Category: Hobbies

A medley of things that interest me.

On the way

Train Tracks Towards Trichy!

On our road trip to my grandfather’s house last year, we were treated to some amazing scenery — palms and plantains; paddy fields and elephant grass; street art and intricate architecture; flowing rivers and the magnificent ocean…

Here are two of my favourite photographs from the trip, shot through the window of our car.

Train Tracks Towards Trichy!

Paddy Fields and Palm Trees

For more images of journeys by bloggers from around the world, don’t forget to check out the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge : On the way

Tags DPchallenge, journey, landscape, palm, photographs, road, scenery, Tamil Nadu, train

Hobbies

Forces of Nature

Forces of Nature - Abstract Art

A couple of weeks back, the Daily Post asked us to show forces of nature.

While I did not have a photograph to show, I was inspired to paint something involving as many forces of nature, and a few forces that are influencing nature. How many can you identify? Who’s the strongest of them all?

Forces of Nature – Abstract Art

Tags abstract, art, DPchallenge, painting

Hobbies

Happy Typing!

Many years ago, I saw a movie in which the villain had written a ransom note using letters cut out from different newspapers. For something as evil as what the note said, it sure looked interesting! I am not sure if I tried to do something like that for myself — if I did, it was most likely a terrible failure. But buried somewhere in the deep recesses of my sub conscious brain, was this fascination for mismatched type and lettering.

Today, as I was catching up on email, I discovered this simple, yet wonderful site that turns text into random images. I freaked out. For the next several minutes I typed happily and watched them magically turn into fun image collages. As one reviewer, Keren Phillips, noted “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this FOREVER, I just didn’t know it.”

A little while later, this is what decorated my desktop:

The letters in these images are actual illustrations/photographs posted on Instagram. The images are copyrighted, and the collages can be used only for personal purposes. Check it out at Type to Design and have fun! (works only on desktop) A shout out to Product Hunt, through which I found out about this fun app.

And yes, I typed out my name as well 🙂 Typing into the narcissist in me, perhaps?

That's my name — I just couldn’t resist!

Tags app, design, fun, review, type

Hobbies

N and M

An artwork commissioned for newly-weds N and M. Wish you both a very happy married life 🙂
Inspired by the initials of their names and the date of the wedding.

Painting for N and M

Tags abstract, art, love, painting

Hobbies

Intricate

Intricate – veins of the flowers

For more intricate photos, visit the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge – Intricate

Tags flowers, nature, photo

Hobbies

The wandering mind

Abstract art - thoughts in motion?

Sometime back, I unearthed old drawings from the depths of my cupboard*.

I’m not sure what this drawing is about and what was going through my mind at the time I drew this. Perhaps it was my subconscious trying to communicate to me. A few random thoughts escaping the labyrinth of my brain, and finding their way to the paper.

From what I can imagine, it is likely that it started off as a tranquil hill. And then somewhere down the line there was turbulence of some sort — a storm at sea — which tossed away all notions of peace.

What do you think? How would you interpret this?

Abstract art – thoughts in motion?

For more ‘moving’ images, check out the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge – Motion.

*Other old drawings from the past:

Depth
Which colour do you see?

Tags abstract, art, DPchallenge, sketch

Hobbies

The lately-early bird

Waking beauty - a hibiscus about to bloom

It took me a full week to try to get up early. And this morning, I finally managed to get up by 6 am. Unfortunately, in these parts of the world, six is well past sunrise. Still, I tried. Although the next challenge is already in motion (bad pun, I know), I wanted to share this picture of the sleeping hibiscus in our balcony.

She was still half asleep, rubbing her groggy eyes and taking a big lazy yawn, when I saw her. It would be another three hours before she would be in full bloom. By the time I see her next, she would have moved on to another world, never to be seen again — until she takes a new birth, and opens her wide eyes and gives her best smile, to brighten up someone’s day.

Waking beauty – a hibiscus about to bloom

To see more genuine early birds out there, visit the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge

Tags DPchallenge, flower, hibiscus, photo

Hobbies

Art from scrap

Dancing peacock

It was on the first of March, a Sunday, that our family got together. It was after such a long time that we went out together, that we joked that it would rain. And sure enough, it did! Little did we know, that it was the beginning of a very strange phenomenon. Not only on that day, but almost every subsequent Sunday, it rained.

North India has witnessed, over the past two months, unpredictable weather, and many crops have been damaged due to this unseasonal rain. Vrindavan, it appears had its own share of golf-ball sized hail storm, if the pictures shared on WhatsApp are to be believed*.

Is this weather a result of climate change? I don’t know. But it definitely seems eerie.

A few weeks back, I was at the India Habitat Centre, where I saw a very interesting art installation, and seemed to fit in rather well with the issue at hand. Delhi-based artist Gopal Namjoshi combined scrap iron to create a garden, to highlight the importance of ecological conservation. The garden included flowers, small birds, deer and peacocks, as well as a man resting on a chair!

Below are a few snapshots of the installation.

For more about the artist, please visit Gopal Namjoshi’s Website

A blue bird

Man resting in the garden

Wandering peacock

A peacock

Perched atop a tree, perhaps

The ‘eyes’ on the peacock’s tail

Deer

Dancing peacock

Related News Article: Installations made from scrap

* Images of the Vrindavan hailstorm – Any of you received these images on WhatsApp?

Tags art, gallery, photographs, sculpture

Hobbies

Spring DIY project

The materials

Winter was on its way out, and the old leaves were making way for new little ones to spring up and take their place. The minute I saw these large leathery beautiful leaves on the pavement, I knew I had to pick them up. I didn’t know what I would do with them. But I brought them home anyway.

A few days later, they had dried out completely and their leathery texture was gone. But I wanted to keep them with me. We had clear wood varnish leftover from an earlier project of mine. So on Holi, I painted these leaves.