Travel

"I want to travel across the world and breathe the air of new places"

Someone truly said - To travel is to get to know yourself. I completely agree with it. You really find yourself each time you travel. And if you travel with someone else, you discover something about them that you would never have known otherwise. Moral of the story: It is important to travel with like minded people ! :D 

Lots of travel plans for the year ahead and I am super excited ^__^

(This post is part of the art adventure at A Sunny Yellow Window)

Polyvore

So I recently recollected my fun times on Polyvore and decided to revisit the site and make some collections. It is really so much fun. I always wanted to do one of those style pages for a magazine.

Haha..maybe someday !

summer by chicabeingme featuring embroidery tops

I'm in love with Aztec prints and would love a jacket with some Aztec accents !
Bright, loose tops for summer - a must !
These flats are so cool and coveting this shape of sunglasses !

New prints

Whenever I get some time off between work, I chose one of my quotes (I have a huge quote bank thanks to my board on Pinterest) and sit illustrating or lettering it out. It is a real stress-buster !

Summer

It's getting way too hot in Bangalore. I know it won't last too long but while it does, it is unbearable. 

The only way to beat this is to wear loose, flowy cotton dresses, skirts and tops. 

Drink a whole lot of juices, liquids and fresh fruit !

Look up interesting summer recipes to cook up, like this interesting salad !

And just dream about escaping to the mountains !

 The Dhauladhars

(pictures from our trip to Mcleodganj last year)

Any tips to share?

(This post is part of the art adventure at A Sunny Yellow Window)

Tyler Knott Gregson

If you are on Pinterest, you would have surely come across words by Tyler Knott Gregson, in a very typical typewritten form. The words, beautifully thought out, connect to me somewhere. It's as if some are written specially for me. So I chose one today and tried to illustrate it. 

"Find my hand in the darkness and if we cannot find the light, we will always create our own."

There may be more to come because I adore his short poems and I just discovered his website ^__^

TYLER KNOTT GREGSON

Additions

I am simply and completely enjoying this new illustration series. I can't get enough of it. I just choose a song, pick up my pen, put it to paper and it just takes me away. I think I'll be done with their entire album soon ! 

I'm using this technique of making polka dots with the rubber back of a pencil. I never knew it would open up something in my head and take me down roads I've never visited before. 

This one is called - The Weight of My Words"

This one is titled "Failure"

Hand lettering can be so fulfilling !

Kings of Convenience

I've had their albums on my computer for ages but never got down to listening to them. When I finally did last evening, I fell quite in love with their calm, soothing voices. I played the entire album - Quiet is the New Loud on loop this entire morning and then it really made me wanna illustrate the songs. 

This is the first song in the album - "Winning A Battle, Losing The War" 

The next one is called "I don't know what I can save you from." 

This one is called "Parallel Lines"

I can't wait to finish this series. I enjoy every bit of it !

Ghosting

Sometimes I come across lyrics of songs that don't make complete sense but the words just sound so beautiful strung together and it makes me want to illustrate them. This is one of those. 

Ghosting by Freelance Whales

Origami Birds

This is my latest project ! I've had these origami papers lying around since forever and I finally decided to put them to some good use. Origami birds !!! This is so much fun. If I'm lucky, I find a really nice tutorial that is easy to follow, but sometimes it is just drawn instructions and gosh that is tough. I had quite some trouble with the little purple bat ! I'm really happy with how this is shaping up, maybe I'll make a bird mobile or something or that sort when I have a big collection. Can't wait :)

These are the three I made over the last two days:

 OWL and ROBIN

BAT

Kailash

I believe that our dreams/wishes rub onto each other. The fella's dream to visit the mighty Kailash Parbat has certainly rubbed onto me. Someday we will make sure we go there to find our peace. 

It gets high priority on our bucket list.

(This post is late but nonetheless a part of the art adventure at A Sunny Yellow Window)

Reading: Delhi - on the road

I just finished reading this beautifully illustrated book on Delhi by Supriya Sahai. I love the black and white, detailed illustrations and how they bring out the very character of Delhi and its monuments. I learnt a lot about the history of the city too. I would love to make such a book one day. Maybe on Pune or Bangalore. Someday ! Inshahallah !

The aim for 2014 is to finish reading ALL the graphic novels/books I have bought over the years. 

One down, many more to go.

Arty March

I think I went crazy doodling in March. It was like this burst of creative energy and I think some days I did even 5-6 doodles. It was super fun. I bought a set of watercolours to try and I love them. 

