I have a plan to visit Jalpaiguri again to collect some fresh inspiraton from nature.

Rural India - a village scene

watercolour & pen on paper

After coming back from Dhamakhali trip  I was so inspired that I could't resist myself from creating more artworks. This is a scene  which caught my attention when I was just passing by a village near Dhamakhali area. The place was surrounded by greens,wetlands and endless beauty. The rural people were engaged in their day to day activities , fishermen were busy with their fresh catches. The day was partly cloudy so you can see some patches of clouds in this composition.

Visited Dhamakhali - an artful tour

Dhamakhali Ferry Ghat

Riverside view  - Dhamakhali

Visited Dhamakhali to enhance my creative inspiration from nature. The tour was a majestic one.Our bus took 4 hours from Kolkata to reach Dhamakhali. I walked for an hour beside the riverside.Cool breeze was flowing then. Many boats were passing beside.Other side of the river is Sandeshkhali. I made some speed sketches while sitting beside the river. Two to three hotels were available for night staying but I preferred to return Kolkata on that day. The tour was really memorable. I will share more images and paintings in future.

Saraswati Puja 2015 celebrated

  Saraswati Puja 2015  held  in my studio. Some of  my students, friends and well wishers were present in this occasion. 

Happy New Year 2015

Wishing all my friends,followers,students and well wishers a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2015

Kolkata City Life - North Bengal bound super-fast express bus leaving Kolkata

Pen and watercolour on paper (11" x 7")

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

This is a work I have done with pen and watercolour. North Bengal is one of my favourite travel destination. I prefer train services but sometimes due to unavailability of train tickets I have to avail the bus services for North Bengal. 

A village scene

Pen and watercolour on cartridge paper

© Shubhankar Adhikari

Kolkata City Life - Hooghly river view from Babughat

Kolkata City Life painting - Hooghly river view from Babughat 

Paintings on cartridge paper (11" x 7")

© Shubhankar Adhikari

Landscape

Watercolour painting on paper (11" x 7")

© Shubhankar Adhikari

" Happy Diwali " to all my followers ,fans,well-wishers , friends and students.

Beach Road, Visakhapatnam

Watercolour on paper 

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

Here I have used watercolour and pen on paper. In this composition you can see that the sun is in full swing . Beach road is one of my favourite travel destination in Visakhapatnam city. Firstly when I visited this place , I was simply spellbound to see the beauty of Bay of Bengal. I made some fast sketches sitting there. I also took some photos for future references.

Boat Study

Watercolour painting on paper (22" x 15")

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

Hill top market near Mirik, Darjeeling,West Bengal

watercolor and pen on paper

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

This is a composition based on a local market on the way to Mirik from Siliguri. I have used watercolor and pen for this work. Hill top markets are one of my favourite subject. 

Kolkata bound Super Fast train departing Tatanagar Junction - watercolour art

© Shubhankar  Adhikari 

watercolour painting on paper 

While  returning from Tatanagar to Kolkata I had to wait for the train, as the train was two hours late. I made some fast sketches while waiting. Later on I converted those sketches into painting in my studio. 

New Delhi bound Super-fast train leaving Kolkata station

Watercolour painting on paper

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

This is a work with watercolour and pen on paper ,created by me  years back. Indian Railways .....one of  my favourite mode of transport. I love to paint trains,locomotives,railway tracks ,station scenes etc. While waiting for the trains in the stations, I always love to sketch the incoming and outgoing trains,passengers,porters,stalls etc. 

Wooden Bungalow

Watercolour painting on paper 

© Shubhankar Adhikari 

I always like to draw wooden houses,bungalows and buildings. Here I have painted a wooden bungalow on a clear day. In Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal , we often get similar kind of wooden houses,rest sheds,bungalows,tourist lodges . Staying their is a thrilling experience no doubt.

Townscape - Chinsurah, Hooghly, West Bengal

watercolour painting on paper 

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

While on the way to Bandel Church from Hooghly Imambara , I noticed this beautiful building proudly standing beside the road. I took a snap without delaying. Afterwards I used this snap as a  reference to complete this painting in my studio. 

Here in this work I have drawn the building with ball point pen . Afterwards I have applied the watercolour carefully on the paper. As the paper is not a handmade paper so I have to take extra care to bring the effect of light in this composition. 

Watercolour Naturescape

Watercolour painting on paper

© Shubhankar  Adhikari

This naturescape was created by me last week. You can see the spontaneous flow of the colours on the paper because I have used a very loose watercolour  approach here. This is a fully imaginative work. 

Mahishadal, Rajbari ( Palace) Purba Medinipur, West Bengal -Watercolor Sketch on paper

© Shubhankar Adhikari 

Watercolour sketch on paper

This is a fast sketch of Mahishadal Rajbari made by me in the year 2010. I think Mahishadal Rajbari is one of the finest place for the artists and nature lovers to enjoy the vast water bodies, gardens,trees and historical bulidings. The place is very calm and peaceful, perfect for doing open air artworks.

Mahishadal is famous historical place situated in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal. It is just a three and half hours drive  from Kolkata. An excellent weekend gateway for artists,musicians,nature-lovers,film-directors,coaches, poets, writers,composers,photographers,players,students,academicians,and tourists.