Paintings by Geetika Karki displayed at 'The Drawing Room Musings' first group art show by the students of Usha's Art Class

For purchase options - contact artist Geetika Karki at

mob: 09686400833

email: geetika_karki@yahoo.com

Sunset - acrylic on canvas -  18x24 inch

'Clear Waters' - acrylic on canvas - 18x24 inch

Dragon Cloud 1- acrylic on canvas - 16x20 inch

'Dragon Cloud 2' - acrylic on canvas - 18x24 inch 

'Dragon Cloud 3' - acrylic on canvas - 18x24 inch 

'Sun Burst 1' - acrylic on canvas - 16x24 inch 

'Sun Burst' 2 - acrylic on canvas - 16x24 inch

'No Man's Beach 1 ' - acrylic on canvas - 12x24 inch

'No Man's Beach 2'  - acrylic on canvas - 12x24 inch

'Beach Walk 1' - acrylic on canvas - 12x24 inch

'Beach Walk 2'  - acrylic on canvas - 12x24 inch 

Newspaper media on 'The Drawing Room Musings' group art show

The newspaper media had written extensively about our group art show  'The Drawing Room Musings' - most of which we could not get hold of since we were busy with the show. But here are a few of the reviews by leading Language and English newspapers, which we managed to get hold of.



The Indian Express - In the 'City Express' Bengaluru supplement. dt - Tuesday 17th May 2011

express buzz-  online news

Click HERE to view online, what express buzz had to say about our group art show - The Drawing Room Musings'

Enaadu (Telugu daily) - Karanatak

dt Tuesday 17th May 2011





Prajavani (Kannada Daily)

Tuesday 24th May 2011.







Vijaya Karnataka (Kannada Daily)
Monday 16th May 2011

TV Media on 'The Drawing Room Musings' group art show.

The TV media were very kind, and aired about our show in many popular channels in Bengaluru. All of us were very excited whenever a TV channel visited our show to take video. All TV media coverd our show extensively showing all the paintings that were displayed, and also interviewed some of us. 

Our show was covered by JanaSri TV, Udaya TV, KF Channel, ACT City TV etc. But I was unable to catch all of them on video.  

Here are the clips that Udaya TV and JanaSri TV aired about our 'The Drawing Room Musings' group art show.  

Janasri TV on 'The Drawing Room Musings'. 

Udaya TV on 'The Drawing Room Musings'. 

The fact that Sankara Rao Bhatta, Sukanya Koosappa, Geetika Karki and Rajith Raghu were not only software proffessionals, but they were multi talented, and did not just stick to desk jobs, but had an artistic dimension in them and found time to pursue their passion - - was beautifully presented on Udaya TV.

Photos of 'The Drawing Room Musings' group art show

Here are some pictures of the inauguration of 'The Drawing Room Musings'  group art show held at Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishad from 16th May to 26th May 2011.    

Inauguration of 'The Drawing Room Musings' group art show by Shri Shankar Linge Gowda - Chairman of Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishad, and Shri C N Rudrappa - Chief Administrative Officer of Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishad.  .

Informal chat with Shri Shankar Linge Gowda - Chairman of CKP Gallery, and Shri C N Rudrappa - Chief Administrative Officer of CKP.  

 
 
 

Artists of the show - Sukanya and Rajith to my right, and Sankar and Geetika to my left. In the centre is me (usha shanthararam)  :).    

We were blessed with a continuous stream of visitors to our show during all the 10 days. Many of the visitors would spend more than an hour at the gallery, viewing each and every artwork to their heart's content.

Many of them clicked away with their cell phones or cameras even as we looked on disapprovingly.  :) 
 
 

Summer Camp children at our show

Click click click

Visitors locked in view at Sukanya's 'Floral Essence'  collection.

Visitors looking up and down with amazement at Geetika's 'Seascapes' collection. 

Visitors lost in memories viewing Sankar's 'Village Life' series. 

