New WIP progress- Lilies

I got some beautiful lilies for Christmas and could not help myself. Still a WIP. It was such a treasure to see all the buds gradually open every day and to go to bed at night with the scent of lilies :) They unfortunately perished this week but I took enough photos to finish it out. 

Here's a look at some photos of my prelim work.

I started working on this on Boxing Day and then again one day in the new year.

I am working on a few other pieces simultaneously so this seemed to have taken a back seat. I have also restarted my "one sketch a day project" for my art journal. I am trying to squeeze as much as I can into my holidays and oh its alot! But so much fun to try! I've decided to set goals though. This and the rest of paintings that I have been working on must be done by Sunday. Let's hope that my deadlines keep me in check!

My First Commission? Artwork- The Triangle, Princes Town

I finally got it back!

In 2008, I received my very first commission to showcase the development of the promenade in my home town of Princes Town as well as the landmark Rotary Club's clock that was erected. I was so excited. Unfortunately for me, being young, naive and inexperienced in the art world, I gave the piece up with my budget without receiving payment in good faith to an individual who I honestly believed meant well. Promises were made but I eventually stopped hearing about it again. I'm not going to get into all the gritty details because my story thankfully has a happy ending. 

Photograph of the piece in 2008. The only copy I could find was on my deviantart account with a large watermark through it.

After finally doing some inquiry about it earlier this year, the good people of the institution that my piece was intended for, launched an investigation into it and located my piece. They retrieved it and kept it safely until arrangements could be made for delivery. They dropped it off this week! :D 

This painting illustrates the Rotary Club’s clock that was erected in the heart of Princes Town and features also the surrounding promenade, capturing the skyline of Princes Town. Illustrations and sketches were first undertaken in preparation for the piece following which materials were sourced and the appropriate media selected for the painting. This piece took approximately three (3) weeks to finish, inclusive of preparation time.

Mixed media of watercolours and acrylic paints were used, after which a pen and ink wash was done to add more detail. Bright and vivid colours were used to bring out the warmth of the Princes Town, and a warm colour palette of reds and yellows was used to contrast against the cool tones of blue and green in the piece.

Interesting Fact about this piece: A week after I took some reference photos to work from, there was a fire and the yellow wooden building that was Lana's Jewellers, was burnt to the ground. It's interesting how quickly the skyline of a town changes. I am glad that I was able to capture that small bit of history before it was destroyed. 

The following is a photo I took of the piece when I received it this weekend. The lighting was not the best to capture the colours so please forgive the quality of the photograph. There was some slight water damage done to the piece but I think I can restore it and I am simply grateful that four years later that I have it in my possession and in one piece.

The Triangle (2008) Mixed media on watercolour paper,  © 2012 Shazanna Khan

This entire situation along with the experience that I gained when helping organising Mt Hope's Art Gala earlier this year has taught me many important lessons.

Firstly, if you're going to sell your work, make a print for your personal collection. I learnt this from one of my lecturers who displayed some of his prints of his sold work at the art gala. It was such a simple solution which I can't believe I had never thought of before.

For me, when it comes to selling my artwork, the most difficult thing is actually giving up my work. I invest time, effort and emotion into a new piece, it is difficult to get time to do new pieces with my schedule at school and I suppose I simply become attached to them.

If I make a print, my family and I can at least still enjoy my work, I will have something for my personal records and like the case of this piece, if something happened to the original, it would not have felt as if all my hard work was in vain.

As new artists to the arena of sales, it is easy to make mistakes and put our faith in people we probably should not. If a deal seems shady, trust your gut instinct and do not accept it! Even if it is from your best friend, your schoolmate or some long lost family member. Make sure that you and your potential client have a proper agreement and understanding of what your terms and conditions are. Simply be polite and professional.

Lastly garner advice from senior artists. They have had years of experience dealing with the public and they can advise you on so many different things concerning the art world especially what measures you can undertake so that you, as an artist, are not taken advantage of. In retrospect, it is something I wish I had done, as pricing of my artwork was and still is not my strongest point and I could have been spared a lot of headache if I knew what the usual steps were when undertaking a commission.

