Preeti Shenoy's Blog, page 28

Have you stopped having fun in your relationship?

Somewhere down the line, in a relationship that is three years old or more, people slip back into their 'comfort zones.' This is not to say that they were uncomfortable or putting on a mask or their false selves, all the previous years. And again, when I say three years, I don't mean it as a rule of thumb.
It could happen in an year too. Or perhaps in two.

For some reason, women do like to hear the words 'I love you,' when it is expressed sincerely, when it is heartfelt and not forced or unnatural. To some guys, saying it comes easily. To others, it is hard to say. They prefer showing it in different ways like driving all the way to her office to pick her up, or ensuring that he is available when she wants to talk, and he truly listen to her.

I think it is important to keep the romance alive, in a relationship. If you have stopped having fun together, and if you rarely laugh together, then it is time to think about what is it that has gone wrong. These are early warning signs.

I think every woman deserves someone in her life who gets her flowers, tells her the words “I love you”, cherishes, values and respects her. When was the last time you said these words to your partner? When was the last time you got her flowers? Express your love. She needs to hear the words. #flowers #love #expressyourlove #lifeisshortA post shared by Preeti Shenoy (@preeti.shenoy) on Feb 6, 2018 at 6:42am PST

If you are fortunate enough to have a person who loves you deeply, and respects you for who you are, do take a few moments out of your day, to let them know.

I think  there never can be adequate gestures of appreciation and love.
Love does make the world go round.

_________________________________
Buy my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

Pic credits:  Timo Stern from Unsplash
Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

Is there anything you would like me to teach you? Tell me in my comment box!

Today, I did an Instagram live. Lots of readers interacted with me. It was an 'ask me anything' session. Readers asked questions, and I answered in real time. You can watch it on my Instagram handle for the next 24 hours.

Many readers  wanted to know, how to write a story, how to get published, how to start a blog etc. Meanwhile, I also got a mail from Skillshare asking me to start a class. Serendipitous or what? (Earlier, I was approached by Udemy too. )

I am considering it seriously. (but it will be only in the second half of the year, as I am busy writing my 10th book, at the moment). I would love to know what you would like me to start a skillshare course on? Anything that you want me to show you how to do? Do tell me in my comment box on this post. Those of you, who are reading this in your inobox, on email, please head over to my blog, and leave a comment there. That way, I will have all your suggestions in one place, and it will give me a better idea.
I do want to create a course/class which would be useful to you, and which you would love to learn.


I myself, am doing a few skillshare courses, and I find the ones I am doing  wonderful. One is a drawing class by Yuko Shimizu and the other is a sketchbook class by Ohn Mar Win. I am also doing another one on Urban sketching by Juila Henze.  I have also saved many more classes. (What can I say? I am a huge nerd and I love learning).

You can choose whatever classes you like. ! The whole idea is to find something that appeals to you. Do it, only if you find value in it and one which suits your skill sets. (Please don't do the  above classes just because I am doing them. I don't earn any commission for it!)

Alright folks, I am off to read.  But before I go, I thought I would share my today's sketch with you.




Nice? :) I was pleased with it too.

Don't forget to tell me in my comment box, about what you would like me to do on skillshare.

See you again tomorrow!
___________________
ps: grab my books : http://preeti.io/amazon
Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

A painting

Was an exhausting Sunday for me. It began at 5.30 am, and finally I am in bed. The one bright spot today was my painting.


No matter how my day is going, I always take out 30 minutes or so for my art.
That makes me happy.  I don't always post all my drawings on my blog.  You can see more of my art by following me on Instagram.com/preetishenoyart

Tomorrow, hopefully a lengthier post.
 A new post every day, whole of this month.
Goodnight folks.
_________________
Buy my books: http://preeti.io/amazon
Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

How to make a watercolor portrait. (With steps)

Water colors are one of the hardest mediums to use to paint a portrait .The reason is that you cannot really control the paint, you cannot hide your mistakes, and you cannot over work. In Acrylic you can simply paint over, since it is opaque. So too in oil--you can 'fix' the mistakes. In Water color, it is such an art!

Above is a water color portrait I made, of my daughter which I am happy with. I have shared the image on my Insta art page too.

I got a lot of queries, asking me how I made it, and what materials I use.
So I thought I would do a post, showing you step by step.

Materials I use: Water colour: Sakura Koi (24 color paint box). This is what it looks like.

The paint brushes I use are sable hair brushes from UK. The brand is Pro-Arte. I use 0 number, 2 number, 4 number and 6 number.

Here's how I made the portrait.


