Let the Spinning Wheel Fly

Website

2011-09-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Heading out to samitachatterjee.com, this page should redirect, but in case it gets buggy, ^ point and click!

Colti

2011-04-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

There was this figment of story I had written some time last year that I never eventually added to. Might or might not eventually do. Anyway, noticed I did not crosspost to this blog, not that that is terribly important, but what the hey, in case NSFH dies an untimely death- it does look very starved at the moment. So crossposting from here. Click+enbiggen+read+drop a coin in the donation box to the left.

Samita Learns to Draw and Other News

2011-04-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

So I am drawing some comics and some other illustrationy, designy things that will hopefully see light of day eventually at some point in future if I manage to finish it without dying or turning homicidal or turning into a turnip or i should stop gulping so much cough syrup now. While I am busy doing all that, I also managed to get into the habit of sketching more, finally. Rather to be specific, studying things more. Mostly studies of other studies and photographs and we must not forget posemaniacs! Old Indian Photos has a brilliant brilliant stock of photos from waaay back. But happily, I have also managed to go out, like the outside world, and sketch there as well. Or at least started to, and hoping to continue. because i really need to learn to fucking draw. among other things. like fire eating. or knitting.

This one was at Dhakuria Lake last sunday for the sketch meet. It's obviously a different kind of exercise to draw/sketch/paint from life as opposed to a photograph which never changes so you can take your time with studying it and drawing from it. And incidentally, it's been a month or two of growing love for drawing, bordering on addiction. Not that I am complaining. lemonades.

In other news! I am going to be at Escape! Happily they thought it was a good idea to have me make mess on their walls, so WHERHEY! May should be fun. whole entire twenty days to escape. wh000p!

Now I go back to hating impossible deadlines in between coughing like a 90 yr old and dying.

(also, I fucking HATE my scanner)

A Solar Flare

2011-03-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

for http://www.davidlynch.de/Arealind.html with love.

A Year On

2011-03-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

We went back to the Basement after a year! More photos here

Geeeee it's been a year already!

2011-02-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

click to embiggen

2010-12-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

I am strange. I am just going to keep updating two blogs so long as it bleddy works for me dammit.

But come see mushroomtea, it's pretteh there.

MushroomTea

2010-12-20T05:48:00.000-08:00

Crossposted from the tumblelog.

Not sure if I want to close this just yet, I might still use it in some way. MushroomTea might be a space for stuff of a specific kind mayhapses.

More Walls! More Walls!

2010-11-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

So we did more murals, after a long time. The last time I painted walls was quite a few months back, have been swamped with other work. But The Ferals is back

More photos here

The Madness!

2010-10-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

Soo, I just finished and sent in the final art for the Madness Mandali book- Kavikala! Here's a quick, tiny, part of the art thats spread over twowholeentirepages and was a lot of fun for mysleepdeprivedself. Really looking forward to the book coming out later in the month, and YOU SHOULD TOO! Buying Kavikala will bring goodluck in your love lives and money lives FOREVER. IT IS TRUE. incaps.

ok so it isnt. but you should still get it, when it comes out. because it's going to be ossum.

And guess what else I am looking forward to?

The Sketchbook Project! Aaand a happytrip after ages (three months in calcutta is known to be fatal, whatwouldyouknow.)

Edit: Paras will have you know that Kavikala indeed brings goodluck, and not only that, you run the risk of losing your libido (FOROEVER, in caps) if you dont buy it. So getit? getit.

love,

us.

A Postal Service Across TimeSpace

2010-10-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I have done this. Have lots of updates for the blog, will eventually get round to it. Till then here's a charcoal+graphite sketch I photoshopped onto a, a... thing. A very imperfect portrait of someone I am very very fond of. Stuff you do on Sunday afternoons. Overlayed a part of the sheet music for the 7th. But since I cant read music, it's shallow prettiness only. And so on.

One of those unfairness stuff about the universe, people can leave behind messages for you from the past, they can write poetry and music and paint pictures, and write books, but you cant send them anything back.

2010-10-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

I'd say RIP, if I didnt think that's a batty thing to say after someone's dead already.

moth-eaten halos

2010-08-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Sadly, age and suffering dont guarantee wisdom.

Layers of layers of layers

2010-08-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

Started a digital painting today. Inspired by some really awesome stuff I have been bumping into lately on teh internets, so thought of working one of my own. Even though that means sacrificing my right hand to my stupid tablet, but I'm drawing this digitally, unlike most others where I ink by hand then color in PS. And like everything else I do, this already looks too ambitious. but iamfinishingthis, damnit! So I would like to post WIPs everyday, just to get myself working on it, at least a little everyday,in between other projects. But look mommy, it's a million layers already! Some day I'll do better, I promise.

'Dark Passenger' [sketch]

2010-08-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

A quick digital sketch for an idea. Love blood flowing over contours like the human face. Makes such a beautiful pattern.

I blame Dexter for ruining my mind, permanently.

Like NSFW, see?

