Sketches make a place look better!

Over the years I've noticed that while sketching on location the eye and the hand conspire in their own way, omitting certain details and more often than not... dirt.  Garbage which is often strewn allover the foreground of many of my subjects don't get into my sketches. Like this one for instance is a group of fishing boats - trawlers - at Kasimedu harbour. The water is slick with oil.

And this one...

Done two weeks ago. Looks like the sleepy Gaulish village of Asterix and Obelix (well, except for the minaret). In truth, this sketch was done on the banks of the Cooum. The stench was not too bad that morning but the river was a dark stagnant grey. Basically sludge. The huts are hovels, patched together with whatever people have. The foreground and the edge where the water meets the land is not really earth but built up rubbish debris!  Its quite crazy how my hand refuses to draw the refuse!

Not quite Demonte Colony

Last Sunday I joined the CWA group to sketch at Demonte colony. Due to litigation the two residential streets have been abandoned for may years and wears a somewhat haunted, deserted look. We thought we would see plenty of old crumbling buildings and abandoned vehicles, but unfortunately our luck was out.

Recently there was a movie released by the same name, a horror flick, and some scenes were shot here. Droves of tourists have apparently been stopping by and neighbours have complained resulting in the place being sealed off.

We were only allowed into a corporation park next to which stood an abandoned jeep. Further down the pavement was a lady selling idlis in a make-shift food stall. I managed to try out my water soluble graphite pencils a little more in both these sketches. After that I switched to my trusty Pigma graphic-1. A quick capture of a sleeping man on a park bench.

After that the group converged at the park and started doing portrait studies. They got a young boy to pose and several sketchers attempted to capture him. I tried to capture the sketchers.

Young boys playing cricket kept drifting in and out of my frame. They ended up looking ghostly in my sketches.

Francis sketched away rapidly with the sketchbook propped up against his waist. And finally it was time to lay down all our sketchbooks on the paved pathway but not before getting in a last impression of the group huddling together.

People sketches at Marina

After a hectic week of work, I found our CWA group was meeting at Marina beach on saturday evening. I decided to try and focus on sketching people like I did some time back at the park.  But somehow the architect in me always gets drawn to straight lines and perspectives so just to get that out of the system I did a quick one of "Endrum Vasantham Cool Bar" a shack that sold water and soft drinks on the beach.

Then I told myself firmly "only people!!"" and loosened up with this sleeping guy. After that I turned around 180 degrees exactly where I sat and before I knew it another perspective sketch. Oh no! What's wrong with me :(

An hour had gone by and I could stay at most another hour. By then I realised I was on the last 3 pages of my sketchbook so I decided to make it count.

Lot of people just come and sit on the promenade wall as its the largest free open space with great breeze.

By then we were a group of 6 or 7 sketchers so I sneaked one of Kandaswamy. That guy in the upper corner was on his phone the whole hour and probably longer after I left.

And I finally reached the last page of my sketchbook. It's a fat one that I inaugurated in June 2011. Felt great to reach the end and then flip back and look at the journey. By 7.30 I wrapped up at the beach and headed to a friend's house for dinner. Their daughter is six and a half months old and moves with blinding speed on the floor!

It's nice to be a student again

This last weekend I attended a watercolour workshop by Dhruba Mazumder which I had been looking forward to for weeks and it more than lived up to my expectations. Over the last few years, most of my sketches have been pen and watercolour washes but somehow, while attempting a "pure"watercolour, I found my courage failed me at the end and I added pen strokes to get my desired effect.
The workshop was in a conference room of a hotel and the management very sweetly changed all the bulbs in the lights as we didnt want yellow lights. You can see the white new filaments sticking out and it made a huge difference. Watercolour is all about light!
Dhruba took us step by step, doing small demos and then making us do them ourselves. By the end of the first day I ended up with this.

It's also the first time I'm using any brush other than my travel brush. This one above was done completely with a one and half inch wide flat brush. I had no idea that such big brushes could give such sharp lines. The workshop was very strong on technique and well structured.

