Don’t waste time. Make bookmarks instead!

Hi you,

Hope this blog post finds you well bored.
My intention is for post to inspire you, to create something extraordinary sufficiently imaginative.

Usually when I’m bored, or on my day off from work, I like to read. One day, I decided to make a bookmark for the book I was reading. And then it turned into a wonderful habit! So now, I make bookmarks for every book I read, corresponding to the content of the book. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

A crown for Game of Thrones: It all started off with this book. I already knew what would happen in the book because I’d seen the TV show, so I had to do something interesting to motivate myself to pick up the book and read it. So I made this bookmark. It’s a bit childish and too colourful, but it worked and I finished the book.

 

 

A lipstick for The Bell Jar: This idea seemed so ironic that it made me extra excited to make it. I love how it’s so glossy, in contrast to the content of the book. But then again, Esther Greenwood, the protagonist, is working as an intern at a fashion magazine. So this one kind of made sense. (PS: I didn’t find this book as depressing as people made it to be. It’s an interesting read.)

 

 

A football field for sports books: I made this one while reading My Story, by Gazza (Paul Gascoigne). By this time, it had already become a habit – a sort of gift to honour the book. I quite like this one and it suits all my sports books, and football is the only sport I really read about. I read It’s Not About The Bike by Lance Armstrong, and then felt horribly let down after the drug scandal. I don’t trust any other sport other than football, although Arsenal have so far only let me down. Let’s not get there.

 

 

 

Do not read the text in the book.

A shirt with a tie for Trainspotting: I don’t remember why I chose to make a formal clothing bookmark for Trainspotting of all books. I must have probably drawn a syringe or something. But again, I think I fancied the irony of it. Besides, the book probably starts off with an interview that Spud goes to.

 

 

 

Hearts for romantic books (Like du’uh): I usually don’t like hearts but I LOVE these. They’re so easy to make and look really pretty! I tried making these as a gift for Nuvena’s birthday. I made a few for myself. It’s just origami and doesn’t even require glue. It takes two minutes to make it. It’s a pity that I can never get myself to start romance novels.

 

 

 

 

This one is for fun fantasy fiction books, like 13 and a Half Lives of Captain Blue Bear: This book by Walter Moers is one of my favourites because it’s just so ludicrous! I can’t get enough of the book. This bookmark seemed fitting, because it’s equally absurd and the book has so many funny monster-ish characters. I felt it perfect.

 

 

 

Vegeta’s space pod for Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: I think this one is my favourite one so far, maybe simply for the last picture. I’m currently reading this book and also currently obsessed with Dragon Ball Z. And the two of them seem to have so many similarities. In both the series, people are set out to destroy the Earth and have extra terrestrial creatures, from Magrathea, Namek, Planet Vegeta, Earth, etc. It is a fairly simple bookmark, but I loved editing it on Pixlr Express.

 

 

 

Geisha

Sayuri

This flip bookmark for Memoirs of a Geisha. It looks like a geisha on the surface. When flipped opened, she’s a normal girl, with the exact same eyes.

 

 

 

A kite for Kite Runner: What a book! I just couldn’t put it down. I read it even as a PDF during work hours. Sshhh… Obviously, it’s a kite, with a little thread (not made of powdered glass) hanging from it. :)

 

 

 

Let’s PAWS here

My puppy’s paw for animal books: The next one I made required some thought. It was a book about animals. All kinds of animals. It was Beasts in my Belfry by Gerald Durrell. Before this, I even read The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot. I couldn’t figure out what kind of an epic bookmark will do justice to animals. So, after a lot of thought, I went to my doggie, painted her feet read, and got her pug-mark for my bookmark. I asked my friend, Aditya, to come up with a cool line to put on the bookmark. So this is what came out of it.

 

 

The Star of David, sacred to Jews

The Star of David for Exodus: The next bookmark I made was for Exodus. I’ve written my thoughts about the book here.

