IIT KGP En Plein Air Diary – Chapter I

The story always begins here

22 July 2017, Day 1 of the shoot

Today was the day when shooting for IITKGP En Plein Air project was planned to begin. And it did begin today, but not as planned.

At least that’s what I thought.

(Please read the Prologue to this story first!)
The perfect picture to paint
The perfect picture to paint

The shoot was supposed to begin at Jnan Ghosh Stadium at 6:00 in the morning. With butterflies in my stomach, all I could do last night was to keep turning sides in bed. Trying to check the time every now and then also did not help my cause.  And then, around 5 in the morning, I heard the first drops of rain. Soon, it had turned into a relentless downpour; and all I could do was to stand against the large glass window of Technology guest house and look at the skies in desperation. There were no signs of the rains letting up.

nature too painted nehru museum
Nature too painted a picture of Nehru museum

It was 9 in the morning and the rain was still coming down, albeit much weaker. I checked the weather report for the day. The weather man’s prediction was not good at all. It was supposed to rain the whole day. Then I checked the weather report for the next seven days. And if I were to believe the report, the only time when we can shoot would be only after six days. KGP is supposed to have continuous rains for the next six days. At that point devastated would have been an understatement to describe how I felt.

camera crew in discussion
Camera crew in serious discussion

It took about an hour to gather myself and I started looking for possible solutions. A sudden passing image of chemical department came to my mind, which I had visited yesterday to find a possible aerial viewing point for Nehru museum. The cycle-stand of chemical department was covered and it had an open view of the Nehru museum. And hence I could paint from there even in rain. Suddenly energized with this new possibility, I packed my painting kit and started off. Soon the film crew joined me; and according to them the light was perfect for the shoot. But that was not the only thing that was perfect that day.

action time
Action time

The cycle shed of chemical dept turned out to be one of the best spots from where I could paint Nehru Museum. It was drizzling and the wet roads and moist air created one of the most perfect romantic rainy moods for painting. As clichéd as it may sound, the atmosphere was magical. Hijli detention camp stood there nonchalantly like a graceful danseuse bathed in the rain and glowing in the faint warm sunlight trying to break through the cover of clouds. While it was difficult for anyone to miss her beauty, she made no airs about it. She just stood there today(as she had been doing all these years), watching rickshaw puller dada go about his job as usual while students came and went. She had stood there watching generations come and go. She had seen history being made and repeated. She stood there when IIT was born in her. And she stood watching even today as the IITKGP En Plein Air project took off.

Extension of my hand
Extension of my hand

Back in 1951 the story had begun here. And for IITKGPEPA it had to begin here.

Just as planned by the universe.

Next - Find out about my struggle while painting Azad Hall
En Plein air at Neheru Museum
En Plein air at Neheru Museum

IIT KGP En Plein Air Diary – Prologue

02 May 2017, Day of Trial Shoot

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” – The Alchemist

May be this is really how it works after all! I can’t say for sure, and only time will tell;but till now there have been enough indications to prove it; and I am slowly turning into a believer.

Trial in Progress
Trial shoot in Progress at Nehru Museum

As a plein air painter and a KGPian, I have always wanted to come back and capture the different moods of our campus in real time on canvas. I probably started thinking about it more than seven years ago when I got hooked onto painting outdoors. But frankly, I had never really wanted to do it desperately enough. The ‘wanting really bad’ thing happened in March this year when I came back to meet a friend at campus. I was in the campus after twenty years; and was seeing it through the eyes of a painter this time. That is when inspiration struck. Around the same time I was also exploring the idea of making short sketching based videos for a government organisation (which never moved beyond concept stage).  As a natural progression, by that night I was dreaming of not only painting different locations in the campus, but also of capturing it on film. By the next morning, it had turned into a very strong desire.

The Painting that did not work
The Painting that did not work

Back home I started to look for documentary film makers. I met a few amateurs and professionals but nothing really worked out. Either I would not be convinced about the person or he would not be convinced about my idea. And when there was agreement, the budget was far beyond what I thought I could raise. As an artist my own income is meager and suddenly the idea of making the film seemed too far fetched because of the costs involved. There was a point when I had almost given up on my dream. But as luck would have it I got introduced to the ex Gymkhana VP of IITKGP and that is when I learnt about Technology Filmmaking and Photography Society (TFPS). And suddenly there was a ray of hope.

