had a lovely snow day from school today...
so i finished canvases that were worked on this summer.
they were all going to get some kind of indian symbol,
but I decided that they needed words instead.
hand is there to give a sense of the size of these paintings...
gratitude measures 1'x4' - my longest word painting ever!
i had fun painting these...
a close up of gratitude...
i usually do very small words, but was
curious to see how they looked large scale.
i had to get over the feeling that i was wasting a
canvas that was decorated with so many layers of color.
it took days for me to get those patterns onto them...
but in the end, i am glad i did it.
this is one of my words for 2011.
it is painted on the canvas i was saving to put an image
of a Nandi the cow sculpture.
from one of the hindu temples i saw in india,
but for me, he is still there in this painting...
sitting calmly and quietly at the temple
with flowers and food at his feet.
it has peacocks in the background...
a close up of calm...
reading "Be Love Now" by ram dass... this is dedicated to him.
sending you a bit of joy, calm and love this snowy evening...
xoj
6 comments:
Thanks Jen! Love You!
love you too deb!
I feel the love, joy and calm. Thanks Jennifer!
You have a beautiful site. I found you from Genine's blog just two days ago (your signature Buddhagirl caught my eye!) and I enjoyed browsing all your old posts. Your henna art and paintings are gorgeous. Being of Indian origin myself, I am truly impressed by how "Indian" your paintings are. I mean that as a true compliment! Particularly that of Hanuman, Laxmi and Ganesha . Kudos to you! May I ask how you create those paisly backgrounds? Hope you don't mind me asking.
thanks ting!
hi rupa,
good to meet you here. i love genine's blog too:) glad you like my paintings, thank you for the compliments! this will be the third year i am traveling to india in the spring, so that is where i get all of my inspiration from... the way i get the paisley background is starting with one color on the canvas, then stamping hand carved rubber stamps in paisley designs... then i paint around the paisley to give it a third color. I also used those sticky rubber hands that i think you can use for mehndi... i pushed paint into them to get the lacy effect in one of the layers. it was a lot of work!!! i don't ever mind when someone asks about my process - i am an art teacher!
peace to you...
and namaste,
jennifer
ps. where in india are you (and your family) from?
Namaste Jennifer! You are a generous and kind soul for taking the time to write back to me in such detail. I am amazed to hear about the tedious but unique process for creating such rich backgrounds. To top that, you paint beautifully proportionate gods/goddesses in amazing detail. I so badly wish I could learn to draw like that from you. I have been in love with those wood block prints too from India, I have to get some this time I go (not easy to find I am told). I was born in the southern city of Mysore. I left India 30 yrs ago(of course India has never left me!) but I go back every two years at least and I still have a lot of close family back home. I also practice yoga and I love painting and art in any form although I like engineering/technology (my day job). If you are in and around Mysore/Bangalore, do visit Bylakuppa, a Tibetan settlement with several monasteries and the most beautiful Golden Buddha temple there. It's my honor to have met you in this blogosphere. I wish you a wonderful journey to India and much success for all your endeavors. PS: sorry for the long rant :)
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