The shoe project.

A brave friend recently gave me a pair of shoes to doodle upon. Below are the results of how that little experiment turned out. Would love to hear your thoughts!:)

Fireflies, Bugs and other happy friends.

"What would be left of our tragedies if an insect were to present us his?"- Emile M Cioran

Temple Coasters

A while ago, I designed these coaster sets as gifts for the guests at my nephew's religious ceremony in India. Each coaster represents a temple that has special significance to his family with details of the story printed behind. Enjoy!

Time for a cat nap.

Do you want to hear a cat joke?? Just Kitten!!:) Pawsitively catastrophic! Apologies.

Kolam-gator.

Below is an alligator inspired by an age-old South Indian tradition called "Kolam" which always reminds me of home! A Kolam (also known as Alpana, Rangoli, Muggulu across India) is generally a pattern guided by dots drawn at the entrance of a house with rice flour powder. These designs are made with bare fingers and the dots connect to form shapes or loops are drawn encircling the dots to complete a motif. The rice powder is said to invite small birds and ants into one's every day life symbolic of harmonious co-existence. Occasionally, cow dung, believed to have antiseptic properties is also used to wax the floor and provide some protection. Kolam's are associated with ritual value and special occasions call for limestone and red brick powder to afford greater contrast and a celebratory flavor.

Enjoy the kolam-gator basking in a summer swamp!:)

Beetroot.

Many sources of natural dyes can be found in our own backyard. Today's post is of a beetroot sketched against a watercolor sheet layered in beet juice. Such a vivid and simply gorgeous natural color makes me want to stay true to my roots !:)

Bear-igami

Before I break into more un-bear-able puns, lemme leave you with today's illustration:) Two origami inspired explorations. Which one do you prefer?

Abashed ape.

Earlier this week, I helped create a "Pin the Monkey's Tail" for the sweetest and happiest baby boy's first birthday bash. Just received this image from the party and looks like the kids had a wild time pinning everything from his eye to his most delicate behind:)

Topsy Turvy

I introduce to you Bat-cat, bat-cow and bat-deer. Have you ever felt as if the world were upside down, and you needed to stand on your head to make sense of it all?:) Topsy Turvy World by William Brighty Rands

IF the butterfly courted the bee, And the owl the porcupine; If churches were built in the sea, And three times one was nine; If the pony rode his master, If the buttercups ate the cows, If the cats had the dire disaster To be worried, sir, by the mouse; If mamma, sir, sold the baby To a gypsy for half a crown; If a gentleman, sir, was a lady,— The world would be Upside-down! If any or all of these wonders Should ever come about, I should not consider them blunders, For I should be Inside-out!

A little flower

"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."- Hans Christian Andersen

Even Spidey has to go.

Last week I had gone to watch the "The Amazing Spiderman" with some friends. After sitting through forty minutes of avoidable trailers, the fire alarm in the theater went off and we were all asked to leave 10 minutes into the start of the movie. Of course, there was no re-entering the place...not even to use the restrooms! Today's illustration is of a city maze cause everyone, even Spiderman, needs to answer nature's call. Please help him get to the restroom in time.

Drowning in Ideas.

After an action packed, fun weekend I now have so many new ideas racing through my head. Looking forward to all the new illustrations the week ahead brings!

Caption contest!

The wittiest one will win a print of an illustration of choice from the blog (11x16"). Think. Write. Win. Receive. Gloat. Enjoy!

Up on my wall

And finally its complete! A flock of 3D flapping birds now decorate our wall. This artwork is the culmination of my previous two posts.

Sneak Preview

"Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings."- Victor Hugo

Work in progress.

Can you guess what's coming?

Woven together.

Excerpt from "Of being woven by Jalaluddin Rumi" "When ink joins with a pen, then the blank paper can say something. Rushes and reeds must be woven to be useful as a mat. If they weren't interlaced; the wind would blow them away. Like that, God paired up creatures, and gave them friendship."

I'm no hoax!

"Do you think God gets stoned? I think so ... look at the platypus!" - Robin Williams When we need to name some animals, the platypus is probably not the first to strike anyone’s mind. Eighteenth century scientists didn’t believe platypuses existed even as they examined one. When a platypus skin arrived in England in 1798, biologists thought some prankster had sewn a duck's bill, a beaver's tail and four webbed feet onto a rabbit's body and that the entire animal was a hoax. Darwin even went on several exhibitions to hunt this creature so that he could study it. In his words, the platypus was "wonderful."

Platypuses are now regarded as the nearest thing biologists have to a missing link between the earliest reptiles and mammals. All this brings to mind an old joke about a zookeeper who wanted to order two of these animals but didn’t know how to express the plural form in his request. So he sent out a note which stated: “Please send me a platypus. And by the way, send me another.”

Did you know?

• The chicken is the closest living relative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex!
• In the Middle Ages, chicken soup was believed to be an aphrodisiac.
• The fear of chickens is known as Alektrophobia.

Recently, I read an interesting fact about chickens which made me want to create this artwork. Apparently, when a farmer buys a new chicken, he cannot just introduce it to the rest of the flock as they will view it as an invader and often peck it to death (hence the term "don't be henpecked") Instead, the farmer places the chicken in with all the rest while they are fast asleep. When they wake up, they do not notice the newcomer but believe it has been there all along as they did not see it arrive. The newcomer itself begins to believe it must have been there all the while!

Wouldn't we all sometimes like to be that newcomer who would need no introduction?:)

Carrot Soup.

“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"-Winnie the Pooh

I recently bought a book titled “They draw and cook” based on the blog and website http://www.theydrawandcook.com/ An awesome book filled with some absolutely delicious illustrations by artists around the globe. Inspired by my latest acquisition, I decided to make simple carrot soup for lunch and illustrate it as well.

Click on the image to enlarge. Bon Appétit!