 

 

 

A mountain for Into Thin Air: I borrowed Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer from Justbooks (with my brand new membership card)! It’s a very interesting book and has a lot to do with the work I do – about trekking. So I decided to draw a mountain. I almost made it very childish, by throwing some glitter into the picture.

 

 

 

A bookmark as a gift for a friend. I really loved making this bookmark because I’m a tea-lover myself. And thanks to this, I got another idea for another friend.

 

 

 

This was a coffee bookmark that smelled like coffee. Well, at least for a week. I painted it with coffee decoction and let it dry and then wrote on it. It was a big hit at office. I had to make one for everyone.

 

 

 

A cartoon-ish rocket for Surely You’re Joking, Mr.Feynman. This was such a pleasurable read! It was funny and sciency at the same time. So I felt this bookmark with formulae I don’t understand scribbled on it apt. That little blue arrow-like thing acts as a clip on. Cool no?

 

 

 

A dagger for Aarushi. This might seem quite morally inappropriate, but I couldn’t think of anything else. It seemed apt for that “khukuri” that kept popping up in the book.

 

 

 

A quick sketch of River Siene in Paris for All The Light You Cannot See. This might be one of my favourite bookmarks. I loved the book, it had a lot of little life lessons. I can still hear snails sighing and crabs scuttling about when I think of this book. And this pretty bookmark did justice to the book.

 

 

 

A sketch of Mars for The Martian. Well, du’uh. And that’s mitochondria or anything of that sort. It’s how Mars looks, ok?

 

 

 

Annoying Orange for Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. This bookmark is no not the book, but having “orange” in the title was the perfect excuse to make an Annoying Orange bookmark.

 

 

 

A leaf from Dehradun for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. When I went on a trek to Kedarkantha, I picked up a leaf and brought it back home. I made a bookmark with it. It says “Protect the forests just as they protect you.”

 

 

 

A playing card for I Am The Messenger. For a guy who finds messages hidden in playing cards, this one couldn’t have been easier.

 

 

 

This pathetic philosopher’s stone for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It was a re-read of one of the most epic series. And I thought I’ll make a grand bookmark with a 3D effect. Finally the bookmark sucked.

 

 

 

A Swastika for Alone in Berlin. I hope my blog doesn’t get reported for this bookmark.

 

 

 

A pretty cool flag of China for Wild Swans. This book by Jung Chang is one epic read! This bookmark was also pretty nice because I made it with cloth. If you look closely, the stick has Cantonese inscription on it.

 

 

 

A seahorse for Love in the Time of Cholera. Well, this book has nothing to do with sea horses, but my colleague Seersha drew this beautiful seahorse and I had to make a bookmark out of it! Also, I tried to draw a relationship with how sea horses are asexual animals and how Florentina Ariza has to go on living like an asexual creature for 51 years despite his mad love for Fermina Daza. His love remains unrequited, so I guess a sea horse is a good bookmark. :P

 

 

 

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Towards the end of 2015, I made around 40-50 bookmarks for charity. They were sold at a corporate company for some small amount and the amount was given for charity. I drew warli art on all these bookmarks. Soon, I began improvising and drew footballing warli people. It was so much fun and also fulfilling!

 

 

That’s all I’ve made so far. The best part is, I’ve recycled random cardboards for all the bookmarks. See? They’re random boxes in which I get clothes, chocolates, etc. I save them for future use. Try not to buy new materials for these purposes. : )

Also, my friend had once done something very brainy. To invite us to a dance, Supriya had made invites, except they could be used as bookmarks. It’s a very thoughtful thing to do if you don’t want to waste paper.

It makes for a lovely bookmark for an Indian novel

Also, I’ve been gifted these bookmarks by Supriya and Anand, and I think they’re the cutest ever!

So I hope I’ve inspired you to do something creative in your free time.

Because every good book deserves a good book mark. : )

If you’re all fascinated by my creativity and want to see some more, check this out.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

A watercolour painting I made of the Deadwing album by Porcupine Tree

A bird on a tree. I feel this picture is so Twitter-esque.

Sunset at Paradise Beach in Mangalore. It’s all about timing.

