The Campus and Academics

First things first. If you have not been to KGP in a while the new look campus would hit you. There are flawless roads with cycle tracks on each side and separate places marked for parking with proper signage everywhere. A lot of new state of the art buildings have come up where classes are held. Technology guest house has been expanded and someone told me it has 3 start rating. Hostels have been extended. There are new buildings and new floors. A few halls now have 4 floors which also including Azad hall. The mess has become bigger. Rotis are now made by a huge roti making machine in the mess. Gymkhana too has a new building. The area behind gymkhana has been developed into a lovely park. There is so much change in the campus in terms of infrastructure, its almost unbelievable. At the same time greenery of the campus is intact and did not look like it has been compromised with.

And to top it all there is a law school and people are studying stuff like economics. In humanities there are credit subjects like visual communication and in the law school there are courses like international environment laws which anyone can take up as an elective. Now I really loved this development. IIT KGP is now more like an university where individuals are given enough opportunities to realize their true and full potential. The way things are developing we may soon see a school of fine arts and a school of performing arts soon in the campus.

The Student Life

Student life is probably as hectic as it was 15 years earlier if not more. One good thing is classes start at 8:00 AM as opposed to 7:30 AM. But still there is a mad rush to get to classes on time. Life still revolves around projects, credits, profs, classes, labs, presentations, apping, mugga, exams, CAT mock tests. But what is heartening to see is the kids are doing much more than all this. There is an art club called SPECTRA and students do some really amazing works of art. They learn from each other, from external faculty, internal faculty and they even put up an art exhibition every year. There is a film making club called TFPS and they come up with short films every now and then. My interaction was mostly with TFPS as they were involved in IIT-KGP En Plein Air project. And I was amazed by the talent each of them had and how they are channelizing it into creative domains.

I was even lucky to meet few individuals in final year who have done their internship in media houses as they want to pursue their field of interest. One of them was already doing some work for a digital media company designing posters for them. These I believe are great signs of the times we live in.

Vegies/Eggies and Harrys (Now called Tikkas) continue to be the lifeline of students. Harrys breakfast consisting of dal puris, sabzi, coffee and rasagola though has become expensive (Now it comes at approx Rs 40/-), still feels like one of the best breakfast that one could ever have sitting under a banyan tree in the company of friends and birds. Little sisters restaurant is now a favorite Friday night hangout place for students and business for LS is booming on weekends.

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to go to chhedis and hence no updates from there. A new canteen has come up in Neheru museum (Kali Da). Situated on the first floor of museum it is lined with arches overlooking the pristine surroundings dotted with very old banyan trees. There is a certain old world charm about this place and its a place for the romantics for sure. One could write poetry just sitting here. And hence I had to paint this place and I am glad I could paint here.

The Film

I reached KGP on 21st July (Friday). The plan was to shoot as much as possible on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday). The first place that we had planned our shoot was in Jnan Ghosh stadium on Saturday early morning. With butterflies in my stomach I hardly got any sleep on Friday night and could not wait to paint in the morning. But as luck would have it, there was a heavy downpour on Saturday morning. And the weather forecast said it was going to be raining continuously for the next 5-6 days. Talking of good starts, this situation really did not qualify to be one.

But we did shoot that day albeit in a different location. Chemical department cycle stand overlooks Neheru Museum. And since it had protection overhead our first shoot happened there. Hijli detention camp was the first thing I painted and the rain just added so much character to the scene. It was as if nature created the scene especially for me to paint. Starting shoot at the old building was symbolic in a way because this is where IIT Kharagpur was started.

The next day we shot at Azad hall where the ex hall president Sashwat arranged a big umbrella for me so that I could paint under it in the rain. And thus the ball kept rolling. I was in a hurry to cover all places. But universe had other plans. It was creating the right ambiance for me to paint at different location. But I had to be patient. The footage of one of the places we shot at got deleted by accident. But it was a blessing in disguise because I really did not like what I had painted

there in the first place. So we shot again and this time the painting was perfect. The director of the film Lokesh had mentioned one day that in a film director is the God. But in a documentary God is the director. And the whole experience of painting and shooting at IIT KGP turned out to be such that I had to agree with him.

I returned back from KGP on 31st July. The film now is in editors hands. Additional footage is also being captured in parallel. Background score for the film also is yet to be sorted out. At this point everyone wants to know when the film will be completed. Honestly I also cant tell. But I guess it will take at least another 30-50 odd days for sure.

Not everyone gets an opportunity to go back to IIT KGP campus to experience KGP life again. But I did and through me hopefully many of you would get a slice of the cake. I relived some old memories and created new memories. And all that probably has seeped into my works that I created there. Hopefully they will touch a chord somewhere.

And lastly I would like to thank TFPS guys and everyone who made my experience at IIT KGP such a memorable one and also those who have supported the IIT KGP En Plein Air project. Thank you for this amazing gift.

“Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one’s sensations.” -Cezanne

The sparkling morning dew on the grass that’s still refreshingly damp to touch. The whispering wind that caresses, carrying on with it the faint whiff of wildflowers and the sounds of roosting birds. The rains that darken the sky, mist the horizon and tap a melody over rustling leaves. This is what the artist is faced with when painting en plein air – where all his senses of sight, smell, sound and touch are continuously engaged, where he is in direct contact with nature’s life force. And in turn, this lends to his art something that is so invigorating – that it never fails to touch a chord with the viewer. A work done in the comfort of indoors may be technically more accomplished, but nothing can match the vitality of a watercolor painted outdoor in natural light!

The above paragraph was penned down by one of my writer friends called Amit. And I think it really captures the essence of painting en plein air. Sometimes these forces of nature have such a strong effect that a painting just happens spontaneously. But still most times there is a creative process that is at work when artists paint outdoors. This process is necessary not only to make successful paintings, but also to maximize learning and the joy of painting outdoors. This week I am headed to IIT Kharagpur, my Alma Mater to capture few of its beautiful location en plein air. And I thought it will be a good time to discuss about my creative process of painting outdoors.

This is the second post in my series of posts on Creative process. In the first post of this series, I have talked about the creative process in a generic way.

The Creative Process of Painting Outdoors

Identifying subject and the sweet spot

The first thing that happens in any creative process is Inspiration. Morning and afternoon light has the capability to turn mundane scenes to great subjects. Hence I generally prefer to look for inspiration in the morning or in the afternoon and avoid the flat noon light. A good subject does not necessarily mean a very beautiful scene. In fact sometimes a very beautiful scene may not turn out to be a great subject. What I aim to find in a scene is basically big abstract shapes, play of light and may be an interesting perspective. What I avoid is is clutter of too many shapes and colors. When I have found my subject, the next task is to find a good place to station myself for the next 2-3 hours from where I can observe the subject and paint. In fact the spot from where I paint generally becomes more important than the subject itself because if I am not comfortable in a place it is difficult for me to paint. When I find the perfect place for the perfect subject I call it sweet spot. All this exercise of finding a sweet spot involves quiet a bit of walking and exploration. Hence I keep my outdoor equipment very light and minimal and paint on papers that are no bigger than 11 x 15 inch (quarter sheet).

Getting a Feel

To begin with I only take out my portable chair and sketchbook and just start sketching anything that catches my eye. People, trees, buildings, cars, bikes, lamp post… It could just be anything. I just sketch to get a feel of the surrounding. Most of the times I would get my figures which later come into my paintings from these sketches itself. This exercise of getting a feel this way sets off the creative process of painting outdoors and it kind of prepares me mentally.

The Thumbnail and Idea Sketches

detail sketch of the temple and thumbnail

When I have sketched enough I start narrowing down on the scene that I would be painting. I look around through a view finder made with my palms to get an idea of the portion of the scene to paint. Squinting helps to identify the big shapes in the subject at this time. When I have found my subject I do a few thumbnail/composition studies to reduce the subject to 2-3 major tonal shapes. In these sketches I may move things around, add something that may not be there (without taking away from the subject), merge shapes together. This is an exercise to get my composition right without losing the tonal layout. Sometime I even color these sketches lightly to get an idea if my color scheme will work or not.

Execution – Spontaneity v/s Original Idea

When I am done with my preparation I finally setup my easel to paint. At this point I feel I have got it all worked out in my head. I feel very confident of making a great painting. I draw my subject and then start my painting with great enthusiasm. But somewhere in the middle of the painting many a times my world comes crashing down. I find myself completely lost. After all the medium I paint in is watercolor. And it has a mind of its own. It has its own powers to guide the painting. And when that happens its always better to go with the flow. Its better to change my plans and go in the direction watercolor wants me to go. Believe me or not, most of the times it does result in a better painting. The best parts in the paintings actually turns out to be what I did not paint, so to say.

Reflection

A sketh with color notes — A sketch with color notes

Ninety Nine percent of the times I am not happy with my painting on location. When I get back home I put my work in a drawer or a corner so that I cant see it for a few days. When I see it after a few days it does look much better. It is probably because I do not have the actual scene in front of me to compare with. But at the same time I look at it critically and if needed I make some tonal or color corrections. One trick I learnt from a friend is to take picture of the painting, print it and then try the corrections on the print first to check if it works or not. This way I can be sure that the changes to the painting will not kill it at least.

Indoor v/s Outdoor

somedays its just about sketching — some days its just about sketching

There are three major differences between working in the studio and working outdoors. First is the time factor. When you are painting outdoors you have to finish (or almost finish) your painting within a shorter time period. Second is the tools and materials that you can use will always remain limited. And third is that the outdoor environment is very dynamic and can be very uncomfortable. The secret to painting outdoors is to turn these into positives. Painting fast with a purpose often takes away over thinking and brings in spontaneity and freshness. Working with limited material makes the work simple which is the hall mark of a great watercolor work. And the dynamic environment is a great source of learning and also brings in new elements to one’s work.

In the end I would stress upon the fact that this is just a generalized process I follow. But in reality sometimes I don’t sketch at all and directly paint while at other times I keep sketching and never paint. While a process can help you never be afraid to go with your gut feel. Its more fun that way.

Tag: en plein air

Updates on IIT KGP En Plein Air Project