More painted birds.....

Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus)

Well... posting just a few more of my bird paintings done a few years back... These are mainly watercolour paintings.

Cattle Egret ( Bubulcus ibis)

Indian Pitta ( Pitta brachyura)

Mural at the Montessori !

Well....My friend Shilpa and i, worked on this mural at a montessori "Learning Tree" in Jayanagar. The garage has been converted into a play area with a sand-pit, a small wooden house and a slide for the kids. And ofcourse the painting on either sides. The owner of the montessori was very much willing to make it educative for the kids and was happy to include bugs, butterflies, birds, plants and other creatures in the mural! She wanted it realistic and that's exactly what we had in mind too! By the end of 20-25 days.... this is what we gave her!!

Birds abstract !

One of my friend gifted me a really nice book on wildlife paintings- "Tigers-Artists for nature in India" by Nicholas Hammond! I love the book and at the same time was so inspired that i tried out something myself.... using a kinda similar style!

I guess i got to get rid of my laziness these days.. and try out some more !!

KAYAKING over the weekend !!

I had been wanting to do some kayaking sometime... and especially after KK (Kiran) got a kayak from the US, i had even more wanting to do it. Out of the blue, friday night KK asked me if i would like to do some kayaking saturday morning... how could i deny! :) We reached manchanbele dam by 7:30am... inflated the kayak and set out !! The weather was amazing... breezy, cloudy and *Grreeennn* ALL around! This was my first time Kayaking and we went on and on and on.... I guess i was sooo excited, i never got tired of rowing at all! It was so peaceful out there... cormorants, Grey herons, kingfishers, bulbuls, sunbirds, peafowls and raptors above! A wonderful way to spend your weekend, no doubt! We were back where we started around 12. Deflated the kayak and headed back home...right in time for lunch!

Hummingbird series...

The above image of the 'Bumblebee Hummingbird' has been the best out of the three i have done so far. Both the birds are from my brother's photographs but with a lil' modification to make it a nice composition. As i started working on the branch, i got excited myself! Though i was still not sure how i will bring about the fluffyness of the bird captured in the photograph.. Am really happy with this one and i know, the more i practise its only gonna get better!!
Below, are the two other hummingbird paintings i have done - Buff bellied Hummingbird (my first attempt with the hummingbird painting a couple of months back) and the Purple Throated Mountain Gem Hummingbird (not all that satisfied with the composition), respectively.

Mural at Bandipur, JLR.

This surely is one of my favrouites... as its my first really *BIG* individual work! I painted this mural in one of the rooms of Bandipur Jungle lodges and resorts! Its about 10 ft x 15 ft. It was an amazing learning experience for me at every step - every thought i thought, every colour i mixed, every stroke i painted and more...
Every moment from waking up early to catch the sunrise... a whole day for painting... various yummy dishes to choose from... really -friendly-cheerful- staff... a chance to go on the jeep safari's every once in a while... sighting my first leopard and my first sloth bear... amazing sunsets over the Gopalswamy betta... interesting discussions over the campfire... watching wildlife documetaries... walking up and down the path several times... sitting thru the long silent nights... waiting to hear the call of the 'bubo bubo' every night... after all that, a peaceful sleep! Whatmore can one ask for !!

*MEROPS* it is !!

**MEROPS** i have always been fascinated by this word. i like the way it -sounds-! The first time i took interest in learning about the scientific names of birds was on one of my most amazing birding trips to Point Calimere, more than about 2 years back!
*Merops* is just a genus of the really pretty 'Bee-eaters'! But well of about 26 Bee-eater species found all around the world, i have just seen about 4 species..... LOTS more to see.. and that's why my journey goes on.... and on.......