What do you think is a fair system for both you and your client when it comes to selling artwork/ undertaking commissions? 

Since this incident, I have been a bit skeptical about selling my pieces. I've had offers but for now I am more content for my artwork to be enjoyed by friends and family. Perhaps in the future, once I can devise my own terms and conditions it shall be a venture I will undertake.

I would love to know your thoughts and views about this blog post :) Leave me a comment about it or any handy lessons/tips that you have learnt about the art world.

Thank you for reading :)

New Artwork! (Eze, France)

My blogging took a little break as my classes resumed this week and my trusty laptop started to give some trouble. To cope with the stress of a new semester, I began working on a small watercolour painting this week. The painting was based on a photo I saw of Eze in France on a Facebook page. It seemed like somewhere out of a fairy tale. 

I just happened to visit Valpark with my roommate on Thursday and got some art-related supplies! I stopped by Horizons Art Studio and purchased some blue pre-cut matting for this piece. I thought it went perfectly with it. 

I was so excited about the matting, that I worked all afternoon to get it done. Here's a picture of the finished matted piece:

Eze, France. Watercolour and Ink on watercolour paper, 8.5 x 11 inches. © 2012 Shazanna Khan

Eze is such a beautiful village. I will definitely be adding it to my list of places to visit.

I have already made prints of it for 2 of my roommates, and touched up their prints with my Inktense pencils to enhance the colours. You can barely tell that they are prints. One of my best friend's birthday is next week as well. While I worked on this piece, I had it in mind as a possible birthday present. I think I am going to frame one of the prints as her present. Hopefully I'll be able to get it done in time. I am also hoping that she doesn't see this blog post before then (lol).

At Valpark, I also got 2 lovely wooden tabletop easels from the store that engraves medical pins. I have been looking around for some recently. More for my painting purposes than decorative, BUT when I saw them (at their amazing price too!) I knew I had to purchase it. I probably would have bought all if they had more.

Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to work on anymore new paintings as the semester progresses. I don't think I will have any more time to do a full painting. The only good thing, is that my sketchbook will be full of ideas and reference images for when next I do have time to paint. If you have any suggestions for future drawings, let me know :D

My Father's House (Update #4) COMPLETED

Status: Completed

My Father's House is finally finished! Here is a quick review of what it looked like when I first started it and the progress as it went along.

Update #1: Reference picture and first sketches <--Refer to this link for the inspiration for this piece

       Update # 2: Watercolours added                             Update #3: More watercolours and Ink pen details

I ran the finished piece by my dad and uncle and the "old house" got their seal of approval for authenticity. Here's a picture of the finished product!

My Father's House.Watercolour and Ink on watercolour paper, 16 x 20 inches. ©2012 Shazanna Khan.

 According to my dad, the bushes look a bit more overgrown than he remembers but perhaps we can pretend that my grandfather forgot to cut them.  All that's left to do with this piece is to make a print for my Dad's office and send them both to an Art store to be matted and framed. Maybe when I write my book of the Chronicles of Ahamad Khan, I will include it.

I am so glad that I finally have some new artwork! Not only to hang around the house but for next year, when the Art Society of Mt Hope hosts its annual Art exhibition.

Let me know what you think of the finished piece and thank you for reading.

Blue-Grey Forest & Contest

My brother is currently redoing his room. Instead of buying some art for his walls he decided to paint his own abstract masterpiece (which turned out really fantastic).

I lent him my art supplies last night and while he brainstormed his concept and experimented with colour and technique, I borrowed his idea of a tree and came up with the following based on the proposed colour scheme of his room (blue-greys, greys, browns and black).

 Blue Grey Forest, Watercolour on Watercolour paper. 15 x 11 inches. © 2012 Shazanna Khan.

My scanner was not large enough to capture the entire piece. It was cropped on the sides during the scanning process, but you can get the basic feel of the piece from it. Also I thought that the colours showed up better on the scanned version than the photographed one.