I started with a line drawing.  The drawing has to be accurate. You can see that I have marked very lightly with pencil, the areas where I want the highlights.



Then I wet the entire area of the drawing. I added a very light wash of the flesh tone which I got by mixing cadmium red and lemon yellow. I blocked in the hair using purple.

Now you can see, I have painted the darker tones. I mixed a little  cobalt blue with the flesh tint (mixed earlier)  to obtain this. I also used yellow ochre.  I have also added one more layer of the flesh tone, but this time , leaving the highlights untouched. At this point the deep brown looks too dark. But dont worry. This will change as you will see.

I painted the eyes and lips with burnt umber. This is just to add the first layer. At this point I have not yet touched the hair. I also softened the harsh edges of the shadows and highlights to make it blend in.


This is when it all comes alive. I painted the eye brows, the hair, and darkened the eyes, taking care to leave the highlights in the eye, untouched.
I also added the details on the clothes.

And voila--it is done!

Hope this helped all of you who wanted to know how I did this.

______________________________
Buy my books: http://preeti.io/amazon







Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

Are you humble? Are you grateful? Are you holding yourself back?

A question I sometimes think about  is 'Why do many people shy away from  speaking about something they  achieved and are very proud of?'

I think it is because we are taught not to boast, not to brag, to be humble and all such qualities. I do agree that nobody likes to listen to braggarts or to people who boast. But there is a very marked difference between a boast, and telling the world about something that means a lot to you.

Only if you speak up, will others know! Else how do you expect them to get to know what matters to you?

Today my  interview on BBC world was re-telecast for the 15th time!! See the list HERE
I announced it on my Twitter 
Then at around 2.00 PM, I thought, why not share it on a Whatsapp Pets group  in the residential complex, which I am a member of. The last 14 times it was telecast, I hadn't shared it there, for the reasons I mention in the second paragraph of this post. I didn't expect anyone to really respond.
[One of the times it was being telecast, I had posted it on an  whatsapp group  of artists (which I am a member of) and nobody  had bothered to respond.]

But I was pleasantly surprised by flood of messages I received, and more importantly the warmth in them. They told me how proud they are, and how much they loved it.

In case you havent seen it, and want to, hurry and go to my Instagram handle. I have live streamed it and it will be available for 24 hours only.
You have to login from your phone to be able to see Live stories.

I think it is important to not confuse humility with speaking about something you are proud of. Being humble means you do not think you are great, and you are superior to everybody else. Being humble means respecting others for their achievements and success. Being humble means not letting your achievements go to your head. It does not mean not speaking about them! Also it matters how you speak about them, what is your tone, in what way do you say it, what do you mean when you communicate it, and more importantly, what is it that you do not say?

For me, I am grateful for all the achievements, grateful for my success, grateful to my readers, grateful to you for reading this blog! Because I remember how hard I worked for it, how alone I was.
I also know that very very few  will be there for you when you are down. But when you are successful, suddenly everybody will want to be your friend. Hence I am grateful for my true friends.

I think we should be very grateful for life's little gifts.
If you have a few good things going for you, focus on those.
Forget the negative people who take you away from your dreams, your goals.
Stay away from those who diminish you.

You deserve love. You should be proud of whatever you have achieved so far in life.

 Because only you know how  difficult your journey has been.

_________________________________
Buy my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

pic credits: Unsplash : Caley Dimmock




 
Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

February is here, and so is my blog marathon!

Hey there!

All of you, the regular readers of this blog know that I do a blog marathon each year. It's a term coined by yours truly. It means that I will be posting a new entry, every single day, the whole of this month! So don't forget to hit 'subscribe' on top of this blog (see the button there? Right on top?) to get my posts right in your, inbox.


A lot of people tell me that they wait for my blog marathon. They write in and tell me that whenever I start my blog marathon, they start their day by reading my posts.


Thank you so much for that! A request--please do leave me comments, so that I know you have read it. Else it feels like I am talking to a wall :)  I will definitely try and reply to all the comments left in my comment box.

On some days, I will be posting the sketches I make.
On some days, it may be a short entry. On some other days, there might be longer posts.


One thing that I follow on this blog, is that it is a happy place. WE do not have control over what happens to us, but we do have control over what we choose to focus on!

So join me, by subscribing, and leaving comments.

Together, let's make February a positive one, by counting our blessings, and focussing on what is going right!

Love
Preeti




Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

Re-store : A delightful little shop in Whitefield, Bangalore.

