Happy New Year and welcome!

  Happy 2023 to all my artist friends and a big welcome to all the new participants who have joined us gradually over time! Are you all excited with the freshness of the new year or are some of you in a lull or a bit of a hiatus mood because if the weather. Maybe that could be a good thing too perhaps, as it gives us time to reflect and even think about new creative ideas with new visions. Then of course there are those of us who have already started off with a bang. Whatever the mood, it’s all very good for all the creative folks, because even the lull can be an incubating period, from which will arise a completely new way of creativity.. 

We as Mana artists are growing in numbers. As of last count my understanding is  at 98 artists and maybe more in the last few weeks. We have some new avenues opened up for us at BMM website, thanks to the hard work of our managing committee. We now can display our paintings on that website on a circulating basis, which enables each one of us the chance to exhibit our Art, with the purpose of selling it. 

This is all thanks to people like Avinash Sadhu who played a big role in making this possible.

As we enter into a newer time period of ups and downs with the Corona virus and the economy in the world at large, we as artists are continuing in our paths of creativity. 

Many of us start the year with great resolutions to this year I’ll paint this, or try my hand at some new medium but like with all good intentions it fizzles out. Not because we lose interest in the project of that we’re distracted by other things in our lives. It happens to me all the time and then when I find the piece lying buried under stacks of paper and reference material. Then again, one reason for this also is an almost paralyzing apathy to just start with something because nothing seems good enough!

Then one day , the sun is shining outside and it may b just a small cluster of leaves that may take to your fancy to turn it into a painting! Somethimes, at such times I realize yes, it’s good to take break and have that time to reflect, recuperate and rejunevate. And then the freshness which inspires us to create is simply amazing.

With that in mind even a simple sketch can be that impetus that leads to new creativity.

So I leave you with the artistic thought for the month.

“A sketch has charm because of its truth – not because it is unfinished.” –

Charles Hawthorne

So my friends stay safe, happy and have a great year creating.

Yours truly,

Mangala Tata

 Our Merry Month of May…….Lots of flowers blooming, artists beaming and creating and families probably meeting more this year, with the threat of Coronavirus being a little less…..? 

Anyway, my month was certainly busy, with preparing for our Annual Open Jury Show event opening on May 2nd, at the Thousand Oaks Art Association Gallery. Turned out to be a very successful event and a joyous one, as there was a tremendous response to our call for entries and the excitement at the reception was palpable. Judge Sharon Weaver’s work of judging the entries was indeed daunting but finally she did a great job picking our winners. I was lucky to have one of entries to have been even accepted in the show, and no, I didn’t win but it was still enjoyable. It’s  true, sometimes even the journey can be exciting, despite the destination.

 My entry in the Open Jury Show, May 2nd. 2022, “Blue Rhapsody “…….Alcohol Inks

Flower paintings during the month of May…….Watercolors  

     

  

 

Well, then came the best part of the month of May. The world renowned artist, Mr. Milind Mulick once again enthralled all the eager participants of his demo/workshop on the topic of Value Study in a painting.

This was held on Sat. May 28. Watching him paint as he talked about the process, was really so amazing and I for one, decided not to paint along with him. First of all one cannot keep up his pace, and secondly, 

I did not want to miss any tips and lessons he was incorporating in the session. So, with that conscious decision I followed every little sweep and stroke of his brush! 

Even the talk on brushes was so informative and interesting. He talked about his own signature brushes too. The brush he used that day was a small flat brush, especially to paint the water and the houses in the scene. His palette too was limited to Phthalo Blue, Cobalt green for the water, plus some Ultramarine blue. Hansa yellow, Crimson and Neutral tint….. that’s it.

In drawing the boats, he stressed the importance of perspective and gave a simple description of boxes and use those as guidelines for boats. What a unique way to describe the process! 

As for the skies a light wash of greys and yellows was the basic tip.

He, once again talked of the five consistencies of the water to pigment mix, which he stresses each time and that makes quite a mark on your mind.

The main theme he stressed on was the tone, which he thinks is more important than the exact color.

As he added layer upon layer of glazes on the water, all this came alive and we all lapped up every little detail of this process. I know I learnt a lot that morning as did all the other participants, I’m quite sure.

Milind Mulick’s painting from the Demo.

Even though we West coast people suffer through the early morning session as we start, we all love it at the end, when we realize what a great session we had. 

We all are so grateful to Leena Joshi for making these sessions possible for us all, and of course, without the umbrella that MANA provides, none of it would have been possible. So a big thanks to both and a huge Thank you to Milind Mulick, who stays up late at night to bring us these lessons.

