Friday 17 October 2014

Art : Diwali

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Original Artwork

Looking for some quick & easy designs for Diwali greetings ?
Want to add a dash of festivity to simple earthernware diyas?
Do you enjoy the satisfaction of a handmade creation?



I
 t has been a long time since I posted anything on art ... anything other than tatting in fact ;-P
With Diwali just a few days away, I slipped down memory lane & pulled out the very few remnants of past work that have been “captured”. Unfortunately, no photographs of rangoli. No good photographs even of these cards, that look much better & color-rich in reality :-(
Nevertheless, this was part of my life journey too .... Sharing pics/scans of my original artwork.

M
 y favorite Deepavali theme/motif remains the diya ! I am always drawn to this traditional form of lighting with it’s mesmerizing & majestic flame. Probably the reason why I tend to let the flame dominate ?! And the humble earthenware red mud diya is a perfect receptacle – unassuming yet nurturing .
This humble diya is soon vanishing due to the glut of artificial fairy lights. Well, yes, they are undoubtedly cheaper and more practical ;-)
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Painted Diwali Diyas
   

I enjoyed painting diyas … Here I’ve used only poster colors & quickly free-handed the very simple design using broad brush strokes. I added some silver poster paint along the upper rim.

If you look closely, you will notice that these diyas have already been used (the dark soot at the top left rim of upper diya), yet the paint has stayed fresh !

TIP : Always soak diyas in water for a few hours. Remove from water & let them dry completely. Only then use watercolors or any other decoration over them. Soaking & drying is a must before oil is poured in otherwise the diya will soak in humungous amounts of oil !
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Freehand  Watercolor  Diwali  Greeting 

Another freehand watercolor , with a dash of glitter !

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 Mixed-media  Diwali  Greeting
 

This is a multimedia design. After drawing the diya, I cut the cardstock to create a cutwork/lattice effect. Since a scan did not show the lattice, I have inserted a white sheet under it in the adjoining picture. White is where the black card paper is missing.
The outlines have been done in white 3D paint (it might’ve been fabric paint …. I forget) with a brown watercolor wash over the white once it had dried.
I then rummaged through my stash of glossy magazine paper to find graphics where the color scheme matched that of fire. This sheet was then scissor-cut into a collage & glued, to create the flame.

TIP : Ads in glossy magazines make for great collage scraps ! One can find myriad colors, shades, & patterns & no 2 collages will ever be the same !!
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Stenciled Watercolor Diwali Greeting
This last card is the very same design as in the multimedia card, which was used as a Stencil for the diya ! Water colors were used, along with some markers probably, for the flame, resulting in the yellows & oranges not gelling together ;-( …
                                                     
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Wishing Everyone A Very Happy & Prosperous Deepavali 

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6 comments:

  1. Beautiful art work! Have a wonderful celebration.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words :-)
      These are decades old & all my finer, detailed artwork has long since been gifted away!

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  2. I think the stencilled diya is really nice! Look at those bits of flame fit together :)
    I keep forgetting that Diwali is almost here! I am afraid my favourite part of it all is just the sweets, though :P

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    1. Isn't it interesting how the very same pattern can give different effect & appeal, when the medium is altered ?!
      What is a festival without gorging on sweets ;-P
      Shubh (& sweet) Deepavali, Manisha

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  3. I have never heard of this till now and I Googled it, and sounds and looks beautiful this lantern has many meanings to different people and I love art too I have also seen it done with tissue paper and that is beautiful too makes me want to try it love paper :)

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    1. Carollyn, I'm so glad you took the time & effort to Google :-) We learn new things everyday from each other, & the net is perfect for a quick search .
      Diwali is a big celebration in India -- decorations, lighting, fireworks, sweets, new clothes, .....
      Glad you are inspired to try out some of the lanterns in paper! Hope to see some soon ?

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