Expressions

I was featured on theballpointer.com in 2015. A lot of ink has flowed through the pen onto the paper since then and it is time to share a few things.  While recalling the events of the last five years, the first thing that comes to my mind is the "Great Lockdown" due to the covid19 pandemic. But before I discuss this I would like to say something about my new art studio. As artists, we certainly need a space where we have the privacy, the freedom, and our own undisturbed space to create, play and enjoy the artistic mess. I have designed the studio in such a way that the north and south sides which are longer lengthwise are all glass, naturally lighting the interiors evenly throughout the day. One of the other two sides is a plain wall reaching a height of 12 feet which allows me to mount a bigger canvas for painting. The remaining side is reserved for the display of my artwork. I am fortunate to have such a spacious place and that too on the terrace of my own house where I ca

  "Necessity is the mother of invention" In my book "Exploring the Ballpoint", I have expanded on my thoughts about what the above famous saying means to me - It is rightly said that necessity is the mother of invention. Here, the invention does not mean just any material object or process invented by any scientist, but encompasses everything including our thought process, how we approach life situations, face problems, and find solutions. When the situations, society, people, intellect, or the level of satisfaction become stagnant in any way we feel stuck in one place and then life forces us to do something about it to change for the better. Every time, we have a choice to move forward in one way or the other and it depends on our state of mind which one to choose. Thinking out of the box helps in finding ways that may be unconventional in the normal sense, but it brings to light many things that we might never think about otherwise. But to do so we must also be re

“Exploring the Ballpoint” by Shirish Deshpande takes an excellent dive into the wondrous world of ballpoint pen art. When one thinks of ballpoint pen art, they probably think of someone drawing doodles and caricatures at the back of a classroom. Not many would think of landscapes, still life, and other artistic masterpieces. With his book, Mr. Deshpande breaks this barrier and shows people the true power of the ballpoint pen. With each intricacy laid out in exemplary detail, he takes you on an exploration of the art form from the very basics. It is through these basics that a masterpiece is born. Alongside visual representations, and step-by-step guidance, Mr. Deshpande has managed to capture the essence of his art through words as well. His explanations behind his work are remarkably detailed, giving the reader a true sense of what goes into the art that he creates. So much so that the reader can learn the ways of this art form as well. One would look at a ballpoint pen as an ordinary

  'Exploring the Ballpoint' is not a mere 'how to draw' book. It goes beyond the technique and sets an example of exploring a medium of a ballpoint pen. Shirish Deshpande gives a rich experience of line, texture, and nuanced colors out of a ballpoint pen in his portraits and landscapes. Like an engraving or etching, it produces a unique quality of a drawing or print. - Deepak Ghare - Author of many books on art and senior art critic, Mumbai. ........................... 'Exploring the Ballpoint' हे पुस्तक नुसतेच मार्गदर्शन करत नाही तर त्याच्या पलीकडे जाते. शिरीष देशपांडे यांनी बॉल पॉइंट चे माध्यम विलक्षण कौशल्याने हाताळले आहे. एखाद्या मुद्राचित्रात जसा रेषा, पोत आणि तरल रंगछटा यांचा अनोखा अनुभव येतो तसाच तो शिरीष देशपांडे यांच्या व्यक्तिचित्रे व निसर्गचित्रे यांच्यामधून येतो. - दीपक घारे ........................... "Got my copy of the book yesterday. It is truly amazing. Beautiful drawings, tips, techniques, and references. I am ver

  Exploring the ballpoint Shirish Deshpande is my elder brother. His book “Exploring the ballpoint” not only exhibits his artistry but also brings out the engineer within him. I have been witnessing his art since my childhood. The precision with which he works is not only limited to the art but, to every aspect of his life. He is not only a painter, fine artist, or an abstract painter, but a scientist, explorer, and an ever-inquisitive person. I have seen his precision in making a large reflective telescope himself, the woodwork required for making the telescope, to his precision in even making a perfect parcel!! The delineations, a complete 3-dimensional to-the-scale model of a complete colony, which he undertook for a builder, show, how he can read the engineering drawings, understand the material characteristics, and visualize the intricate architecture of the buildings which is not yet come into existence. The precision with which he accomplished the pixel-level image editing on th

