Rainy day Mussoorie

This room is part of the attic which has three separate spaces with views of the valley below. The view is stunning and looks out over Dehradun city and the Gangetic plains 7000 ft below. On the Eastern side of the attic is the sunrise section. I decided to make it rain inside the house in the circular South facing attic room.

The room has two kinds of weather, the ceiling has a painted summer weather with clear skies and fluffy clouds as birds hold up the sky. Beneath rain starts to fall on the wall

Often, when it rains in Mussoorie clouds creep up from the Dehradun Valley bringing rain all the way up.  The lightning is so close to the house that it feels like it is entering the house to fill it with fire. There is a lightning rod to prevent that from happening.

I used a one inch soft hairbrush, filling the brush with paint the consistency of water, then I pressed it against the wall, making it drip naturally downwards. I used 3 different shades of blue. When everything dried I repeated the process with a clear varnish. As the varnish is colourless, the drippings shine when one walks past the wall. At night the varnish gives an extra wet sparkle. There is a fireplace in the room and when the wood is burning, the varnish drippings flicker with the orange light of the fire.

It was very physically strenuous to paint the ceilings as they slant in many directions. I stood on a traditional ladder made of bamboo called a Ghori. This type of ladder is quite wobbly but heavy so that it does not slip when one climbs to the top. I painted birds and clouds with one hand held vertically and my neck at a horizontal angle. Imagine the paint mug in my other hand while holding on to the ladder at the same time. I decided that I will never paint ceilings again because it takes so much physical effort.

I would like to say every corner of this attic is painted using my fertile imagination.

I get my ideas from looking carefully around me and observing what is happening. It is almost like I am eating the visual experiences just like people eat food. Then I transform it to come out of my paintbrush.
When I start to paint I am very sure what I am going to be doing there is no hesitation. Sometimes I even dream about what I want to paint and I remember those dreams really well.