The Daydreamer

Kitchen Keepsake

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:39:42 GMT

I was thinking the other day of how to give an existing artwork a twist, to add one more item to my shop. The answer didn't take long to surface. Remember the 'Cookies' painting I made not so long ago? Well, a few tweaks to it and it transformed itself into a nifty Recipe Card.

You can print these out individually or bind together to make your own recipe booklet, or simply give them out as gifts to your friends and alike. The cards are up in the shop. Have a good week ahead! :-)

Storm Of Thoughts

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:22:02 GMT

Long time no update! Actually, it's long time, no art! So without further ado, here's my latest work.

*rubs hands in glee* I'll take the liberty and toot my own horn because this is one piece that I'm really pleased about. What started out as an experiment with colours and shading resulted in this. The title 'Storm Of Thoughts' may seem a little obvious but there's more to it than meets the eye. Someone once remarked that my mind is like a storm churning with thoughts, and though it did seem a bit exaggerated at the time, I know it couldn't be more true.

The painting is up in the shop. Have a nice Sunday. :-)

In Sync

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:15:49 GMT

An excerpt from an interview I read today:

In ten years I'd like to be...

Jacqui: Still creating, but up on a sunny hill with the ocean in front and a mountain in back. A large garden surrounding a just big enough home for me, Scott and any little ones produced along the way. Oh, and fresh cookies out of the oven and art all over the walls.

Scott: I’ll second that.

One memory from each trip I took across India

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:40:53 GMT

What started as a discussion post on my magazine group on Facebook resulted in a lovely exercise that stimulated my memory. May this list grow forever...

Shimla: Riding on a yak for the first time was a thrilling experience. Imagine not having seen a yak before... my first thought was that the animal was a fairy tale creature.

Delhi: The political monuments of this city infused a sense of Indianness in me.

Vrindavan: Six monkeys doing a jig on my car made me nervous.

Mathura: A halt at a local 'tapri' in the dusk hours made me think deeply about the word 'Shyam'. 'He' seemed to permeate every corner of that city.

Agra: No points for guessing what took my breath away... The Taj Mahal, of course. The architecture of the Agra Fort is also amazing.

Bharatpur: Being a bird-lover, the Keoladeo Sanctuary blew me away. Never before had I seen such a plethora of cormorents, flycatchers, cranes and rare, migratory birds.

Udaipur: Witnessing a local wedding just outside my hotel was awesome. The colours and patterns that the womenfolk were wearing were no less than a kaleidoscope.

Alwar: Freezing in the cold inspite of wearing three layers of clothes and standing in front of a mini-bonfire, is something I won't forget.

Baroda: The enthusiasm in localites for the festival of Navratri was great.

Mandu: Imagine my sheer delight on spotting The Milky Way for the first time in my life, away from city pollution and lights. Oh, I could give anything for one more sight of that brilliant night sky!

Omkareshwar: The Narmada river flowing (nah, gushing and roaring) right below my hotel balcony was a thrilling sight.

Mumbai: Oh well... My first camel ride on Juhu beach when I eight or so, getting lost in the Esselworld mirror maze, my first trip to the Taraporevala aquarium, watching an open-air play... the memories are endless.

Pune: The first time I travelled alone in an out-station train! I was 16 or so. Met a wonderful elderly lady on the train... we talked for 3 hours non-stop.

Khandala: Spicy fish curry in the chilling rains!

Kanha-Bandhavgarh: I can never forget my first Tiger Safari! Not to mention the elephant-back safari, which seemed scary at first but totally worth it.

Goa: Lounging in a chair on the beach and watching the sun set! Can there be greater joy in life?!

Bangalore: I remember mom doing a small but sweet puja right in our hotel room as it was Diwali day. The festival didn't feel any less special in Bangalore.

Mysore: The fragrance of sandalwood wafting down almost every other tree! The streets of Mysore are a walker's delight!

Ooty: A walk in the foggy, chilly tea gardens was filmi yet refreshing.