एक्सप्लोरिंग द बॉलपॉइंट लेखक : चित्रकार शिरीष देशपांडे कलाक्षेत्रातील हे पुस्तक परिक्षणासाठी मी हातात घेतले आणि याचे वाचन करता करता मी या पुस्तकातील एका कलाकाराच्या दृष्टिने उपलब्ध ज्ञान भंडाराने प्रभावित झाले. प्रस्तुत पुस्तक चित्रकलेवरील एक अत्यंत सुंदर व अतिशय उपयोगी असे पुस्तक आहे. या पुस्तकाचे लेखक श्री शिरीष देशपांडे स्वत: एक प्रथितयश चित्रकार आहेत. या क्षेत्रातील जवळपास ४० वर्षांचा त्यांचा अनुभव आणि अनन्यसाधारण कामगिरी यामुळे हे पुस्तक अतिशय प्रभावी ठरते. बेळगाव स्थित चित्रकार शिरीष देशपांडे यांनी कला क्षेत्रातील आपले कमर्शियल आर्ट (व्यावसायिक कला)चे महाविद्यालयिन शिक्षण पुणे येथिल अभिनव कला महाविद्यालयातून पूर्ण केले. जवळपास ३ दशके शिरीषजींनी स्वगावी बेळगावातच एक यशस्वी ग्राफिक डिझायनर म्हणून या क्षेत्रात कार्य केले. त्यांच्या या क्षेत्रातील दर्जेदार कार्याची चुणुक आपल्याला त्यांनी स्वत: डिझाईन केलेल्या याच पुस्तकाच्या मुखपृष्ठाने दिसून येते. या क्षेत्रांत काम केल्यानंतर कलाभिव्यक्ति च्या वेगळ्या वाटेवर मार्गक्रमण करण्यास ते उद्युक्त झाले, व त्यांनी (Fine Art)चित्रकलेत आपली वाट

  "Exploring the Ballpoint" Is now available on Kindle worldwide. Go to the Amazon website and search for the book title. You can instantly download your eBook. You can also order a hardcover edition online at https://shirishdeshpande.art "Exploring the Ballpoint" is a book about learning how a simple ballpoint pen can be used to create artistic masterpieces. Written in plain English, the book is a great resource for practicing artists as well as others who may want to try something new. The book also features more than 40 beautifully rendered ballpoint pen drawings along with the artist's own descriptions of the process of creation. In reading this book the reader's perception of the Ballpoint pen will surely change forever. The book size is 8 x 10 inches and it is a hardbound edition having 120 pages printed in full color. Check the price for your location online. Both the versions are delivered globally.

मी चित्रं काढायला कधी सुरवात केली हे नेमकं आठवत नाही. सगळ्याच मुलांप्रमाणे मी पण लहानपणी चित्रं काढत होतो, पण अगदी लक्षात राहण्यासारखा एक प्रसंग मी आमच्या बेळगावला तिसरीच्या वर्गात असताना घडला. मी पाटीवर रेल्वेच्या डब्याचं चित्र काढून त्याचं दार उघडं आहे असं दाखवलं होतं. तर आमच्या कुलकर्णी बाईंना ते इतकं आवडलं की त्यांनी ते संपूर्ण शाळेत दाखवून आणलं...! त्या दिवशी मला खूप आनंद झाला आणि कदाचित त्यामुळेच माझी चित्रकलेची आवड आणखीनच वाढली. पुढे मी चित्रकलेत अनेक बक्षिसं मिळवली, त्यामुळे माझी आई, ती पण उत्तम चित्र काढायची, तिने माझ्या पुढील शिक्षणासाठी पुण्यात अभिनव कला विद्यालयात मला पाठवले. तसा त्या वेळी प्रचलित असलेल्या कमर्शियल आर्टचा पाच वर्षांचा डिप्लोमा अभ्यासक्रम पूर्ण करून मी १९७९ साली पुन्हा बेळगावला येऊन ग्राफिक डिझाईनचा व्यवसाय थाटला आणि लवकरच त्यामधे पूर्ण गुरफटून गेलो. पाहता पाहता वीस वर्षे कशी गेली हे कळलंच नाही. काळ बदलला होता. आता सुरवातीला जशी प्रत्येक गोष्ट हाताने करायला लागायची..... म्हणजे अगदी इंपोर्टेड रद्दीच्या कागदावरील एक एक अक्षर कट-पेस्ट म्हणजे चक्क छोटी कात्री, च

  I do not remember exactly when I picked up the drawing. Like all other children of my age, I too used to draw random pictures. The earliest memory I have is of an incident that happened when I was in primary school. I had drawn the picture on my slate, which was that of a train. I had shown the railway bogie, with the door open. This minute observation was so much liked by my teacher, Mrs Kulkarni that she took the slate all around the school and showed it to all the classrooms!!  My joy knew no bounds that day and that incident probably drew me closer to art and drawing. As I continued to excel in drawing later, my mother, who was an accomplished artist herself, decided to send me to Abhinav Kala Vidyalay in Pune, for my future training in art. Very soon I completed my Diploma in Commercial Art, which was then a very lucrative and popular course. I returned to Belgaum in 1979 and started my own business/profession as a graphic designer and got totally involved and entangled in the p

