Bottle Painting Part-2

I painted this bottle for a friend, who wanted to preserve one of her bottles for personal memories. The bottle is The Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch. I was happy to see the bottle was a lighter green than the Cabernet Sauvignon I had painted before. This would mean the design on it is more conspicuous without back-lighting.

As before, I preserved the label, and painted with only a permanent marker. This time, I decided to base the design on the memories that my friend associated with the bottle. The whole design is sort of a collage of sketches, almost symbol-like, each representing a different memory, spun all around the smooth round surface. I wanted it to look like an abstract collection, that would be aesthetically pleasing and interesting to a viewer, but understood completely only by the owner, so that she could be reminded of a different memory each time she looks at it.

Bottle Painting

When I started painting an empty wine bottle back in 2010, I was looking for a long art project that I could go back to whenever I had free time on my hands. And for that to happen, I needed something that would take many many hours. So I chose this intricate and symmetrical damask design. The bottle is a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The design was adapted from this lovely vintage damask fabric by Osborne & Little called Dryden Velvet. I think this design is absolutely stunning, and I wanted to take up the challenge of drawing symmetrically on the glass bottle, which is smooth and round, making painting very hard. The wine label and even the price tag have been kept intact.

I used permanent marker to draw this. Each and every line is a first draft and no other tools or rulers have been used. I often used to take the bottle to Harvard Square Starbucks and painted there. I didn't exactly count how many hours it took me, but I painted on and off, and the whole project has been going on for two and a half years now. Never knew I'd be that patient with anything.

I'll write about the second bottle soon!

Lowell House Oil Painting

Last weekend I painted the belltower of Lowell House on a small canvas.

Built in 1930, Lowell house is one of the undergraduate houses at Harvard, and located near my previous apartment. The Lowell house tower was originally designed as a clock tower, but after the house received a gift of authentic pre-revolutionary Russian bells, its design was converted to a belltower. The original bells have since been removed, and now the tower houses replica bells. The bells are rung on weekends, New Year's eves, Commencements and after we win football games.

This is my first non-absract oil painting. It took me 4-5 hours to paint this, two round brushes, and for the first time, more than three oil colors in a single painting! I also learned a lot about painting architecture with this one. 

Oil Painting in a Hotel Lobby

I combined my two loves, hotels and art, to create this montage that is a translation of my oil painting into a hotel lobby. So in case you were wondering how my painting would look as a wallpaper, here's your chance to see it!

Also, my newfound obsession with the ginko leaf shows here. (Let's pretend it's their logo, so its overuse would be justified.) I converted the black tree in the painting to a silver and gold leaf tree sculpture. It forms the center of the waiting area that has red swivel chairs around it. I also used a gold leaf chair. Red rugs with the ginko leaf pattern define the seating.

The reception desk is also gold leaf with the ginko leaf print embossed. The wall curves to form the ceiling. More gold painted ginko leaves form the cove lighting here.

Next, I'll work with this reception desk's shape.

Architectural and Travel Photography

I just realized that my blog is missing some important work - my photography! I love taking pictures and I love the camera. I wish I had a fancier camera, but for now, my Nikon L110 works!

Here are some of the pictures I shot with that camera while traveling...

This one is The Alchemist, a sculpture by Plensa at MIT, Cambridge:

HDR photo of Chicago from top of the Willis Tower. This was taken in Fall 2011.

Of course, Disney World, Orlando. Just loved how the sky was so dramatic like in an animated movie.

Grand Canyon- one of my favorite photography destinations till date!

Oil Painting on Canvas

Recently, I ventured into abstract oil painting. It's fun because:
1. It looks classy.
2. If you don't like what you painted, you can paint all over it again.
3. You can create textures with it.
4. You don't have to finish in the same day, unlike water colors. Take as long as you want.

This is sort of my first contemporary oil painting. I have made 2 more so far, both in the same color palette with cadmium red, crimson and black. They're a part of this series with a tree and fall leaves and leafless trees.

Learning Space in HTML

These days I am working on converting my Open Memo flash file to HTML so that students can view it on their iPads and iPhones.

You can view it online here on LRW's website.