The Right-Brainers

Ratlion Has Moved....

2007-12-09T08:13:00.000+05:30

... to Ratlion's Den.
See you there!

Illustration Friday: Poem

2007-07-25T10:01:00.000+05:30

Hi all.

For this week's topic 'Poem' I'm putting up two illustrations I did for two poems- one written by my cousin and the other by Dogcrab. They've been up on the blog before (sometime last year) but never as Illustration Friday submissions and so here they are - 'Sandcastle' & 'Castle of the Moon'...

Cheers.

Sandcastle by the Sea

Copyright Radha Ramachandran a.k.a. Ratlion

Sand castles that tumble down,
The waves that are gentle and yet strong,
Take away what you think was yours,
No matter what you try, it’s all gone.
How foolish can you be?
To build sand castles near the sea.
But funny, isn’t it?
Where else will sand castles be?
Nothing stops you, not even the pain,
Still there is nothing to gain,
The waves will come, the castles will fall,
All you can do is, build them again…

The Castle of the Moon

Copyright Radha Ramachandran a.k.a Ratlion

Perched atop a grassy hill,
beside a river running swift and chill,
where mountain winds are never still,
stands the Castle of the Moon.

It has no equal, it stands alone;
great high walls of cold grey stone
guard the gilded, mighty throne
of the Castle of the Moon.

There is a wide moat and sixteen walls,
forbidding towers and marble halls,
and haunted dungeons where no sunlight falls
in the Castle of the Moon.

A pond in the pale moonlight glitters,
the birds cease their sleepy twitters,
and a bat on silent wing flitters
over the Castle of the Moon.

In the great hall lies a splendid feast
celebrating the death of a fire-breathing beast
slain in the mountains to the East
of the Castle of the Moon.

In ivory and black, and in red and gold,
rest the faithful soldiers bold,
warming themselves from the cold
in the Castle of the Moon.

The minstrel plays upon his lyre,
sings as he sits beside the fire,
sings of adventure and desire
in the Castle of the Moon.

On his seat rests the lord,
with his hand upon his sword,
in blue robes and golden cord,
in the Castle of the Moon.

A damsel on the casement sings,
clad in white and emerald rings,
and waits for the love her fair knight brings
to the Castle of the Moon.

Forever will it proudly stand,
repelling invaders from distant lands,
standing gaunt, but standing grand -this is the Castle of the Moon.

Poem Copyright Dogcrab

Illustration Friday: Cars

2007-05-31T10:03:00.000+05:30

For this week's challenge 'Cars' I'm reposting the illustration I did ages ago for Illo Fri's 'Speed' challenge.

It fits.

And besides, I'm beginning to feel sorry for my blog now. Really.

I had to do something!

Illustration Friday: Fortune & Polar

2007-04-21T13:33:00.000+05:30

Copyright Radha Ramachandran a.k.a. Ratlion

Hello. I'm back! Well, for the moment at least! :D

Was looking for inspiration for last week's topic 'Fortune' when I came across this proverb,

'To attract good fortune, spend a new penny on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend & lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon.'

It puzzled me for a second.

I mean I get the parts about spending a new penny on an old friend and sharing an old pleasure with a new friend cos' I figure if you believe 'What goes around comes around' those acts might attract good fortune in the long run. But the bit about the dragon?

Anyhoo, I could'nt get the proverb out of my mind (it's so beautifully quirky and nonsensical!) and so decided to go with it. However, Friday evening came by and I still had'nt completed it so I figured I'd just post it next week along with next week's topic if I managed to get around to doing an illo for that. But when I read this week's topic 'Polar', all I really felt like doing was to add a polar bear to the existing illustration. It just seemed to fit perfectly with the quirky proverb.

So here you have it. A girl lifting the heart of her true friend by writing his name on the wings of a bewildered (and friendly) dragon, while the equally bewildered (and friendly) polar bear looks on.

Cheers!

Illustration Friday: Total

2007-03-20T22:29:00.000+05:30

Copyright Radha Ramachandran

"Totally Lost"

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2007-02-18T09:36:00.000+05:30

Happy Birthday,Mom!

It's not finished yet, but I thought I'd send you a sneak preview as a birthday present! :)

Love,Radha

*UPDATE*

I think its done.Below are three different versions :

Copyright Radha Ramachandran

Illustration Friday: Sprout & Green

2007-02-08T17:08:00.000+05:30

It's been ages since I did Illustration Friday (And that seems to be all I've been saying in this blog lately) but getting used to things at my first job and have basically been too swamped to do anything that's not job-related. You could say my entry for 'Total' pretty much sums up my state of mind lately.

:)

I hope to do a new one for this week, but in case it does'nt happen, and considering that it's already the middle of the week, as Plan B, I'm re-posting my entry for 'Sprout' ( a last-minute entry for that particular week!) as it seems kinda appropriate for this weeks topic 'Green'.

Cheers!

Illustration © Radha Ramachandran a.k.a Ratlion
(Click on image for a closer look)

Seed, Sprout, Flower
by Helen H. Moore

A seed is planted:
First a sprout,
then stem,
and leaves,
and buds
come out.
Buds grow bigger,
smelling sweet,
bees and birds come
‘round to eat.
Bees and birds
help flowers spread
their new seeds on
the garden bed…
A seed is planted.

Illustration Friday : Phobia, Invention, Might, Mask & Help

2006-12-16T04:33:00.000+05:30

Copyright Ratlion

Yup, that's right. This is my submission for this week. But it's also my submission for 'Invention', 'Might', 'Mask' and 'Phobia'.

In my defense,

It's 5 in the morning...I have no idea why I'm still awake.
I've missed about 4-5 weeks of IF already.
I've been living in frustrating times.
This just happened.

Hmm.

I guess that about covers it.

Cheers!

PS: In case you were wondering how 'Phobia' fits in, the rat's terrified of mad scientists with plans of world domination. Probably comes from seeing so many of his cellmates become ingredients in various 'mad' experiments.

PPS: Have finally uploaded Dogcrabs text/take on the 'Ghost/Clear' illustration, after having it sit in my computer for over 5 weeks! Here's an excerpt below...do go over here to see the whole thing along with the illo. And for those who've commented to let me know they like my 5-in-1 illo...Thank you!! I'm glad I did it...I've missed IF!

Dear Discerning and Deceased Ladies and Gentlemen,

Now that you have time on your hands, why not spend a little eternity or two at Les Trois Hommes Décapités, an exclusive resort for the aristocratically inhumed?

As members of a growing class of deceased who are increasingly dissatisfied with mundane non-existences, wouldn’t you consider all-attic accommodation with attached ball-and-chain in all rooms, sweeping views over ever-changing landscapes, and a supply of the best spirits possible – and we intend no pun here! Our legendary establishment has served the upper crust of ectoplasm for centuries – including the entire Romanov and Bourbon clans.....

(To read more and see the illo it's referring to, go here.)

Illustration Friday: Ghost & Clear

2006-11-13T15:01:00.000+05:30

Copyright Ratlion

On a clear moonlit night, the clear/translucent butler clears the remnants of a cozy picnic dinner for two while the (equally clear/translucent) lord and his lady take a romantic stroll under the star-studded sky.

:D :D :D

PS: This illo also doubles up as my belated entry for 'Ghost'.

Update: Here's Dogcrab's text/take on the illustration.

Dear Discerning and Deceased Ladies and Gentlemen,

Now that you have time on your hands, why not spend a little eternity or two at Les Trois Hommes Décapités, an exclusive resort for the aristocratically inhumed.

Our legendary establishment has served the upper crust of ectoplasm for centuries – including the entire Romanov and Bourbon clans.

Our other facilities include a 24-hour butler, moonlit picnics on our vast and exclusively haunted grounds, and a guaranteed shortage of holy relics and ghost-hunters, along with the latest in séance-protection.As part of our hospitality services, we offer walkers for dead pets (though, regrettably, poltergeists are not allowed), Spook-a-day playhouses for children and daily haunting tours for your entertainment.

Do visit us for the experience of your afterlife!

The Manager, Les Trois Hommes Décapités

Our motto: Always have great taste, even if you can’t taste anything

Illustration Friday : Smoke

2006-11-08T18:16:00.000+05:30

When I thought about this week's topic, I thought about cigarette's. I thought about different people and their smoking habits. I know people who can't stand the idea of smoking, people who hate the smell of cigarette smoke, and people who don't smoke because they're health conscious. I also know people who can't get through the day without a their minimum quota of cigarettes, people who feel the need for a smoke only when a particular mood strikes (when they're happy/frustrated/worried), and social smokers who smoke occassionally in company. Then there are the hardcore smokers who're trying to quit or the quitters who're trying not to get back into the habit.

You get the drift.

Anyhoo, I started doodling. And you can see what I ended up with below.

Hardcore smoker who swears by a good smoke versus confused smoker? Hardcore smoker versus hardcore smoker who's trying to quit? Hardcore smoker versus first-time smoker who realizes smoking is not for him?
Don't worry if you don't have an answer, I did'nt either.
Which is why I made a few changes, as you can see below.

Finally we have - Hardcore smoker versus Non-smoker!

To smoke or not to smoke, that is the question.

Er.

I'll stop blabbering now (It's one of those days).

Cheers!

Illustration Friday :Wind

2006-10-31T13:30:00.000+05:30

Copyright Ratlion

Illustration Friday : Smitten

2006-10-19T13:53:00.000+05:30

Yet Another Abstract

2006-10-18T19:20:00.000+05:30

Copyright Ratlion

Just another abstract that almost created itself.

