Yelagiri Art Holiday - 1

About a year ago my wife, daughter and I went on an art holiday to Yelagiri, a nearby hill resort. We were there for a day and a half and I managed two paintings and two pen and ink sketches during that time. This is the first of them, done on the spot. I was looking forward to painting on location but discovered that I had left my watercolour stuff - paints and brushes - at home in Chennai. Fortunately I had some watercolour pencils in my art bag. I used them and later borrowed my wife's paintbox and brushes to finish up.

Madurai skyline

This is a quick and rough watercolour sketch done in a pocket sketchbook of the view from the 6th floor of Hotel Thangam Grand, Madurai. My wife and I stayed at this hotel during our heritage tour of the region with Mystical Palmyra. Breakfast was served in the rooftop restaurant and this view of the distant Madurai Meenakshi Temple was an added bonus.

Thirumalai Nayakar Palace, Madurai

My wife and I visited this place  along with a cultural tour group called Mystical Palmyra. We were part of a very enjoyable heritage tour organised by them of the Madurai region of Tamilnadu in southern India. We got to the palace shortly before sunset and that is why there are no shadows. Even the colours were muted. But the scale, the detailing, and the workmanship were all very impressive. We capped off the visit by taking in a very nice light and sound programme.