Dedicated to my Grandfather

I have tried to use a new style of painting and it has come out better this time. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this.

This particular painting is for my deareeeessssstttttt grandfather.

I love him a loooooooot....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Graceful - A Painting

Another painting!!!!!

Well I had been planning for quite some time to do this... and it finally happened. I hope you guys like it. I have tried some new techniques and it was great fun working on this, right through till completion.

Now I need some fresh ideas for the next one. Ideas not just in terms of what to paint but any new technique that would  help me learn more.

Have fun painting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Negative Painting

This particular style of painting surprised me. I have never been to special classes for drawing and painting. I came across this style of painting, called the negative painting recently and was surprised. One can say that it is backwards of what you would do normally. When we hold the brush, we generally start by making the object but not so for negative painting. In this, we start with the background. 

One can develop their own styles for doing negative painting.You can use either acrylic or water paints.

The one I recently tried on is in the picture.

Please do go ahead and try this. It is simple, easy and involves having a lot of fun. 

Also feel free to comment.

Under-estimation

A still from the animation movie "How to train your Dragon"

How to train your dragon…………. of under-estimation!

The animation movie “How to train your Dragon” has a lot to tell than what we see on our screens.  Apart from the fact that a Viking teenager, Hiccup, changes the thinking of the entire community on dragons, that is from ‘killable’ to ‘petable’ I think we have a lot of other issues to take home than just that.

Most of the time, maybe for some of us many times a day, we find our weaknesses overpowering us. The fact that we are different from others, haunts us. We’d rather flow with the crowd than do something new. I know that feeling. Flowing with the crowd would give you a feeling of satisfaction but ask yourself, does it make you feel unique?

Hiccup, the protagonist of this movie didn’t stop believing in himself and went on to experiment and nurture something that he knew in his heart was true. He was considered a weakling in the tribe. We see that he never believed it for once in heart.

Do we do that? On the other hand, at the first sign of criticism we surrender our weapons and run from the battlefield.

 It is more important to win the war than the battles. I think it is perfectly right. Hiccup got defeated in several battles. Be it the battle where he had to convince his father, or the everyday battles where he was mocked by the villagers and was  practically a ‘given up son’ of the father, or the fact that his many attempts to build a prosthetic functioning half-tail for Toothless the dragon would land him in the lake, fields and would even lead him to fatal falls from dangerous heights. But not once did he give up. He learned every time he fell.

I must appreciate those of us who are like the character Hiccup. Never leaving the battlefield and constantly training themselves for the war field, and these are the ones who go on to become great and strong in their life. These are the ones who become role models for others. These are the change makers.

At the same time, we are not too far from being a change maker ourselves. We need to start by following certain simple rules

1.     Do away with under-estimation:

Under-estimation is the strongest quicksand one can have. It never lets you be satisfied and joyful in yourself. Eliminating this major drawback would keep you cheerful and increase your efficiency. Why do we love our animation characters so much? Not because they are cute or beautiful but mostly because in their own little world, they made a lot happen, and what happened was phenomenal.

2.     Over come your fears

Each one of us has certain fears. It is necessary to overcome fears and to be able to do that means being ready to face fear itself. Always know that you are never alone. The people who care for us have our back always. Even if you trip and fall you will be lifted up again.

3.     Understand that you are not alone

It is very essential to know that you are cared for by many. It could be your family, your friends or your relatives. Besides, there are people who share the same fear as you do. Most of the times meeting people who have the same fear is a big relief! Trust me when I say that! It also gives you an assurance that you can get through it. Sometimes you might find yourself in a position way better than others.

4.     Discover the uniqueness in you

It is necessary to discover how exceptionally rare you are. You might be having a talent that most don’t have. Talents don’t usually mean being able to sing and dance well. Certain qualities can also be talents. Nurture these.

 So, appreciate the uniqueness in you, and if you haven’t seen the movie yet, please go ahead and watch for yourself how Hiccup trains 2 dragons (the real one and the dragon of fear) and goes on to be the change maker in his tribe. Well, the change certainly is astonishing!!!! Not to mention how adorable a pet like Toothless can be.

Decisions

Are you sure????

The other day during one of my classes, we had an alumni come over. We all assumed (at least I did) that for the next 50 minutes my eyes would be heavy with boredom and sleep. We all tend to have this never changing image of “irrelevance” when it comes to students, or alumni or even faculties from other departments who come over to take the class.

This class turned out to be different…………. and here is what it left me with after 50 minutes......

On most occasions we try to proclaim that we would want a particular career most probably because we either fancy that career or we are told that it pays well or simply because we are following family tradition. Never have we given a sincere thought to the best career that an individual can have that promises both a heavy wallet and a cheerful mind. Each of us has our own strengths that is, the things we are certain we are good at. please note the word 'certain'. Also, we have our list of passions that is, the things we like to do. Finally, we have a list of what we want to do. The part where this gets interesting is, when we realise that all these three lists point us to three different directions.

It is a common saying that it is dangerous to have both the feet in two boats. Well in this case, the way I see it, that is what is happening to us. In fact, we are all over the place when it comes to deciding a career for ourselves. The best solution that comes to mind is connecting our passions and strengths and coming with a career that can help us achieve this relation. This ensures a long term career with no regrets.

I agree it is difficult but if not a complete 100% why not at least come close to a 70%??

I made a list of my strengths and passions and realised that what I wanted to do wasn’t in synchrony with my strengths and passions. This also means that if I really want to achieve the goal, then, I will have to work more on my strengths, make the work my passion and align it to the goal that I want.

Besides that, it is also necessary to understand that every field holds great potential. But being the master in that particular field is whats more important.

Phewwww!!!!

I’m going to work on relating the three lists I had prepared for myself so that I don’t have to regret my decision on the career I choose and neither do I have to undergo the painful experience of ‘ hop-skip-jump’ into different other companies/institutions . In short the feeling of instability shouldn’t haunt me.

I have made my lists and I realise I have a lot of homework to do. What about you????

Animation : Frozen

A Still taken from the Movie Frozen

Frozen

Unlike most fairy tales which involve a prince’s kiss to break the spell, frozen is a movie that came in with a totally new perception to breaking the spell. The theme of the movie is primarily the love between 2 sisters. The younger one, Anna and the elder one, Elsa, who has been blessed with the power to conform ice. As small kids she would use her power to make ice and play with her sister but an un-intentional accident changed everything not only for her but for the entire kingdom. Years rolled by, and the princesses grew up. Sadly the king and queen met a tragic death on their voyage to a distant land. The crown had to be taken over by the elder princess. But as expected, things didn’t quite turn out the way it should have been. While Elsa goes off far into the northern mountains to stay away from her kingdom and prevent any further damage, Anna goes out in search for her, leaving the kingdom in the hands of a person she just met. A person by the name Hans. This guy was not just any guy, supposedly a prince, but sadly the 13th in line to the throne of the kingdom he came from.

Talk about plans, and this prince definitely had one. He took over the kingdom of Arendelle and was waiting for things to become worse between the sisters. So much for promises of true love made by him to Princess Anna, he didn’t even care when she was struck by the spell again.

An interesting character, the snowman Olaf, made by Elsa becomes a great friend and is of a great help. After all you can expect only so much from a snowman you make, but Olaf has certainly made the viewers imagine way beyond the perimeters of imagination. He has definitely given us a chance to the see the world through the eyes of a snowman.

The act of true love displayed by Anna to save Elsa is something you should see for yourself and for those of us who fantasise the traditional definition of true love, I think, we need to reframe that.