Vegies
Vegies

Very soon I was talking to Lokesh (TFPS head) and he seemed to like the idea and I liked what I saw of his work as a film maker and we decided to meet at KGP. Yesterday when I came down and met Lokesh, we started bonding in no time and I thought that was a great sign. But even after more than four hours of delightful conversation and ideation, what initially seemed to be a great idea was not looking like an implementable one. Both of us were completely unsure of how to go about making the film. That’s why we decided to do a trial shoot today, and probably that would help Lokesh to get some idea about how the film can be made.

*********

The vegies sketch
The vegies sketch

When I woke up today morning I was pretty nervous. The events of the day would probably decide whether the film can be made or not…

The first place for the shoot was Nehru museum. The combination of my nerves and May heat of KGP made me quite jittery and restless. Needless to say, I was not happy with what I painted there. It was a complete blur. Thankfully none of the camera guys turned up for the shoot; and the trial shoot was moved to the afternoon at Vegies.

It was around 4 in the afternoon when I reached Vegies and took my position opposite to the entrance. The heat had come down, and there was a slight breeze. Vegies was slowly coming back to life as people had started returning from classes. I started sketching to get used to my environment and soon I felt relaxed. Probably it was a bit of everything that put me at ease. Or maybe it was the aura of Vegies.  The camera guys soon turned up and started shooting. My inspired self was starting to break free from my nervous self and colours were starting to flow well on paper. Short conversations were being made with passers- by (which is such an integral part of the process of painting en plein air) and I was enjoying myself. Soon it was dark, but I managed to finish the painting in time.

Vegies En Plein Air Almost Done
Vegies En Plein Air Almost Done

Post the shoot we moved to Vegies and soon others joined in. Everyone seemed to like what I had done and I could sense that Lokesh had also got some direction in his head about the film. With most of the equipment and professional fees removed from the equation, the expenses for the film are also looking reasonable now. I think I should be able to raise the funds needed.

Looking back at how things have progressed so far, I feel very happy and positive right now. The idea that seemed to have hit a dead end just a month ago, has just found wings and is ready to take off…Well, almost. The film crew still need to get clarity about the film, funds still need to be raised and everything else still needs to fall into place. But I have a gut feel and it’s a good one; – that Paulo Coelho is going to be right after all!

Next - Read how IIT KGP En Plein Air project kicked off two months later.
En Plein Air at Vegies
En Plein Air at Vegies

On Education System in India

It is a well known fact that the current education system in India is a derivative of the education system put in place by the British during their rule. The system put in place by the British was mainly to reduce their administrative costs by producing low to mid level government officials. Unfortunately we still follow a similar style of education today. All it aims at doing is to produce job ready professionals. Below are a couple of the main features of the British education system that is prevalent even today.

  1. Our curriculum evaluates people on individual basis. There is no stress on doing things in a team and building confidence and trust in others.
  2. Examination and grading system seeks to evaluate students based on a single template. Evaluating students based on only few subjects in an individualistic way through the template of examinations is never good for the confidence level of a student. Moreover the down to 2 decimal places grades are also used by parents to compare and contrast and put undue pressure on students which further hampers their self esteem. This reminds me of a quote by Einstein, which goes like this. “Every person is a born genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to swim, it will live its life believing itself to be a fool”.

These are just a few issues in our education system which has been there since the British rule. But there is a plethora of other evils which have plagued the education system in India. The reasons for this degradation are manifold. In the following sections this will be discussed. Our education system has degraded to machinery which only aims at producing individualistic conformist working class society, aspiring to make their lives better by earning more and more. It does not encourage independent thinking, inward gaze, creativity and intellectual development and many other things needed to build better individuals and a better society.

The Drawbacks of Current Education System

When India became independent education was seen as a tool of empowerment, which would bring about societal changes and find solution to problems in the country. And during that era education system probably did fulfill its purpose. But if we look at the situation today can we really say that the societal change envisioned at the time of independence has really occurred? Has poverty been eradicated? Has the rich poor gap been closed? In fact it has increased if numbers are to be believed; 26% of India’s wealth is held by a few elites. Few here does not refer to thousands. Not even hundreds. It refers to tens of people.

