gandhaprada:

Victoria Viray - V is for Vicious, V is for Vice, V is for Vanity

Rush of Blood to the Head

acrylic and oil on wood

13” x 10”

My lack of tumblr posts is due to the fact that I’ve been quite busy the past two weeks working on one painting only. Once in a while I feel that its good for me to be able to focus, and not be working on two or three things at once. For a change of pace, I used acrylic and oil paint this time around.

I bought the frame from Zara Home store. It is slightly smaller than A3, so the actual painting dimensions is quite small.

Halfway through the painting, I decided belatedly that the composition was dull, and needed more elements, so I added additional roses and apple blossoms to the background.

Acrylic layers done, it actually looks finished enough so that I can leave it this way, but I like the way how oil paint makes the colors of the painting “pop”, so I applied glazing over the acrylics, with 2 or three oil layers. In my opinion the colors seem brighter and more saturated somehow, not to mention that shading and blending with oil is a breeze because it doesnt dry so fast.

I customized the Zara frame as well; I spray painted it black, with a final coat of varnish for shine.

This will be one of four pieces that I will be showing (and selling) in Abu Dhabi for the Rendered Emotions show on February 29, 2012. I will post a proper photo of the painting as soon as it dries, as I cant scan it yet because the oil paint is still wet :)

Strange Woodland Creatures

watercolor on paper, A3

For me, there are always high and low points during the process of making any painting; with this one particularly, there were frequent times that I just wanted to crumple it and throw it in the trash.

For one thing, I had wanted the graphite marks to show through the paint; my intention was to make the watercolor to be as transparent as possible. Anyway, my good intentions were washed away with the water :) and I ended up using the paint too thickly again. I am too used to acrylic paint for my own good.

I also had problems with the composition at some point; actually Im still not entirely happy with how it turned out, but that is watercolor for you. Mistakes are permanent. I was struggled with trying to fix the faces of the girls most, I cheated a bit, and used white acrylic for the highlights on their faces.

Total working time on this piece is approximately 5 days (with plenty of time in between for snacking and reading :))

Once again, we interrupt our regular programming to bring you:

GENIUS: an exhibition of UAE based illustrators

GENIUS features the works of 28 UAE based illustrators working in a range of styles from caricatures to commercial illustration to fine art and then some pushing the boundaries of the medium.
GENIUS will showcase over 60 pieces of work that explore and challenge definitions of illustration, its origins and its future.

Curated by The Domino GENIUS is the 3rd in a series of initiatives that promotes and supports a growing community of talented illustrators in the UAE.

Genius happens on February 1st, at Cartoon Gallery, Al Quoz 1, Dubai.

The Crush

A spur of the moment watercolor painting done in 6 hours, the fastest I’ve done so far. I took some watercolor paper that I was gonna throw away because the initial sketch had some pencil marks that couldn’t be erased anymore for some reason; turned it over and used the unmarked side. 

I used Campap paper, a brand of watercolor paper which is made in Malaysia. Good value for price, as I think the paper is really resistant to warping and absorbs color beautifully. The only downside in my opinion is that it is almost impossible to get mistakes out of this paper, once a blot is there, its there forever. For people who live in the UAE, its available at any Dubai Library District bookstore.

Im relatively new to this medium, but its easy gratification compared to painting with oils. Low commitment art (?) :)

I have other paintings in watercolor, acrylic and oil, available on Facebook, so please feel free to visit my facebook page.

I recently finished reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, a novel by Oscar Wilde published back in 1890 and it tells the story of Dorian, a good-natured young man until he discovers the power of his own exceptional beauty. As he gradually sinks deep into a frivolous, glamorous world of selfish luxury, he apparently remains physically unchanged by the stresses of his corrupt lifestyle and untouched by age. But up in his attic, hidden behind a curtain, his portrait tells a different story.

I was inspired enough by the book to re-imagine it in a painting, but instead of a male protagonist, I used a young lady instead. I used Prang watercolors, my favorite medium as of late, on Arches 140lb watercolor paper.

There is slight but negligible warping on this brand of paper. I’ll detail my thoughts on this watercolor paper in a review of papers in another post.

I’ll have the artwork available on Society6 as print. www.society6.com/prettymonkey26

*the image on the left is the deck as I received it, and it was what I had to work with. It was broken, it smelled, and it had these stickers that were so difficult to remove. The image on the right, is what I came up with, after a month and half of hard labor (actually, on and off work, depending on how lazy I was that day.)

Bear VS Zombie

Oil on wood, 95cm x 35cm

One of the pieces that will be shown at “A Skateboard Dexhibition” by FN Designs

Artists Statement:
Yellow is the color of fear. Fear is the stuff of nightmares.
In nightmares, things aren’t always what they seem; strange is the norm and crazy is ordinary.
My surreal nightmare playground is made up of moths, candy pills, zombies and blood dripping from the walls.
In this hallucigen induced parody of a dream, i have only one companion to call my own: a pathetic teddy bear.
But it is after all, only a nightmare, and my subconcious mind decides how the tide turns; an ordinary teddy bear suddenly grows fangs and defeats the very zombies that threatened to overwhelm my fear.
This unreality taking place inside my subconcious mind  is a manifestation of the ills of my benign day to day existence, which longs for the adrenaline rush of terror. I wish to leave the viewer with a sense of unstability;  overwhelmed with the jarring juxtapozition of the pretty and the scary, defined in the intricately rendered details of each individual element.

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you:

FAKiE
and
Ramp Opening Party

A Skateboard Dexhibition by FN Designs

In 2010 FN Designs presented FAKiE: a skateboard dexhibition for the first time in the Middle East. Now 30 artists from around the UAE have again been selected for FAKiE 2012. This show comes with a certain twist, as the artists were given used, worn-out and broken boards to work with. I had no idea what would become of these dusty old boards, but was very excited to see how through the unique collaboration between the markings that were left behind by the skater and those imposed by the artists and designers, they might be transformed into something new. The anticipated end product was a mystery to me..

Facebook event details : http://www.facebook.com/events/219687711446318/

Watercolor on paper- series no. 4

Watercolor on paper- series no.3

Watercolor on paper- series no. 2

Watercolor on paper- series no. 1

Mr. Hellyeah x Prettymonkey26