2010-08-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ek Chidiya | Not Safe for Humans via kwout

So The Fish and I started our colab blogging again. My inauguration post. Please to click on link, for the image you see is actually a very,very short and badly drawn animation I made. It was mainly a testing mechanism. Friend shared this ossum video, and we got ideas. We were trying to see if we can do something. I have made (notso) brave attempts at animation before, on white board, using webcam. This one seems FAR easier. Used Wax and drew that ugly bird in photoshop. It's kind of addictive, actually, I have millions of ideas now. But they.must.wait. Have too many things to do already.

First Comics [everrrr]!

2010-08-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

*drumroll*

So got the first draft print of the comic book I was working on for the last two or three months for Sanjog, Group Development (the website seems to be down- ah pfah). Part of the "Everyday Heroes" series, telling "change stories" of girls who've brought changes to their lives and the society they found themselves in. Was a learning experience for me, turning a para-long story into a first 10 page (which morphed into a 12 page) comic book.

Making comics aint easy, I tell you! There's so much more to learn, I am painfully aware of the flaws in this one, in terms of the art, and I have a feeling in terms of the script as well. Although I was sorta ok with it, considering what was required of the script.

The cover morphed into something like the Hypothetical Lizard's cover, happened subconsciously and when I was making the bald part of the face white, I realized it was going to be very HL-ish. But I love that book and the cover, so... there it is above in all its unoriginal glory. [the title is going to change I'm told.]

And some more photos of the draft print's pages

There's some edits left to be done, so will upload some larger resolution images (so you can curse my nonexistent skills) after the final set are done with.

must. do. more. comics.

Also did some comic strips for the same people, for their Mixed Pickles magazine, the current issue should be out soon, I am told. fun!

There are about 10 of those but I tell you this is my absolute favorite. should draw more male strippers.

2010-08-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

From : http://bentemplesmith.blogspot.com/

See Level

2010-08-04T09:14:00.001-07:00

Been a while since I updated this. Been posting at other places, buzz for some reason works for me. I realize you can cross post between buzz and blogs and a million other things. But if I was that organized, I'd have... youknowtherest. Maybe I should update this place more often. If for nothing else but the one person who actually reads this. And that too because she had to add it to her google reader feed. the things one has to do for family.

A quick digital sketch.

And this came naturally from the above.

Another R/R

2010-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

Another quick one for the Remake/Remodel thread. A lot of the "work work" end up being digital but I wanted to draw on paper with stuff. This time I thought I'd try with this pen I had bought once upon a time that has a fine nib and cost me a lotta monnies.

I had fun drawing this, was good practice to ink a pencil drawing. And since I had spent time drawing in so much of detail, I didnt want to spend more time coloring, so thought of doing another thing that I've been wanting to test for some time. Textures in photoshop. Strange I have never experimented with it. I kinda like how it turned out.

Remake/Remodel for Mister E

And after all that about back dated posts in my last entry, I realize my blog doesnt even SHOW dates. Does it? Uh.

Oh hey! remember me?

2010-01-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

Back dated entries. I have decided to use tricks learnt from the rotten days in accounting. Who'dathunkit? It taught me something useful. I have loads of draft blogs lying around, lots and lots of thoughts and images and ideas to be shared. But finishing them will take time because there's so much to be said and I am not too keen on making sleep-deprived rambling out of them. They might eventually turn into sleepdeprived ramblings anyway. Like this one. Maybe I should stop trying to make sense. So I was thinking of making back dated posts, or not. Havent decided. Till I can write more, here's something I made for this. The Remake/Remodel thread, for a historian superhero waaaay waaay into teh future.

As I wrote in the thread, I figured the lair of a historian/superhero from the year 2446 will be a chaotic dump of information. Used pen, ink, acrylics and photoshop. Just wanted to make a quick drawing to take a break from the larger work stuff that takes more time. And the RR threads are good for fun nofuss drawings. And that reminds me, my colab blog needs resurrecting.

Because it explains

2009-12-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

my absence.

From my colab blog

WIP?

2009-11-18T09:13:00.000-08:00

I dont know if this is a finished work. I dont know what else to do with it. I never know when something is finished. Something new can happen with it. Anytime. I havent played with colors and just did whatever fuck I wanted to with colors, for a while now. I'll be a moron and say this doesnt really show what the actual canvas has, because its a stupid phonecamera photo. I had fun.

Happy Birthday, Alan Moore. I hope to be able to say that to you face to face someday. That and many other things.

Turn Off the Lights

2009-11-17T12:14:00.001-08:00

repeat.

Wishlists

2009-11-14T00:50:00.000-08:00

I think I need at least half a year to myself, wherever I want to be, by myself, doing whatever I want to do. Or maybe a full life time. There was a workshop by Tony Lee a couple of days ago in the city, which was really wonderful. During the workshop and at the discussion/talk the day before, he asked the audience who among them wanted to be a famous and rich writer. Famous why not, but rich, YES. I dont care what makes me rich, as long as it gives me the freedom to sit on mountain tops doing fuckall for however long I want to do it. Maybe one can do it even without being unbelievably, Tony Stark (before he lost everything) type rich. But being rich is the easier way out. I'll take that, thank you very much. Dammit.

RAWR!

