I had a whirlwind trip to India just a couple of weeks ago. Two weeks, six different places. Some time with family, a fabulous experience running an art camp for kids in a little village, and then I headed back home.
Lots of travel means lots of airport time, sometimes even whole nights. So I did what I usually do, ate a lot and sketched. Here are a collection of airport sketches.
First sketch when I landed. Sketching fellow passengers departing with their luggage after a long flight. You can tell they’re in a hurry to get home.
A night-long layover at the airport means I spend some time hanging out in the lounge with other half-asleep travelers, all with big bags.
More middle-of-the-night sketches, hanging out outside the airport this time. It’s so busy even at 1am. Airport taxis, abandoned luggage carts and the ubiquitous street dog. Sketched with a hot chai (not pictured).
A few hours later, still waiting to board a plane, eating again. Drawing the people, noting what I ate and photographing it because it can’t wait and get cold. And yes, it isn’t filter coffee unless it comes in a little EverSilver cup.
This strange structure? A giant phone charger.
More airport sketching, this on another day. If you’re packing a palette for a trip to India, drop the neutrals, and be sure to pack oranges, pinks, purples and lime green.
Last airport sketches. Every time I pull out my sketchbook, there are at least a few people watching me draw. If you are going to sketch in public in India, you’re going to sketch around people. I really enjoy the random encounters and conversations.
dear Suhita, I love urban sketching and you have here such great works, thanks for sharing 🙂 cheers from Lisbon, PedroL
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With all that painting did you run out of any watercolor supplies? Nice posting. Enjoyed your art school narrative,
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No, a full watercolor palette goes a LONG way especially if you’re doing sketches with pen and ink involved.
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Wow, such talent!! I always fear travelling so far and I want to go to India so much (Kerala) to visit Amma. I like that idea of sketching, however. I could journal or pen my poetry and haiku which has a different feel than typing. My dream is to start in Nepal and go south …a good 3 months, I would say or more. Hoping my TEFL certificate will help to cover some expenses on my travels. I truly enjoyed your beautiful watercolours! Thank you!
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Oliana, I hope you get to do that trip: it sounds like a dream trip! I’d check about TEFL because unlike many Asian countries, English is widely taught/studied in India.
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Must be fun sketching. So much possibility and abundance of subjects. It’s a live canvas.
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that is is! Of all the places I’ve sketched, India is my hands-down favorite place to sketch.
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Couldn’t agree more
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You sure know how to make the most of your “down time” at an airport.
Any chance you would ever take a group of sketchers to India?
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Lois, you So read my mind: I’ll out out a call soon, forming an interest list for a trip to India in late 2019/early 2020.
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Interesting Airport Sketches!!
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I really enjoyed your sketches Suhita! You are very talented! India is a beautiful country, by the way. Never been, but in the future I hope I’ll go visit it.
Greetings from Albania!
Best!
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Loved you art camp post! I’ll be going to India for a wedding in Udaipur in November and then a tour of the “golden triangle” area near Delhi. What do you use for Indian skin tones? Your browns look so lively!
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what fun you will have: a wedding plus Udaipur: that’s unbeatable!
For Indian skin tones I usually start with an orangey-red like instead of a more rose-colored red that I’d mix in for Caucasian skin tones.
But you’ll notice ( after a few days in India, everything looks the same in the beginning) that there are many skintones, lots of variation…
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I might be late, but do you plan to conduct a workshop in Bangalore anytime?
And in case you are traveling out of Mumbai airport, the grand design of the building might be a good topic to sketch 😊
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Aditya, I’ll be in India again and will teach the next time: to know of a workshop, email me at suhita@gmail.com and ask me to put you on a workshop email list
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