Even if education system has failed to bring about societal changes, does it really serve the purpose for which it has come to exist? Does it really produce high quality employable youth?

  1. A report from an independent survey claims that at least 47% of the Indian graduates were unemployable.
  2. 90% of the engineering graduates were deemed unemployable.
  3. Roughly 84% of the graduates did not have the cognitive ability to get jobs.
  4. 90% lacked fundamental English proficiency and basic communication skills to get jobs.

So our education does not solve societal problems. Neither does it produce high quality employable professionals. What are the reasons? Before finding functional and structural flaws lets look at the intent behind the dispersion and reception of education to understand this issue.

The stakeholders in the education machinery are students, parents, teachers, schools, society and the state. Lets examine education from each of their contexts.

  1. Student –In primary education level as higher marks and academic achievements are encouraged, getting higher marks or passing exams ends up becoming whole purpose of receiving education. In higher education level the intent is to score good marks to get a better job or clear tests so that one is not stuck behind.
  2. Parents – Most parents send their children to school so that education can secure their future. They look at education as a means of income, social status, security, better marriage prospect and a better material life. Parents send their children to expensive schools by spending a significant part of their earnings, so that their kids can get a better exposure. But again the idea behind getting better exposure is to keep ahead in the race and not necessarily become a better individual.
  3. School Administration –In case of government schools, running a school is about finishing paperwork, keeping things under control during school hours, acting only to keep things mostly functional. In case of private schools, it is about profits, marketing and keeping the numbers (results, achievements etc) right. Private schools in some instances have threatened to disown students with lower scores to keep the average scores of the school looking healthy.
  4. Teacher – Most of the teachers are teachers because they did not find a better job. So naturally teaching is just another job for them. It is not like there are no passionate teachers in India, but their number is very low.
  5. State –The policy makers lay down the law and common man just follows it. There is no two way flow between policy makers and the end users. Hence policy makers are really not accountable in our system. And then you also have the politically motivated syllabus in school to make matters even worse.
  6. Society – Indian society consists largely of the middle class. The middle class in general is a conformist one which like status quo. However it does expects revolutionaries and innovators to be churned out of the system. But not from their own homes.

None of the stakeholders except the state (probably) looks at education as a tool to build better individuals, better society and a better country. It is not thought of as a system to enable individuals realize their potential, build character, develop sensitivity to the world around them, develop a sense of responsibility, passion and ownership. Even state does not really look to improve the system continuously. And that has caused the system to become what it is; a rate race. Here are some of the manifestations of the misplaced purpose of education in Indian society.

  1. Everything and everywhere it is about rote memorization. Attitude to explore and learn is suppressed.
  2. Standardized tests with limited scope evaluate students. Hence the true potential of students is never explored.
  3. As education is seen as a means of financial security, it has become the major social yardstick.
  4. Extreme pressure on students to be in top bracket is also leading to increase in rate of student suicides. Limited seats in top education institutes have added to this pressure.
  5. Increasing dissatisfaction in students and job sector as most people are going through things and doing jobs that they do not like or do not have aptitude for.
  6. Poor standard of teachers and teaching methods.
  7. Extremely unhealthy competition among students.
  8. Development of very individualistic and opportunist environment.
  9. There is no scope for failure in the system as learning is not the real aim, but grades are.
  10. Knowledge gathered is bookish and hence inability to apply it in real life.
  11. Lack of critical thinking.
  12. Lack of broader worldview among students and hence inability to take decisions.
  13. Lack of ownership and apathy towards taking up responsibilities.
  14. Lack of emotional and intellectual development in students
  15. Lack of confidence and independence.

Other Concerns

In addition to the issues that we have in our education system we also need to examine what are other major gaps in it. Below are a few concerns that need to be raised.

