Magic of daydreaming...



Painting by Dita

 I was flipping through a travel magazine at the dentists waiting room some weeks back and I saw this beautiful resort at a tropical paradise...It was magical...beautiful blue seas, sparkling beaches, cosy rooms with adjoining verandahs...and one plant that seemed to be growing everywhere was the commonly known Birds of Paradise.

I had this frame in mind from then and was waiting eagerly for an opportunity to paint it. When M wanted to take the kids for a play in the park on Sunday I knew it was my chance... :) and what you see on the right is my abstract version of Birds of Paradise... but it has a story of it's own!

All the while that morning, I kept thinking of the pictures I saw in that magazine...the beautiful beaches, the warm waters, the peaceful spas, the tranqil pools...And, the magic of the bright red and yellow paints, the paint brushes and my solitude seemed to transport me to the tell-tale world of ethereal beauty...a space where everything is sublime...there is no worry...no constraint...just pure joy...joy of satisfaction, joy of contentment, joy of being myself...

...and then cheerfull voices of I & J declared my landing back to the real world...they were back from their stint in the park...I smiled to myself and packed up to get lunch ready...real world is just as good...only with a 5yr old and a 3.5 yr old around it is far from peaceful!!!

At that stage I had just completed the flowers and the foliage and had planned the background to be blue...like the sky...But when I got back to finishing the painting later in the afternoon...I decided to honour my little tryst with day dreaming...And to capture the mystery of the space I had been to earlier in the day I changed the backgroung to black....the mysterious, enigmatic elusive black!



Just to give you an idea about how this piece of mine could look at your home (or mine)......



Going Green!

I have never been in a tropical forest, but when I read descriptions of some, this is what I can see with my mind’s eye...Lush green foliage in different shapes, sizes and shades...Greens so bright yet balanced that no other colour is needed to break it...Green that creates a fresh tranquil atmosphere for the body and the soul...Green to me is by far the most relaxing colour. It is pleasing to the eye and to the mind. It encourages a natural calm and brings a sense of serenity and peace of mind...



Photo by: Dita



Although green is the most relaxing colour to the eye, it has historically had some very contradictory meanings. To some green symbolizes hope and growth, while to others it is associated with death and sickness. The most common associations, however, are found in its ties to nature. On the one hand green is associated with regeneration, fertility and rebirth while on the other it is used to describe anyone young, inexperienced, or gullible! Wonder whether it would be a complement to call somebody green because she is young and naive or would she take it to be a derogatory comment because it implies that she is gullible and inexperienced?

Whatever the case maybe we cannot discount the fact that green is the favoured colour of interior designers because of its calming nature. Even though it may mean different things to different people it no doubt has a relaxing effect to the eye and to the mind and is therefore often preferred.

Photo Courtsey:

http://www.theinnovationdiaries.com/1795/go-green-at-home/

Another obvious thing that pops into my mind as I speak about green is GOING GREEN!!! I try to be good and do my bit to reduce my carbon footprint and encourage I&J to do the same... 5 things that I  try to do on a regular basis are:

1.I switch off lights behind me

2.I don’t keep the tap on when brushing my teeth and take quick showers (well I can’t actually afford longer showers for other reasons as well)

3.I do not drink bottled water.

4.I do not put batteries or electronics in the trash and

5.I make good use of the recycle bin

I hope that one day, when I am able to plan my dream trip to a tropical oasis to enjoy the tranquillity and peace of mind; I will be content in my mind that I have done my bit to save the forests! What do you do to reduce your carbon footprint? Do you do all of the above (obvious and very easy ones) and some more?



Free-desktop-backgrounds.net

Blue...

On our several drives up the Great Ocean Road, I often tried to capture the brilliance of the blue seas through my lenses....but every time I laid down on my stomach on the edge of a jutting cliff to click away, I always ended up with bits of wild foliage sticking into the frame. This painting is a celebration of the mirth of those dancing leaves and branches which were often times just weeds in the crazy sea wind...

Photo By: Dita

Blue was a latecomer among colours used in art and decoration. Warm earthy colours like reds, browns, and ochres are found even in Paleolithic cave paintings but not blue. Even when man started to dye fabrics, blue was the last colour to be introduced. This is probably due to the difficulty of making good blue dyes and pigments. The earliest known blue dyes were made from plants like woad in Europe and indigo in Asia and Africa. Blue pigments on the other hand were made from expensive minerals like lapis lazuli or azurite. It therefore slowly became a luxury colour and was used sparingly until synthetic ways of creating the colour was introduced. Oriental vases, with their beautiful blue scroll work, are by far my most favourite bit of tangible history that features the colour blue.

Photo Courtesy: Chinese-treasures.net

Artists recognised the emotional power of blue and often made it the central element of paintings.  Washed out shades of it, is often used to create a melancholic mood along with green with no warm tones at all. I wonder if this has any link to the etymology of the phrase ‘Monday Morning Blues’!

I however, do not believe in washed out shades, neither do I dwell in melancholy! Blue to me is the brilliance of the sea in the sun, the depth of the sky on a perfect day...it is the sense of ‘ahhh’ that I feel when I look out of the window of my car in a road trip and I remember, when we were little and Ma Baba used to take us to the city in the local train...I used to sit by the window, gaze out into the open sky and get lost in my world of imagination...it was this blue! ...the brilliant blue that still gives me a sense of comfort and makes it easy for me to quickly forget the mundane day to day and get lost in my world....the world that is always bright, happy and NOW brimming with memories...



Photo Courtesy: Aurobindo Banerjee



The Rainbow

The Rainbow has always been a thing of mystery and awe!...To some it is the path made by a messenger from heaven to earth, to others it is a slit in the sky sealed by a goddess. Whatever the belief is, the rainbow always seems to connect the known to the unknown, the real to the unreal. And, the end of the rainbow is a secret hiding place for the pot of gold. A place that is impossible to reach...


Photo Courtesy: Zazzle.com

My passion for colours and painting is my secret hiding place of my ever-bursting emotions. It is where I make the in-tangible tangible, the unknown known...it is where I can say that orange is the pure sense of joy that I feel when I&J give me a warm hug, it is where I can say that red is the love I feel for M when he unloads the dishwasher, it is where I say that purple is the secret desire of my heart and blue is the the fresh scent of spring!



THE RAINBOW COLLECTION Photo By: Dita

I am not in search of the end of the rainbow...I am here to enjoy the journey. The journey of life which I prefer to see through rainbow lenses. And I will share with you every colour of life, the ups and downs, the goods and the bads, the defined and the abstract!

In tune with all of this I have named my first ever formal collection of paintings - The Rainbow Collection. On the left is a sneak peek of what is to follow in my next posts.