By the end of the second day I ended up with this. By then we had covered various types of washes, brush strokes, colour mixing and special effect techniques. More than anything it was so great to be a student and learn something new. Dhruba is a great teacher and I hope I get better with watercolours with practice.

Fresh as always

This veggie shop sits at the corner of Chitrakulam and further down you have fruit shops and seasonal carts. The whole area South east of the main Mylapore temple is abuzz with fresh produce and is a great place to sketch. As I walked past this one, the display called out to me. Neat pyramids of tomatoes, potatoes and onions, cascading piles of snake gourd (podalanga), stacks of banana stem (thandu) raw mango, ridge gourd (peerkanga) and bundles of very very green drumsticks.
It was around five in the evening, and the shop next door was not open. There was a table and a bench where the owner would probably arrange his vegetables but he wasn't there so I took the oppurtunity to perch comfortably and get a good view of the inside and the outside of this shop.
Five minutes into the sketch (of course!) the shop owner turned up. But as I sighed inwardly he started watching me sketch and then actually asked me to take my time and finish. He waited till I was done to open his shop!

A historical link across two weekends

Over two weekends I visited first St Thomas Mount and then the Santhome Basilica. It was mainly because someone in our sketch-group was kind enough to organise sketching permissions at both these places one after the other. But having gone to each place I started reading up about the connections - and was amazed at the variations in the stories that are available.

First off, the basics. St. Thomas Mount is a small hillock near the Chennai Airport. Legend has it that St Thomas, one of the original apostles of Christ came to Kerala in 52 AD and slowly made his way across to Madras where he was killed in 72 AD on the top of that hillock. His body is said to be interred in a tomb in Mylapore over which is built the Santhome Basilica. This is the most popular legend.

There is a Shrine - Our Lady of Expectation - which is a pilgrimage site on the top of the hillock and a winding stairway up to it. Very picturesque and very hot in the mid-day sun. The stairway has resting points and 14 "stations of the cross" along its side which are statues showing Jesus dragging the cross flocked by a small crowd.

As I was there sketching on a sunday, I experienced the full force of the Sunday Mass. As soon as a sermon in English concluded and the people poured out another wave of them would go in and another sermon would begin in Tamil. Once that was over there was one in Hindi and there was one in a European language as well (Portugese? Latin?)

People who came out would walk back down the stairway in groups singing hymns or some would hang around at the top as there was an excellent view of the airport from here. The children especially were endlessly thrilled to watch flights take off and land.

While the legend of St Thomas is questionable, the location is famous for another event which is completely factual and extremely impressive. Colonel William Lambton began the great trigonometrical survey if India from the top of this hillock in 1802. There is a commemorative bust of the great man at the very spot. I felt humbled thinking about the enormity of the task - few dedicated men  holding chain links and spot levels going all across our huge country and coming up with a highly accurate map.

In comparison,  my visit to Santhome was on a saturday and the Basilica was very quiet and peaceful. No matter what the veracity of St. Thomas's presence in India, the building is beautiful and a pleasure to sketch. Oh, and one last thing - did you know that St Thomas is the patron Saint for Architects?!

The Trade Fair

The Trade Fair is in town. It's located at the Island Grounds and the official timings are 11 am to 10 pm. When I got there at 11 am not only was the place deserted but it wasn't even open. The ticket booths were not manned and the previous evening's debris was strewn about. It was also baking hot!

 Thankfully this guy spotted the sketching gear which several of us had peeping out of our bags and he came up and said sketch me! Five minutes later the ticketing line opened and in we went.

The main walkway was a sandy path with stalls on either side. First up was a shop selling plastic inflatable balls (and ducks and rabbits) of all colours and sizes. Further on were shops selling just about anything - clothes, hats, underwear, vessels - a completely random selection.