  1. In recent times there has been a increase in the rate of farmer suicides. The number of registered farmers in the country is on a rapid decline. Youth is moving away from agriculture in search of ‘greener pastures’. Clearly majority of people do not want to take up agriculture as a profession. Unfortunately it all starts with the schooling system. The subjects that are taught at school never really give an exposure to student on agriculture. Neither does the system inspire anyone to become a farmer.
  2. On the similar lines the system is not designed to inspire people to become naturalists or soldiers or artists or social activists. The list of such professions is endless.
  3. Our education system is completely focused on the outside. The gaze is always outward. There is hardly anything in the curriculum that enables students to turn their gaze inwards.
  4. Only number and language based learning seems to be in curriculum. Experiential learning, Visual learning etc do not get any importance.
  5. Creativity is not nurtured. The grading system and template based evaluation tends to suppress creativity.

Can there be a solution!

Even if the way education is imparted is improved upon; lets say grades are abolished and focus is on learning, will students develop an attitude of understanding rather than mugging? Will parental and societal demands of ensuring a better future not drive them to innovate and find short-cuts.  And if education becomes more understanding oriented and not job oriented will society still be interested in education?

Unless there is a change of attitude towards education, it becomes very difficult to bring in any change. The attitude of all stakeholders is in question here. So we end up with a chicken and egg problem here, for which there may not be any right answers. One thing that is known for sure that change can not be brought about overnight. In this case especially it will be excruciatingly slow. As quantification of the effect of change will be difficult and initial changes will be minimal it will always be under scrutiny by the cynics.

Here are a few suggestions on how the loop can slowly be broken.

  1. School years are the formative years and hence the best time to instill  values and aspirations. So carry out different programs in schools to
    1. Expose students to agriculture, gardening, nature, animals, wildlife
    2. Pick up some reflective activity like sketching, theater, music or dance
    3. Do team and collaborative activities
    4. Carry out make and learn (instead of read and learn) activities (esp for science subjects)
    5. Help students realize their potential and aptitude through an environment of continuous open and intimate conversations (We already have numerous names for it like Adda, Bhat, Khatti etc).
    6. Discussion and Dialogue based learning of abstract subjects
  2. All the above and such activities will need to have an output that is tangible, which should be celebrated as an achievement.
  3. Schools must have a homogeneous mix of students from cities, villages and small towns.

My Solution

My solution to revamp the education system in India is to follow a holistic approach to education, which is aimed at developing creativity and intuition, values, critical thinking and positive attitude, ability to take decisions,  inward gaze and an attitude of continuous learning among students. Education should inspire. There are a very few schools in India that are having a similar approach to education. If they are brought under one umbrella and more such schools are built it will become a movement and will open up the way to achieve the dream. Secondly education should not only be restricted to schools. Home education is equally important if not more. Awareness among parents and guardians and few tools to enable them to guide and inspire their wards in the right direction would close the loop.

Here are a few areas of focus and the activities related to them. All areas are quite open ended and not specific and exact like maths and science. The learning is mostly visual, experiential and intuitive. It encourages creativity and innovation. A lot of group activities also build trust and camaraderie among children. These are also aimed at inspiring students to take up agriculture, nature wildlife conservation, arts as their profession.

