Diwali Dhamaaka

One morning, you wake up and see men and children standing on stools, trying to fix something to the balcony walls. The sun sets and soon you see why- there are twinkling lights all around you! The time of the year when nights aren't dark, closed ones aren't distant and full-of-calories sweets aren't banned... It's the time of Deepawali! The festival full of colors sees a boom in everything- be it e-retail, decorations all around, cleanliness all around or exchanging gifts (sometimes, you getting back your own gift).

Apart from all that, Diwali attracts positivity, prosperity and on top of all, CREATIVITY!

So, let me disclose to you... my Diwali art 2014!

Rangoli: Symmetry at its best

Geometry can do wonders when it comes to designs. Peacocks, flowers, diyas have been seen too many times... If you want to go something more original, pick up your ruler, pencil and compass and create your own geometric pattern!

This one was started with a 9x9 square grid. Next, I added quarter-arcs inside the centre square using a circle master. Then, I made similar arcs outside the square (with two radii). To neutralize the rigidity of the design, I added pan-patti shapes around the boundary. 

The only rule followed was: Keep it geometric and symmetric!

Next step was to fill the design with colors! I chose a Triadic Color Scheme for this one... Red, Yellow, Blue - spicy yet elegant, attractive yet simplistic, technical yet traditional! If you have doubts about which color scheme to use, take a picture of your design, download it to your phone and fill in colors in it using a photo-editing app (like the artstudio), quick yet an excellent analysis of how your design shall look in the end! 

I started with filling the red portions, followed by yellow, blue and white. If there are flaws in your basic drawing, this is the time to cover them up. 

Medium used is poster colors. It is easy to do on floor, doesn't get rubbed off with shoes and is easy to clean post-diwali. If you want a long-lasting thing, go for acrylic or metallic colors. 

Diyas, and lots of diyas

Sometimes, your greed takes over your senses when you find low MRPs of products... That's what happened with me when i visited the Pottery Street in Uttam Nagar, New Delhi (a post about that coming soon). I bought diyas of various shapes and sizes, all of them raw and to be decorated by me!

 (Too tempting to not share on Snapchat)

Medium: Acrylic paint

Embellished with 3D outliners, kundan, metallic markers.

The Idols of Worship

Diwali is incomplete without Laxmi ji and Ganesh ji. From the same street, I also bought these idols and filled in colors at home. Medium: Acrylic paint. Embellished with 3D outliners, metallic markers.

When everything's getting smaller!

The beauty of these little pieces lies in their intricacy and accurate craftsmanship. I painted it with acrylic colors and added embellishments with 3D outliners and metallic markers.

With this, my personal Diwali dhamaka comes to an end! Hope you had a Happy Diwali! :)