I have painted Irises after a gap of few years. All my previous iris paintings have flowers of single colour. The ones now are bouquet of Irises of different colours. One bouquet has been painted with a flower pot and another without one. One has a dark background while the other has a light one. Which one do you think looks better?
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The first time I took Oil Painting classes was in a small town in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas in India. There was uncertainty in the province and our annual exams were postponed indefinitely. To make the most of the ample time available at hand, my parents enrolled me in to painting classes. Two of my close friends also joined. We would cycle to the painting teacher’s house together. There was a huge rectangular room where small tables were placed all along the periphery. The teacher was a young lady in her twenties with a year old baby whom she would put to sleep while she took classes.
The first day we had to draw horizontal and vertical lines free-hand on paper with pen or pencil. She explained all about oil paintings – how oil paintings last a long time, and retain their colour, why the supplies ae expensive, and that once the painting is dry we can paint even white over dark Then we had to decide which painting we wanted to paint first – Landscape, Floral, Still Life, or Portrait. Once each student decided on the genre the teacher passed around many painting reference photos and asked the students to pick a particular painting. She gave us a list of supplies that we were supposed to bring the next day. The size of the hardboard was suggested. This included the Hardboard of the suggested size to be bought from the hardware store, turpentine oil, linseed oil, colours, brushes, a palette, and rag for cleaning.
Next day armed with all the stuff we reached our class at 4 PM. The class used to be from 4 PM to 6 PM six days a week at vey nominal fee. Ten to twelve of us would be painting there each day with the instructor giving us directions periodically. She taught us how to make new colours from the 12 colours in the pack. I run out to Titanium White within the first few days. I realised that while painting white colour is used most. So I bought a big tube of titanium white.I painted the following three paintings 38 years ago in mid-teens in three months of coaching whereas both my friends were able to complete only two paintings each.
My first oil painting
My second oil painting
My third oil painting
None of these was a floral painting, the genre which I have been pursuing since 2011. In the past 11 years, I have painted 100s of paintings. I gifted them in initial years, As my skill improved, my paintings started selling. In 2018 I set up this wordpress site to protect the copy right of my paintings. 10 years ago I had done research social media marketing and came to know that if I put my paintings on Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram then that company gets the copyright. So I upload the painting on WordPress and after that share on social media. I have integrated the social media and developed an order in which each post or page is shared.
My paintings adorn the Happy Homes of relatives, friends and generous patrons.
Ever since I saw this painting in the National Gallery, London, I have been wanting to paint it. It is my tribute to the great artist Henri Fantin-Latour whose flower paintings are a treat to watch.
There have been Dutch and Flemish old masters whose floral paintings too, adorn museums around the world. Van Huysum, Heade and Jan Bruguel are some of the famous old masters who created realistic paintings of flowers and were patronised by the high and mighty of their times. The vases with flowers of various seasons combined together on mostly marble table tops are the highlight of their paintings.
My personal liking is for Fantin’s paintings. The compositions, lighting and realism are all eye catching.
A Basket of Roses has pink, red, yellow, white and peach roses, all put together in a basket in an attractive manner. The roses toppled over on the table create a flow in the painting. While painting, I realised how many leaves were there along with the roses.
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For a while I have thinking about painting cherries. Following are some of the compositions with cherries that I have painted. Some of the cherries have toppled over the bowls and create movement in the paintings.
Cherries in a Glass Bowl
For the darkest cherries, I used crimson, vermillion and a bit of ultramarine blue. For the brightest parts vermillion was mixed with cadmium yellow and white. For highlights white and lemon yellow were added to the reds.
Cherries in a Blue Bowl
The blue bowl was painted using cobalt blue and later on the flowers were added.
Cherries in a Bone China Bowl
The white bowl was painted by adding lemon yellow to white for the lighted part and bit of crimson and ultramarine to titanium white for the shaded parts.
Cherries on a Plate
The shaded parts in and around the plate give it its shape. This is how the four paintings put together look.
You can view my other still life paintings here.
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My fascination with colours and shapes have prompted me to explore different subjects. Here is my attempt to paint a teapot and grapes.
Still Life with Teapot and Grapes 1
And a sequel to this painting.
Still Life with Teapot and Grapes 2
This is how the two paintings put together look.
You can view my other still life paintings here.
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The urge to create more depth in the paintings has led me to explore landscape oil paintings. The love for flowers has mainly restricted me to floral landscapes.
Morning Mist
I am enjoying bold brushstrokes in impressionistic manner. Morning mist shows wildflowers against the backdrop o many mountain ranges merging into a horizon beyond. Valley of Flowers is a sequel to this painting.
Valley of Flowers
Valley of flowers too depicts wildflowers in a mountain valley. Many mountain ranges have been painted in different colours in the backdrop with the effect of sun shining. The sky is dramatic with strong rays on the right and dark crimson on the left. T am particularly happy with the way rocks have been painted.
Heaven on Earth
Two were not enough for me. So I painted this another one. Heaven on Earth depicts the beauty of nature. The mountain ranges with different types of trees and landscape have been painted in various colours and texture. The clouds fill the sky as well as cross over the mountain range. The effect is reflected in the lake. The rocky surface is blooming wildflowers.
This is how the three paintings put together look.
You can have a look at all the landscapes.
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Tulips in a Crystal Vase is an original oil painting. A triangular crystal vase has been painted in this composition, although only one face is visible. As the crystal objects have numerous edges, these shine with different intensity as the light falls on them. An attempt has been made to capture this property of the material. The window shows view outside and creates depth in the painting. Tulips merrily swing to the sides. The green foliage provides a contrast to the flowers. The same is the effect of crystal vase on a dark table top.
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Oil Paintings by Navdeep Kular 