All of us are guilty, at least to some extent  of hoarding stuff. We hold on to old things--be it clothes, books, utensils, footwear, knick-knacks or some such, that form the minutiae of our daily lives. Many a time these add to the the clutter too. Rare is the home which looks like the above pic.


I am a huge fan of Marie Kondo, and I highly recommend her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up   which is more than just a book.

It is an entire philosophy, and a new approach. I read the book back to back, and immediately put into use the methods described in the book. I must tell you how wonderful I felt! I never thought that I could be that organised.

Clearing clutter, and the stuff that you no longer have use for, does release 'blocked energy.' There is no scientific or rational explanation for this. I only know that it works for me. Any Feng Shui practitioner and  loads of Eastern Schools of belief will confirm this.

I always make it a point to give away things I no longer use. So imagine my delight, when I discovered this store today, (in Bangalore) where you can donate 'gently used stuff'. It is like the charity shops you have abroad. They are all resold to people who need them, and all the stuff in this delightful store is priced between Rs.1/- and Rs.100/- ! How fabulous is that! The store is called  Re-Store. It is located at whitefield, and is run by a lovely lady called Devyani, whom I met today. I donated a lot of things from my home--books, toys, hair bands, knick-knacks, etc  and they were happily received.

Here are pictures from the store.





Devyani who runs Re-store. along with a regular customer of Re-store!  

I also met some of the store's customers, who are mostly the villagers of the locality.
They also have a Facebook page.

If you are in Bangalore, do  consider donating  your stuff to Re-store.

Reduce, Re-use and Recycle. You will be helping Planet Earth.
And many many people, who are not as privileged as you.

Contact Re-store:  +919886536240
 (Please call them before you go, as it is manned by just one person, and she steps out for lunch and other things. Also Saturdays, they are closed)

_____________________________

ps: Check out my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

unsplash-logotu tu

Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

Where I talk in detail about my writing process

Hi there,

We are already in the middle of January! Half of January has gone by. Have you been keeping up your new year resolutions?  I have!

I read an article recently in Times of India  which said that studies have shown that mid January is the month when couples fight the most, split up the most and in general, feel miserable. This is mostly because the euphoria of a new year has died down, a few resolutions have already been broken, and a kind of weariness after all the festivity has set in. (Click on the link to know more about it)

I have made a reading wall this year too. I am happy to report that I am currently on my 4th book, this year. I have just finished reading The Pearl that Broke its Shell by Nadia Hashimi and I loved it. I did feel it was very miserable and depressing in many places, with absolutely no hope. One gets drawn into the bleakness, wretchedness and despondency and it envelops you. There's no escape till you finish the last word. If you are already in a depressed state, then avoid this book! But if you can take it, and you want an engrossing read, then go for it.



The other thing I am doing this year, is that I am taking part in an International Art Project, organised by the Brooklyn Art Library which houses the world's largest collection of sketchbooks, in the physical form!  To know more you can go HERE.

I received my sketchbook a few months back and I am now busy filling it up. I shall be submitting it in March, to the library. I find it very exciting to be a part of a global art project. The sheer enormity and magnificence of the idea is fantastic. Art unites people in a way no other medium can. You don't need a language for a drawing.

Some time back, I had mentioned that Doordarshan had interviewed me in depth. I had talked about my writing process, about my novels, my yoga practice and many other things. Today they sent me a link of that interview. If you want to see it, I am embedding it here.









If you watch the  above interview, do let me know how you found it.
 I have been very honest and candid.





 What is news with you? How has your January started?


 Tell me in comments, I want to know! (I do reply to all my blog comments)



 Love
Preeti
 
Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

An easy way to walk more than 5 kms a day (and other interesting things)

This is the first post for 2018.


unsplash-logoHans Vivek

How has your year started? Mine started very peacefully. I don't believe in partying to welcome the new year. I like to begin it quietly. We have a tradition of lighting the lamp at midnight, and offering prayers of gratitude for all the blessings. This year too we did just that. We spent time together, as a family; I loved and cherished  every bit of it.

Last year, I had started a Reading wall. 
I am happy that I managed to fill up my reading wall, and I read forty books last year! For the most memorable ones, see my last post. This year too, I have put up a similar reading wall.
I have already finished reading two books. I loved them both. One was The Nightingale by Kritsin Hannah. It is easily one of the best books I have read in my entire life.
The other was The Gift by Cecelia Ahern.
Out of the two, I definitely liked The Nightingale better.  A good book should transport you to the world of the protagonists, and you should feel everything that the characters feel. The Nightingale managed to do that. I was lost in the book even after I finished it, and it took me a while to get over it.
The Gift, it felt like I was outside, peeping in. I didn't feel as involved as I did in the earlier book.