Illustration Friday : Trouble

2006-10-09T21:35:00.000+05:30

(Click on illo for a closer look)

I have no idea where this came from.

Illustration Friday : Quiet

2006-10-03T17:22:00.000+05:30

Hello.

Feels good to be doing Illustration Friday after nearly 3 weeks! Me and my design class got an opportunity to do the creatives for a shopping festival hosted by the local mall. As the only one specializing in illustration, was in charge of all illustrations...so its been three weeks of purple octopuses (the festival mascot) in various poses :). Oh, and also got to work on a promotional story cum activity book for kids featuring the aforementioned mascot (Feels damn good to see your name in print after the words 'Illustrated by', no matter how small the project! :D ). So, all in all it's been a busy, educational, frustrating and exhilarating 3 weeks.

Hoping to catch up with the topics I missed soon. In the meanwhile, here's my submission for 'Quiet'. It also doubles up as my submission for the Black & Orange Halloween Contest happening here (If you can't be wicked at Halloween, when else can you? :D). There have been quite a few wonderful submissions already. Go check them out!

Ciao

Illustration Friday : Run & Safe

2006-09-05T10:19:00.000+05:30

Illustration Friday : Match

2006-08-20T21:36:00.000+05:30

For this week, we have the completed colour version of last week's entry 'Capture'. Took me a week to do it and since I'm going to be out of town most of this week, I figured I'd use it for 'Match' (The seamen fought bravely but they were no match for the pirates!). And of course, the poem was written by Dogcrab especially for the occasion.

Cheers

------------------------

Illustration by Ratlion, Poem by Dogcrab

Yo Ho Ho And All That

Avast there, me hearties,
Shiver me timbers, me lads,
Get yer knives into them sailors,
Kill ’em in bunches and scads.

Board their little navy ship,
Aren’t it a mighty fine catch?
Send up that old Jolly Roger,
For us they isn’t no match.

Slash ’em with yer cutlasses,
Stick ’em with yer hooks,
They may fight with honour,
But we’ll win by hook or crook.

Take all that shiny bullion,
Leave behind no gold,
Make me famous, laddies,
Make sure our tale gets told.

No sailor’s going to stop us now,
Sod ’em all, I say,
Give ’em hell from me, boys,
We’ll be legends in our day.

I can see the future now,
There’ll be a lad called Depp,
He'll play a man named Sparrow,
And make us look really hep.

There’ll be ghosts in our story,
And the locker of Davy Jones,
They’ll pay gold to see our flag,
The ol’ skull and crossbones.

Don’t know how I sees such things,
Mayhap the rum went down too fast,
I needs a nap after all this lootin’,
So come on lads, Avast!

Illustration Friday :Capture & Inspire Me Thurs : Black & White

2006-08-10T22:23:00.000+05:30

Hello!

Well, this is a Work-in-Progress. But since I'm runningout of time ( So what's new? Though in my defence I did have a birthday this week :) )

I thought I'd post this draft and post the finished (maybe colour) version later.

Hmm...it could probably use more pirates huh?

Illustration Friday: Play & Inspire Me Thursday : Non-Visual Art Form - Music

2006-08-03T09:32:00.000+05:30

“And the night shall be filled with music, and the cares, that infest the day, shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, and as silently steal away.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow quotes (the most popular American Poet in the 19th century, 1807-1882)

“If music be the food of love, play on.”
William Shakespeare quotes (English Dramatist, Playwright and Poet, 1564-1616)

I did this for 'Inspire Me Thurs' a week or two before. It was a last minute entry and since I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to manage a new entry for this week (I'm working on the colour version of 'Capture' and a few other assignments for school) , figured I'd submit it for this week's Illustration Friday.

Besides, its one of my favourite pieces to date (What can I say? I'm an incurable romantic!).

Cheers

Illustration Friday : Clean & Opposites

2006-07-31T09:34:00.000+05:30

Hello All!

Last week was pretty much one of the worst week's I've had in a long while. I'll spare you the details, but it was horrid enough to make me miss Illo Fri, something I had hoped Iwould never do :(.

But hey, in the words of Bryan Adams, 'It's a new day, It's a new start!' :D.

And to kick off the week on a positive note,this week's entry is for both 'Clean' as well as 'Opposites' (as in the dog's clean but now she's the one who needs a bath :D).

Here's hoping this week's a lot better than the last one.

Cheers.

Illustration Friday : Sacrifice

2006-07-18T16:24:00.000+05:30

Illustration Friday : Skyline

2006-07-14T00:11:00.000+05:30

Another busy week, another quickie...

Inspire Me Thursday : Body Parts

2006-07-05T21:00:00.000+05:30

Hello.

It's already Wednesday and I'm running out of time for Inspire Me Thurs!

Since I missed the last challenge, I really wanted to make sure I did this one.

This abstract was done two days ago for fun and I guess I must have been thinking of the Inspire Me Thurs challenge subconsciously when I did it 'cos there are abstract body parts (of sorts!) (nothing drastic though) in it :).

I'd intended to do another piece for the challenge but like I said its already Wednesday and I have loads of things to do in terms of assignments. So the abstract will have to do.

I won't tell you exactly what body parts are in there...see if you can spot them!

Cheerio!

Illustration Friday : Sticky

2006-07-05T02:39:00.000+05:30

Jam's and jellies can be sweet and sticky,

But then sometimes so can little boys...

The Snowman And The Mitten

2006-07-03T01:24:00.000+05:30

Excitement

2006-07-01T11:50:00.000+05:30

Another abstract done just for fun.

I've been staring at it for a while now and I think it says 'Excitement' to me.

What does it say to you?

Illustration Friday : Rain

2006-06-30T01:52:00.000+05:30

'Rain,rain, go away!'

Phew!

Just made it!

It's been a long week. Started it with a relapse of the flu and ended it with a bang (literally) by jamming my finger on a door. The whole nail's turned a horrid shade of blue.

Anyhoo, coming back to the illustration, this is based on a photograph of my 1 year old lab, Leo. It's probably a stretch for this week's topic but I was desperate to get something done and this is the first thing that came to mind. He's often found by the window looking out into the world wistfully...that is...when he finds time of from sleeping, eating, playing and stealing shoes for fun!

Cheers!

Illustration Friday : Dance

2006-06-18T22:36:00.000+05:30

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by and left a comment last week!

I'm feeling a lot better. Maybe not a 100% but I'm getting there.

This week I present two new illo's, both slightly in danger of being 'too cute' (especially the first one) which is something I always try to avoid.

But I guess, once in a while you're allowed to venture into 'too cute'.

I'm also putting up something I did ages ago - I call it my 'Dance' series. It has many flaws, but it's a series I particularly enjoyed doing back then.

I love this week's topic and am hoping to do more illo's based on it, time permitting.

For now, enjoy and your feedback is appreciated as always!

Cheers!

Illo #1

Illo #2

-------------------------------------

The 'Dance' Series

(Again, this was done ages ago so please ignore the flaws...and the weird faces :D)

First in the Dance Series - Shall We Dance?

Second in the Dance Series: Dance With Me

Third (And Last) in the Dance Series - Dirty Dancing

Illustration Friday : Jungle

2006-06-15T21:06:00.000+05:30

This did'nt end up the way I wanted it to. But that's partly because I'm down with the flu. When I started on this illo, I was sick and determined (not to miss a week of illo fri) and now that I'm done I'm just sick and weary.

Version One was before the cold medicine. Version Two is after the cold medicine - when I decided the previous version was'nt vibrant enough.

Cheers.

Inspire Me Thursday : Show And Tell Art

2006-06-12T12:40:00.000+05:30

Hello.

Around a week or so ago, I felt the need to take a break from doing art on the computer. Digital art is something I enjoy and like for its convenience (how great is it to be able to pick from a variety of brushes and colours in an instant, make copies and have the 'undo' option at your disposal while making art?) but that particular day around a week or so ago I was feeling particularly unispired by the medium and decided I needed a break from it.

I'm currently a student of VisComm in a local institute, and right now we have a break with classes resuming from the 15th of June. So I figured why not splurge on a bunch of art supplies and spend the week before classes resume just creating art by hand? This was also partly inspired by this website. I loved the concept of spending 30 days just living the life of an artist and just creating. Plus I love challenges. So basically I guess I had visions of doing something like a 7 day artist challenge - doing as much art I could in a week using whatever supplies I have at my disposal.

Here's what I've got so far.

Artwork #1 : Portrait Of A Girl

Day One started off with a portrait in watercolour for Illustration Friday. It's based on a photograph I took of a friend, and while I'm pleased with the result I'm also aware that certain areas have gotten muddy. I decided I wanted to keep at the portraits in watercolour and try to achieve a perfect portrait in the medium - ergo one which is realistic, yet true to the watercolour style with no muddiness.

Artwork #2 : Portrait Of A Coz-Friend

Coz-Friend is sometimes what I refer to my cousin in my head. :) We're the same age and spent the last three years as classmates and room mates in college, so I guess she's more friend that cousin in some ways. This was another attempt at a portrait in watercolour, again based on a photograph I took of her. Hmm...I felt I face the same problem with this one as in the previous one. In my attempt to make it as realistic as possible I overworked it again. But am happy with the resemblance.

Artwork #3: Robin Redbreast

This one is a watercolour study of this very cute photograph of a robin I founf online that was used a refernce for Artwork #4. I call it 'Robin Redbreast'.