We shall be having another such session in the month of July, when Milind Mulick will teach us how to do portraits in watercolor.

Till then, my friends, so long. Keep creating and I leave you with this parting thought.

“A painting begins not when the brush touches the canvas, but when the impulse strike fire in your imagination.”  -  Dennis Perrin

 

What an exciting event occurred on April 2nd. 2022! That is for all the watercolor enthusiasts who participated in the workshop/demo given by Milind Mulick, the great artist from India. He commands the respect and love from artists from all over the world, he is the Brand ambassador of Daniel Smith watercolors and is best known for his atmospheric watercolors. That Milind Mulick gave a demo/workshop on the subject of Composition, all in the comfort of our homes! It couldn’t get better than that. Of course, nineteen artists from across the U.S participated in this event and we owe this to our Leena Joshi, under the auspices of our own MANA group.

Milind Mulick’s well known teaching method became evident as he prepared us a little by making sure that we would read excerpts from his book ahead of time. So, when he started using terms like Design and Composition and pointing out the differences in those terms, he was unraveling the various elements involved in the Composition process. How the various aspects like line, shape, color, tone and texture come into play to make up a good composition and how, within these variety, contrast, rhythm, repetition, alteration and gradation make for a great composition.

Of course, then he humorously pointed out in his light-hearted style of teaching, that all these are in the back of your mind and you just paint intuitively ultimately!

I particularly liked how his thought process took us through how he divides the rectangular spaced paper and then places the image which he points out as having simplified by our minds first and then deciding where the image shapes should be placed. He thinks in terms of ‘ shapes’ and that I think this frees the mind more.

The second thing I liked is that we should analyze our own paintings to understand these ideas. 

When he did start to paint, he started with light washes of the pigments he had chosen. His explanation of the consistencies of pigments is really helpful, wherein each consistency depends upon the percentage of water that is used with the pigment. Hence, ‘tea’, coffee’, ‘milk’, ‘cream’ and ‘butter’ consistency, which is basically pigment used directly from the tube itself. And, of course, all his planning of colors was done before starting to paint……the sky a particular shade of blue, the darks in the painting in balance so that the lights played so well in the final painting.

I know all the participants thoroughly enjoyed interacting with him during the entire session, asking questions and just having a fun time. Towards the end of the session, it almost seemed that we all wanted more of this because it was such a wonderful exchange.

I understand that we will be having more such workshops with him and we all look forward to the next one, tentatively planned for May 21. I think it’s going to be on Tonal study, ( a lesson on it’s importance in a painting,  understanding high and low key and balancing it correctly and more). 

Once again, thank you MANA and our great appreciation for Leena Joshi who brought this opportunity to us.

 

 

Here we are, already into in 2022. The Coronavirus has changed forms a few times already and seems to have become a constant in all our lives, waxing and waning like the moon but nothing very pretty about it. 

We’re all living out our lives the best as we can, beginning to come out of our cocooned lives somewhat. We artists seem to have done pretty well, in the sense of a fulfillment  of our art, in letting out spirits still soar, albeit under this specter of threat from a disease, and now a new unspoken threat of war (Ukraine & Russia).

Let us pray and it ends soon amicably.

February 2022 started with something exciting for all of us….an online Demo/workshop by our favorite artist, Milind Mulick. It was so inspiring and mesmerizing to watch him paint. I was fascinated by his thinking process, as he did his quick thumb nail to determine the composition, the balance of colors and the harmonious palette! It was like magic unfolding before our eyes!

Art challenge 2022,  with artists ‘creating’ new art every day was another such pleasure. Challenging though it was, in these times when     our domestic duties have increased with no outside help to do basic cleaning etc. I know it must be even more challenging for younger artists who also have tend to their children.

As artists, we are constantly searching for new ideas, new techniques and opportunities to try these out, for that is how we grow as artists.

Let’s now look forward to another demo by Milind Mulick which has been scheduled for the month of April, when we learn about Composition as seen through a great artist’s eyes.

Meanwhile, let’s all keep creating and growing artistically. Spring is around the corner to give us all plenty of opportunities to capture its slendour.

Keep safe, keep drawing, painting, sculpting….whatever gives you joy.

Here are some samples from the Workshop and the 2022 Art Challenge.

Zoom…..the new way to go.

 The new order of Zoom…..online lessons, Show n tell, and more. The Art community in general is flourishing and active these days, with online workshops, demos, lessons and exhibitions galore. In fact, I find myself more busy than ever, sending in jpegs of my Art to online exhibitions. 

