One of the very nice things about Fort Kochi is the fact that it is very pedestrian friendly. That is not true of either the city where I live, Chennai...or Ernakulam which is just across the backwaters from Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. During the couple of days that we spent at Fort Kochi we must have walked around fifteen km or so admiring the well preserved old structures, the lush greenery, and the waterfront.
On one of these walks along the waterfront I came across some rain shelters and picnic facilities facing the sea. They were built under a canopy of trees. I found some of the tree trunks very interesting and they are the primary subject of my sketch. The fact that the spot was in the shade, with plenty of convenient seats, and with cool breeze coming off the Arabian Sea made sketching this on location a very pleasant experience.
I spent about an hour on this -- 45 minutes or so at the spot, and around 15 minutes more in the hotel room. While I was drawing I had a few passers by stopping, looking at my drawing, commenting, and engaging me in conversation. Although it slowed me down I rather enjoyed the experience.
Wonderful sketch, Balaji. Hoping to see some sketches of Chennai too. Do you do watercolors? If so, please post some of them too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sketch Gurl.
ReplyDeleteFunnily, I haven't done much sketching yet of Chennai scenes, but that is something I hope to rectify soon.
I love watercolours but I have done very little painting. One of my resolutions for the year is to improve my painting skills.