First signs of spring
Narcissus small blooms
I'm feeling more zing
And more timetabling room
After deadlines have passed
And the submission's gone through
On the left is Yippee!
On the right is, well, Phew...
...yes, phew, a few major research hurdles have been and gone, so I'm happy (let's celebrate by painting some rare, exuberantly and unmistakably happy faces!); a few more hurdles yet to come, as always, but more breathing room, for Zoom...
... and making more room for rooms, in buildings and architecture in miniature paintings. I know these have been long-awaited classes and I'm excited to finally start them now! In this Architecture series we'll cover Persian and Mughal architecture, both interior and exterior. Paint ice-cream pastel coloured domed fantasy buildings and spires and cities in the distance. Paint domestic and intimate scenes up close. We'll cover the whole of the built environment as seen in miniature paintings...
…and here's the whole painting. Architecture and cities often feature as distance markers in Mughal painting and as a symbol of civilisation. The city in the 1001 Nights was seen as a safe haven, a refuge of culture from the untamed wilderness outside. Indeed, civilisation does start with cities (civitas)...
…this one looks like it could have been the original inspiration for the Disney version of Aladdin, and we'll cover this in a future class at https://www.vaishaliprazmariteaching.com. We're also, separately, treating architecture, tentatively, in oils on copper...
...by painting the Ivory Tower, or towers. The 'ivory tower' is not a real place but a metaphorical one. It could refer to the cloistered seclusion of deepest academia or a refuge from the real world, and a space to ponder, monastically and without any concern for the real world, intense and philosophical thoughts. Or it could be seen as being in an aloof, high and mighty place with one's head so high in the clouds that one's feet are not on the ground. Part of me wants to live in an ivory tower and not have to deal with practicalities at all, and just immerse myself in my own serene pursuits. Part of me also loves being rooted to the ground, enjoys being in the present moment and getting my hands dirty. (So I just have to stretch both ways, then.) This oscillation and pinging between the two worlds of the active and passive life are deliberated in one of my favourite novels, Hesse's Glass Bead Game. Also, what does it mean to be a good citizen?...
…Speaking of copper, you can now purchase the copper painting surface on its own, without the compositional tool - enabling more quantity; this option is now available via the website: https://www.theperfectbrush.co.uk/shop...
... thinking architecturally led to thinking of blueprints, and I am being a good citizen by making some blueprints freely available. This set of 17 drawings are based on the Golden Ratio, root rectangles and 2:3 rectangles (1:√φ, 1:√2, 1:√3, 1:√5) which are particularly pleasing as page layouts. Although I am by no means the first to do so, I painstakingly worked these particular ones out and used them for my own research into the beginnings of graphic design of the page. These are useful for the A4 page size. They are based on page canons and I am happy to share them here. Use these drawings as blueprints to compose your own images. For more compositional tools, please see our Golden Section Compositional Tool, part of the Copper Golden Ratio set...
...Geometry for me is a beautifully wholesome tool to be used, to make drawings or even to design buildings. Amit Dutta's film The Unknown Craftsman shows a man drawing lines in the ground and delineating where his building will be. I love that - I want to be an amateur architect, or more accurately, an amateur builder (as I actually want to get my hands dirty and mix the mud and clay bricks and make a building myself - one day!)... I'd love to hear your thoughts on geometry, architecture, proportions, perspective, My Name is Red and more at the monthly meeting. The Zoom link is via the Forum https://www.miniaturepaintingforum.com or here's the direct link:
Vaishali Prazmari is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Vaishali Prazmari's Miniature Monthly Meeting 15.3.22, 6-7pm London time Time: Mar 15, 2022 18:00 London Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83705232718?pwd=aGMwR1hwOHh1RHZmdCt2ZVc2dXZrZz09 Meeting ID: 837 0523 2718 Passcode: 486749 Join by Skype for Business https://us02web.zoom.us/skype/83705232718
...and speaking of architectural proportions, I only realised that this is going to be the largest painting I'll ever have done when I had to measure it. Each panel is 1 metre wide, which is fine... but there are 4 panels. I am painting this on the floor for lack of wall space, so didn't fully realise its immensity! It's a book page gone wild, or sprung out into life. It's based on the Kalila wa Dimna, which is a series of animal tales designed to teach young princes how to rule (A Mirror for Princes), and the potential pitfalls of life, which is why some strategic advance thought is important...
… and strategically planning the page was practiced in traditional manuscript painting. They didn't want to suddenly be surprised...
...unlike both my 2 kids and this cute penguin, who were so surprised to see each other they just stopped and stared for ages. 2 faces popped up at the same time in the glass bubble where normally the penguin was used to seeing only one. Now it saw double. "One child at a time", said the sign. My kids can't read yet (I can but I ignored it for sanity reasons). Double trouble, but all in 1 place. 2 small children + 1 penguin = 3 podgy beings in awe of each other's squidgy roundness.
Constructively yours,
Vaishali Prazmari