Artwork #4: Robin Hood

This one was actually started on day one. I was going to call it 'Listen' as the idea was to have a bird singing into a girl's ear. However after the initial sketch and first layer of paint, I could see the whole thing just was'nt working. So I decided to make the bird bigger and change the style of the face maybe. While staring at the green background I'd laid down, it occured to me that in terms of colours atleast a brown/red/white bird would fit right in. So I started looking for a reference picture of a robin. I found a gorgeous picture. So gorgeous that I decided to remove the bird altogether and make the bird the sole focus of the painting. I'm glad I did. What followed was fun. I started on acrylics (and in between layers did artwork #3). After I'd finished the acrylic robin, I still felt it was'nt done...it was too...well, ordinary. Pondered over words I knew I wanted to add tot he painting, and in the process came across 'Robin Hood'. That got me thinking and finally I had it. The idea I needed to make it different. I would add the words 'Robin Hood' and give the bird a robin hood hat! I collaged the hat with newspaper, printed out and glued the words. After a few mishaps, I was done. I think I liked the way it turned out though there's still something about it that nags me. Hmm. Anyway, on to Artwork #5.

Artwork #5 : Free-Fall

This one's an abstrct. Now my approach to the feww abstracts I've done so far is to lay on some paint spontaneously. After a point, I'll step back and try to figure out what it's trying to tell me, what it makes me feel. Did the same thing here. Laid on the purple and blue strokes...added the crosses cos' I felt like. When I stepped back, I distinctly had the impression of 'falling' but in a good way (Am I making sense?). And from there on the rest of the painting just happened. The whole concept revolved around 'free falling'. If in life, we have to fall (and we usually have to) why not free fall? Enjoy the fall, get as much out of it as you possibly can, then get up and dust your hands! :D .Umm. Well, that's what I came up with anyway.

Hav'nt got a very good response to it so far and am currently contemplating painting over it.

*Sigh*

And that's my progress so far. Classes resume in 2 days and I find myself in a slump. Feel like I hav'nt been doing good work so what's the point in going on? While I know this is not positive thinking and probably stems from a lot of self-doubt, I can't seem to help myself. So have decided to just 'go with the flow'.

And that ends my show and tell. I apologise for the lengthy ramble.

:)

Cheers.

Illustration Friday : Portrait

2006-06-08T19:09:00.000+05:30

Portrait Of A Girl

(Based on a photograph taken by me)

Watercolour on handmade paper

Portrait Of A Bear

Copyright 2006 Ratlion

(Drawn from life)

Water colour on paper

More QuoteArt

2006-06-03T22:51:00.000+05:30

"You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star"

~ Friedrich Nietzsehe

"We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea

and we owe each other a terrible loyalty."

~ G.K.Chesterton

"The earth laughs in flowers"

(Not sure whether to attribute this quote to

E.E.Cummings or Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"To create man was a quaint and original idea,

but to add the sheep was tautology"

~ Mark Twain

Inspire Me Thursday : WordArt

2006-05-29T20:28:00.000+05:30

(Click here for a better view)

"In the depth of my soul there is a wordless song"

~Kahlil Gibran

Phew! Boy am I glad to finally see this up on the blog! Been having problems with my computer. Hmm...some of the type has'nt translated well into a jpeg (long story) but this is the best I can do in the circumstances.

A bit messy as far as the look goes, but I like it.

What do you think?

Illustration Friday : Cake

2006-05-28T15:41:00.000+05:30

Been feeling a bit uninspired lately.

So for this week, a few mindless doodles and something from a while back...

And I call this last one -Trouble

What do you do when you feel unispired?

QuoteArt #2

2006-05-24T09:59:00.000+05:30

“Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions.

All life is an experiment.

The more experiments you make the better.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

QuoteArt #1

2006-05-23T14:17:00.000+05:30

Fishy Heart Bait

"When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain"

~ Mark Twain

Illustration Friday : Sorry

2006-05-21T23:56:00.000+05:30

Copyright Ratlion 2006

“I'm not supposed to love you, I'm not supposed to care, I'm not supposed to live my life wishing you were there. I'm not supposed to wonder where you are or what you do... I'm sorry I can't help myself, I'm in love with you.”

By Latin King, age 15

Inspire Me Thursday : Abstract Art

2006-05-21T16:33:00.000+05:30

*Update*

Birds Of Paradise

Copyright 2006 Ratlion

“The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp”
~John Berry

I think I like this one a lot more than 'Window'.

Window

I had fun with this one!

Inspire Me Thursday : Journaling & Faraway Lands

2006-05-18T18:50:00.000+05:30

JOURNALING

(Click here for a larger view)

'Have been wondering what to do for Inspire Me Thursdays 'JOURNALING' topic for the last few days.

Sat down today, determined to get it done.

Tried to plan it all out, figured I'd illustrate a quote.

Did'nt work.

Tried cutting out words and images that appealed to me from magazines ( figured I'd make a collage). Quickly lost interest.

Finally spread out my art supplies and decided to stop thinking.

Drew what I saw in front of me.

Splattered some paint abut in another page.

Suddenly I was having fun.

And all because I'd decided to be SPONTANEOUS....'

"Only in spontaneity can we be who we truly are"

~John McLaughlin

FARAWAY LANDS

THE CASTLE OF THE MOON

Perched atop a grassy hill,

beside a river running swift and chill,

where mountain winds are never still,

stands the Castle of the Moon.

It has no equal, it stands alone;

great high walls of cold grey stone

guard the gilded, mighty throne

of the Castle of the Moon.

There is a wide moat and sixteen walls,

forbidding towers and marble halls,

and haunted dungeons where no sunlight falls

in the Castle of the Moon.

A pond in the pale moonlight glitters,

the birds cease their sleepy twitters,

and a bat on silent wing flitters

over the Castle of the Moon.

In the great hall lies a splendid feast

celebrating the death of a fire-breathing beast

slain in the mountains to the East

of the Castle of the Moon.

In ivory and black, and in red and gold,

rest the faithful soldiers bold,

warming themselves from the cold

in the Castle of the Moon.

The minstrel plays upon his lyre,

sings as he sits beside the fire,

sings of adventure and desire

in the Castle of the Moon.

On his seat rests the lord,

with his hand upon his sword,

in blue robes and golden cord,

in the Castle of the Moon.

A damsel on the casement sings,

clad in white and emerald rings,

and waits for the love her fair knight brings

to the Castle of the Moon.

Forever will it proudly stand,

repelling invaders from distant lands,

standing gaunt, but standing grand

-this is the Castle of the Moon.

Was really disappointed about missing Inspire Me Thurs last week. Was'nt able to complete the challenge on time, so figured I'd post it along with this week's challenge.

I've always been fascinated by Faraway Lands I encounter in stories and poems - the kind that exist only in your imagination and are therefore unique to you. Here's a faraway land from a poem written by Dogcrab. While the image does a decent job of illustrating the first four stanza's of the poem, it is still my interpretation of the castle of the moon which may not be what Dogcrab saw when he wrote the poem. So in a way, I feel it's my very own Castle of the Moon.

Illustration Friday : Angels & Devils

2006-05-15T08:48:00.000+05:30

(Click on Illo for a larger view)

It's always a Tug-O-War...

Illustration Friday : Fat

2006-05-06T21:54:00.000+05:30

I had other ideas for this week's topic, but somehow ended up with this instead. It just happened. But it worked and it was fun to do. And it was a welcome change from last week's realistic style.

So for this week's topic, I present - 'A Big Fat Hug'

PS: Love Illo Fri's makeover!

This image is now available for sale as a mini poster print and on a t-shirt here.

Update: Another piece for this week's topic

Illustration Friday : Under The Sea & Inspire Me Thursday : Digital Art

2006-05-03T00:46:00.000+05:30

Update : Made a few changes to the illo.

Gave the mermaid finer hair and a bluish tint so

she blends in more with the background and the dolphins.

Technique: A combination of digital painting and collage techniques.

Inspire Me Thursday : Find the Art in the Everyday

2006-04-27T23:39:00.000+05:30

Note To Self: What is it with me and fruit?!

Illustration Friday : Robot

2006-04-25T04:04:00.000+05:30

*Update: Here's another version. Much better I guess but....Argh!

My colour sense seems to have abandoned me today!

'As the Giant Robot stomped through the city,

crushing vehicles and houses in its wake,

the hapless citizens ran for cover!'

SCBWI - Illustrator & Writing Contest

2006-04-23T21:26:00.000+05:30

My submission for SCBWI's Illustrator Contest. The challenge - to illustrate what's REALLY at the end of the rainbow. My take? At the end of the rainbow you'll find the rainbow witch, who makes magical potions from bits and hues of the rainbow. Oh, and she has a dwarf to help warn her when a non-magical being is near - which is why it's likely you and me are never going to find her.

Here's a poem written by Coz that explains it better,

My work begins where the rainbow ends,

It's various hues in my cauldron I blend.

I make magical potions for my kind,

I am the rainbow witch you'll never find!

Dogcrab submitted an entry for the Writing Contest over at the same site. Here's his take on the Rainbow Witch,

His plane was on fire - that’s bad.His parachute didn’t work - that’s worse.But Captain Hairferry was lucky: he bounced off a big, soft cloud – and hey! Was a rainbow growing from it? Yes! And, amazingly, he could slide down it – all the way to the ground. It’s lucky he was lucky, or he’d have fallen into a cauldron. He did hurt his backside, though.“Ow!” he said, and looked up. A witch! But she didn’t look evil, and she sighed. “Dear, could you help choose a new colour for my cottage? It’s taking so long to decide…”

Now to wait for the results!

Cheerio.

