May 18, 2014

Wadi time

Wadi Bani Khalid, oil on 9 by 12 inches canvas board

Wadi Shab, oil on 9 by 12 inches canvas board
Recently I visited to the Wadi Shab and Wadi Bani Khalid near Muscat to show my niece (visited from Beijing) around the lovely places of Oman. A wadi is a dried up riverbed found in the mountain valleys. Wadis come alive after heavy rains, when the rivers flow again, some wadis have water all through the year, with deep, cool pools.The color of the water is an amalgam of different hues, mostly green.The shimmering water is studded with beautifully scattered boulders.
I have experimented with thick paint, that suits this subject well, inspired by watching Brad Teare's videos, his thick paint approach to painting is beautiful and there is always something new to learn from him.
I had a good time playing with the thick paint and the palette knife, the result some what looks abstracted from what I enjoyed in real.

23 comments:

  1. The thick paint looks superb. Your experiment is successful.You are a genius.

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  2. Wow, Padmaja!! These are both just stunning pieces. I love the gorgeous gemstone colored waters and always appreciate hearing about your home land. Has your sister arrived yet?

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  3. The technique that you employed brings out the simultaneous warmth, colors, and textures of the rocks in your paintings - they are beautiful! And...made me miss Omani wadis:)

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  4. Using thick paint was a good idea..I wish I can see this painting in person...the texture in the rocks look wonderful. Oman looks like a lovely place to visit...especially when the Wadi's are filled with water. Wonderful painting, Padmaja!!!

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  5. Very well done!
    My eyes opened wider as soon as I saw the first painting. I love the balance of colors and shapes you've created.

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  6. I love how you kind of 'built' this painting with thick multicolored layers,and the palette knife just gives that extra ... it's awesome !

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  7. I am in love with the first one, feels so vibrant and live.I'd look great in big size on the wall.

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  8. wowo.. they are beutiful and i am coming over i want ot see them too :)

    Bikram

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  9. I love the play of warm and cool colours and the texture is beautiful and rich!! These definitely come as a pair, they complement each other beautifully!

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  10. The heavy paint and palette markings help me imagine the rock and shadows, and I love the impressionistic qualities (plus terra cotta colors are my favorite).

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  11. Different for you and I admire you trying new techniques. It seems everything you paint is not only really good, but has an interesting story to it.
    Thanks for the link to the video.

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  12. The colors and texture are gorgeous. Love the rich layers!!

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  13. Once again Padmaja, these remind me of tapestries. I love the way you use the thick paint to model the riverbed and the rocks and landscape around it. And thanks for telling us what a wadi is.

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  14. These are so very rich with color and texture! I wish I could see them in person to admire the textures from thick paint and palate knife! Beautiful paintings, Padmaja

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  15. These are both beautiful paintings, Padmaja. I love looking at oils and acrylic with texture to them. I always want to walk up to them and gently touch the surface. That is what they bring through for me, a bit of the desire to explore the subject with touch rather than just the eye. In the second one? It is the rocks in the wadi I want to touch, they shimmer so!

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  16. The thick paint does show the difference in the final result.

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  17. The abstractness is what I love about these pieces. They evoke the mood and the grandeur, kind of revealing the 'whole' of the experience as one. Your work always makes carries a strong impact, Padmaja!

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  18. Absolute beauties padmaja. You are so good in capturing the essence of a scene.

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  19. I really appreciate the difficulty of these, especially the first painting...to get all those little areas to mesh together to make a scene show your artful skill! Nice work!

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  20. Every time you come up with some textures that take your work to a different level. Simple subjects come alive. These are fabulous!!

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  21. I love the mixed strokes of color!

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  22. Lovely textures! There is 'openness' of Wadi Bani Khalid and a certain 'secretiveness' in Wadi Shab; interesting!

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