  'गुरु' शब्दात अखिल ब्रम्हांड गुरू या एका शब्दात अखिल ब्रम्हांड सामावलेले आहे. आध्यात्मिक परंपरेमधे स्वयंप्रगतीसाठी जशी गुरुची आवश्यकता असते तशीच कोणतीही कला आणि कोणतेही तंत्रज्ञान मिळवण्यासाठी गुरूला पर्याय नाही. एखादी गोष्ट किंवा कृती जो आपल्याला शिकवतो तो शिक्षक, पण जो आपल्या प्रयत्नांना योग्य दिशा देण्याचे काम करतो तो गुरू. तसं पाहिलं तर आपल्या मानवी जीवनात अगदी बालपणापासून जवळपास सर्वच गोष्टी आपल्याला पहिल्यापासून शिकायला लागतात. बहुतेक वेळा आपण दुसर्‍यांचे पाहून शिकतो. लहानपणी भिंतीवर किंवा जमिनीवर मिळेल त्या गोष्टीने रेघोट्या ओढून आपल्या भावना व्यक्त करतो त्यामागे मात्र केवळ नैसर्गिक स्वयंस्फूर्ती असते असे मला वाटते. बहुतेक वेळा पालक मुलांना काय भिंत घाण केली आहे म्हणून ओरडतात. पण काही सूज्ञ पालक मुलांच्या या प्रकारे व्यक्त होण्याला प्रोत्साहन देतात ते पालक एका अर्थाने मुलांचे चित्रकलेचे पहिले गुरू. चित्रकला ही देखील नृत्य आणि गायन या प्रमाणेच माणसाला उपजत आहे. या सर्व कलांचे शास्त्रीय ज्ञान आज सगळीकडे उपलब्ध आहे. २१ व्या शतकातील गूगल आणि यूट्युब यांना सुद्धा आपण मोठे श

  प्रत्येक चित्र म्हणजे डोळ्यांना दिसणारा एक दृश्यमान थर असतो. हा थर म्हणजे कलाकाराने रेखाटलेले किंवा रंगवलेले आपल्या डोळ्यांना दिसणारे चित्र घटक असतात. आणखी एक अदृश्य स्तर जो चित्रामधील विविध कलात्मक घटकांच्या परस्पर तार्किक संबंधांबद्दल असतो. जर चित्र सौंदर्यशास्त्राच्या मूलभूत नियमांचे पालन करत असेल, तर दर्शक निरीक्षण करण्यासाठी सहजच अधिक वेळ देतात. या ठिकाणी पाहणारे समाधानी असतील तर ते म्हणतात की कलाकृती चांगली आहे. मग आणखी एक अदृश्य स्तर जो रंग, छाया प्रकाश आणि विषय यांच्यातील परस्पर संबंधांबद्दल असतो. हा स्तर भावनिक प्रतिसाद निर्माण करणारा असतो जो प्रत्येक दर्शकाचा त्या कलाकृतीशी वैयक्तिक बंध निर्माण करतो. तसे करण्यात कलाकृती यशस्वी झाली, तर प्रतिसाद 'वाह' असा असतो. आणि मग आणखी एक महत्त्वाचा 'स्मृती' स्तर असतो, जो शेवटी चित्रदर्शनानुभव मनात रेंगाळत राहतो, एक 'आफ्टर-इमेज' म्हणून दर्शकांच्या आठवणींमध्ये राहतो. मानवी स्मृती खूप गुंतागुंतीच्या असतात आणि निर्णय घेण्यात त्या खूप महत्त्वाची भूमिका बजावतात. आपल्या आवडी आणि नापसंती निर्माण करतात आणि त्याच आपल्या सर

  About the visible and the invisible in art Every painting has more than just a visible layer that is seen by the eyes. The visible picture plane or layer contains the pictorial elements drawn or painted by the artist. There's another invisible layer which is about the logical relationship of various artistic elements in the painting. If the painting follows the basic rules of aesthetics, then the viewer subconsciously spends more time observing. If the viewer is satisfied with the presentation, he says the artwork is good. Then there's one more invisible layer that is about the relationship between color, tonal values, and the subject. This layer invokes an emotional response that is unique to each viewer creating a personal bond with that work of art. If the artwork is successful in doing so, then the response is a 'wow'. And then there is one more important 'memory' layer, that finally resides in the memories of the viewer as an after-image. Human memories a

There is nothing good or bad in art. You can see so many lovely and cute drawings and paintings made by kids as well, even as the rendering may look childish at first. We create art because we are inspired to do so and not because someone has forced us to do it. So the whole responsibility for the outcome lies on us. Creating art itself is an art. Art is not meant to be useful for some purpose. (We use the art for decoration and many other reasons. But that is certainly not the primary reason.) So the artist has freedom of choice of subject, medium, colors, size, etc .... No one except the artist should dictate how the artist should express his or her ideas. From conception until the work is finished, no one else but the artist should remain in control of the creative process. As artists, we are attracted by all the beautiful things around us... Including other artists' good work... And then there is an urge to try something in their style... It is ok to *try* for the purpose of pr

Art is everywhere. The word Art encompasses everything about and around us. We use that word liberally to describe all that gives us pleasure. Art of cooking, the art of problem-solving, art of war, the art of teaching, the art of trading, the art of living, and what not? Even the art of lying?