Now that its finished it reminds me a bit of the woods in that Twilight movie, albeit a more gloomy one.

I need a name for this piece! SO let's try to make this into a contest. Let me know what you think it should be called. I will pick my favourite one at the end of the week and that person will get their own digital sketch (at a later date, i.e. when I have free time). Emphasis on the sketch part too. Content to be decided upon discussion with the winner of this "contest".

What do you think I should call it ? Leave me a comment and let me know your title. OR leave me a comment anyway of your thoughts about this blog post :)

Thank you for reading!

My Father's House (Update #3)

Made some time on the Eid holiday to work on this piece. Almost done! It is amazing how far it came from Update #1 and Update #2.

According to my Uncle Ahamad who lives with me, the house was made from one Cedar tree, with each piece of wood cut by a two-man saw. Now that's a lot of work! Plus one very large tree.

Another uncle came over today, my Uncle Nazir. While I worked on this piece, all 3 men reminisced and shared their funny stories from the old days.Uncle Nazir apparently stayed in the 3rd room with the closed windows. Before my dad was around, every Christmas holiday that Uncle Nazir visited, he was given the task to clean the copper tank, because he was the smallest and could climb into it.

I am really glad that my painting could remind them of fond memories.

Update #3: Filled in the vegetation.

What do you guys think about it so far? Also should I do any pen & ink detailing on it?

Thank you for reading and remember to subscribe to my blog :)

Edit: This piece has now been completed! Click this post for the finished product- My Father's House Update #4 Completed

My Father's House (Update #2)

Continuing from yesterday's project, here's what I did today. 

Day 2: Watercolour added

It has been so long since I've worked with watercolours that I had to keep testing out brushstrokes on a paper nearby.

The agenda for tomorrow is the background, and all the green vegetation. I am a bit rusty with trees and plants so I hope I don't spoil it! 

Comments/thoughts appreciated.


EDIT: An update to this piece is available. Click here for the next recent update to this piece--> "My Father's House (Update #3)"

This work by Shazanna Khan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

My Father's House (Update #1)

Status: Current Work-in-progress

I am a big fan of doing Architectural pieces. I like the idea of being able to capture a piece of history. So often we take for granted the landscapes we are familiar with, but it is ever changing and its only when we look at an old photo that we can actually see how drastically things have changed.

Two buildings that I have always wanted to work on was that of the Lothians Plantation House, an old plantation house that was around in the early 1900s, which I shall describe in a next post; and the Old House that my father and his siblings grew up in.

When I was younger, my uncle would tell us stories of both. It was quite sad to me that the only thing left of them were a single photograph of each of the buildings and his stories. That was where the idea began, to maybe record his rich life and write a book so his many adventures and stories would always remain, as well as to try and illustrate both houses and capture them as they were.

Now that I have some free time, I decided to begin work on the "Old House". My uncle had this old photograph in his album. Apparently this photo was taken after they no longer lived in it, and modern day amenities like washing machines and running water were available. 

Photograph of the Old House

Sketch #1

In Sketch #1, my Dad and I sat down together and he explained to me how the house really looked when he and my uncle both lived in it, as well as the landscape of the time. 

Imagine, galvanized spouting to collect water into a large copper tank, outhouses/latrines and pitch oil lamps.

After we ironed out the fine details, and we were both satisfied that the image was as authentic as possible, I did Sketch #2 on Watercolour paper.  

Sketch #2

So far I am having a little bit of difficulty with the cylindrical copper water tank at the side of the house. The photo was not clear about it, but thankfully the tank is still around. It is still in use in my neighbours' yard. So I shall try to take a good peek over the fence tomorrow when there is better light :D

The next step for this, is to remove all the extra pencil lines on the drawing and begin painting with watercolours. I usually like doing black pen & ink detailing after all my architectural pieces, but this time I think I will hold off til I am finished to see if I am partial or not to it.

Stay tuned for more updates on this piece tomorrow!

EDIT: Click here for the most recent update on this piece --> My Father's House (Update #2)