The big bad cunning wolf!

My kid’s fascination with  bad wolves, witches and wicked step mothers continues… The little red riding hood story is on their all-time favourites list. The highlight of the fable for them is the cunning wolf with his – big eyes, ears and teeth – all  inclusive.

Here’s my version of the story in illustration form. (Thanks George for posting this initiative on Penciljammers!)

Little Red Riding Hood

Watercolors and Reynold Gel pen

Pretty flowers

Pretty flowers using watercolors

I woke up in the mood for a color blast. Lately every time I have tried to paint, the result was gloomy and dark. Thank God that I woke up one fine day thinking of colors and such like… so I went ahead and painted my first watercolor flowers.

More colors soon 🙂

Today’s Art fix

I feel like I’m killing 2 birds with one stone. Not only am I getting my art fix on sundays, but being part of Pencil Jammers is also introducing namma bengaluru to me all over again.

We spent a few idyllic hours in Indiranagar defense colony park. A beautifully maintained, lush natural feast for the senses in the heart of the city. Right next to this is a lovely park for kids with loads of swings – the defence colony children’s park.

Here’s what I captured of the park using Sudha dry pastels, on 22x16cm pastel paper.

Indiranagar Defense Colony Park

My first portrait sketch

So much is the power in a pencil that it can touch any human emotion that one is capable of feeling. Jamming on sundays with Pencil Jammers I have had the honor of seeing some great art. It is highly motivating and inspiring and has simply made me more aware of beauty in everything around me – nature, architecture, people, and even objects… Sometimes in life its important to re-look at everything around as with new eyes and just re-invent ourselves.

Anyways, I finally find myself diving into the world of art, colours, form, lines, structure, perspectives and have discovered a whole new side to myself too.

Here’s my first portrait and there’s more coming up!

 

Aditi and Sanjana at 2 years

3 going on 13!!!

Hey look at these cool cats! They certainly are 3 going on 13 judging by the awesome conversations they have!!

 

Cool cats

The little mermaids turn 3

My little angels have turned 3. We all had a real blast at home with a ‘mermaids – under-the-sea theme’.

Here I was thrilled with my pick of ‘island’ and ‘fish tank’ cakes for the party and Aditi announces “I WANT A WICKED WITCH CAKE!’.

Homemade Island cake

The fish tank cake

Sanjana, the little mermaid

Aditi, the little mermaid

The invite

I am particularly proud of my party invite; Its an original watercolor painting. If anyone wants invites or other original cards and such like, you can email me – shikha@midniteoil.in. I hope to do a lot of these in the future… 🙂

Party time!

Till later! I’m off to cook something that’s every baniya home’s favourite comfort food – aalu-poori!

Take care…

Budding artists in the making…

I have been a bit guilty of ignoring this blog for some time now. Today I am just so fired up and excited and inspired to write.Reason? My 2.8 yr twin girls have jumped, no taken a GIGANTIC LEAP from being scribblers (albeit creative ones) to actually really drawing….things!

See the following pictures by Aditi and Sanjana and believe me they drew these without assistance and instructions…

adu_duckpond 

sanju_smileyface - acc to the kid, the smiley faces are falling into boiling water (as in Hansel-Gretel, 3 little pigs and other stories...)

So I’m quite overcome by the sudden accomplishment.  I have noticed that milestones for kids are never too gently, they come in leaps and bounds. But this is way too much to handle. Overnight my babies are (both of them) suddenly drawing shapes, faces, clouds, eyes (a circle with a dot inside for the pupils!!!), eyebrows, hair, EARS!

I was wondering the other day if I should teach them how to draw and spend more time on this with them… but they have beaten me to it.

I am just one excited and happy mum 🙂

Its raining nostalgia…

I hear the rain pouring outside here in Bangalore and I’m suddenly and completely transported to my childhood days in Delhi. In the monsoon season those were carefree days when as kids we would wear those funky raincoats over our uniforms and heavy school bags and trudge our way home through heavy rain, waterlogged streets and splash every small-big puddle on the way.

I remember making lots of paper boats along with neighbourhood kids which we would then float in puddles on our street. Reminds me of the song “vo kagaz ki kashti vo baarish ka paani”…

Cut to college days, when my friends and I would run to the canteen at the slightest excuse of rain. And then firmly implant ourselves there much to Sharmaji’s horror and drive the poor man crazy with our continuous demands for chai and bread pakoras on the double!

The joy of pakoras and chai or coffee in the incessant rain of delhi monsoons will probably be one of my favourite memories while growing up. And of the smell of the earth freshly moistened and of drops of water dripping from leaves long after the rain has stopped. And of having to return back home because the school bus couldn’t make it and getting an unexpected holiday. And of suddenly seeing little squiggly earthworms everywhere in the garden.

So while I’m thinking of finishing this post quickly and then making the chai and the pakoras and then sitting in the balcony to watch the rain…  in typical Bangalore fashion, its stopped raining already!

 

Before I became a mom part 2

Before I was the mama that I am…

I never thought I would take funny pictures of my baby much against their will 😀

Before I became a mom of twins…

Before I became a mama, I had some ‘ideas’ or notions about parenting…  arrival Sanju-Adu and ‘boom-bang-kaboooom’ there they go and blow away to smithereens!

Here’s my attempt at sharing some of my funny preconceived notions that don’t always work when you are an ordinary mama and not a super-mom.

the evil but indispensable idiot box

 

Before I became a mom I used to think that I would ration my (future) kids tele time to some 1/2 hr cartoon slots…ahem….