Only last week I sent in 8 of my pieces to the Arts Council of Conejo Valley in Thousand Oaks. This particular event invitation was a complete surprise to me and came to me via a phone call from the gallery directly from the curators there, requesting me to send in my Art pieces!

Few weeks before that, Thousand Oaks Art Assoc. held their “Greatest Hits Show”, as a Juried online show. I had three paintings juried in it. Here is one of the entries.

An old classic”…. Watercolor 

“Vista Del Mar Restaurant “, Majorca, Spain…. watercolor 

Meanwhile MANA artists have been keeping busy creating Art in their favorite mediums. Recently, we had a “Show n tell”, showcasing all artist members’ art.

Also, we had an opportunity to take a trial class from Artist & teacher, Leena Joshi, a follower of the famous Milind Mulick. She teaches his style of painting watercolors (with his blessings, as I understand). I availed myself of this chance to pick up some tips and came away very pleased. A few years ago I had taken a few classes from the great Master himself and had to check out Leena’s class.

Anyway, we all love any opportunities like these and I for one am always ready!

Currently, I am happy to report that I got a pleasant surprise with a call from the curator of the gallery from our local Conejo Valley Arts Council, who invited me to send 8 of my paintings’ jpegs for hanging in the gallery, for their show, “For the love of Nature”. Of course, I am thrilled to part of this show which will open on July 23, and run through until Nov. 8, at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, (403 West Hillcrest Dr, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360). Reception for the artists to be held on Sept. 18, 2021, from 3 - 5 pm).

Finally, I leave you with this artistic thought .

     According to Ukraine native and LA area artist, Alexey Steele, the most derogatory comment that a Russian Academy professor could direct at his students was that they were just copying.

Here are a couple of my paintings from the upcoming “Love of Nature” Show.

“Peace”….watercolor 

“ A waterfall”…..watercolor 

 

MANA Artists conducted Online Watercolor Workshop

Our MANA group had a fantastic opportunity to conduct an online Watercolor Workshop on the occasion of Holi. The workshop was to be conducted across North America for BMM (Bruhan Maharashtra Mandal Uttarrang team). 

Avinash Sadhu, one of our Founder Member, made us aware of this event and we all got into action. Since the number of participants was expected to be quite high, we split up into 3 groups - check us out on the Flyer below. 

We decided to choose a floral theme, since it is spring time. Medha Atre Kulkarni came up with the design and we all got into action to prepare ourselves to conduct the workshop. 

It was a very fulfilling experience!! See few of our photos below:

Our Flyer Designed by Ashlesha Kelkar

Artist: Medha Atre Kulkarni and Aparna Deshpande Session:

Medha's Design

Participants Paintings

Participants Paintings

Artist: Dhanashri Bapat and Chaitali Nadkarni:

Dhanashri's Demo Project

Dhanashri's Demo in Progress...

Participants Paintings

Participants Paintings

Participants Paintings

Artist: Prerana Kulkarni and Alka Vaidya Session:

Prerana's Demo Project

Prerana's Demo Project

Prerana's Demo in Progress...

Participants Paintings

Dare we dance a little now?

 DANCE....uplifting the human spirit!

     

Here we are, into spring time with more people getting vaccinated and moving toward normalcy slowly. 

Secretly, we’re all now seeing that flicker of hope. Not quite dancing in the streets yet, but I for one actually wanted to do a little jig around the room after I got my second dose of vaccination. A great sense of liberation engulfed me momentarily, but only momentarily, and then in that moment, I made my first appointment in the longest time, to see my hair dresser, finally! 

Of course, we have a long way to go as a society.

Anyway, our Art has been flourishing quietly in our art rooms. I know from my own experience, that I’ve been learning a lot through UTube videos, online shows and just grabbing every opportunity of expressing our love of Art. Being shut in has its own advantages I suppose. There’s our silver lining.

Luckily for me, my involvement with the Thousand Oaks Art Association has also kept me busy, with writing their monthly newsletters and viewing Zoom studio tours of some of our talented artists.

 

 Here’s a tidbit for Art history lovers. In the early Christian church,  opinions were divided about whether the human form should be portrayed in art. Generally, it was thought that such depiction especially in statues would be undesirable. Paintings however, were different. In the sixth century, Pope Gregory declared  that they were the most useful way of telling Bible stories. This declaration was to have a profound impact on the development of European art from the Middle Ages onwards.

 I leave you now with the following artistic thought and meanwhile let’s keep those creative juices flowing.

“Life and Art begin at the end of your comfort zone”........author unknown.

Mangala Tata