Inspire Me Thursday : Vernal Equinox Challenge

2006-04-17T22:09:00.000+05:30

Where I come from (India), for all practical purposes, there are only two main seasons - Summer and the Monsoon. In the state of Bangalore (where I currently live) , you could say there are three seasons - Summer, Monsoon and Winter (when there is a drop in temperatures primarily in the night). Funnily enough, in India, Spring is practically non-existant. We either have pleasant days or days when its too hot or raining cats and dogs! :)

So what I'm actually trying to get at here is that I'm not really sure if the season here right now is Spring. We've been having unusually high temperatures erratically interspersed with heavy showers. I'd say its summer down here!

So for the spring challenge, I figured I'd have to do something based on my thoughts about Spring. But then I looked out of my balcony and spotted this nest in the tree in the front of my apartment building. For all you know it may be a remnant of the last season as I don't think its occupied right now, but it did remind me of Spring.

Here it is in pen and water colours for you to see. Water colours because I'm fairly new to the medim and so have been trying to use it as often as I can.

(I apologise for the poor quality photograph...it was the best I could do at the time!)

And oh! When I'd finished with the water colours, the nest appeared to be nothing but an unidentifiable brown object. So in an attempt to save it and make the whole thing more 'spring-like' I stuck some twigs on it, hoping it would look more like a nest. I'm not sure if it helped!

:D

What do you think?

EDM Challenge #4: Draw Your Mug Or Cup.

2006-04-17T21:49:00.000+05:30

Did this yesterday while experimenting with watercolours (I'm new to them) and figured it would work for EDM Challenge #4 : Draw your mug or cup. Since its been ages since I've done an EDM challenge, I hereby present to you - my mug!

Illustration Friday : Spotted

2006-04-15T22:54:00.000+05:30

Billy and his dog Dot, got into a spot of bother.

Spotted by mother

Whilst drawing spots on the wall,

They were caught freckles, collar and all.

B'day Doodle

2006-04-14T18:20:00.000+05:30

Just something I doodled while I was procrastinating. Why is it that the longer my to-do list gets, the less inclined I become to get it done?

Inspire Me Thursday : Series of Art

2006-04-13T16:59:00.000+05:30

Illustration Friday : Speed

2006-04-09T03:07:00.000+05:30

Attempt # 3

Attempt # 2

Attempt #1

Woke up this morning and did'nt like what I'd posted last night (Never work on something when you can barely keep your eyes open).

So worked on it and then worked on it some more. Does it say 'Speed'?

Illustration Friday : Spring

2006-04-01T01:49:00.000+05:30

"...In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,

When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;

Sweet lovers love the spring."

~William Shakespeare

(As You Like It 5.3.15-20)

The whole quote goes like this,

"It was a lover and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,

That o’er the green corn-field did pass,

In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,

When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;

Sweet lovers love the spring."

I'd found the last three lines on one quote site and had almost finished the illo, when I decided to verify the quote on other sites, which was when I found the complete quote. By then it was too late to incorporate green corn fields :).

So I'll just leave you with a lover and his lass, enjoying spring...

Illustration Friday : Monster & Inspire Me Thursday : Monochromatic Art

2006-03-30T00:57:00.000+05:30

Two entries this week.

The first one just happened. Was'nt sure how relevant it was to the topic, so did the second one. The second one is monochromatic as it doubles up as my submission for the Inspire Me Thurs 'Monochromatic Art' challenge.

Little Monster

Monochrome Monster

P.S : Both the illo's this time round feature Libby. You can read The Libby Story here.

Cheerio!

Trouble

2006-03-23T16:13:00.000+05:30

This guy's gonna get in so much trouble when he's found out!

The Libby Story

2006-03-23T00:28:00.000+05:30

The Libby Story

(Story by Dogcrab, Illustration by Ratlion)

Bored. Bored bored bored bored bored bored bored. That’s how Libby felt.
Of course, she didn’t know that word, but she felt it all the same. And of course, being bored, she was also moody and cranky and exasperated. Actually, she didn’t know that last word either, to be perfectly honest.
In fact, Libby didn’t know rather a lot of words, but that was all right, because she was just four years old, and you can’t really expect four-year-olds to know so many big words, no matter how precocious.
Of course, she didn’t know what that word… well, you get the general idea.
But in fact, it was because she was precocious that she was this bored, and why she got this bored this easily, because precocious children need something to do, and Libby simply didn’t have anything to do.
Now, you may wonder why Libby didn’t have anything to do. It was, after all, a weekday, and she should have been at school. Or, since it was afternoon, she should have been back from school, and either sleepy after her lunch or out playing in the back-garden with her best friend, Max. He even lived next door, so it really shouldn’t have been a problem at all.
But you see, that actually was the problem. Max had caught a cold. He’d caught it from his brother Jackie, who’d caught it from Ellie, at school, who’d caught it from Gerry. And Libby parents didn’t want her to catch it as well, so she couldn’t go play with Max. Actually, they were worried she’d caught it already, which is why she hadn’t gone off to school that day. And sitting at home, with no one to play ball with her, she was, as you can imagine, looking for something to do.

And there was no one to play with at home either. Daddy was away at work, and Mommy was in her ‘special’ room, painting. Libby found that boring too, because she couldn’t paint with a brush, like Mommy did. Painting with her fingers was much more fun anyway, but if she did that, she couldn’t help Mommy. Once, when Libby had found Mommy’s painting, not fully ready, she had decided to help complete it. Mommy was away at the time, and Libby knew where to find the pots of paint. She’d selected her favourite colours, and a man whose face Mommy had been working on for two weeks ended up with one pink eye in addition to his two blue ones, and a purple splotch that looked like an octopus eating his nose.
When Mommy came back home, she’d rubbed her temples. Then, smiling, she’d told Libby that although she loved her very much, Libby would have to grow just a little older before she could help with these paintings again.

Mommy had then bought her a nice book to paint in, so she could colour bunnies green with her fingers if she so wanted (and she did, of course.) Libby would have loved to play with that book today, but she’d given it (being a big girl and all) to Max’s baby brother Paolo. Paolo, not knowing how important green bunnies were, had eaten the book.
Paolo was just a little baby, and Mommy had said Libby shouldn’t really mind, so she hadn’t, but this meant she couldn’t play with the picture book either.

And so, Libby, bored (and moody and cranky and exasperated and precocious) as she was, sat on her bed, looking at the dust floating in a sunbeam, and frowned. What could she do? Bob the Builder wasn’t on TV today, and she’d already seen Lilo and Stitch twice this week.

Ah! Lilo and Stitch! That gave her an idea. She hopped off the bed and - with some difficulty, since the doors weighed more than her – opened her cupboard. There! Inside, lying upside down, was Libby’s doll, Gaggelly-Ann, who looked just like the little doll Lilo had in the movie. Her name was supposed to be Raggedy-Ann, naturally, but these things happen. Especially with four-year olds.
Libby felt a bit bad because she’s forgotten Gaggelly-Ann for so long, but she was very happy too. Gurgling with delight, Libby jumped and scrabbled about the shelves till she managed to get Gaggelly-Ann by one limp arm and dragged her down.
Plop!
Something else had fallen out, along with Gaggelly-Ann. Two things. One was green and one was brown, and both were very hairy and had eight long legs each. Libby jumped in surprise, mouth opening wide in horror, then realised what they were. They were fake insects, made of rubber. Libby’s mouth opened in a big, big grin, shaped exactly like a slice of watermelon. This was something she could use.

Have you seen “The Grinch That Stole Christmas?” Well, if you haven’t, you should – it’s very funny. And if you have, you’ll know what that bad Grinch’s grin looks like. It’s big and wide and very wicked, and you know just by looking at it that he’s about to do something very naughty indeed.
And that’s just the sort of grin Libby had on her face when she took the fake insects and ran to Mommy’s special room.

But wait a minute. What were these fake insects? And why did Libby have them? They weren’t hers, you see. They belonged to Max, who was nice, but was also a naughty boy sometimes. One day, Libby and Max had been playing in his garden, Libby sitting down and looking at Gaggelly-Ann on the grass, when Max had walked up – very quietly – behind her, and put something cold and wriggly and horrible down her neck.
Libby had jumped and squeaked in fright, and pushed Max away. Max, naughty boy that he was, jumped up and pulled poor Libby’s hair and made her cry. Sobbing, Libby ran back home and told her Daddy, who’d just grinned and told her Max was a silly boy. But he also gave her a hug, which was nice, and when he did that, he found the icky little creepy-crawlies that Max had put on her, and smiling to himself, had put them away in Libby’s cupboard.

And now she’d found them again, and she knew just what to do with them now.
This was going to be fun. Libby, still grinning, walked as softly as her little legs could carry along the carpet, and went very, very quietly into her Mommy’s special room. Mommy was looking at her painting, and didn’t see naughty little Libby as she tiptoed into the room, and went to the big table where Mommy kept all her pots of paint and the horrible-smelling thing that she cleaned her hands with.
As quiet as a mouse, Libby took the big brown fake insect and put it carefully on top of a big pot. Then, just as quietly, she ran and hid behind the thick curtains, and waited. Five minutes later, she was still waiting. And she was starting to get bored again – Mommy looked like she was just using red and green in her painting, and wasn’t looking at the other colours at all.

Libby was tired now. Sighing to herself, she was about to move away, when Mommy turned. Libby, grinning again, hid deeper behind the curtain. Mommy went straight to the big table, and picked up a small pot of paint, and started to walk back to her painting.
Libby gasped. She stamped her foot angrily. Mommy hadn’t seen the insect!
But then, Mommy turned again, and went back to her pots, and this time, she did see the insect. She gasped for a minute, then said “Ewwww!” very loudly, and brushed the horrible fake insect away.

