Reading by the lake II - Original Palette Knife painting by Nithya Swaminathan

I am sure you'd have known by now that I badly need some sunshine. Desperate really, and it is just the start of winter. I am so done with the snow already! In Germany, it rains all through the year. When it isn't raining, it snows. Phew! No wonder no one here ventures even to the supermarket without checking the weather.

So that cribbing aside, I wanted to get to this piece just to fulfill my mission of not having unfinished pieces during the turn of the year. Started this one too during summer actually, soon after the Reading the lake I. I started 4 pieces at once, in similar square canvasses. Unfortunately only one went to completion and the others were lying around. Well, not anymore. I loved this scene too, an elderly couple having a relaxed afternoon at the lake side, book in hand and some chatter. What more does one need in life! I wanted to capture that "perfect afternoon" feeling.

Reading by the lake II
Acrylics on Canvas, 10 by 10 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan

I wanted to keep away from the brush as much as possible, but had to pick it up for the bodies. My knife was screwing things up and the brush *had* to intervene. The backdrop, the umbrella and parts of the bodies are with the knife. Some tweaks have been done with the brush. I am not entirely happy with it, the perspective of the umbrella is bothering me a bit, I might tweak after a few days. When it was going on and on without any perceivable change, I decided to stop it for the time being. Must see how it looks in a couple of days.

I enhanced the color saturation a bit and modified some of the colors from the original scene. This one too is like the previous painting, with the paint continuing to the sides of the canvas too. It can be hung as it is without a frame and will still look great. Better still, two from the series can be hung together :-) Your feedback is most welcome.

After my craving-for-sunshine paintings are done, I want to get a couple of still lifes done with holiday decorations and stuff. We do not celebrate christmas, I do not decorate a christmas tree. Despite all that, the season tempts me to buy something and a still life is the perfect excuse. I hope I have the time.