Sunrise at Besant Nagar beach, Chennai

Love sunsets in Kerala

Looks like I love sunsets and sunrises too much. But mostly, I love silhouettes. 

Thanks for dropping by! 

My not-so-sophisticated-or-intellectual art gallery

Of late, I have been very productive; or so I’d like to think. I’m either working and interviewing people, or I’m reading a book, playing keyboard, trying to cook (that isn’t so productive) and sketching/painting. I guess it’s because all my friends are out of town, I’m making the best of my alone time. Anyway, I used to go for art class when I was 11. (I’m 22 now). I was clumsy. I always got my thin lines messed up, painted the sky a bit too dark or a bit too light, spilled drops of watery paint while getting the brush across the page after having dipped it in a bowl, or spill the entire bowl of water onto my sketch… I figured it wasn’t my thing. Then I had a ligament tear in my right index finger and that turned out to be a cheap excuse to never go to drawing class again. I wouldn’t say I regret it, because I don’t regret too many things.

But my drawing teacher, Supriya’s mother, she is my favourite artist. I have seen so many artists do their thing, but everytime I see Supriya’s mother paint, I’m inspired. She is always bent over her desk making incredible paintings – Tanjore paintings, blade paintings, I don’t know the names of the others. Pardon my ignorance. But she can do wonders with simple colour pencils. You have to see it to believe it. She stays up all night to just get that perfect lip or eye. There is absolutely no painting she can’t rectify! Give her a five-year-old’s house painting and she’ll turn it into a classy frame-able one! She’s the most meticulous person I know, when it comes to art. And my little bit of talent comes from her teaching.

Unfortunately, I’m not sharing her artwork here. I’m sharing some paintings I made in drawing class. Also, after eleven years, I picked up a pencil with the intention of drawing again, stuck to cartoon characters for convenience. I’m saving the best (my favourite) for the last. The paintings are below, in an approximate chronological order.

Little red (squint) riding hood

My first or second pencil sketch

A fairly simple painting. But see how the lines are all messed up?

I really used to like this one

Gosh! I remember how I hated painting this. Aunty had told me that cartoon characters shouldn’t have visible strokes and that the paint should be solid. It was so bloody difficult!

I like this one. Aunty helped me make the thick snow. The end product turned out well I think.

I made this for my dad’s birthday, with an UGLY signature at the bottom. Don’t miss that smiley. Come to think of it, it looks a bit like Austria, like Salzburg, with the alps and the river.

A random sketch of birds. I’m not too fond of birds. Meh…

I remember that I really didn’t enjoy painting this. This was my last painting before I left drawing class.

My friend Dhanya (who is Tamil and Telugu actor now btw, ok fine I won’t show off) and I made this painting and grandly named it The Second Edition. The First Edition was a painting of the Titanic and like ship, it is long lost in an ocean of things that disappear and are never found.

In between, Supriya and I used to paint this Jumbo colouring book I’d bought from Disney. Although it doesn’t count as entirely our art, since the outlines were already there, we’d take hours together, spread out newspapers all over the room and paint these, Aladdin and Jasmine being our favourite.

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This was the age when my love for reptiles began to grow. I drew this. Rather kiddish, but I just wanted to do something simple on a dull someday afternoon

After doing the previous one, I thought I ought to try something more complicated. This was the outcome of it. However, I must say that I didn’t draw this from my imagination. I copied it from some tattoo website.

Five years after the lizard, I found time, patience and interest to draw something. Here’s what I did about a month ago. With colour pencils. Bulma, from Dragon Ball Z.

Of course, I followed up Bulma with Vegeta. But I think I made him a bit too lumpy. Nevertheless, I like the wicked smile.

The cartoon madness continued, when I drew Candace, from Phineas and Ferb on a friend’s birthday card.

I drew this on the inside page of the same birthday card. Vanessa, from Phineas and Ferb. Just to show my friend how she was all grown up now!