  1. Nature Awareness and agricultural activities – We protect only that which we love. And a person who has not grown up in the lap of nature would find it difficult to really love nature.
    1. Setting up water holes and food bowls for birds in schools. As birds come down to have a bite or quench their thirst kids keep getting used to them and develop interest in them.
    2. Adoption of stray dogs and abandoned cats by school
    3. Maintenance of school garden by students
    4. Growing few fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses etc in school campus through natural farming method which also may sometime need maintaining a cow shed in school.
    5. Inclusion of these animals in school rituals and traditions. A school in Michigan provides a sanctuary to a mother duck who returns every year to lay eggs in the school. When the ducklings are old enough they walk through the hallway and led to a nearby water body with the help of students and staff. This now is a yearly ritual of the school.
    6. Every student being assigned to plant and maintain at least one tree through his schooling time.
    7. Students involved in growing food at home with their parents (again as a lifetime project).
    8. Students themselves spreading awareness about community farming, forestation to local communities and helping them setup community farms.
    9. Guided forest tours and camping. Not just a day affair, but spending a good week or so in the forests.
    10. Organic waste management training for parents and students.
  2. Art Education – No everyone can or should become artists. But everyone can and should practice and appreciate art. There are places in India which have this culture of learning, practicing and appreciating all forms of art and that reflects in the life style and outlook towards life of the people in those places. Such a culture must be nurtured from childhood.
    1. Visual art, Music, Dance and theater should be made compulsory subjects in schools and there must be enough time assigned for it.
    2. Art exhibitions, music and dance concerts, theater productions should be taken to schools or kids should be brought to such places on regular basis.
    3. A couple of theater, music, dance productions each and art shows must become compulsory output of every school on a yearly or half yearly basis
    4. Inter school competitions should be done on a regular basis and a lot of prestige should get attached to such competitions.
    5. Students to maintain sketchbooks as a visual journal. Sketchbook sharing sessions to be held in schools and among schools.
    6. Idols need to be created in these fields for students so that they can be inspired. Big names in these fields should be brought to schools and interact with kids.
    7. Group art projects and community art projects and installations.
    8. Storytelling and story writing
    9. Story book illustrations
    10. Schools or classes getting their own annual original story book published with illustrations, all done by students.

For specific and exact sciences here are a few suggestions that come to my mind.

  1. Labs should be setup in all schools. If there is no space for labs, class room can be converted to labs.
  2. Education should happen in labs. People should make first and then learn from it rather than the other way round.
  3. Labs work should carry more weight than theoretical evaluation in learning process.
  4. There should be team project works in lab and students should be evaluated as a team and as individual.
  5. For teaching theory there should be discussions and dialogues and the teacher should act as a guide and moderator.
  6. A form of teaching whereby absorbing knowledge rather than dissipating knowledge should be encouraged. Meaning the students proactively must question each other and the teacher instead of teacher pushing things down their throat.

Childhood'sEnd
Childhood’s End

I made this painting titled ‘Childhood’s End’ way back in 2011 and wrote the above piece more than a year earlier. Children are intuitive, creative and inquisitive by nature in varying degrees. Instead of nurturing that we have been suppressing it for a very long period of time now. But there are a few who have been doing their best to bring about a change. But a change is not possible here unless majority believe in it. Because the change here is a psychological one. Its a change in our value system. Hence a continuous dialogue is necessary. Support to those who are trying to bring changes is necessary. Even the smallest of actions is necessary. Otherwise our society will continue to chase it shadow be stuck in an infinite loop for ever.

Why I Paint What I Paint (And Don’t Paint What I Don’t)

I Don’t Paint to Make a Political Statement

No I don’t paint to address social issues. Neither do I paint to make a political statement. First of all I do not understand politics so well. All I understand is politics divides people. In today’s world of allegations, counter allegations, media choreographed events and heavily opinionated individuals I just don’t know what the truth is. Today someone makes me believe in something strongly, only to find out the very next day that it was all propaganda. With my limited knowledge about the world it also becomes extremely difficult to make a judgement on what is real and what is not. As an artist I seek truth and freedom through my work. Hence I choose to remain at a safe distance from this world of falsehood.

I paint my surroundings. But people can always find political meaning in it.
I paint my surroundings. But people can always find political meaning in it.

Suppose a cosmic event turns me omniscient and under the heavy pressure of moral obligation (which all superheros seem to have) I paint to change the world. But who is going to listen to me? Millions of art works get created around the world everyday. Many of them even by well known artists and artists with superlative skills. If people have to listen to someone in all probabilities they would listen to those artists; not me. And then is anyone really listening? Today everyone only has something to say. Social media has made it much easier for people to just keep saying something. Everyone wants to be heard. In effect there is hardly anyone who listens. In conclusion the paintings I would be making to change the world would end up changing me into a grumpy painter, because no one would just listen to me. By the way are you still listening to me!!

Irrespective of what I have said till now, it can so happen that I can still stand for something I fiercely believe in. And to bring about those changes I have two options. In the first one I take direct action to address the issue. For example to do my bit on environment I get a few friends together and we can have a tree planting drive. Not only we plant the trees, but we take care of it till it can stand on its own. Second option is to paint a masterpiece on climate change and hang it in a sophisticated air conditioned gallery under impressive lighting system and open to a packed house of art lovers and collectors. I am sure the second option would be far less effective to do my bit on environment. In fact all the air conditioning, lights, high end cars of the art lovers would have generated sufficient carbon footprint to offset whatever change my brilliant painting can bring about.

