Counting my Blessings

I realized a couple of weeks that I have sold more than 50 paintings since September of last year. And last night, I actually made a list of everything I have created / sold / donated / gifted. The final tally is Created: 86, Sold: 53, Donated: 3, Gifted: 6. And all of that not counting the ones from before last September. I still dont have a good way of managing inventory - that needs to happen once I can figure out a process to name the pieces. But for now, I feel so humbled by the wonderful support of family & friends & the community! 

Henna Style Peacock (@Bala Thiagarajan, 2012)

The Dali Museum

I was in Tampa, FL recently on vacation and in-between the trips to the beach, we hit the cities to get some good food. We camped for a few days on the waterfront and it was wonderful. The best part of the trip was of course the visit to the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. They had so many of his works, and we were fortunate to see the 4 great masterworks: The Discovery of America (1959), The Ecumenical Council (1960), Galacidalacidesoxiribunucleicacid (1963); and The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1970). These were recently restored and we were able to see the exhibit called Stipped Bare + Bathed: The Preservation of Dali's Masterworks and Dali's Grotesque Carnival too. It was quite the inspiration I needed to come back and work on a few more paintings!

 

  

  

Ideas & Inspirations

As an artist, one of the common questions asked frequently to me is where I get my ideas from and what are my sources of inspiration. Its an easy question, but a rather hard one to answer. For me there is no simple answer. I generally start my paintings with something in mind, but mostly develop as I go - particularly the henna style and mandala paintings. I usually draw an outline with pencil when I start, but that's about the planning. For jewelry I tend to assemble out what I want to make and go from there. Pictured below is an idea showcase to move from being stuck at my local bead store. 

I also tend to spend a lot of time looking at art by other artists and draw inspiration from that. Most often, I will get the urge to paint when I am browsing art. My favorite go to places are: Etsy, Deviant Art, and Pinterest. I also use PicClick to browse ebay art. Google images are helpful too. There is no limit to getting inspired from the comfort of my own couch :) We also spend time visiting museums, art galleries and other art walks / events as much as we can. My bookmarks are plentiful and there is no shortage of art to check out and be inspired. Even art supply stores have displays of work by their staff and they are very helpful in discussing tips & techniques!