Now for something I made today. I finally decided to actually paint a scenery of sorts. After beginning to draw again, from a couple months ago, I’d stuck to water colour pencils. Today, I bought paints, a palatte, borrowed paint brushes from Prerana and made this. I was confused about what to paint and while listening to Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, happened to notice this album art on glancing at my phone. So I decided I’d draw this. It was a bit messy. Almost tore the page because I used to much water. But I’m not too let down.

One of my favourites, I think

And then I made these.

A sketch of Alter Bridge (And my friend Rahul performing with them). This was just a scribbly sketch. Just lines and lines in all directions

This was followed by this typical landscape scenery painting. I love the tree on the right. I clicked the picture after it was framed, so it’s not too clear.

A landscape painting I made for Nuvena

I still can’t paint stuff from my imagination. I need a picture to copy from. So until I get better, I intend to keep it going. Anyway, I have a  box of paints to finish now. : )

You can come back here for more. I’ll keep uploading them.
Or in the category box, click on My Artwork and you’ll be directed here in future.

Cheers!

Berlin’s street art – Where the walls speak

This post will explore the artistic side of Berlin. Not architecture art. Creative and intuitive street art. I have never seen art like this before. Even the most amateur stuff here exudes expertise.

We went on an Alternative Walking Tour, this time with Jason, a guy from San Francisco. Even our previous tour guide, George, was from Missouri, U.S.A. I don’t know what’s with all Americans turning into European tour guides. But I totally recommend these free walking tours hosted by Sandeman.

So our first stop was at R.A.W. I still have no clue what the full form is and I think it’s quite irrelevant. By the looks of it, the place is a bizarre mixture of clubs, restaurants, a taekwando school, a music school, a recording studio and cafes.

The walls are full of abstract art and portraits. It takes a long time to perceive some of them. And funnily, a few I could understand only when I looked at them through my camera lens. This is one of those.

Not just at R.A.W, that day, we saw all over the city of Berlin, near Warschauer Straße and Stralauer Platz at Young African Artist Market (YAAM) and the Eastside Gallery, a crazy amount of graffiti.

While R.A.W. and Y.A.A.M. are culture spreading centres, the Eastside Gallery, which is the longest remaining bit of the Berlin Wall, is a glorious piece of art by itself. You need a couple of hours to walk along the mile long wall to study each piece of art that has been painted by several artists from all over the world. My sister, her husband and I walked by each painting, discussing our interpretations of it. It’s a very fun thing to do; more so when you’ve had some yummy lemon beer before it.

Here, you may try and interpret a few.

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There was this other form of street art that fascinated me. There were gigantic paintings on the walls of buildings. When I say gigantic, I mean visible-from-the-moon gigantic. Ok I’ll show you a few pictures so you can get an idea.

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All these are completely legal and have been painted by Belgian and Portuguese artists. During this tour I learnt of so many techniques of street art like dabbing, sketching, pissing (yes, pissing), etc. Dabbing is when you take a huge cloth and dab it onto the wall. Of course when you dab and pull off, it drips, creating a shady effect. Pissing is when the painter stands on the ground and shoots paint onto the wall with a hose (I guess).

I can’t imagine how much dedication this needs. Just imagine, hanging off the wall by a rope in the bitter cold, with a bucket of paint and painting something on a wall. I wouldn’t even consider it even if I was paid a heavy sum. Not to mention I’d have no perception of the size and dimensions of my artwork while so close to the wall.

Jason said that every night, you can hear paint spray bottles going click click click pssssss and then sudden police sirens, followed by silence. I mean, it’s so bizarre, there is this guy that paints the number six all over the city. He’s called the “Six guy.” Nobody knows who he is but he paints his number everywhere.

I think street art reflects how deep Berliners’ emotions go into the history of their city and also the immense passion they have to articulate it in such an imaginative manner.

Here are a few more pictures that I clicked all over this colourful city. Each picture has a story behind it. Every artist has so much to say with such simple works of art. It’s a lovely idea to cover a city’s walls with its culture. I think even Bangalore can improve its roadside art by taking inspiration from this.

That was the street art tour. We wrapped up by leaving our mark on the Eastside wall. Here is the message I left for everyone to read.