Loving and living with art—and lots of it
Watercolours by Banvari Sharma—I bought these two
Our house and garden overflow with art, and most of it has been purchased on our travels.
We’ve found wonderful paintings in Burma, Thailand, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Egypt, Mexico, the UK, the USA and more.
We’ve lugged home amazing textiles, ceramics, sculptures and carvings from those places, as well as Turkey, Germany, France, Italy, Bolivia, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Greece, Lebanon, Palestine, Mali, Iran, Russia and Uzbekistan. I wonder which place I forgot?
A few years back, airport security in Colombo was concerned about a black, roundish lump in one of our carry-on bags until we showed them it was a plump elephant carved in ebony.
Most of our purchases haven’t been too hard on our wallets. Physical labor is under-valued in most of these countries, so we’ve often paid for supplies but almost never enough for time. I always feel bad about that, and have a personal policy of not over-bargaining for art. You might remember the mask I wished I’d bought in Papua New Guinea. That artist should have received much more for his magnificent piece.
These days we try to restrain ourselves, but we did buy a few pieces in India. Luckily, they weren’t for us, but for our daughters. Our house is already too full and I’m still trying to off load some pieces to the girls. These pieces went straight to them. Just like that amazing skirt I bought for Libby in Peru.
The tiger watercolours we bought were painted by artist, Banvari Sharma. We first met Banvari in 2013, and then again this year. We were pleased to see that he now has a shop/studio/gallery where he displays his art as well as pieces by other aspiring artists.
The new gallery with Banvari, Anand and Deepti
The gallery is on the right just before you go in the park’s main gate. Drop in if you ever get to Pench. Prices are reasonable and quality and creativity are excellent. And Pench is where we saw tigers very close up.
Stay tuned for a post on how and why I bought a magnificent piece of Bhutanese weaving last month. And let me know if you’d like me to give you a tour of the other art in our house.
And be sure to check out what’s cooking on page 32.
Where to next? 
Like you I find art, especially textiles, irresistible on my travels.
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Our daughter Libby, is especially fond of textiles. Wait until you see the Bhutanese weaving I bought. I’ll start working on the post tonight.
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The detail in those pictures is wonderful. It must have taken him a long time. You know, when I’ve thought about going overseas I hadn’t even considered the temptation for me to buy artwork. I’ve thought about the flora and fauna aspect, but not so much the arts/crafts. I think I will need to save a bit more. You’ve reminded me of what I will be like! I am also particularly fond of textiles, like Libby.
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His paintings really are wonderful. On our travels, art is most of what we buy—besides food and way too much of that. Burp! And please watch out for the Bhutanese weaving.
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Oh, yes how I remember the skirt in Peru and the chasing around to get ‘just the right one’
When I was in India, I couldnt get burdened with all that I wanted, so I just bought a painting back with me, an artist named Jitu gave it to me, he painted a leopard, because it was the only big cat I had seen
There was lots of other paintings I would have liked to bring home, but there is a limit on how many walls you have in a house, (Like you, I have bought far too many paintings, ornaments, rocks and stones, even eggs)
Yes, it is very nice buying these art works, but no one seems to consider the work that has gone into creating them, (one of the reasons I dont haggle over the prices, as long as they arent too over the top)
I dont know who will inherit them, though
It would be interesting to see what you have in your home 🙂
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Travel means temptation. I’m always tempted to buy more than I should, but am getting better about resisting. And now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll start to wonder who will inherit the stuff. I’ll do a home tour soon.
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Wow! The detail, obvious in the kitty’s whiskers – harder to get fine lines with water colors as they can so easily bleed uncontrollably, is wonderf! Great quality work!
Libby and Petra know they are so special, valued and loved dearly these beautiful pieces of Art will serve to remind them for life!
Well done John and Peggy!
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You’re right. You don’t think of tiger whiskers and watercolour paints working together!
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Leggy,
When you get back home do an online “showing”. I’d love to see your travel collection. You could even put it up on it’s own separate blog page.
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I’ll do the tour. There are some great pieces with fun stories.
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How did you get involved in textile art?
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I can’t say I’m really ‘involved’ in textile art, I just love it. One of our daughters is the real textile pro.
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I enjoy buying earrings when I travel. They are lightweight, portable, and remind me of their origin whenever I wear them. But I also have a weakness for textiles. Would love to see a tour of your treasures.
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