Visitor deep in thought about Rajith's figurative 'Rural People' collection , wondering - How did he do it?????

These are only a few pictures of our memories of the wonderful times we had at our 'The Drawing Room Musings' group art show by the students and me. 

Invitation to 'THE DRAWING ROOM MUSINGS' - first group art show by Usha's Art Class

You are invited 

Scroll down to view the profiles and artworks of the artists 

Profile of artist Geetika Karki

It is with pleasure I introduce Geetika Karki -  the last contender from 'Usha's Art Class' who will be making her debut as an artist in 'THE DRAWING ROOM MUSINGS' - group art show to be held from 16th May through 25th May 2011 at Chitra Kal Parishath Bangalore. Details of 'The Drawing Room Musings' art show can be seen in the side panel.  

Geetika Karki

                             Email: geetika_karki@yahoo.com

                                                                       Cell: 09686400833 

Cheerful Geetika Karki from Nainital is educated in electronics and a software engineer by profession, but an artist at heart. Happily married to a husband whose hobby is nature photography, Geetika has no dearth of referential material to indulge in her passion of painting the forces of nature. A keen learner of the nuances of art, she is ever ready with a pleasant smile and paints her way through the finer strokes of nature.  

An avid lover of nature, Geetika presents a collection of waterscape paintings in the ‘The Drawing Room Musings’ fine art show, where water, sun and the sky play a major role in lighting up her paintings with the cool blues of the evenings or the hot oranges of the noon’s. A patient and careful painter, she keeps strokes to the minimum, and glazes her paintings with the beautiful colours of nature.

Here is what she has to say about herself.


Hi,
I am Geetika Karki. Born and brought up in Nainital. By education Electronics engineer by profession a Software engineer.


Today I stand here and present myself as an Artist. Having lived in the lap of nature I have seen mostly every shade and creation that nature has. But every other day nature comes back and surprises you with its creativity. Hence since childhood I have been doing drawing and sketching .Every creation would inspire me to further create which led me into exploring various mediums of art (which included pencil, coloured pencils, and water colours).


Painting has been my best friend since childhood. I still remember what all I drew and painted in school (Sunset, Gandhi ji, Manipuri dancer etc). My first still life was a Geranium flower pot as an exam. Beside that I did sketches and painting at home. The ability to make a good art work would always lead and inspire me to make another one and another one.


My quest to master Oils led me to Usha Ma’m who introduced me to Acrylics and since past one year that I have been with associated with her has been imparting her vast knowledge and experience in order make me a master in Acrylics.


For me God is the Ultimate Artist and his creations, the ultimate Masterpiece. What I do paint is what he creates and my whole objective is to be able to re-create his splendid magic on my canvas. Hence all my paintings that I present here have been inspired by the world’s biggest canvas; the sky and water. My paintings consists of the skies and water and hence can be termed as ‘Seascapes’ as I have tried to capture the beauty of the sky in the water.


Activities:


• 2011 - Participation in ‘Chitra Santhe’ at Chitra Kala Parishad

A sneak peek into the ‘Seascape paintings’ of Geetika Karki.

 

                                           Sunset –by artist Geetika Karki
                                           acrylic painting on canvas
                                     
The orange palette of ‘Sunset’ painting glows with the warmth of the sun, and can almost be felt by the viewer of this painting. Using earthy umbers and purples, apart from the warm oranges, she has used the glazing technique to achieve the effect of brilliance of the sun on her canvas. A rare glimpse of silhouetted clouds with a lone ferry on the glowing sea, and faraway hills in the background, contribute to the beauty of this painting.  
 