Libby, standing and grinning behind the curtain, was very pleased. She put one plump hand to her mouth, trying to cover it before she could giggle aloud – but it was too late! She cackled happily, and Mommy turned. She saw Libby standing there, laughing and holding the other insect in her hand, and knew right away what our naughty little Libby had done. She burst out laughing, and chased Libby, saying “Where did you get that horrible thing, you little pest?”
Libby, laughing too, ran back into her room, flinging the insect away and picking Gaggelly-Ann as she did. Mommy followed her in and stooped down, saying “Caught you!” and almost picked Libby up. But Libby was quick. She dropped to her knees and crawled between Mommy’s legs, and ran back down the corridor and downstairs.
She was very careful as she went down the stairs, as all little children should be, and held on to the banister every step of the way. Still, she was very quick, and holding Gaggelly-Ann, she hopped into the guest bedroom.

This was a small room, smaller than the room Libby shared with Mommy and Daddy, but it was nice. It was all done in a bright yellow and had lots of little blue things all over, which Libby liked very much. But some of these blue things also cost a lot of money, and some of them could break very easily, and Mommy and Daddy had told Libby not to touch those things.
One of those things was a funny kind of blue pot, which Daddy had brought back from India. India was a big country, very far away, and Libby didn’t know where it was, but the pot was nice. It was made of glass, deep blue glass, and it was very pretty.
It was kept on a little table next to the bed, which was where Libby had decided to hide. But she was hurrying so much that she knocked her head against one of the table’s legs.

Ow. That hurt. Her head hurt, and everything went yellow and purple for a minute. Libby, tears in her eyes, was about to cry, but then something worse happened.
The pretty blue pot jiggled and wobbled on top of the table, and then, before Libby could do anything, it fell on the floor with a very loud crash and broke into lots of little pieces.

Uh-oh.

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

This was not good.

Mommy would be very angry. Libby knew that. She’d get scolded again, just like when she’d drawn a clown on her bedroom wall. And sure enough, just as the pot broke, she heard Mommy yell from upstairs, “Libby! What happened?”
Libby was scared now. She looked around, and didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t fix that pot, that was for sure. Even Gaggelly-Ann looked scared.
She could hear Mommy coming down the stairs.
Very scared now, Libby looked for a place to hide. The bed! She could hide under the bed! Quickly, she crawled under it, dragging Gaggelly-Ann with her. It was dark and dusty under the bed but Mommy wouldn’t be able to find her. She heard Mommy running into the room.
“Libby! Are you all right? Where are you?” she said, as she came into the little bedroom. Libby said nothing, and just hugged Gaggelly-Ann very tight.
She could only see Mommy’s feet as she walked towards the bed, and held her breath as the feet came closer and closer, and then, she grew even more frightened when Mommy stopped beside the broken pot.

“Oh no Libby, how did you do this? Where are you? Come out now, you silly girl. Libby!” That last ‘Libby’ was very loud, and scared the poor little girl even more. She held on even more tightly to her doll, and hoped Mommy wouldn’t look under the bed.
Mommy stood there for a minute, then sighed and started to pick up the pieces of the broken pot. Libby shrank back into the darkness under the bed, and then something else happened.
Her nose started to tickle. It felt funny, but it was very annoying. Libby rubbed her nose but the tickling didn’t stop. She even buried her face in Gaggelly-Ann, but that just made it worse. She could feel a sneeze building up now. Oh no, here it came…

“Atchoo!”
The feet stopped. And turned.
Terrified now, Libby watched as the feet came quickly back to the bed. Then she saw knees, and then Mommy’s face down by the floor.
“Libby! There you are, you little monster,” said Mommy. She reached out. Libby had no choice. She crawled out from under the bed, shaking dust bunnies from her hair. She felt herself being picked up, and then, she was looking straight into Mommy’s face.

Mommy was looking stern.

Really, really scared now, Libby trembled, and said “Sorry, Mommy, I didn’t mean to break that pot.” Mommy said nothing, and just brushed some of the dust off Libby’s hair.
Libby burst into tears. “Don’t yell at me, Mommy, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she wailed, and sneezed again.
“Hey, no one’s yelling at you, sweetie,” said Mommy, gently. “It’s all right, it’s all right. I’m not angry at you.”
Libby hiccupped, and looked cautiously at Mommy. She really didn’t look angry. “Sorry,” she whispered, again, and Mommy gave her a hug, patting her on the back. “Don’t worry darling, it’s all right.” Then she pulled Libby upright again. Libby gave her a watery smile, and rubbed her nose, which was already going red.
“Oh. Do you have a cold?” asked Mommy. “Or is it just dust?”
Libby sneezed again, and there was no doubt. She had a cold.
“Poor baby,” said Mommy.

You know what a cold feels like. You get all sniffly and sneezy and your nose gets drippy. And sometimes, you get a fever, which doesn’t feel good at all. Even grown-ups feel very sad when they have a cold, but when you’re as little as Libby, it’s even worse. You feel terrible. But Mommy knew just what Libby needed.
She took Libby to the bathroom, and picked up a handful of paper towels – just in time! Having a drippy nose is awful, isn’t it? Then, it was off to the kitchen with a fluffy jumper on her tall chair while Mommy whipped up some chicken soup. That was nice - Libby hadn’t realised that having a cold and being bored could make you very hungry indeed. Then, just as Libby was starting to feel nice and full, Mommy went up, and in a minute, Libby heard the gurgle and splash of water as her bath was made ready.

Oh no. This didn’t sound good. Libby didn’t like baths. She was feeling more cranky than ever, especially because her nose tickled and her head hurt. She was starting to feel strange and warm too, and a bath didn’t feel like what she wanted to do at all. She struggled as Mommy took her up the stairs, but it was no use. She was going to have to take a bath whether she liked it or not.
And in fact, she quite liked it. It was warm and wet and comforting, and she loved the strawberry smell of her bubble bath. And then, to be dried off with a fluffy towel and put into her favourite night suit – blue with stars on it! – felt wonderful. And she was sleepy, so so sleepy.
Libby wanted to hug Gaggelly-Ann, but Mommy said Gaggelly-Ann was dusty after having stayed in the cupboard for so long, and would make her sneeze. She brought Libby her teddy bear instead, which did just as well. Actually, Ralph the teddy bear (he was called Ralph because he looked just like Ralph, at school) was even softer and cuddlier, and felt just right, just when her head started to nod.

And that was that, for quite a long day, really. Libby didn’t know words like ‘reflection,’ but if she did, she’d have reflected upon the fact that for all her boredom, her day had been extremely eventful.

And if you don’t know that word, you should really have a long talk with your parents about the way they’re bringing you up. If you’re older than four, that is.

-----------------

(Feedback would be much appreciated! :) )

Inspire Me Thursday : Think BIG

2006-03-22T22:06:00.000+05:30

Most of my art work, be it on paper or the computer, is usually a standard A4 size. The maximum size of paper I've worked on so far is around size A2, which was also the only size of paper I had on hand when I sat down to work on the 'Inspire Me Thurs' challenge this evening. But working on even the A2 size seemed like cheating, as it was'nt something I'd never tried before. Thought about it some and realized that all my artwork is of standard size. So why not try to make it taller or wider? After all, it was one of the suggestions that accompanied the challenge. So I cut the A2 size (slightly bigger actually) chart sheet into a 70 inchesX30inches format.

Now we come to the idea for the painting. I've been down with a head cold for the last 2 days. Still am. Stayed home from college, but could'nt stay away from the comp in between periods of rest. Hey, it helped distract me from the stuffy nose and sore throat :). Was fiddling around with the look of the blog in the morning and in the process, decided to make a new header. Ended up with the header above. It took 2 min to make it in Photoshop and at the time of posting, I was pretty ambivalent about it. I neither loved nor hated it. But the the longer I looked at it, the more I liked it. So in the evening, when I decided to work on the 'Inspire Me Thurs' challenge, I figured I'd try the same design by hand.

The result is here for you to see.

70 in X 30 in, Oil Paints on Chart paper

So how did I take my art to new heights with this challenge? Well, its the first time I've worked on this format. It is wider and taller than my work usually is. And more importantly, this is my very first totally abstract painting! (Hoorah! Never thought of myself as an abstract kinda person :D) . So I did try something new, for which I'm happy. And I must say, I hav'nt enjoyed painting something by hand (as in non-digitally) so much in a long while.

:)

Cheers.

P.S: If you've seen any of my illustrations featuring Libby, and would like to read a story based on some of those illo's, go here - 'The Libby Story'. :) (Feedback would be much appreciated.)

New Look

2006-03-22T12:21:00.000+05:30

What's with the new look you ask?
Well, woke up this morning with this strong need for some kind of change. Since I don't want a hair-cut and am basically stuck at home with a bad head cold, I figured I'd fiddle with the blog. So white replaces black, a new header (look below) replaces the old and links are updated.

What's with the psychadelic header you ask?
Well. Don't ask. Must be all the medicine I'm taking.

Hmm.

Argh! What have I done?!

I'm Sick And So Is Libby

2006-03-21T19:53:00.000+05:30

I'm down with the cold, and figured I needed to distract myself from the stuffy nose and sore throat. This is the result.

Illustration Friday : Feet Two

2006-03-20T19:46:00.000+05:30

Another take on the topic, this time with Libby in it. Hope it makes sense! :)

See my first entry to 'Feet' here.

Illustration Friday : Feet

2006-03-18T19:47:00.000+05:30

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair"

- Kahlil Gibran

See my second entry for 'Feet' here.

Rainbows End

2006-03-15T19:14:00.000+05:30

At one end of the rainbow, you will find,
A witch of a very unique kind.
With violet hair and purple shoes,
She runs a cauldron, in which a magic potion brews.