I had also made a resolution to eat healthy, and walk for an hour every day. So far I have succeeded, and I intend keeping it up.



 As you can see, I walk more than 5 kms daily. Some days, it goes as high as 9kms. For those of you who want to do this, what I do is I set my alarm for 6.15 am or 6.00 am. I am out of the house by 6.30/6.45 a.m. I walk and listen to podcasts on my walk. One very interesting podcast which has me hooked these days is Serial(season1) hosted by Sarah Koenig. You can read the details in this link:
https://serialpodcast.org/season-one
Podcasts are a great way to walk. I also usually post stories of interesting sights from my morning walk on my Instagram account. (so follow me there if you want to see them)

Today I went to Chitra Santhe, which is an art market.


 It has to be seen to be believed. The above picture shows the crowd. It is an art mela, with over thousand artists and paintings are sold like vegetables! It is hosted annually in Bangalore, on the first Sunday of every year.
I was blown away by the sheer magnitude of it. I couldn't resist buying four beautiful paintings.
 I have posted stories on my Instagram account and lots of videos too. The Instagram stories remain only for 24 hours; So you have to quickly see them :)

I am also sharing a few images here:


The above are some of the paintings I bought


 I loved the quote.

 This is the artist from whom I bought the painting. His name is Joydeep.



All in all, a very peaceful, joyful start of the year for me.

What about you? How has your week been?
Share with me in the comment box, and I shall definitely reply there itself :)

Love
Preeti
________________
Ps: My latest book has been getting some excellent reviews. Check them out and grab the book : http://preeti.io/a100lf


Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/

What 2017 brought me.

We are nearly at the end of 2017.
Looking at back at the year, several proud moments come to my mind.  One of the most recent ones being interviewed by BBC world, with an astonishing reach of over 400 million people in over 200 countries!  The interview was shot at Birmingham, and of course I wore a saree, even though it was freezing. It was a half an hour sit-down, in depth interview. Rebecca Jones interviewed me.

What I found surprising was that the interview was telecast 8 times!


My apologies for not informing my blog readers, in advance about the telecast time---but in my defence, I had announced it several times on my Twitter and  on my Facebook and on my Instagram too.
On my instagram, I keep posting pics of what I have been up to throughout the day, the books I am currently reading, quotes that I like,  interesting sights I find etc---basically anything that catches my fancy. I quite like Instagram stories . So follow me there, and see my stories for some fun stuff.

Post my BBC interview, so many people from different parts of the world connected to me, telling me how much they loved it.
To all who watched, and to all who support me-- I am  deeply grateful for your love and support.

The other highlights of the year for me, were getting invited to the Karachi Literature Festival, launching the cover of A Hundred Little Flames  at the Birmingham literature festival and launching the new book A Hundred Little Flames at Sharjah International literature festival.

 You can see me signing books at Sharjah, in the pic below.

Add caption

I was also invited to Jammu by the Sahitya Akademi to read from A Hundred Little Flames and I have blogged about it my previous post.

 Several newspapers  have carried write ups about A Hundred Little Flames and you might have seen it in the media. But the one I liked the best was the Hindu's interview. I am sharing it here.
. Please click on it to read it.




Or you can read it online here.

On the personal front too, there have been a lot of changes for me. Both my children left home, for college, and both are studying outside India, in a wonderful college of their choice. A lot of mothers talk about the 'empty nest' syndrome and how they miss their children. But I only had the 'relieved nest' syndrome :)
What is to feel sad? I think parents should feel happy if their children are doing well. It is a privilege denied to many. (As a mother I am very very close to my children. Skype and Whatsapp  and Instagram are great tools for being in constant touch)

At the start of the year, I had made a resolution to read 40 books this year. I had also made a reading wall.
I am very happy to report that I am currently on my 40th book! I hope to complete it by end of today.
The most memorable ones for me, from the ones I read, were the following:

Goat Days by Benyamin
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Some books were disappointing, but I will not mention them here. I applaud every author who has been published by a traditional publisher, as they have the courage to send a book out to the world.

I have a surprise for you guys in April 2018. I won't tell you what it is yet.  But please stay with me.

Meanwhile I have  already started working on my next book!

Leave me comments. I love to hear from you. Whatever you want to share, I am listening.

________________________________________

grab my latest: http://preeti.io/a100lf



Grab It's All In The Planets: http:/preeti.io/3
http://preetishenoy.com/