Monday Inspiration

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:07:17 GMT

Q: What do you call a wordy dinosaur?
A: Thesaurus!

Sense of humour prevails.

The Sound Of Music

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:41:16 GMT

Looking at my art collection, I realised I didn't have an artwork which showed a close-up front-view portrait. So pop comes a new idea.

Funny that when I showed mom and dad this painting, they said THE girl was ME, without blinking an eye. How I love good music! :-)

The artwork is listed in the shop. Do keep an eye out for my next painting; it's something I wanted to do since a very long time. As of now, it's shaping up well *rubs hands in glee*. Have a good week, people.

Shop Makeover

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:10:12 GMT

My shop was in dire need of a makeover, which actually means I was tired of looking at the same banner. So, I tinkered away in Photoshop and created a new banner.

Here's the old one:

And here's the new one... ta da!

I can see a visible improvement in my Photoshop skills. Notice how I experimented with colours and fancy brushes in the old one, whereas the new one has a minimalist look and yet showcases my art. :-)

13 years and still going on...

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:08:40 GMT

Today while travelling to work, I found myself contemplating on all the train travel I did my entire life. I was 14 when I first started travelling by train, and now it's been 13 years going up and down the big old Western Railway. Gosh, that is an awfully long time!

All the people I came across... from the grumpy old lady occupying only THAT window seat in THAT particular train, to the loquacious but sweet aunty who'd always offer her seat to others. From the almost mad (and I mean literally) woman who'd dress up in the most atrocious of outfits and talk to herself as loudly as possible, to the collegian who progressed from a heavy backpack and books, to mangalsutra and a pregnant belly.

And while I'm rambling on about the nostalgia, let me add an interesting discovery I made today. I seriously feel there is no need for the louder than loudest announcements made in the train informing passengers of the next arriving station. Here's why:
1. If someone has claimed your seat, you can be rest assured that lady will wake you up from the deepest of slumbers once your station arrives. It's her seat, after all, once you leave it.
2. If you keep your eyes and ears closed (like I usually do), you can still know where you've arrived. For example, you know you've arrived at Malad when the stench of fish makes you screw up your nose, or that you have arrived at Vile Parle when the delicious, oven-fresh aroma of Parle-G biscuits wafts all around you, or that you've arrived at Bandra, when the most-unique smell of the Mithi river permeates every corner of the train.

Is it a wonder then that the great Railways have inspired literature, art and a few posts on this blog? :-)

Love what you do, do what you love

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:39:09 GMT

Nothing is better than receiving a note from someone saying that they admire your work.

I got compliments on my artwork AND my magazine work. Life is good! :-)

Love Grows...

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:31:29 GMT

I'm on a roll! Four artworks in one month! But I actually had to give up reading books to finish these pieces. They've been on my mind since God knows when. At last, here they are!

This artwork is called 'Grow A Heart'. There's endless inspiration in Catherynne Valente's Fairyland. One of the first few chapters talked about kids and 'growing hearts' and I was so impressed by those few lines that the idea stayed with me for a very long time till one day I decided to get it out on paper. Although I feel the eyes could have been done better, the image in my mind is right there in front of you.

This artwork is called 'Tree Hugger'. A tribute to the tree lover in me and someone else I know! :-) The artwork is self-explanatory.

Both artworks are up in the shop. Enjoy! :-)

Art Is Food For The Soul

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:52:03 GMT

Long time, no art! Yup that's been the state of affairs around here lately. But no more, I say!

My day job inspires me, yes, but it also saps the energy out of me. After all, with kids ruling your mind all the time, what do you expect? Then comes the ever-growing pile of books that I ambitiously purchased, and now I've become one of those people who 'buy more than they can read'. So all of that resulted in almost zero time for my second love, art.

Enough with self-pity! Here are two pieces that I worked on in past two months.

This one is called 'Cookies'. Every boy (or even girls for that matter) would be able to relate to this scene from childhood.