Violet, indigo, blue and green,
She got by adding flowers, ink, bits of sky and grass with a dewdrop sheen.
To get the colours yellow, orange and red,
She mixed in sunshine, fruit and poppies straight from her flower bed.

Once all the ingredients were in,
She stirred till it bubbled upto her chin!
When magic words over it she had uttered,
Her magic wand over it she fluttered.

Finally after a hour or two,
A beautiful rainbow out of it grew!

Copyright 2006 Ratlion

-----------------------------

Lol...This is far from being a perfect or should I say 'great' poem...I'd say it's just 'ok'. Could use some polishing.

The idea originated in my head this morning while I was in the bus (I, in fact, got the inspiration from the topic (Rainbows End) for a contest I found online) , and I completed the rest at college before classes began. Done for fun more than anything else :D.

An illustration to follow in the (very) near future.

Cry

2006-03-13T19:04:00.000+05:30

"Once in a while, when you were alone, whether or not there were people around, did you ever feel so sad you could cry, as if you were the only one of your kind in the world?"

~ From the book, 'The Bridge Across Forever' by Richard Bach

Inspire Me Thursday : Sense-less Art

2006-03-12T10:03:00.000+05:30

Over at Inspire Me Thurs, this week's challenge is to create something without using your senses. Here's how I went about doing it...

Vision (Sight) : Worked with my eyes closed for the most part. Drew in the basic pencil drawing with my eyes closed (and was very surprised with what I ended up with). Filled in areas with water colour pencils..again with my eye's closed (Just spread the colour pencils around...picked colours at random and tried filling the surface...all with my eye's closed).

Feelings (Touch) : Certainly had no idea about the outcome or any expectations at the outset. Just went with the flow.

Hear (Listen) : This was perhaps the hardest criteria of all. Forget my inner critic, initially it was just hard to ignore my brain telling me to open my eyes and just see what I was doing. The inner critic did surface later, when I'd finished applying water on the pencil colouring...all I had was a dull muddy mix of colours. Not good, the inner critic screamed. I ignored him/her. Also ignored my conscience telling me to go finsih my chores. Which I will have to get to as soon as I'm done uploading this .

Tastes (Taste) : Used watercolour pencils and markers on this challenge - two mediums I hardly ever use.

Smell : No specific smell was involved, except the slight whiff of the markers towards the end. But they hardly lasted for 5 seconds anyway.

Once the pencil drawing and colouring was done with my eyes closed, I outlined everything with a blue marker. A few details in the hair and flower as well as the blue border were added at the end to balance things out.

Illustration Friday : Tattoo

2006-03-12T00:56:00.000+05:30

Inspire Me Thursday : Five Senses

2006-03-08T21:46:00.000+05:30

Hello.

This week's Inspire me Thursday challenge was to create a piece of art using all the five senses - sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

Well, I went more than a little crazy with this one. I think I've used every kind of material I could lay my hands on.

To start at the beginning, while brainstorming on ideas, I decided to do something on a quote I liked. Then came the process of trying and seeing what kind of images the quote conjured in my mind's eye. After I'd pinned down what I was going to do, I drew a rough sketch on canvas and set to work. The lady was drawn on a piece of white cardpaper and cut out. Her skin was painted with tea and shading was added using colour pencils. Her hair was done using dry pastels and her dress was drawn and cut-out in tracing paper and glued on to her. Oh, and those wings are cut out of an old newspaper.

Before I painted the background entirely with oil paints, I rubbed a little glue onto it and sprinkled some salt around for texture. After painting in the sky, the clouds and the rays, I used a fork to scratch the paint a bit for even more texture. For about five seconds, this was even done with one eye closed :D. Also attempted to use lemon as a kind of stamp on the background (and in the process almost ruined the entire thing) . The biggest star was cut out of thermacol, glued on and filled in with glitter, while glitter was directly applied to the smaller stars. And finally, the quote was added in black paint.
This is how I think it fulfills the 'five senses' criteria :

SEE: Trying to see what images the qoute evoked in my mind's eye (visializing the concept), Making the scratches with an eye closed (:D Yes, I really tried that!)...

TOUCH: Plenty of texture here - oil paint, different kinds of paper, salt, scratches, colour pencils, rubbing the pastels in...

SMELL: The smell of the tea I used to paint, glue , turpentine and linseed oil (used as medium for the oil paint)...

SOUND: I hereby declare that I tore and ripped the paper for the dress, and definitely scratched the piece of art. Even listened to music the whole time.

TASTE: Used tea to paint and drunk tea while painting, used salt for texture and lemon as a kind of stamp (don't ask!).

The whole thing was completed in about 4-5 hours (with breaks in between) on Sunday, but hav'nt had the time to photograph and upload it till today.

On the whole, I'd say it could've been a lot better and it probably needs a little more colour (Hey! That rhymes!).

But what the hell, I certainly had fun with it! :)

Illustration Friday : Insect

2006-03-07T10:47:00.000+05:30

Thoughts Of A Lunatic Mind

2006-03-06T20:53:00.000+05:30

(Poem by Krishna, Illustration by Ratlion)

Self-Portrait - Or Another Attempt At One Anyway

2006-03-01T15:30:00.000+05:30

Another attempt at a self-portrait. Having fun with these. However, something's not quite right with this one. Spent the whole morning trying to put a finger on what's wrong, but only ended up getting frustrated witht the whole thing. So decided to just post it and get it off my hands and head for now...

Can you tell what's wrong with it?

Inspire Me Thursday : February Challenge #2

2006-02-27T19:44:00.000+05:30

Self-Portrait

I sat down with the intention of doing a self-portrait and sometime later I had this.

Now if I could only figure out what it says about me!

Looking forward to many more 'Inspire Me Thursday' challenge's...

Illustration Friday : Tea

2006-02-26T19:45:00.000+05:30

I'm submitting two entries for this week's topic - both very different in style from my usual illo's. Just went with the flow and had fun in the process :) ...

Illustration #1

A tea party, moreover a little girl's tea party with doll's and teddy bear's involved, was one of the first things that came to mind when I saw this week's topic. So first up, we have Libby ( I could'nt resist! :) )hosting a tea party for her favourite doll and bear...

Illustration #2

Second up, is something that's kind of supposed to be a self-portrait. You see, I found this quote by C.S.Lewis that was soooo me (if you know what I mean) that I just had to illustrate it for this week.

I'm a big coffee/tea addict and I've been a bookworm for as far back as I can remember. So here's me with a book and a mug of tea, with my faithful lab for company :).

'You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me'

~ C.S.Lewis

(I could'nt have put it better!)

As you can see, I've tried something different from my usual style. So really looking forward to feedback. Do let me know what you think!

Sand Castle By The Sea

2006-02-23T21:51:00.000+05:30

Coyright 2006 Jade & Ratlion

(Poem by Jade, Ilustration by Ratlion)

This is an illustration done for a poem my cousin Jade wrote yestrday. The poem's really very good for a first attempt and I like the 'heart' of it (or the message,if you will! :) ). I was bowled over by it and had to illustrate it. Had fun doing it too as I tried to do somethign different from my usual style and made a lot of discoveries in Illustrator :).

I'll leave you with the poem, in case it is'nt very legible on the picture (though you could click on the image for a closer look :) )...

Sand Castle By The Sea

Sand castles that tumble down,

The waves that are gentle and yet strong,

Take away what you think was yours,

No matter what you try, it’s all gone.

How foolish can you be?

To build sand castles near the sea.

But funny, isn’t it?

Where else will sand castles be?

Nothing stops you, not even the pain,

Still there is nothing to gain,

The waves will come, the castles will fall,

All you can do is, build them again…

Illustration Friday : Song

2006-02-19T13:30:00.000+05:30

The Cookie Song

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me.

Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C!

- 'C is for cookie' sung by the Cookie Monster (Sesame street)

I've been learning a lot about the technical aspects of drawing lately - especially proportions and perspective drawing. This sketch was done in class one day as a rough doodle. I really liked something about it, so I decided to challenge myself and execute it in a more technically accurate manner. It took me about the whole of yesterday and today morning to complete (I can't believe I had the patience to do all those perspective projection drawings! But I'm glad I did!) , as a result of which I was in no mood to embark on an illustration for illo fri's 'Song' anytime soon. But at the same time, as I posted last week's entry at the nth hour, I wanted to be punctual with this week's entry. So I began to wonder if I could use this 'Cookie' sketch in any way for 'Song'...and lo and behold!...I present to you the 'Cookie song', sung by none other than the Cookie monster from Sesame street!

Don't you just love the internet? :D

Here's a glimpse of the rough sketch and the perspective drawing/projections. I was not looking forward to the technical drawings but I have to say I have more respect for the need for them now...boy, do they help!

*Wanders away singing 'C is for cookie...' tunelessly*

Illustration Friday : Simple

2006-02-17T06:50:00.000+05:30

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive.”

Eleanora Duse quotes (Italian Actress. 1858-1924)

Illustration Friday: Chair

2006-02-06T19:16:00.000+05:30

I've been a voracious reader ever since I can remember, and I can never think of my childhood without also thinking about the books and author's I've read and loved.

One such author is Enid Blyton.

When I was thinking of idea's for this week's topic, one particular Enid Blyton book, 'The Adventures of the Wishing Chair' came to mind. It's a wonderful book written in typical Enid Blyton style about two chidren, Mollie and Peter, who find an old chair in an antique shop. Now, this is no ordinary chair...as the name suggests, it's the wishing chair - a magic chair that grows wings. Whenever the chair grew wings, the children sat in the chair and wished to travel to a particular faraway (and usually magical!) land, wherein the chair would fly wherever they had wished to be.The book is full of adventures, with the children and their friend Chinky the pixie sometimes landing up in terrible places and sometimes in absolutely delightful lands.

