Old Houses

Old houses are beautiful.

They have a soul.

They evoke nostalgia. Nostalgia for what I do not know. 

I can't own one. Perhaps won't ever live in one.

My way of possessing one, is to study them. Sketch and paint and study them.

Here is one such.

My painting of the St Andrews church got me invited to a wedding at the very same church. While there, I was captivated by the house next to it. I stared at it. Photographed it. Stared at the pictures and finally drew it an then stared at the drawing and finally painted it.

Here it is.

namdugadkOTe

Chitradurga. The very name inspires visions of valour, size, grandeur and so on. A most fascinating place. Many kannaDigas know of this thanks to a movie - nAgarahAvu or the novel durgAstamAna by ta ra su.

Jagalur, was once in the Chitradurga district. In relatively recent reorganisations, it belongs to Davanagere district. I feel cheated. I liked the idea of belonging to Chitradurga district.

Having expressed such loyalty, I have to admit that I visited the place only after I was no longer a teenager! But the stories and anecdotes my father had recounted and has written in his memoirs - "nenapina alegaLu" are indelible. One visit and the experience is unforgettable.

I had always wanted to sketch or paint some part of the place and here it is finally.

I drew first with a Staedtler pigment liner. The first time I did such a drawing without a pencil drawing base, directly. The idea from the beginning was to do a line and wash work. Work pressure and loving the look of the line drawing I postponed the washes. I painted it with trepidation. I am glad I did though sad that the drawing is "lost" except for the scanned version you see below.

Line

and Wash

Secluded

Secluded

October 2012, I had a short holiday, starting on my birthday. I photographed this secluded house. Since then I was looking for the right way to present this scene and it is here, finally.

This brings back the sun, the humidity, the quiet (invaluable for someone from Bangalore) when I see this. The dish antenna adding a touch of modernity to the otherwise rural scene. Areca nut, coconut, colocasia, pumpking vine (indicated with only one of its flowers), green grass make this scene so calming.

Some Sketches

Rosa Parks

parks herself

(in a bus), 

Refuses to budge

and sparks

a revolution

that dredges

man from

the sludge - 

a disgrace

called 

race

I did the sketch and wrote the lines almost at one stretch. Reviewed it later. When I sent this to my friend Suresh Babu, he promptly sent me the photograph below - the very bus on which Rosa Parks registered her historic protest.

He had seen and photographed it in the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. I had never thought that such a historical vehicle would still be there to see. Thrilled.

Here are some more sketches done recently - without similar interesting history, though.

I hope these speak for themselves!

Government Press, Mysore

Cheek by Jowl

Line and Wash, A4, Steadtler Pigment Liner, 0.2, Camlin Watercolours on cartridge paper

This is a line and wash work of the Government Press, in Saraswathipuram, Mysore. This is a very interesting group of buildings. They seem to have been built at various times and wherever there was space. You can see different technologies - Mangalore tile roof, Azbestos sheet roof, RCC roof and so on. The foundation level is below street level and hence they appear as you see them here. There is lot of greenery, a temple and so on in the premises. It is visually very interesting. I hope I have been able to convey some of it here.

Some Line and Wash

Ashwatthakatte

This is a slightly sanitised view of the Ashwatthakatte in front of the Basavanagudi (bull temple), Bangalore. There are many sets of the three stones with the standaradised phallic symbol icons there. The patchy bark of the tree is courtesy a light drizzle!

Hiding Beauty

This is an old house in front of the Government House in Mysore, on the Mysore - Bangalore road. I have seen this and dreamt of sketching or painting for decades. Never got down to it. On the last visit to Mysore, I went with Suresh Babu, my friend and photographed it and painted it back home in Bangalore. Babu, is an ideal companion for such expeditions. Enthusiastic, curious and energetic!  The fact that he was around, was the impetus to go out to photograph this and some graves in a cemetery nearby. More about it soon on my Jag's Blog soon.

Old World Charm

This is a humble home not far from the one above. I guess it is in the Rajendra Nagar / Nazarbad area of Mysore, behind FTS. The juxtaposition of the modern plastic water tanks and the old world Mangalore Tiled house, framed by the overhead power lines intrigued me and here is my version of it.

Monsoon Morning

This, of course is not a Line and Wash as the title says. But, this is what I saw one morning after nightlong monsoon rains. I photographed it on my mobile and painted it much later. Of course this is more like an abstract than a realistic one - especially the colours.

Red Cross Premises - Ulsoor

A5, PJ Sketchbook, Camlin watercolours, line and wash

This is a good example of how a picture can stay in your mind and how it can finally get on to paper almost in an unexpected way.  This set of buildings, reminiscent of the England that we know from WWII movies, is next to the former premises of the office where I work. I passed this place five days a week. I always dreamt of painting this scene even ten years ago when I was not even painting!


Later as part of the weekly Jam of Pencil Jammers (www.penciljammers.com) I saw this place a couple of times and yearned to render it. I was always daunted by the confusion of things there - until recently when I started working on reduction, selection and so on and here I am. The fact that I did it gives me great satisfaction. 


I hope you enjoy it too!