Photo of the Day

In the course of exhibiting the work from the "A Studio in Rajasthan" series, I have often found myself repeating the following lines, "The photographs are painted by a third generation Rajasthani hand-colourist named Rajesh Soni. Rajesh is the grandson of Prabhu Lal Soni, who was once court photographer to the Maharaja Bhopal Singh of Mewar".

I'm afraid the continual repetition of this information has caused it to lose some of its meaning. Rajesh is indeed a talented and extremely energetic young artist. His skills were passed on to him by his father, who is also an artist and photographer. Rajesh recounts that as a young boy his father told him to draw eyes. He was asked to draw eyes again and again. His father told him, "Draw the eyes until you are no longer looking at them, draw the eyes until they are looking at you."

Rajesh Soni's skill as a draughtsman is superb. Personally, I feel the way he subtly tints my photographs is exceptional. Other craftsmen have tried, but none have succeeded. Rajesh remains my premiere collaborator.

Here is Rajesh, posing as "The Artist". Oddly enough the painting on the easel is not his own, but borrowed from a local antique store.

Photographs Transformed

Once in a while I come across an artist who has used one of my photographs as a basis for his or her own creation. Such was the case a year ago, when I visited a local art exhibition in Udaipur and was amazed to find my "Woman with a Cow - Udaipur" (from the book India Poems: The Photographs), rendered as an exquisite pencil drawing. The woman in the original photo had been replaced by a small boy, but otherwise it was a rather faithful copy. Another artist in Udaipur has made a series of ink sketches from the same book, and sells them in a shop in the main bazaar.

The watercolour above was sent to me by Rinaldo Hopf, a Berlin artist who visits India often. It is after the image "Fisherman - Cochin", a sepia photograph also from India Poems. Hopf has done a beautiful job of transforming the image into a new media.

Perhaps some people would be upset to have their work "copied" in such a manner. But for me, I see each artist adding their individual touch, and I can only feel flattered.

Photo of the Day

Finally, after much too long, I am back in Udaipur and back to work. The time spent in Italy, Amsterdam, Brussels and Delhi was nice of course, but it feels best to get back to the studio and the process of creation.

Model Aslam came this morning and we made this shot. For now I am calling it Aslam with a Sword. I was in a playful mood, and did the rather simple Photoshop trick of inverting the image to create a mirror effect. Overt manipulation like this is something I have always avoided. But today was
playday, and strangely, this image seems to be guarding the way to a new creative path.

A Look Inside the Genoa Exhibition

For a short walk up Vico del Fieno in Genoa, Italy, and a view inside Galleria Joyce and Co.'s presentation of "A Studio in Rajasthan", just click on the YouTube link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga_FiUMcwas

Collectors Party - Amsterdam

This past Saturday my Amsterdam friends (and collectors) Patrick Van Son and Marischka Leenaers hosted a fabulous small garden/dinner party. Invited were a few of the folks in Amsterdam who have added my art to their collections. It was the weekend of the Queen's Birthday, so some people could not make it...like Venita and Prakash and the handsome polo player Raja...oh well, we missed them.

If you care to see all of the photos, check out my Flickr page, or just click on the link below...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10968869@N08/sets/72157617673322042/

Mostra Italia

Maurizio Vallebona

Invito alla Vernissage di Inaugurazione:

Waswo "A Studio in Rajasthan"
Venerdi 17 Aprile 2009
dalle ore 18h alle ore 21h

17 Aprile - 17 Maggio

Galleria Joyce & Co
Vico del Fieno 13r
16123 Genova
Tel. 010-2469217

A Lost Book Found

I received a very welcome email from the Milwaukee Public Library the other day. After more than two years of disappearance, the folio Encounters has resurfaced and is in its rightful place in the Rare Books room. Encounters was a folio of seven poems illuminated by Rajasthani painters from Udaipur. It also contains a print of Rama in a Jungle Pool. The Encounters folio was released in an edition of three, one of which was bought by a private collector and the other two taken by libraries.

If you happen to live near Milwaukee, you can view this "artist book" of mine at the Central Library (Rare Books room).

A more complete collection of my artist books are in the Special Collections room of the Golda Meier Library at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. They enclude the folios Paris, Encounters, and Natura Morta.