What About Finding My Own Voice!

spot the difference
Can you spot the difference? On top is a preserved fish in a natural history museum while at the bottom is a preserved fish that sold for millions as an art work.

But after all this blabbering they would still ask me the million dollar question. What about finding my own voice? What do they really mean when they say that? Is it being different from rest of the crew? Is it being original? But I really can not do it for the sake of it. Inventing something for the sake of it and hoping that it works is not going to work at all. That is more like style for style sake. It is the pursuit of excellence that is objective and something real. To be able to produce highest quality of work (irrespective of the subject) while working with lot of freedom and heightened sense of inner and outer perception is something that I pursue (Btw freedom is not about moving brush aimlessly on the canvas). And in that journey somewhere I hope I find my voice. And then lose it until I find a new voice. Finding my voice or developing my style is going to be just incidental. And it is also not going to be constant. It will always be work in progress. It will always be evolving. I can not get trapped in it.

In case you are wondering what this is I’ll surprise you by saying that this is a painting titled Blood Red Mirror which also sold for millions

Human beings are meaning making machines. They will find meaning where there is absolutely no hint of it. And when people find their meaning in being at a higher intellectual plane than their counterparts then they can stoop to the lowest level of pretension. A flat red canvas or a stuffed animal meant for natural history museum can sell for millions. As a person my idea of life’s journey is to go beyond judgement and assumptions that create such meanings. Its a journey based on observation and active listening of the without and the within. It is a journey to understand as things are and not as we assume them to be. That is how I believe I can go close to Truth and Freedom.

Why I paint (What I paint)

The joy experienced in painting with freedom stemming from skill is sometimes also felt by others
The joy experienced in painting with freedom stemming from pursuit of excellence is sometimes also felt by others

In case you have made it till here I would disappoint you now by saying that the above outburst may be completely unnecessary to understand why I paint what I paint. I paint landscapes, nature, animals, birds, humans, faces, figures, scenes from everyday life, things in my immediate surrounding because I just like to paint them. That is it. Direct interaction with nature and life around me is what inspires and motivates me to paint. That is the person who I am. For me being authentic is originality and if I persevere long enough with my authenticity it would eventually seep through into my work.

By painting what I paint I do get to see myself in a mirror. My work not only tells me who I am it also tells me who I can be. It tells me about a better self that I can become. May be the act of painting becomes independent of the subject someday. May be by painting something else I still would get to see the proverbial mirror. But probably it would be devoid of the joy I experience. And living without joy is something that is very hard for me to afford.

Enough said as of now. I’ll probably be singing a new song tomorrow as my worldview broadens. Tomorrow probably I’ll be laughing at what I have written now (Not that I am not smiling right now). But as of now I got to ‘Shut Up and Paint’.

shut up and paint meme by Milind Mulick
Shut up and paint meme by watercolor master Mr Milind Mulick

Watercolor Workshop for School Children at Ahmednagar

I have always conducted watercolor workshops for adults only. Well, there have been  young people in my workshops before. But never below the age of 15. I don’t believe in ‘teaching’ art to kids. I think when you teach art to children you take away their imagination and originality. So my workshop for children always has been more exploration and fun oriented. I don’t stick to a particular painting medium when conducting workshop for children. It more dynamic and fluid in terms of mediums. But in February this year, for the very first time I conducted a watercolor workshop for school children in Ahmednagar.

Workshop in progress on day 1
Workshop in progress on day 1

It was a two day watercolor workshop for about 30 school kids with their age varying from 9 to 13 at Col Parab’s school. However there were four more  children who attended the workshop not belonging to this age. Two of them were six years old while the other two ‘children’ were sixty+ ladies. The ladies wanted to learn watercolor and they were really enthusiastic about attending the workshop. I was very happy to learn about the participants. But at the same time it was going to be a challenge to design something for such an audience and additionally it had to be such that it does not curb the natural instinct of the kids.