After walking past a few shops I spotted a sugarcane juice stall. Also deserted. I guess the vendors didn't expect anyone to turn up so early - at opening time. But the machine brought back so many memories for me of Ganne ka Ras on the pavements of Ahmedabad as a college student, sitting on low Modas and sipping the juice which was more slushy and icey than actual juice. And further memories of the morning after... which I won't elaborate on here.

After walking for a while down this sandy lane the shops eventually gave way to rides. Hideous odd shaped fibreglass chair-cars resembling helicopters, teacups, fishes, cartoon characters and what-nots in garish colours. Some would move round on tracks while others swung up and down. You get the picture.

And finally at the very end - the giant (or Gaint as they decided to call it) ferris wheels. There were two. These could be seen from the main road as you circle around Napier Bridge and drive to the entrance of the fair. This is what glows with lights in the night, dominating the marina skyline, attracts all the kiddies at the beach to drag their folks over the next day. And it was quite a site, to sit under it and look up.

Lots of CWA action!

2014 has started out with lots of sketching action and oppurtunity for me. Most of it is thanks to the CWA. A wonderful group that I am a part of that makes sure that no matter what happens there's a reason to sketch outdoors each sunday. Soon after I was back from Goa, our group displayed our sketches during the Mylapore fest and next to our stall was a busy street full of banana vendors. Below you see the general crowd and mayhem of Art Street where we camped with our artwork, making live portraits and sketches.

More recently, we took a day trip to Senji which was hot, tiring but totally worth it. The old fort and the ruins have tons of sketchworthy subjects to offer. My first painting is of Rajagiri or King's Fort. I tried to do a watercolour directly without doing outlines in pen. Something I'm very afraid of and in the end I succumbed and added a bit of ink work for definition . But at least its a start. At least I did the brushwork first.

And this one below is an attempt at a panoramic capture of Senji. I climbed up Rajagiri (my first painting) but only a fifth of the way and already the view was so... Epic... as a friend put it, that I gave up on the climb and decided to record instead.

Those monkeys crept into the frame. Look adorable. Most annoying and when they single you out (one female did) it can be quite terrifying.

Approaching the Koothambalam

I chanced upon the Koothambalam while walking through Kalakshetra campus from the other side. Approaching from the office and going past the newly built lotus pond area I followed a group of dance students as they walked purposefully towards their practice cottages. So as not to disturb them while they rehearse, I turned away and was suddenly stopped in my tracks by this scene. The majestic structure loomed out from amidst the trees. I had approached it from the back.
With my usual fascination for performance spaces I began sketching, standing up. The Koothambalam is undergoing extensive renovation and the main entrance area is quite un-approachable at the moment. They are planning to air-condition the space and the inside of the  auditorium was covered in scaffolding.

As I sketched I thought of groups and repertories with their own performance spaces. How important it is. As vital as the work itself. I thought of the koothambalam as an inspiration for the young students who would work towards performing there and then, as I stood, in the shadow of the old trees, sketching from "behind the scenes" , I thought of a weekend, a few years ago when we had staged two plays inside the same space. I remembered carrying the set through those large doors and the frenetic activity ahead of the shows. Its funny how the sketch turned into such a nostalgic experience.

The Church of Our Lady of Light

Lets skip a bit back to Madras. After so recently sketching the Sao Sebastian Chapel in Panjim, I suddenly thought to myself that the Luz Church is literally one minute away from my office and I have never visited. So there I headed yesterday morning. It's the oldest surviving church structure in Madras and has 1516 proudly embossed over its main doorway.
Sunday mass was under way so I chose to sketch from outside. Once the mass was over I was soon surrounded by a gang of young girls. They were very eager and enthusiastic to watch me sketch and chattered away non-stop to each other. They spoke in Tamil, which of course, is my mother tongue and I could understand everything they said, including the fact that they assumed I didn't know Tamil.
Here's a few interesting snippets of conversation that I enjoyed: (everything was being said in Tamil)