This one is called 'Autumn'. I was so impressed by autumn's description in Chapter 11of Fairyland that I just had to get my hands messy with oranges, browns and reds. By the way, can you tell I just can't have enough of books? This piece would be the fourth which has 'books' in it. I have to have self-control. On the other hand, why bother. This is my art after all.

Both pieces are up in the shop. Have a looksie! :-)

Small Talk

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:41:58 GMT

I find myself amazed by people who are good at small talk. They know exactly how to fill the gap created by the most unsettling 'awkward silence'. You know the kind you experience when you meet a colleague in the lift who doesn't work on the same floor as yours or the sort-of-distant colleague you meet in the wash room when you're both waiting outside busy stalls. Today I tried my best to comment on the non-fragrant-could-be-better liquid soap but I felt it came across as 'forced'. Generally, I'd be least concerned about liquid soaps but the awkward silence rings in my ears and I feel terribly obliged to talk nonsense just to kill it.

Someday, I will get better at it. Hmm.

Give In Or Give Up?

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:12:02 GMT

There are those books that you fall in love with, and there are those that don't leave an impression on you. But let's not forget the books that are so miserable, they don't give you the chance to reach that last page.

I'm always in a debate with myself about books that fail to click with me. Every once in a while, when I come across a book that I struggle to finish, I ask myself, is it worth the effort? Should I really torture myself in trying to finish it just to say I survived it? I know for a fact there are millions of books out there that deserve my attention rather than these few buggers.

Not really intended to belittle these books, but here are top three that I stopped reading mid-way:

1. Brida by Paulo Coelho
Oh, I can go on and on about this author. 'The Alchemist' was a supreme torture and I know many of you worship this book, but somehow I fail to understand why he had to circumnavigate the world to make a simple point. I like long-winded stories but here, I found myself wondering if the "journey" Santiago takes is really worth it. Brida, on the other hand was utterly confusing. My personal opinion is that three or more people together wrote this book. Or to be fair to the author, it could be that I'm not meant for the fable-ish sort of books. And yet, I was compelled to buy Coelho's three books, at some point or the other. Why, I ask myself. Sometimes I wonder if it was some mysterious cosmic force that made me buy those, but I've now concluded it's not that. It's just stupidity! When you don't like an author, don't buy his books. Period.

2. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
This book was a major disappointment. I had seen the movie first and impressed by it, decided to read the book. As is the case with almost all books that have been turned into movies, I expected that even this book will score more than its movie. But I was shocked by the enormous usage of vulgar words in the book. There's nothing magical about that!

3. Tokyo Cancelled by Rana Dasgupta
I wonder why the author did not bother using quotation marks for the first few pages of dialogues. I just couldn't go any further. It breaks the rhythm and makes it difficult to figure where a description of a setting ends and where a dialogue begins. I still like the plotline (which is why I bought the book in the first place) and I'm hopeful that someday I'll give it one more try.

I do believe it's essential to read such non-examples of good writing, or even to discover what style suits you best. I'd like to know if you guys have a list of books that you just don't care to finish. Share with me.

Attention, please!

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:21:18 GMT

I have a burning question, people. Have you ever felt that you take your friends for granted? I'm really curious...

It just happens that I'm pretty placid when it comes to displaying love and affection towards my friends. I forget birthdays easily. I don't call up or sms my friends on Friendship's Day because I'm generally a lazy person. I (politely) decline requests for movies, treks, etc if they're not fitting in my schedule or if I'm just not feeling up to it. My dear friends, if you guys are reading this, please read further before you decide to disown me.

I still love you guys. I do. Very much. It's not like I care any less about you, or take you for granted. I'm just lazy and not vocal about it. And it's only natural that I don't command absolute love and devotion from you either. I hardly grill anyone for ditching me for a movie or whatever. I don't bother if people forget to call me on my birthday and it seriously doesn't matter how many people wished me on Friendship's Day. That's fair enough, I guess.

