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.

The first light at the turtle beach

Acrylic on canvas 24 by 30 inches

One of the most rewarding wildlife experience in Oman is the turtle watch. During the night giant green turtles move slowly from the warm sea towards the shore searching for a place to lay eggs and leave before the sun rises.The journey of the baby turtles towards the sea is even more memorable.

Recently I had the opportunity to stay overnight at the turtle beach resort to watch the turtles in action. But I had to stay back in the cottage since I was too sick and my family said I missed out on one of the most beautiful experiences one can enjoy. I had to make up for what I had missed and got up early to witness an equally beautiful moment of watching the sun literally rise up  and the beach coming alive with light.

Hope you enjoy what I enjoyed through this effort to bring the moment on my canvas!

Lines of Harmony

Bahla Fort, oil on 16 by 20 inches canvas

Nijwa Fort, oil on canvas 16 by 20 inches

The most striking landmarks of Oman are the country's historic forts.There are over 500 forts and towers that served as the traditional defense against invaders. Both in terms of history and architecture, a visit to these forts is a great experience.
Here is my attempt to put a glimpse of two of the forts Bahla and Nijwa on canvas.The repeated shapes aligned at varied  angles tracing the path of light made it interesting to paint. I gave a texture to the canvas with gesso.The color in real is dull burnt sienna, of unfired mud bricks.I chose to give an abstracted color and feel to it. To be honest, the joy of painting with oils was missing since the oil evaporated  in seconds leaving back dry paint, so imagine the temperature here :-)

Desert Gold

Acrylic on canvas 24x32 inches, sold

Wahiba sands from Oman for you to enjoy once again, I had done a similar one, "the couple at Wahiba" long back using acrylic and sand. This time I used acrylic texture gel instead.
Miles and miles of sand that glisten like gold in the hot sun touches one's soul. A feeling of letting go of all the stuff that is engulfing and a sense of oneness with nature empowers you.

An art loving couple from Virginia visiting Oman for their vacation bought this painting, along with the "the couple at Wahiba". The thought of their memories of Oman being cherished through my paintings makes me feel good :-)

Wadi Shaab

Acrylic on canvas 10 by 12 inches

Wadi in Arabic means a valley that is dry except for the rainy season. Wadi Shaab in Oman is one of the most spectacular sight that nature has to offer. I visited there recently and had a great time exploring it. The beautiful Canyons, the lovely greenish cool water and the palms made a nice composition to paint.
As we go deeper in to this valley, the overwhelming canyons on either side and the still cool water streams in the scorching hot desert makes us realize the abundance of God's realm.

For the love for her son

Acrylic on 26 by 32 inch canvas. I am intrigued by the designs and  hand work on the Omani caps that form an important part of the Omani men's traditional attire. I heard the story of an Omani mother who painstakingly embroiders designs on the caps for all her sons. She some times takes as long as an year to finish a cap with the intricate designs. I saw a mother's love in this gesture more than anything else and also the son's pride for his mother. I thought this would make a lovely subject for me to paint.
A mother's love brings light in to a child's life and a true mother understands even what her child does not say!

The Sands of Wahiba

I thank all of those who reciprocated to my request in my last post, truly appreciated!

It has been more than 2 years that a bag of sand that I bought from Michaels Art store hid in a dark corner of my cupboard untouched, gathering dust literally! My dear blogger friend Ishrath's lovely sand painting motivated me so much,( she is one amazing artist!) I searched for the long forgotten sand bag and decided to give a try for a sand painting. And, what is a better subject than to go for the land of sand, Oman, where I have been living now.

Wahiba Sands make a mesmerizing landscape along the eastern coast line of Oman.The most incredible sand dunes ever, these stretch as far as an eye can see and  present a spectacular sight with the sun playing drama on the warm colors and patterns. The color keep changing from dull gold to bright orange and I have exaggerated the colors and abstracted the shapes to my fascination! A delight for any artist, it was  a challenging and a great creative time with these paintings where I have mixed acrylic paint with sand, anchored on heavily gessoed canvases, size 20 by 16 inches and  two of 8 by 10 inches. Hope you enjoy:-)