Good Luck to Geetika Karki

To view the profiles and paintings of the other artists of the ‘The Drawing Room Musings’ art show, just scroll down, or click on http://usettyblog.blogspot.com/

Profile of artist Rajit Raghu

It is with pleasure I introduce Rajith Raghu - software proffessional and the next contender from 'Usha's Art Class' who will be making his debut as an artist in 'THE DRAWING ROOM MUSINGS' - group art show to be held from 16th May through 25th May 2011 at Chitra Kal Parishath Bangalore. Details of 'The Drawing Room Musings' art show can be seen in the side panel.

Super dad Rajith Raghu's agenda for the week includes his duties as a software proffessional, attending classes at the IIMB, strict workout regimens, and family life which includes keeping two very young children enteretained.

He took up the project of painting for the upcoming art show 'The Drawing Room Musings' with a smile on his face and although his contribution may not be big in numbers, his paintings are no mean achievement at all. This only goes to prove that - where there is a will there is a way.

Rajith Raghu presents Indian Figurative paintings of rural people who have impressed his thoughts since his childhood days. He is fascinated by the simple attire they wear and the simple proffessions they persue to earn their daily bread. Contentment is the key word he thinks.

Here is what Rajith Raghu has to say about himself.


Rajith Raghu


Native of Kerala, 39 yrs, Done B.E. Electronics and Communication, Diploma in Business Management, and is pursuing General Management program at IIMB.
Currently working with an IT MNC in Bangalore.


Email: rajithraghu@yahoo.com


Contact No: +919886633619.


Other than painting my interests are playing outdoor/indoor games like Tennis, Badminton etc and Swimming, Traveling, Long drives, Reading, Movies etc..

Early interest in Art:


My interest in drawing and sketching started while I was in 2nd standard. But I couldn’t put it on a paper neatly. So was a poor artist as a kid. But I had the urge and interest inside to sketch and paint. The breakthrough and turning point came when I was in 10th Std. We had to sketch cross section of ear, parts of insects etc. I was surprised myself after sketching cross section of the ear. The only thing I did was, took time and sketched patiently as I wanted to impress my teacher. After seeing my sketch I was surprised myself and got the confidence that I can draw and sketch.


I am very fascinated and amazed by the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci, Raja Ravi Varma, Michelangelo etc., especially for their resemblance to reality. I also enjoy and admire paintings, sketches done by various artists in magazines and other locations. I try to explore their style and method of painting. All types of arts like Sketching, Painting, Caricature, Cartoons etc fascinates me


I did sketching of mostly curriculum based things like lab apparatus during pre degree classes, engineering drawing at NMAM Institute of Engineering College, Karkala.


In between I sketched faces of few celebrities and did some paintings (water colour, poster paints)..


After a long gap (Busy with work and family).. in 2010, I decided to enhance my painting skills. I joined Usha’s art class. I feel Usha is one of the best teachers I met. She is patient and doesn’t force her ideas on the students. I got very good fundamentals in painting after being part of her classes.


Paintings for Exibition:


Here I chose to depict rural people and their work . My childhood (2 to 5 yrs) was spent at my ancestral home at Etakkad, a small village in Kannur district. Those years were the closest experience I had with rural life. People wore simple dress, no electricity but kerosene lanterns at night, water was manually drawn from well, fire was from firewood and dry leaves, utensils were made of clay or aluminum..people did labor work like carpentry, weaving, yarn spinning, stone cutting for building house etc. Still I felt people lived content. Past few years I have been traveling to different places, I pass by many rural areas. I always liked the simplicity of rural life. People spend their entire life there without the luxury of technology, transport etc. I enjoy watching them at work. Most of them earn by using their skills in different areas. They use simple tools, knowledge from their parents and ancestors and are very good at their work. And the people around them support them for their living. I always wanted to paint and bring an instance of life of those people on canvas, while they are on their job and during leisure time.


Here is a sneak peak into Rajith Raghu's collection of Indian figurative paintings. 