So here's Libby from the previous post ( I liked her so much, I decided to let her feature in this week's illo too :) ). She's just read 'The Adventures of the Wishing Chair' and is now dreaming of being on her own magical chair which will sprout wings and carry her off to have adventures in faraway magical lands!

Illustration Friday: Glamour

2006-01-29T13:46:00.000+05:30

There was nothing Libby liked more than to dress up in her mom's clothes and jewellery and pretend to be a glamourous movie-star....

EDM Challenge #51: TV

2006-01-29T13:30:00.000+05:30

Challenge # 51 : Draw your TV with a show playing.

Done after lunch, while watching 'Recess' on the Disney channel. It's definitely not my favourite show or anything - was watching 'Honey, we shrunk ourselves' while eating, and did'nt bother to switch channels after it ended. Done entirely with a fountain pen, which was fun. Proportions have definitely gone hay-wire though! :)

Illustration Friday: Cats

2006-01-22T11:49:00.000+05:30

Hello.

I have two entries for this week. The first one's for a piece of text written by Dogcrab, and the second is just something that popped into my head last night. Both illo's are of totally different styles. In fact, I would say the style of the second one is very similar to that of my entry last week and even inspired from last week's theme.

~----------------~

Dogcrab On The Subject Of Cats

Cats.

What is it with old women and cats?

Every mad old bat in every movie and every book, living by herself in a little cottage, has cats. Scads of them. Arabella figg in Harry Potter, the grumpy old hag in Gremlins. All dotty, all weird and all living in a whirl of cat hair and milk. And cat smell. Which is really strong. I read somewhere that what you think about cats is the way you view your ideal partner...So... is this some psychological thing, the cats being the relationships that didn't happen? The scarred tom there, is he the rough-but-ready rogue that got away, those kittens playing with the ball of yarn, the kids she never had?

What do you think?

~----------------~

C is for Cat

~------------~

I've gotten mixed reactions to both styles so far. I'd love to hear what you think of each, so please do leave behind some constructive criticism (good or bad) !

Cheerio.

Illustration Friday : E is for...

2006-01-20T00:55:00.000+05:30

E is for...

- the ecstatic me when my computer, which decided to go into a coma sometime last Saturday, finally woke up yesterday.

- the exasperated me when I could'nt think of anything good enough for this week's topic and assumed I would'nt be able to post anything this week as a result of no ideas and lack of time.

- the elated me when, after having decided to keep it simple and post something/anything (I hav'nt missed a single challenge since I started following Illo Fri), I finally managed to finish and post the above illo.

Enjoy!

dogcrab demented

2006-01-19T13:37:00.000+05:30

finally, finally, an actual thought... ratlion should be pleased... wish it were a more cheerful one though, or at least something nice and philosophical... bah... feels like there's a dementor stalking me or sitting on my shoulder... jk rowling gave us such a wonderful device to pin our gloom on, didn't she? it's exactly as she'd described them... crazy, crazy pain, gloom, all the worst thoughts and horrors of your mind jumping up at you, everything you thought you'd managed to grow out of... even things totally unconnected with the cause of your misery start to look threatening... family, friends, everything... one ambiguous word here or there and you're worried, upset and frightened... that it's all going to hell... alles ist verruckt... what an apt phrase...
at work... it's something incredible to have to come to terms with... that in no event is the world ever really going to be a fair place... that there'll never be a wiped slate from which everyone can start and be judged on the truth... so depressing to know that there are actually storybook villains in the world and that you have to either join them, or chuck your principles and go along, or be a worse person and fight back... i guess it's one of the lessons of life or something...
anyway. damn. and who do you explain your anger to?
wish i had some song lyric that would say this... hello rainthots... but i don't think so... wish i could put up 'comfortably numb'... wish i felt that way.

Illustration Friday: Sea

2006-01-08T16:14:00.000+05:30

She sells

sea shells

on the

sea shore.

This tongue twister I remember from way back when I was young (Wait a sec, I'm still young! Correction: Younger! ) seemed a perfect subject to illustrate for this week's topic. (When my mom first recited it for us, me and sis spent atleast an hour trying to say it fast enough without getting the pronunciations mixed up).

The only other tongue twister I remember from back then is,

Betty bought some butter,

the butter was bitter.

So Betty bought some more butter,

to make the bitter butter better.

Do you know any similar tongue twisters?

Love Lost - 2nd In The Quotation Series

2006-01-06T17:06:00.000+05:30

Ta~da!

I hereby present to you, the second in the 'Quotation' series. I call it 'Love Lost'...

( Click on the image for an enlarged view. Recommended if you want to read the quotes in the background! :) )

Ahem.

I did tell you I was bored. Three days off with nothing to do, can do weird things to a person. But hey! I think this turned out pretty well, don't you? Done in a total of around 3 hours ((with innumerable breaks in between, I might add!) too. :D

While the previous one in the series was inspired by the quote, in this case the drawing came before the quotes. As in I put down the figure that came to mind at that moment and then found the quotes that seemed to best suit the concept that the figure suggested.

Anyhoo!! I enjoyed making it...and I have a feeling there just maybe a few more additions to this series...

Cheerio.

Successful Relationships - 1st In The Quotation Series

2006-01-05T23:15:00.000+05:30

Hey All.

Been having a lot of free time on my hands lately. Was especially bored today evening, so decided to illustrate this saying/quote I got in the mail. It's a combination of drawing and collage techniques. Did'nt quite turn out the way I had in mind, but I had fun with it :).

What do you think?

A successful relationship requires falling in love many times with the same person

EDM 48: My New Year's Goal/ Resolution

2006-01-04T23:03:00.000+05:30

Hello.

Just discovered a yahoo group called 'Everyday Matters', through this site. It's quite similar to Illustration Friday and consists of - among other things - weekly drawing challenges, with a new topic announced every weekend.

Obviously I'm thrilled at the discovery :D. Have already signed myself up and here's my contribution to this week's challenge.

Challenge #48 - Draw something that represents your new year's goal or resolution

I've decided that my new year's resolution is going to be to draw more, and more over to draw better each time as illustration is something I want to pursue seriously as a career.

So there's me, diligently ideating and persevering to create consistently good art :).

Do let me know what you think of it!

My New Profile Pic

2006-01-04T13:07:00.000+05:30

Yup. That's me. Or rather as close to me as I could get.

People who know me, ought to agree there's a likeness! :)

*Update: Ok, sis does'nt think it looks like me :(

But what the heck! I'm keeping it! Atleast till I get around to making another...

Illustration Friday: Flavour

2006-01-01T12:16:00.000+05:30

There's nothing quite like the flavour of

a hot cuppa coffee...

Illustration Friday : Holiday

2005-12-25T01:34:00.000+05:30

Hello.

While thinking about this week's topic, several ways of looking at it occured to me - I could do an illo based on,
~what I usually like to do on holidays
~where I feel like holidaying at this moment or
~what this particular holiday season brings to mind.

So here are my submissions for the week, one illo for each of the above mentioned aspects :) .

What I usually like to do on a holiday
Sit back and relax with a good book, maybe even daydream a little in the process :)

Where I feel like holidaying at the moment

The beach! Been feeling restless the past few days and thinking a lot about a vacation in some tranquil, secluded beach somewhere...

What this particular holiday season brings to mind

Snow, family, friends, tradition...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! :)

Stuff

2005-12-22T21:55:00.000+05:30

Medium: Pencil

Medium: Charcoal

Medium: Poster paint

Illustration Friday : Imagine

2005-12-18T19:52:00.000+05:30

Imagine meeting the one and falling in love.....

Pause

2005-12-18T19:00:00.000+05:30

What happens when you're watching a movie, a steamy scene beginning to build up, and whoops, your mom walks into the room - grab the remote? Sure. And pause it at a safe-looking moment, hoping the electricity of the room isn't sniffed out. Freezing the frame on your DVD player opens up a whole new world.... You suddenly wonder what it would be like to be a stranger, entering the room while you were out getting popcorn or taking a leak, and having not a clue what was happening in the story. You're an outsider, out of the loop, wondering why the hell Christina Ricci is scowling at a disfigured Charlize Theron - is she about to be attacked or about to be fucked? Why's Donald Duck in mid-air, his tongue out against a Technicolor background, who's got his goat? From here, you're the storyteller, endless possibilities branching out of that mid-movie moment, given the freedom to make up your own story because you were in the other room, not invited to watch. You can start a new life now, you're God, you can make the past and the future. You can even go back to your damn book if you want, but that moment will stay there with you, to do with as you wish.And then you press Play, and you lose control again.
Damn, but when did you ever have it?

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Copyright 2005 Dogcrab

Illustration Friday : Surprise

2005-12-11T23:40:00.000+05:30

Text by Dogcrab, Illo by Ratlion

“Hey!”
“What?”
“Who the…?”
“What?”
“The cheesecake!”
“Where?”
“Exactly!”
“What?”
“It’s not there!”
“Um.”
“Who the… who ate the whole thing!?”
“Um…”
“The whole thing! Entire damn cheesecake!”
“Um…”
“When I…”
“Yes?”
“When I find who did it… I’ll… I’ll…”
“You did.”
“Eh?”
“The day before. You did your usual “There’s nothing to eat” thing, then found the cheesecake, scratched your belly, brought out a fork and ate it.”
“I did?”
“Yup.”
“But I’m hungry now.”
“And…?”
“And there’s nothing to eat.”
“Naturally.”