"Hey, look! She's drawing with her left hand!"
"Yes, see. That is why that tree which is on the left of the church is coming on the right side of her drawing."
" Hey, do you think she will show us the rest of the sketches in her book? I really want to see the rest of the sketches. You ask her. My english is not good."
" No! You ask Her. Pleeeaaase"
Giggling... pause...
"Ok. We'll ask her together. We will all say - (in english and in hushed practice whispers) Excuse me, can you show us your sketchbook"
"Ok fine. At the count of 3 - all together! One, two three!"
Dramatic silent pause.
A giggling collapse.
"Fraud! Cheee! Hey look! Look at her grey hair. She is old! We had better say excuse me aunty!"

Call me mean... but I didn't let on that I knew Tamil just so that they would go on being candid and I could keep listening in!

Sketching at a Kutcheri

The December music season is firmly under way and some of us have been approached to cover the concerts live through our sketches on location. I chose to start off by attending a Ranjani Gayatri concert last saturday at the Bharatiya Vidya bhavan. The place was packed to the gills and overflowing and here's the view from my seat. The sisters were kitted out in perfectly matched two-colour alternating sarees as is their usual style.

I also realised that the concert before it was a Veena recital by Geetha Krishnamoorthy. That was a bonus as two back to back vocal concerts would have been a little repetitive to sketch. The Veena is such a beautiful instrument.

I got in before the Veena recital and got a central spot and started off. It was really enjoyable as sketching and listening to Carnatic music are both pastimes that I enjoy so much! Inquisitive mamis to my right and left kept leaning over exclaiming over my sketches. It was fun! And as the evening wore on my hand freed up and I dashed off a study of H. Sivaramakrishnan, the Ghatam accompanist as well.

The sketch right at the top was actually my last and was thrilled to find it featured in the kutcheribuzz season blog . I hope I can squeeze in a few more such evenings.

Sunlight on Stone

A quick shadow study of the top of a monolithic Chola structure at Mamallapuram. It's locally referred to as the Ganesha Ratha but the figures and figurines on the top are very different from the usual Ganesha temples.
Like most other Chola architecture in the town, its a subtractive work - (instead of adding small blocks to make a building you subtract from one large chunk of rock to arrive at the end result). It was late afternoon and the sun was falling perfectly on the granite.
This was part of a day long trip that a bunch of us sketchers made. Much fun was had and many sketches were produced by one and all. If you'd like to see more work from the group at Mamallapuram you can check them out here.

The week and year that was

It's been quite a week so far - Madras week - and its also coinciding with the Chennai Weekend Artists (the group I sketch with every sunday ) completing a year! As part of Madras week we were invited to show our sketches as a group and have a discussion/ interaction with the public. During the Q&A session I was asked quite an interesting question by Ms Geeta Doctor - Why is it that we all sketch beautiful buildings and pretty scenes - isn't Madras also full of crowd and dust and isn't it about an interesting mix of cultures too? 

 It was a relevant question and I'm glad it was asked. As a group we have gone around sketching many different things that we consider part and parcel of life in our city. Yet, when we were told we could frame and display some of our prints, the tendency in all of us was to choose "the best" sketches, regardless of whether the variety in topic, style or in number of sketchers in the group was being truly showcased and represented. I think this is partly to do with all our ingrained conditioning of "what is good artwork".

Having brooded over it for a couple of days, I really feel now that location sketching is a completely different ball game. And the strength of going out in a group and doing this lies in the fact that there are so many people producing location sketches covering many styles and topics. I really feel strongly now that the biggest strength of CWA is its variety and not its prettiest pictures. 

I took a look at myself too and realised that several of my location sketches never make it on my own blog! How snobbish of me! So here is a small sampling of a few that are not pretty pictures - they are just quick sketches done in the past year showing Madras, its people, its animals and objects doing what  they do. 

I've also realised that I am so much more comfortable drawing static things that don't move - but its difficult to capture the flavour of a city with such limited skills. The coming year is all about improving my people/ crowd drawing skills. Wish me luck.