Turbanman - painting by artist Rajith Raghu

acrylic painting on canvas 

\size: 20"x30" inch

This Turbanman from rural India is engaged in his favourite pass time of his day.   This painting is strikingly close to realism, and may even be called as 'super realism'.  The glare of the sun on the smoke is so vividly painted by artist Rajit Raghu.  The tight folds of the brightly colored turban stands foremost against the tiled wall in the background, giving an earthly look.  The elderly man gazes to his right with a twist in his body that is beautifully executed in this painting.   
'It happens only in India' - as they say it

Good Luck to Rajith Raghu.

To view more artworks of artist Rajith Raghu and also other artists of the show -- scroll down and also visit - http://usettyblog.blogspot.com/

Profile of artist Sukanya Koosappa

It is with pleasure I introduce Sukanya Koosappa - the next debut artist of my Fine Art Gurukul who will be taking part in the forthcoming art show 'The Drawing Room Collection' to be held from 16th May 2011 through 25th May 2011 at Chitra Kala Parishath - Bangalore.


Details are in the side panel.
 
 

Sukanya Koosappa artist

Soft spoken Sukanya Koosappa is a great lover of nature and Flowers. Her inerest in the nuances of art keeps her leisure time packed with shuttling between drawing and painting classes trying to 'make hay as the sun shines' as they say.

Enjoying the process of creating art itself is second nature to her. Her brush strokes and choice of stunning color combinations seem to breathe life into her paintngs with great ease.

Sukanya has chosen to paint portraits (close-ups) of beautiful flowers for her botanical collection called ' Floral Essence'. Having lived close to nature in her hometowm Mangalore, flowers seem to remind her of the lovely times spent in her home garden as a little girl. Not surprisingly, she has successfully brought the aroma of the flowers into her canvas. 

Here is what she has to say about herself.

Hi!! I am sukanya, born and brought up in Mangalore. I come from a family where everyone poses immense interest in art and music. Hence the artistic instinct has come naturally to me. I have been doing pencil sketch and pastel drawing since my childhood. I have participated in various art competitions during schooling. I have also won 1st prize in an inter school competition. I pursued my Post Graduation (M. Sc) in Information System from Mangalore University and came to Bangalore few years back to take up a career as an IT professional. Along with my job simultaneously I also decided to persist with my passion for art. Since then I have known and practiced various other form of art. I have been doing pencil sketch and charcoal paintings. Two years back I was fortunate to meet Madam Usha Shantaram from whom I learnt Acrylic painting. I generally do landscape and still life paintings.


Next to my family and friends it’s my canvas and colors which make my world complete. As I have been painting for quite long now, my passion for art has flourished to perfection. I find myself more confident in capturing my imagination on canvas and showcase it to world. This is my first art show and I am grateful to Usha madam for giving me this esteemed opportunity.

The Theme of my painting is “Floral Essence”. The cheerfully blooming flowers in my own house garden and in the surroundings have inspired me to take up this theme. I have seen even a withered plant come alive under my mom’s love and care and I have tried my best to capture some of those thriving beautiful flowers on the canvas. It has been totally a wonderful experience for me to explore the beauty of variety of flowers and then capture them on the canvas.


Sukanya Koosappa 

Here is a teaser painting ' The Daisy' by artist Sukanya Koosappa.

'The Daisy'  - painting by artist Sukanya Koosappa

acrylic on canvas

size : 30"x30" inches (square format)

There will be more introduction in future posts of remaining debut artists who will be taking part in ' The Drawing Room Collection' art show scheduled for a May 2011 release. 

Scroll down to look up on the profile of artist Sankara Rao Bhatta.
 Click on  'Usha'a Fine Art Creations'  to read more and view more paintings by artists Sankara and Sukanya. 

Profile of artist Sankar Rao Bhatta

Sankar Rao Bhatta

In view of the fast approaching art show 'The  Drawing Room Collection'  which will feature 4 students of art from Usha's Art Class, I present proudly the first student of art Sankar Rao Bhatta who will make his debut in this show. 

The art show 'The Drawing Room Collection' is scheduled for 16th May 2011 release. 

