29 faces - I did it!

After day 11 of the 29 faces challenge hosted by Martha of Ayala Art, I took a long break because of a suddenly planned vacation with the kids. I was a little disappointed that I would not be able to complete the first art challenge I ever took up. Today, I took stock of the sketches that I had already managed to make and then took up a daunting task - of sketching the rest! And I ended up with some extra faces as well. You might call me crazy but I enjoyed it thoroughly and badly wanted to complete the challenge too! So here go faces 12 to 29 and some more!

This one is my favorite because it actually resembles a dog ;). This is another stepping stone in my quest to learn watercolors :)

I really enjoyed this journey of 29 faces. Most of mine were pencil sketches as that was the easiest and the least time taking technique for me. I loved this whole exercise where some were sketched from references others from my imagination. The study of different face cuts, eyes, noses, lips was very interesting. Its amazing to see how minor changes in these can change the entire expression of the face.

I wanted to try my hand at a good variety for the challenge. Though I would have loved to try more variety, I think I did pretty well - from a dog, cats and a bird to dancers, a Red Indian, a goddess, a Rajasthani lady in a window to female faces in different moods, Buddha, Swami Vivekananda and a genie as well! 

Please visit all the other artists in the challenge and their wonderful work. Btw  I just counted all the faces and they are 31! one for each day in May!

Thanks Martha for hosting the wonderful challenge. This was a great way to learn faces for people like me.

29 faces May - Days 9,10,11

This has been a busy week. I did manage to sketch/paint a face every day, I couldn't find time to post them every day. Not very great ones this time.....but here are faces 9, 10 and 11.

The first one is a pencil sketch of a Bharatnatyam dancer. That's another classical dance form of India. I kind of messed up her eyes.

I read an interesting article on the Ivory-billed woodpecker in an old Nat Geo magazine.It was believed to have become extinct in 1950's but a team of bird watchers in the recent years reported sightings and produced evidence. But it seems, the evidence isn't concrete enough to prove the existence of this beautiful bird.

And the last is one of my favorite cartoon characters - Tintin and his dog Snowy. As a child I loved reading all the books of the series and now my son loves watching the movies.

And these go to Paint Party Friday too! A nice party hosted every Friday by 2 very talented artists, Eva and Kristen.

29 faces - Days 5,6,7 and 8

I'm clearing the backlog of 4 days. 

I tried to sketch a famous personality but it didn't come out as intended. :( The resemblance hasn't come out at all. Well, all I can do is...keep trying.

 This is my first 'own' face i.e I drew it on my own without any reference. Although Budhha doesn't seem like a handsome man in my sketch but at least all parts are in the correct place :)

This is a Rajasthani man with his camel. Can I consider the camel's face as another one in the 29;) Rajasthan is the only desert state in India. To make up the lack of color in the terrain, Rajasthanis wear wonderful colorful costumes. They even dress up their camels with lots

Goddess Durga is said to have killed a fearful demon to save the world from his atrocities. The day the Goddess slayed the demon, is celebrated as Vijayadashami. Week long celebrations are held in India and huge clay statues of the Goddess are put up in public places accompanied by fairs. 

Sorry for the poor quality of the pics. I felt too lazy to scan and took photos in the fading light of the evening.

Kathakali Dancer

This is my entry for 29 faces May (Day 4) and PPF Week 8, Year 2.

I used acrylics on sketching paper. And I'm happy with the outcome :)

Kathakali is a dance-drama form from the southern Indian state, Kerala. It is said to have its origins in the 17th century. The most striking feature of this classical dance form is the elaborate makeup of the characters. They enact parts of the great Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana and other stories from Indian mythology.

I had this dream of painting a Kathakali dancer and finally...thanks to PPF and 29 faces I did it!

29 faces May - Day 3

To catch up with the delay, I sketched both day 2 and day 3 faces today. And both are from the feline family. I think this challenge will help me learn draw faces.

It's a cat today -

29 faces May - Day 2

I'm late by a day :)

This time its a pencil sketch of Cheetah or Leopard. 

I keep the drawing/sketching/ painting for late evening as I hardly get time during the day. But the downside is poor quality photographs.

29 faces - May Challenge

Yipee! Martha of Ayala Art is back with another 29 faces challenge! I was so interested in the February's 29 faces challenge but didn't have the courage to take it up. :( and have been kind of regretting since then. But now I have been given a second chance. I've decided to take it and try my best. I might not be able to make it every day but I will try to and of course will have a lot of fun trying :) Thanks Martha!

So here's my first face, a pencil sketch - Swami Vivekananda deep in meditation. 

Swami Vivekanada is one of greatest spiritual Gurus from India. There's a postcard on our desk with this portrait and one of his quotes "Do not spend your energy in talking but meditate in silence and become a dynamo of spirituality". 

Though I can't say I'm anywhere close to that...I still talk a lot ;)

The resemblance isn't too great but I was happy with the outcome nevertheless! Now am off to enjoy what others have made and hope to be ready with another face tomorrow!