Here are March's doodles:

You can view all the doodles/illustrations on my Instagram feed (link in the right bar)

I also started a mini-series of "What I Wore"

It was quite fun. Maybe I'll continue it in April, maybe I'll move on :)

And then one fine day, I got super bored of looking at my dull soap dispenser and decided to give it a whole new look - blue and white.

Like I said, March was great fun !

March: the month that was

The third month of the year is over. Phew. I can't wait for summer to be over. It has become quite unbearable in Bangalore, especially because we live on the top floor and the sun does not spare us at all. Need to come up with some solution for the heat soon ! 

HIGHLIGHT:
March has been an important month for us because we support the cause of Tibet and 10th March is the day that marks the anniversary of their freedom struggle. It was been 56 years. This year, I walked 32 kms from Hunsur (a Tibetan settlement in Karnataka, close to Mysore) to Bylakuppe (another settlement) The entire walk was on 44 kms but sadly I could not complete it. What was more overwhelming than walking 32 kms, was the fact that there were 65-70 yr old Tibetan men and women who completed the entire walk, taking fewer breaks than us yound blood. It was quite shameful at times, looking at them walk undeterred, in sandals and chappals, when we struggled to walk in our walking shoes. It was a support march to show our solidarity with their cause and next year we hope to do something bigger, to make more people aware about what exactly is happening in Tibet and the atrocities meted out by the Chinese government for the last 56 years. 
Read more about their cause and educate yourself on this FB page: For the Cause of Tibet

BOOKS:
Damn. I didn't finish the book I was reading. Just about 40 pages left but I can't put it here. The only book I finished reading was this lovely illustrated book on Vincent Van Gogh, one of my ever fav painters. 

MOVIES:
Non-Stop - This movie began the movie-marathon weekend. It was super fun, great suspense and an unpredictable ending. We were thrilled after watching it. (4/5)
Escape Plan - Finally saw this movie after missing it in the theatre. Pretty good, also because I am a sucker for 'prison-break' stories ! (3/5)
Highway - I expected way too much from this one. By the time we went to see it, everyone was raving about it. I thought the story was below average. It just didn't fit together. Alia acted really well but that's about it. The music was lovely and of course the travel was wow. (2.5/5) 
The Big Wedding - A silly story of complex families. Light watch. (3/5)
Prisoners - Oh man. I regret not watching this in the hall. It was one of the best mystery movies I've seen in a very long time. Brilliant acting and super plot. Must-watch. (4.5/5)
Queen - One of the most fun Bollywood movies of recent times. The story was funny, acting great and the little elements of the movie that the director paid great attention to, made it really special. I laughed, and laughed so much. Oh and I love the Hungama song. LOVE. (4.5/5)
Lakshmi - a movie about child trafficking. Horribly directed, didn't expect that from a director like Kuknoor but there were way too many loop holes and glitches in the story. I was in a bit of a depression after watching this. We really live in a strange, cruel world. 

TRAVEL:
Hunsur - Apart from the support march, we attended our first Tibetan wedding. it was so much fun. According to their traditions, the entire village helps in the wedding, right from cooking food, to setting up everything. After the wedding and lunch, people sit around drinking and playing cards. In the evening there is music and dance followed by diner. It was a lovely sight. 

 My first night sky photo. It was quite cloudy, but I was so happy :)

CHENNAI:
This was our first road trip after the fella bought his Bullet. Man, it was a memorable trip. We started late (damn early morning plans) and encountered the harsh sun on our way to Chennai. If only we had started 3 hours earlier. The ride from Bangalore to Chennai is quite dry. There is pretty much no scenic views, except for the hills made of huge boulders. Hardly any shade to stop, and absolutely no decent places to stop for refreshments. We couldn't wait to reach Chennai. Thankfully my back did not give way. 
Surprisingly, Chennai was not as hot as we expected and we were glad we made the decision to go there for the weekend. We sat by the beach and enjoyed the cool breeze from the Bay of Bengal. We ate some really delicious Chettinad food throughout the trip. The last day, we drove to Mahabalipuram. It was fun, bit slightly crowded. We started our return trip at 4 am and that was one good decision. The journey back was totally opposite of the onward journey. We quite enjoyed the sunrise and breakfast on the roadside. 

 Boats galore !

 Sunset in Mahabalipuram

 Noone can beat coffee from South India

Early morning ride back home

March was a special month. Looking forward to April now :)