Sankara Rao Bhatta immensely enjoys stroking on his canvas with a brush during every available free time that he can muster - which is every weekday right after the hectic work as a software proffessional (whew!) on weekdays, and also at weekends at class. 

He already had a fine hand in charcoals when he joined in to learn acrylic paintng and has evolved into a fine art painter through a period of about 3 years. 

Bhatta presents a colleciton of 'Indian Countryscapes' in his debut fine art show to be held in May 2011 at the Chitra Kala Parishath Bangalore. He takes you on a tour of the Indian countryside replete with beautiful landscapes and happy country people - using intense colors and brushstrokes that easily pulls the heartstrings of a nature lover who has experienced the same. Bhatta's fond memories of his childhood have now been etched on canvas for ever. 

Here is what he has to say about himself -  

"Born in small village called Pedana (near Machilipatnam) in Andhra Pradesh, I was initiated to art at an early age in school days. I fell in love with Geometry and engineering drawing in my college days at REC Warangal and it was my favorite subject in studies. I started with pencil and charcoal sketches as hobby when I was doing my Mtech at IIT Bombay, which later turned into a serious part of my life. I had participated in a college level drawing competition and won the second prize. I was always impressed by the works of legends like Raja Ravi Varma and dreamt of doing paintings like them. After coming to Bangalore to work as an IT professional, I made a step forward towards achieving my dream by starting learning acrylic painting from Usha Shantharam madam few years ago. I like doing portraits and landscapes in both realistic and impressionist style.

The theme of my paintings, village life, is very close to my heart. It’s natural to me to paint those aspects of village life, because I was born and brought up in a village. The simplicity of village life always excited me and inspires me to capture the moments on canvas with immense joy. Whether it is women working in fields or people going with their daily chores in a village alley, every scene has a story to tell and tons of emotions to express.
After all these years, trying to improve my artistic skills, I feel confident to showcase my art to the world. This is my first art show and I am doing this under the guidance of my teacher Usha Shantharam."

Sankar Rao Bhatta

'LETS TAKE A WALK' by artist Sankar Rao Bhatta

acrylic on canvas

size : 20"x24" - inches

In this painting Bhatta has used a rich and intense color scheme of Siennas and Greens combination that are native to the Indian countryside. Having created an unusual perspective in this village scenes, he has playfully used the sunlight and shadow effects to create a cheerful atmosphere of a shepherd leading his herd of sheep to their meal in the meadows. Bhatta has also expertly handled the folds of the white dhoti and typical red towel in this painting.

The view of the shepherd is from the back, and yet it is so easy for the viewer to feel the positive cheerfulness and almost hear the whistling and singing of the shepherd even as he leads his herd to the destination.

Good Luck to Sankara Rao Bhatta.

First Art Show by the students of Usha's Art Gurukul scheduled for a May 2011 release in Chitra Kala Parishath

It has been a fascintaing experience to watch the students of my gurukul grow as aritsts in the past 3 years or so.  I have watched them toiling pleaseurably on their canvasas during every minute of their free time during weekends and also after their hectic work at their respective workplaces and B schools during the week!!  By coincidence they are all successful software engineers in reputed companies, who came to me to discover another dimension of their colorful personalities through the medium of fine art. 

Recently I had the feeling that they have acquired enough workmanship abilities to be categorized as full fledged artists.  What better way to prove this point : than by helping them to showcase their artworks in public in a reputed art gallery like the prestigious 'Chitra Kala Parishath' of Bangalore.

So here it is.  It is my pleasure to announce that four students of my art gurukul will be launched into the scintillating world of art by showing their artworks along with me at the 'Chitra Kala Parishad' Bangalore in May 2011.

The scheduled dates are from 16th May 2011 through 25th May 2011.