The Workshop Design

Demonstrating a technique
Demonstrating a techniqu

I had a a day free before the workshop. So I decided to meet the participants informally and learn about them which would help me design the workshop for them. I spent the entire day at school and went around seeing what the children were already doing in their art and craft courses. I happened to see some of their paintings and managed to talk to a few of them personally. What I noticed is that the participants were a hand picked lot who were already very good in drawing and painting and all of them really wanted to learn watercolors. That made my job easier. I decided to re-introduce watercolor medium to them focusing on the simplicity of the medium. My workshop was going to be about

  1. Simple yet most important techniques of watercolor
  2. Guide participants to handle watercolor in a better way
  3. Making participants explore watercolor with good technique and handling

Watercolor Workshop – Day 1

The youngest  participant in the workshop
The youngest participant in the workshop

The first day of the workshop started with the inauguration formalities. But it did not take too long and by 10:30 AM everyone was ready for the workshop. I started by explaining the difference between watercolor and other medium stressing on the transparency of watercolor medium. Next was a brief talk on the tools and materials of watercolor medium. The next couple of hours were spent in exploring different wash and glazing techniques.

I first demonstrated how gravity is used to lay down transparent washes of paint on paper. The children were used to paint with their paper placed flat on the ground. For washes they had to put the paper at around 20-30 degrees to the ground. It actually took me some time to get everyone to paint with an angle as they were habituated to paint with paper placed flat on the ground. But as soon as they started painting with a sloped paper wash technique became very clear and everyone could execute it successfully. Once the participants were comfortable with different washes I demonstrated glazing technique and soon they picked up that too.

The two 'young' ladies in the workshop along with Mrs Parab
The two ‘young’ ladies in the workshop along with Mrs Parab

After lunch I demonstrated how the wash and glazing techniques are applied in a painting. The subject I picked up was the tom of Salaut Khan which is a local tourist spot. So everyone could immediately identify with the subject. The participants then went ahead and painted the same subject. Though they were supposed to apply the techniques they had learnt I did not force it on them. But I was surprised to see the kids actually working with the techniques to paint. By the end of the day everyone had produced a good watercolor painting with very high degree of transparency. And I was a very happy man.

Watercolor Workshop – Day 2

Art works created by children on Day 1
Art works created by children on Day 1

Encouraged with the grasping power of the children, for the second day of the watercolor workshop I decided to go one step up. Along with exploring a few more techniques I decided to push the kids to paint from a live still life setup. The techniques that we explored on the second day were wet in wet, subtraction and dry brush work. Wet in wet technique was a little tough for the participants compared to the other techniques as one has to really have a feel of the paper wetness and paint consistency to get a desired effect. This is not a very easy technique, but I was sure the children would get a hang of it. We spent quiet a bit of time practicing this technique and many of the participants were successful in producing good wet in wet wash. But the real challenge for the day was yet come.

Demonstration of still life on Day 2
Demonstration of still life on Day 2

I set up a simple still life setup for the participants to paint. It was a simple setup, but painting from life is never simple. But I wanted the children to get introduced to the concept of painting from life as this is the best way to improve painting and drawing skills. Many of the participants stumbled in drawing out the still life itself as they were all used to drawing from photographs. But with some encouragement and a little guidance everyone finally finished their drawing. I then demonstrated how to apply all the techniques we had learnt over the two days to paint the still life. When it was time for the kids to paint I could sense they were a little wary of the challenge in front of them. So I told them to paint without fear and have fun without worrying about the outcome. It took a little bit of probing and coaxing, but finally the participants slowly settled into a groove and started going about their paintings with lot more confidence. After all painting is about confidence, self assurance and assertion and I wanted to see that in the works more than anything else.  At the end of the workshop some of the participants were unable to finish their paintings due to lack of time. But in almost all the works I could see confidence and a carefree attitude along with decent application of the techniques. With such outcomes I could not have been happier.


Time for a group pic
Time for a group pic

For me this watercolor workshop was a very unique experience and a very fulfilling one. I hope I have been able to inspire some of the children to take up watercolors. Sometime in future I hope to get an opportunity to go back to Col Parab’s school and see it for myself.