Nandan Nair

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Comets have fascinated mankind for thousands of years. About 2 months ago, we got to witness Neowise – a comet that has been around for over 4,000 years – come into visibility via the naked eye for the first time since 2006. It was also the last time it would come into view from the Earth for the next 6,000 years – yes! you read it right… during which it’s orbit will stretch across the outer edges of the solar system.

In the midst of this, a friend of ours managed to capture an incredible photo of the comet in the sky, while four figures view it in the foreground. Upon seeing it, I felt motivated to make a painting with my own personal touch. Instead of using four silhouettes, I decided to focus on using just two (in the end, the two figures ending up looking very similar to me and my brother.) I also made it a personal goal to finish the painting as fast as possible, something I had never focused on before. To achieve this, I employed some new painting techniques, such as applying paint directly onto the canvas rather than using a palette. This would reduce the time it took to get the paint on canvas, and also save paint, given there would not be paint on the palette which could easily stay on and dry. Using this method, I managed to finish the painting in a total time of 2 and a half hours, my fastest ever.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the final product, and I hope I can continue to make paint more and finish faster.