What do you guys think?

Tech Joys

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:47:26 GMT

God is kind!

After expending my energies in trying not to fret (and therefore end up fretting) over the possible loss of my shop data amongst other things, it finally turned out to be a happy ending for me. The home PC is up and working again, with everything back in order and the world is beautiful all over again.

And yes, I have taken backup of the precious data. Learnt my lesson, the not-so-hard way.

Gosh, how we need these small jolts in life to appreciate the things that are important to us. So what if it's a few PSD documents. They're still my artwork and so much love and effort has gone into them. I'm so happy. :-)

Tech Woes

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:25:21 GMT

I'm in a dilemma of sorts! The home PC has crashed! At first, it didn't seem like an Earth-shattering disaster but hours later, thanks to a slow brain, I realised that all my shop-related data is right there in it. That means all my PSD documents, my shop images and of course the final product. Bummer!

But being the optimistic creature that I am, I'm positive the data will be recovered. Some day! But this is where the problem sets in. What if someone actually places an order before I'm able to restore the data? I have nothing to sell to them. Well, going by the trends of last couple of months, I don't see any sales happening in the next one month or so. But what if??? And we all know Murphy's Law.

Now, the dilemma is that I could either take the risk of keeping the shop open and hope no one will buy (what kind of a seller says this!) or I could make the shop inactive for a while so as to save myself major embarrassment.

The fear of losing all that data is enough to make me realise I should get myself an external storage device. Worst case, I'll start from scratch with fresh new artwork. Always a nice thing, eh?

Good thing: I have my laptop as a backup.
Bad thing: I wasn't smart enough to use it as a backup.

In other shop-related news:
Ever since I uploaded my pic in the shop, I'm finding my shop being 'hearted' rather frequently. Once again, optimism takes over and makes me think it's because these people like my art and not because they liked my picture. I don't mind it being a combination of the two. ;-)

Daniel's Daily Monster

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:39:14 GMT

Just came across an interesting Flickr stream of a dad who started drawing a little monster card for his son's lunchbox, every day of the week. Creativity at its foodelicious best!

Revelation

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:09:07 GMT

The more you talk, the more questions you'll invite.
The less you talk, the more doubts you'll invite.

The longest ride home...

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:49:34 GMT

It seems every time I visit Aroma Thai Spa, I have a story to tell. Well, here's what happened yesterday. And like last time, it is completely unrelated to my spa experience but has everything to do with what happened afterwards.

I hailed an autorik outside Inorbit without the slightest clue that the ride will be an eventful one. The driver was a talker, but my God, how much he talked.

Him: (after I'm seated) Are they with you?
Me: (peeking outside and spotting a couple who were also waiting for an auto): Uh, no.
Him: Well, their faces dropped when you got the auto. I kind of felt bad.
Me: Oh, well.
Him: You know sometimes I ask people to share a ride for their own benefit. But some people think it's below their standard to share a ride with a stranger.
Me: Hmm
Him: But mind you, these same people will come asking for a share ride when it starts pouring.
Me: Aah!
Him: But you know, the problem really is with the westside people. People of eastside are middle-class, they don't mind sharing a ride, in fact, they'll pay you more just to reach home in time.
Me: Hmm
Him: After all, it's all about time, right?
Me: Yes
Him: Now look at me, I don't waste time. I drive this auto from 10 in the morning till midnight. I make an average of 600 bucks. Okay fine, subtract 100 bucks for petrol. How much do you get?
Me: Hmm
Him: (looks at me as if I can't make this simple a subtraction)
Me: 500?
Him: Yes, that's right. Now see, if I work on all days and I do because I get bored sitting at home all day, I make roughly 15000, give or take a little. Is that bad? Not at all. I don't even need to pay taxes.
Me: I have to pay taxes.
Him: I know. Some of you don't even get paid on time.
Me: I sometimes don't get paid on time.
Him: And look at me... if I need some urgent cash, all I have to do is take the auto out. Within a few hours I'm rich.
Me: Hmm (feeling happy for him but a li'l bad for myself)

He then gave me a complete lowdown of his professional achievements, and I was genuinely impressed by it all. He did seem like the educated type who after completing his studies, took up various odd jobs but later found his 'true calling' in driving autos. At this point, we reached yet another traffic signal. A boy of thirteen was trying to peddle a toy which was a palm-sized water pump, you the know the type you see in villages. The contraption worked really well to the boy's credit.

