Urban Sketchers at GPO

Good to see that artists have no qualms of sitting anywhere when they want to capture something interesting.

I am talking about the Pune Urban Sketchers who had a session at the Pune General Post Office.

This artist (Harshad) sat outside the premises but the red gate gave a good contrast to what he wanted to capture.

This is one of those old letter boxes from the British era which can be seen in front of almost all GPOs in India. I remember there was a board next to it saying that all letters posted in this box will have a "special cancellation stamp" on it. Wonder why they removed that sign.

Walking around the Post Office brought back memories, like this philatelic bureau from where I used to buy first day covers about five decades ago. (at that time it was situated on the left side of the entrance)

And these segregated boxes for Airmail / Local and rest of India. There was a time when the letters were delivered on the same day (if it was local) provided you post before the first collection at 7.30 am.

The age-old method of making gum by the Post Office as a "public service" is still being carried on. 

At the rear of the post office I noticed this wrought iron spiral staircase which still stands, but not in use.

Deepali has captured this well with her minimalistic but effective drawing.

Even though it was a Sunday, the sorting activity was in full swing and somebody did sketch them in action.

Sitting in the sunlight and creating a picture has its own advantages. (creativity while soaking in vitamin D)

One young man decided to capture the steeple of the 160 year old St Paul's church which was just across the road.

Participants were from all age groups and that is one way to discover the hidden talent in the young ones.

I like the improvisation done on this tripod whereby a board is attached to hold all the required material while painting, including a  packet of biscuit :-)

I was also fascinated by the medium of creating a picture. It may be a variety of colours with the modern pen or it may be charcoal.

Many in Pune are not aware of the existence of the Zero stone which is dug right in front of the GPO. (Pune was earlier called Poona)

The mandatory group photo at the end of the session. I was not very happy with this group photo as some of them were in the shade and some were directly under the sunlight (which is against the "rules" of clicking a group photo) But then I did not try to rearrange them as I knew this was a group who would be happy in creating a picture than being "in the picture" Good to see all of them smiling. 

Captured most of them in action and compiled it into a 12 minute video. All this activity reminded me of the Urban Sketchers I captured four years ago at the Botanical Survey of India. Something big is coming up for the Urban Sketchers in the first week of December. These three slides below will give you a better idea of the event. 

Pune Mandai and sketchers

It is so good to see all the greens against the morning sunlight. Had been to the main market (Mandai) in Pune at the crack of dawn.

The indoor stalls were also well lit, but trying to keep the source of light out of the frame was tricky.

What a treat for the eyes with aubergines (brinjal) of different shapes and colours.

It was also a day for the members of The Urban Sketchers (Pune) to capture the place with their painting and sketching, to show the colonial impact on Pune.

Some of them did a wonderful job of capturing the place on canvas.

One of them was using an ipad to do his paintings. He said he has downloaded a software to do it. Mayshir (in the comment below) says it is an iPad Air and the software is SketchPro by Tayasui.

When I looked through the view finder my first reaction was “the space ship is landing to beam up the vegetable vendors”

My favorite vegetables, Cauliflower and Cabbage. When ever I see them in the market, I am reminded of wifey’s instructions “Don’t buy cauliflower, there are already two in the fridge”

Catching up with the latest news while waiting for customers.

This lady’s saree goes well with the carrots and the jalopies

Here is a lady dip dying the earthen pots to convert them to black colour. I wonder what it is used for. - - (PS 12th Jan) Reproducing the comment given by Satish Deshpande given below : Hi Joe, nice trip to Mandai. This is harvesting season for many things. Sugarcane, green peas, plum (Bher) Gram (chana), rice...... There is a custom of offering these pots filled with all such things among married ladies, especially newly married, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. That is where the pots are used. - Satish Deshpande

It is the orange season and most of the fruit stalls have a heap of oranges.

Talking of season, it is also the season of the green peas. The best time to buy fresh ones, peel them and stock in the freezer.

I didn’t see anyone sketching this boy with the bell. I had written about him in an earlier blog about the story of the bell.

The boy’s statue was installed after the tragedy in 1993 when 38 school kids lost their lives when their bus was hit by a train at an unmanned level crossing at Phursungi. Initially the boy used to ring the bell every hour, but now it is non functional but the bell and the statue still stands. Have made a short video combining both the vegetable vendors and the Urban Sketchers in action. While clicking the pictures outside Mandai, saw a bunch of cyclists zipping past. Couldn’t resist a quick pan shot of one of them.

Back home by 10.30 (without the cauliflower) - -

Regatta and Sketching

The thrill of sitting out in the open and painting to your heart's content. 

The 92nd Regatta practice was held at College of Engineering Pune (COEP) last month. The Urban Sketchers of Pune held a sketching/painting event when the action was on. 

This was perhaps the last outdoor event held by the Urban Sketchers before the lockdown 

The college students were in full form, waiting for their turn to practice as the Regatta was to be held in a weeks time.  

As always noticed in the Urban Sketchers, the participants are from all age groups. 

Any point is a vantage point, as long as you get a clear vision without any obstruction 

Sometimes, sketching the sketchers is also a challenge and the results can be very impressive. 

As the sketchers were busy, the participants went about their regular activity 

Like the way these two were sitting. They were looking in the opposite direction but doing the same activity - sketching.

Some of the regatta participants were interested in the art form and were closely following the process of catching the action on paper. 

Exactly two years ago, I had covered another sketching activity by the same group. It was at the Heritage building of Moti Mansion in Pune. 

After sketching, the new members introduced themselves.

 The mandatory group photo along with a glimpse of their Sunday morning effort 

I had made a short video as soon as the event was over, but could write about it only now.