*Muttering, scratching, etc. Bachelor sounds.*

“Hey!”
“What?”
“A whole pack of salami!”
“Amazing. What a surprise.”
----------------------------------------

Illustration Friday : Blue

2005-12-06T22:44:00.000+05:30

When I thought of 'Blue', this is what came to mind,

~Denim
~Water/the ocean
~A feeling of sadness
~A boy (as in pink for girls and blue for boys :) )

The result was the following illustration. Hmm....not very happy with it I'm afraid. Have come up with a better idea and shall definitely try and execute it, time permitting!

Till then, I'll leave you with the following illo - my submission for illustration friday this week :)

Illustration Friday : Small

2005-11-26T07:01:00.000+05:30

fairy

fair·y ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fâr)n. pl. fair·ies
n 1: small, human in form, playful, having magical powers

Illustration Friday : Free

2005-11-21T22:09:00.000+05:30

Him that I love, I wish to be free -- even from me.

~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Looking Inward

2005-11-16T22:31:00.000+05:30

Va-Va-Voom! : Street

2005-11-16T21:48:00.000+05:30

Va-Va-Voom! : Alley

2005-11-14T21:05:00.000+05:30

Illustration Friday

2005-11-13T10:45:00.000+05:30

Yesterday, while surfing, I came across this incredible site called 'ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY'.
As it says on the site,
Illustration Friday is a weekly illustration challenge. A topic is posted every Friday and then participants have all week to come up with their own interpretation.

I loved the concept and could'nt wait to jump on the bandwagon :).

So here goes, my first contribution.

This week's topic is 'STRENGTH'.

When I thought of 'strength', the first thing that came to mind was women and mom's in particular. And that in turn brought to mind this drawing I'd done a couple of years back.

I've improved a lot in my art since I did this, and I know I should've probably worked on it a bit, but for some reason I did'nt feel like making any changes to the original.

To me, the mom's face and expression in this drawing radiates a kind of gentle/quiet/patient strength and maybe even illustrates this quote I found online,

Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength

-- Frances de Sales

Redhead At The Beach : 2

2005-11-13T10:13:00.000+05:30

Redhead At The Beach : 1

2005-11-12T15:00:00.000+05:30

Blue

2005-11-11T14:24:00.000+05:30

Blue. The blue of a winter sky in Goa. The blue of a shimmering sea beneath. The blue of a beautiful girl's eyes, the blue of her swimsuit.

Or the blue of her lips when she was fished out of the water.
The blue of my mood ever since. It's all blue. Sometimes it seems blue is the only colour on Earth, the only colour there ever was.

It was the swimsuit that first caught my attention, an azure flash past my chair as I reclined under the palm trees, sipping a juice. It had been a pleasant on-season - great weather, a gorgeous sea, excellent temperatures and a nice crowd. There were a lot of pretty girls around, and no reason why this particular girl should catch my eye, but she did. I watched her streak down the stone path, brush aside the fronds of young palms, and scamper down the beach to the water-line. She was a creamy white, yet to tan, and the rich blue bikini suit showed up well against the skin, a soft, sliding metallic blue, nothing I'd ever seen before. I watched her splash around in the water, a pale figure in the distance, drained my drink, and walked down the beach towards her.

Meeting her was quite easy: a simple dive into the water, slicing around through brine, and a rise like some marine monster out of the waves. Salt stung my eyes as I grinned at her, then flung myself sideways into the water, swimming a few metres away. Before I looked back, I knew she was interested, and soon, she had floated close to me. Blue eyes flashed in the sunlight, damp hair was brushed aside with the back of an ivory hand, and she smiled. I grinned back, and extended my hand, and said, "Hi. Vardhan." Her hand reached out, nut brown skin connected with whipped cream, and I got an answer: "Megan." I nodded, then sank down under the surface, letting the cool water counter the sun. I came up, and she was still looking at me. "You swim well," she said.
"I don't know how you swim, but you look really good."
A laugh. An acceptance of the compliment, in a decidedly British accent. Learning to flirt was a definite asset, especially when there's such a receptive target.

More laughs. More banter, questions, answers, jokes. Chemistry. I knew it was there, so did she. Water splashed, salty drops created rainbows against a warm sun. I dived to the bottom - only a foot or two deep - and came up with a handful of sand, dripping, soft and squelching between my fingers. A little cream shell was unearthed, a miniature claw probing the world outside. I held it up to her, and she admired the tiny creature, looked up, a glow on her face, and dove down for her bounty of marine sand. Something was happening here, I knew that.

The sun started to retreat into the sea, we moved up the beach towards Baga, walking along firm, glistening sand. Walking along with the sunset. Passing throngs of people in multicoloured swimsuits: a school of terrestrial tropical fish. Halfway down we turned, in unspoken agreement, and walked back towards the restaurant. "What about tonight," I asked. "Not possible," she said, "have to eat with my parents. How about tomorrow, though?"

Tomorrow was fine - another day of swimming, perhaps sneaking off to a discotheque in Baga, perhaps a quiet chat up at the Taj. Villa 31, no less, the best the Village had to offer. The shade of a hundred palms, a lovely lawn, and seclusion from the other villas - perfect.

Tomorrow dawned, beautiful and clear, but something hit me as my feet touched the floor of my bedroom, hit with the force of a speeding train. Something was wrong, this day should never have broken. I don't know why I felt that, and I suppressed the queasiness in my stomach, and proceeded towards the beach.

She was there, at the same table that she had used yesterday, waiting, smiling. A quick hug, the soft plop of a bag falling on laterite soil, and the magic had returned. I looked at the sea: a beautiful, glittering blue, but somehow, an ominous blue. I couldn't explain it, but I was afraid of the sea right then, afraid of the sea that was my favourite companion. The waves were tumbling on the shore as usual, the breeze was a soft one, and everything seemed all right, but for some reason, I was uneasy. The bobbing of the orange pontoons marking the safe area to swim in, the zippy motion of the jet-skis, even the swaying of the palms made me uneasy. I smiled at her, told her, trying to sound as rational as possible, that a swim didn't seem appropriate today. She didn't get the message. Didn't get it. Didn't understand what the fates were telling her. Or was she not supposed to know?

We took a swim - Megan splashing happily into the salt water, me following, nervously, behind. The water was great, though, and my fears started dissolving, slowly, in the brine. Slowly, but not completely, oh no, not completely... We plowed forward, ducking beneath swollen waves, feeling the tug of the undertow against arms and legs. She reached the barrier first, the puny little orange rope that was held afloat by equally puny orange pontoons, and hung on, catching her breath, looking at me. I slid up next to her, listening to the soft clop of the buoys against the water, the popping of champagne-bubbles of seawater, the low hiss of her breath and mine. Underneath them was a deeper sound, like an intruder hiding in the cellar beneath the household, a sound trying not to be heard. It was a low, sonorous buzzing, punctuated by sharp, slapping thumps, and gradually, I realised that it was a jet-ski, still far away, but closing in, closing in towards the insignificant barrier that separated the swimmers and the open sea.

I looked away, towards the direction of the sound, legs churning underneath me. Bubbles rose, debris of slaughtered water, and with them vibrations, building up. The jet-ski was closer now, an orange and white wedge coming towards us, stuttering, a lifejacket-clad blob sawing at the handlebars. He was hopelessly out of control; it weaves, crosses the thin orange border, someone screams, it comes closer.

Comes towards a brown head. Megan! Why didn't she hear it? Feel it? See it? What was she thinking, with her face to the sun? Get out of there, I wanted to yell, but just gaped.

Closer.

I yelled.

They say every seventh wave is the largest, that waves wax and wane in cycles.

Rogue waves, however, leap up, break the cycle, do what they wish. They sting your eyes, fill your mouth with salt, burn your throat, choke off your words.

She didn't hear me.

Bubbles. Slaughtered water. Help.

They found him first. Panicked, thrashing, wild-eyed, then dry and towel-clad, crying into the sand. Dumb Gujarati. Girlfriend to impress (there she was, looking on in horror, relieved her boyo wasn't the one taken). Five hundred bucks to spare, took a life. He was still wearing the life-jacket. MMD-approved, I remembered, how these things come up. And how many there are, flopping around on the beach, trying their hand at jet-skis and banana-boats and water-skis and can't goddamn swim. I could have killed him, but I hadn't found her yet. Could she be alive still?

Stupid hope, that was. No one can take a jet-ski through the head and survive. Or a gallon of sea-water in place of air. The Taj life-guard found her, brown hair limp, so still. Blue eyes wide open in a blue face, telling me I should have taken better care of her.

I wasn't crying, not shocked, not sad. I just looked at her parents, grey-haired mother shrieking, flapping arms, crying, bald father, the colour of bad strawberry milkshake, stumping down the beach. I actually found them funny. They didn't know me, not until the police arrived, asked for witnesses. I'd always wondered what a panchnama was, that was the interesting bit. Straight faced, creaky voiced, aching throat, but no tears, no shit. I'm a man.

They say the pain hits later. And hits and hits. You can't sleep, you can't eat, you can only think of her. Dreams are weird, you can feel the lycra of her bikini, the slickness of her skin, smell the salt in her hair. You remember words, and music, and there's bitter sweetness, and hours missing her and blaming yourself and waiting for her to come through that door. Why .... it's like being in love. And the colour, that bikini, never goes away.

Can't forget it. Trees, sand, rain, blood. All leached of colour, except blue. All blue, every third-eye snapshot replaced by the blue of her swimsuit. It's all blue now, always blue.

And always hell.
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Copyright 2005 Dogcrab