Me: (to the boy) No, thanks.
Him: (turning to the boy) Now what will she do with it? Is she married to gift it to her child?

I found myself chuckling a little inspite of his annoying remark.

Him: Now look at my son.
Me: Is he your...
Him: I just met him in Jogeshwari on my way here. He came up to me and asked me to lend him money. He ran out of ink!

I just shut up to let him do the explaining part, which was sure to follow. No hmms this time.

Him: (with obvious pride) He's a tattoo artist!
Me: Aah!
Him: He earns on an average...what 100 bucks. But then, he knows his father is earning so he can rely on me for money.
Me: Hmm
Him: The other day I told him, marry any girl you like but not outside of our caste.
Me: Why?
Him: It's not accepted in my village.
Me: Oh!
Him: I'm a proud Maharashtrian!
Me: Okay
Him: I have worked with the Sena for 13 years. See this...(shows me the portrait-sized Chhatrapati Shivaji sticker which is blocking half his windshield)
Me: Yes, I noticed that. (and we finally reached home)
Him: I have never spoken so much before. I don't like to talk that much.
Me: (Of course)

Bottom line: Jokes apart, I liked him for his enterprising spirit, zest for life, no-nonsense attitude and most of all practicality. I wouldn't wish running into him again but what I do wish is for him to stay happy and contented forever.

Cup Of Life

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:33:02 GMT

This cute little fella has just moved house from a congested, plastic Play Doh container to a spacious ceramic mug.

Don't we look happy now? :-)

I have a dream that someday I would work in an environment where I can surround myself with as much greenery as possible. Soon...

"Excuse"z moi?

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 09:41:38 GMT

You know what you should do when there are a million things on your to-do list and you can't do a single thing because of a million other reasons... well you should go get a hair-cut! That's what I'm going to do! Hmph!

Life Is Sweet!

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:27:58 GMT

There is so much sweetness in this world, I could get diabetes! :-P

Just kidding... I'm feeling truly blessed today and there are so many things that made my day.
:-)

Higher Calling

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:08:43 GMT

After two years of using the Plus account on LJ, I've finally upgraded to a Paid account. No more annoying ads and lot more userpics... I love it!

From Darkness To Light

Sun, 24 May 2009 15:31:21 GMT

I'm a little late on shop updates. Nevertheless, here's my latest artwork.

I find bookshelves lit by dim candlelight absolutely charming. They serve as good remedy for book lovers who are unable to sleep. A great way to spend a sleepless night is to pick an absorbing book, settle down in a cozy corner and read away...

I had always wanted to paint something like this. So I'm quite satisfied with how this piece shaped up. It was exactly how I had imagined it to be. I was in two minds about the cat though. I'm not very good at drawing animals. But I thought it would add an eerie quality to the illustration. So it stayed.

Coming up with an appropriate name for this piece was a mighty task. Then dad came to the rescue and suggested the title 'From Darkness To Light'. Trust him to find deep philosophy in almost everything. :-)

The artwork forms part of a bookplate. Do check it out in my shop.

Have a good week people! :-)

P.S. Next up are two pieces that are dedicated to grandmas and grandpas of the world. Stay tuned!

Trust Your Imagination

Sun, 17 May 2009 16:42:31 GMT

I was asked: What do you prefer— reading a book or watching the movie based on the book?
I answered: I don't want to be shown... I want to see.

I can be profound at times. ;-)