The students who will be a part of this group show along with me are as follows

Sankar Rao Bhatta
Sukanya
Geethika Karki
Rajit Raghu

So you know the reason for the delay in postings.  It is because we are all working tirelessly with pleasure on our canvases getting prepared for the D day with the blessings of God.

Please look forward to the introduction and display of some of the works of each one of the emerging artists in my future posts.

Here is the first teaser painting - by artist Sankar Rao Bhatta  'HAY STACKING'

HAY STACKING - acrylic painting on canvas

size - 18x24 inches

Sunflowers - still life by Sankar

'Sunflowers'  Still Life painting by Sankar Bhatta has the textures of the sunflower beautifully expressed. 

Plein Air Paintings of Lal Bagh Lake Bangalore India

Sukanya's plein air painting of the Lal Bagh Lake.

Sankar's plein air painting of the Lal Bagh Lake.

Geethika's plein air painting of the Lal Bagh Lake.

'En Plein Air' painting session at the Lal Bagh park at Bangalore.

It is always a refreshing change to paint in the open air to cut the monotony of studio painting.

On the 8th of June 2010, I led my art class to the Lal Bagh of Bangalore for an experience of 'en plein air' painting, 








We spent the first two hours in search of a great scene to paint, (which was in abundance at the park), that also had a shadowy spot close by - to settle down for painting. 

Sankara exploring  the length and breath of Lal Bagh in search for the ideal spot. 

Finally we chose to sit in the shade, by the lakeside - to paint, and decided to capture the beautiful reflections of the palm trees on the lake. The red flowers of the Jacaranda trees on the left provided all the color, and the larger trees on the island at the right side had a halo of birds above it that was irresistable.  

The girls decided to sit together, as they liked the same view of the lake from this bench. 

Sankar settled on a wrought iron garden bench in the shade across the lake and painted from this angle.         

Geethika absorbed in painting. 

Sukanya also absorbed in painting. 

I too took up my paints, and grabbed the opportunity to paint 'en plein air'.  I chose a spot close to my students and settled with my gear to paint.   Here is me painting away during the day on my pochade box.  The painting you see here is in the under-painting stage.  

There was a large audience of onlookers throughout the day, who watched us painting, and liberally threw in many compliments which made our 'plein air' session  a wonderful experience.  

Watch out for the finished paintings of our ' En Plein Air' session in my next blog!!!   

How to paint Stainless- Steel

The question of 'how to paint stainless steel' arose when Sankar was painting a lady wearing metallic jewellery. 

Hence, the subject matter for the next 'still life' project was hit upon!    This new still life project was to be dedicated just to enjoy the experience of painting 'stainless steel' from real life.

So I set up a number of objects that included a water jug, a set of 4 tumblers (glasses), a sweet lime squeezer, and a couple of spoons (all stainless steel); on a table. 

The students carefully chose their views of choice, and sat around the 'still life setting' and started to paint.  In this 'real life experience', photograhic reference was avoided completely.

The students had the choice of selecting their own color combinations.  It was very interesting to note how different each one's perspective is. 

All of them did a wonderful job of capturing the reflections of objects on the stainless steel water jug, and the also the light and shadow effects. 

Geethika's chose to do her painting in shades of yellow and yellow ochre. 

Sankara chose the boldest color scheme, using the complimentary shades of orange and purple for his painting.   

Sukanya chose to use a blue table cloth that is beautifully reflected on the steel jug.  Her perspective was from a far point of view, taking in the whole table and table cloth as well.    

Rajith chose to use pastel shades of pinks for this still life, that made his stainless steel really stand out. 

The whole class completey engrossed in their project  'How to paint stainless steel' - still life

Geethika seated along with the 'stainless steel still life setting', and her own painting.   

We have already decided on what the next project will be.  -   'En Plein Air Painting'.    

 So you can look forward to my next blog that will have pictures of our class trip to the 'Lal Bagh'-  Bangalore.  Here all of us including me did 'plein air paintings' of the beautiful lake, trees and islands of Lal Bagh.