2009-10-28T05:31:00.000-07:00

So till I can actually get round to posting all the stuffs and wordthings I'd like to post on my blog, here's little something I made in between trying to frantically keep up with deadlines and stuff I have no idea why I am doing, but apparently they all fit nicely into the larger scheme things that no one has any clue about.

The blog title is somehow related to my old coaster turned into squiggle space. Maybe I'll name her rawr! I have a coaster named rawr! that eats my cups. Somebody put me in a straight jacket.

[permanent markers on white acrylic base]

Jazz, Speed Paintings and The Other Blog

2009-10-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Been busy with work and the other blog, See Spots Run's doing great! Even though I can spend about 10 mins on that blog every night. At least it's some creative exercise . Had lots of plans for today's word, ambitious ones; but I dont have any time!

Time's running running running running running, running.. time's done run out!

See Spots Run!

2009-09-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Another colab art blog alert! With the Other Kinski.

See Spots Run!

I am pretty excited about this one. Each day we choose a random word out of the dictionary and create something with that as the theme.

And whaddyaknow, our first theme was Lavatory. Ha! So here's a quick one from me, a few minutes stolen from 'work time'. my little three panel 'story'

Speed Painting: The Years

2009-09-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Another quick one, flexing. Didnt want to spend too much time on it, just practice. Reference used. Photo of an old woman sitting by the Kumartuli ghat, who asked me to take her photo when she saw me with the camera phone.

Doors

2009-09-25T09:18:00.001-07:00

Not the band.

I think I am a little obsessed with doors. I think I obsess over anything I happen to like. But for some reason I love doors. (remember the other post about one door?) Especially these kind. Posted at Half a Wrinkle too.

The Superhero

2009-09-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

I will probabaly never grow tired of drawing Durga. A very random, tired sketch. A hello to the pujas. On mahasaptami.

Speed painting

2009-09-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Old Nightmares

2009-09-24T03:33:00.000-07:00

Found this lying around. Loved it for some reason. Done waaay back in 2002.

Time

2009-09-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

When the year started I enthusiastically tried making a calendar for myself, with the idea that time really makes little to NO sense to me. I can plaster a clock on to me eyes for all that'll help. Too bad I got too bored to finish every sphere with the full year's calendar but I suppose it works to describe the basic point I was trying to make.

Also, someday when I am able to scan the piece, I'll upload better picture, as of now, sucky blurry camphone photo will have to do.

Black and White and Lines in Between

2009-09-14T04:31:00.000-07:00

So in the meantime, I am trying to keep this blog from becoming entirely irrelevant, not that it'd matter if I tried, but MAHATMA GANDHI SED WE SHOULD! and hence and therefore I shall write a bit about what I am upto. While trying to do some design work for an NGO, I researched a lot of Indian tribal art and I loved them. And as I was trying to do more 'line art' black and white stuff for some time, it came together in my flu-infected brain and some relatively nonboring work came off it. Will update post with images at some point in the future.

Update: Someday I'll not have to go to war with my machine and my internet connection to do anything. Here are images, they were being made for something like an A2 sized poster. The poster is probably not happening but I enjoyed making these.

Used a lot of tribal art reference, especially the Gond art I found while digging around. The idea of the event was helping the tribal people help themselves, primarily through education. Gond art illustrates folk tales with a lot of trees in them, and as the fish pointed this interesting book out to me, I noticed they say,

"In Gond belief, trees stand in the middle of life, and the spirit of many things lie in them."

This is a larger view of the detail that went into the tree.

And a sneakpeak into the colored version that's WIP, although I dont know if I'll finish it.

On other news,

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert Anson Heinlein

The Perfect Solution

2009-09-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

For Your Shoddy Short Term Memory.

My shoddy short term memory. This was a gift. Trouble is, I forget to use it.

I thought I'd use this journal to compose my masterpiece in between smashing my head on my tables, and chairs and bed stands and such hard, painful surfaces while I pretend to furiously do more 'productive' work, such as what I dont know. There's a perfectly valid reason why I dont make sense. I just dont know what that is. I usually blame it on all the pills. But I am not taking any right now. I'll blame it on the pills i WAS taking that turned my head into slush in one of my many many illustrious lives.

The Dhaak's Coming!

2009-09-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

More of the Kumartuli photos: here

Tilted Horizons

2009-08-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

This blog needs more attention. If only everything could just happen as soon as you think of them. I could do so many things. Or maybe I should start a cult and make all my followers do everything for me. But then someone needs to start my cult for me...

Broken Bangles and Three Mirrors

2009-02-04T03:30:00.000-08:00

Through a Kaleidoscope bought at the book fair.

The Little Red Door

2009-02-04T02:47:00.000-08:00

A little red door, I found, right in the middle of all the grime and gray.

Go Down, Sunshine

2009-01-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

Posted my photos on Flickr mostly so far, but the limits on their free accounts are, well, limiting. So here it is, a new place for photos and random things and a fresh start with fresh set of delusions.

Photo: A little girl I found at the entrance to my high school assembly hall today. This is where I stood on my first day, unsure of a new beginning.

Go down, sunshine, see what tomorrow brings.