So did the title scare you? Yes, the words sound heavy, don't they. And coming at the end of the year, they could actually mean a whole lot of things.... but hold on, that is not where I want to go at all. It is just that there are too many things swirling around in my head, and I can't seem to figure out how I want to put them down. So let us take this one by one.....
All of last month I have been working on a Buddha painting called Enlightened One. Now you know where some of the 'heaviness' of the title comes from! ;) Well, this painting shouldn't have taken as long as it did but festivals and special occasions hogged the limelight, and my poor piece kept getting pushed to the back-burner.
But despite the distractions, I loved working on this painting because of the technique I used - it was primarily made by running random paint drips on the canvas, giving the piece a multi-coloured underpainting. This was followed by numerous washes that helped tone down certain colours and highlight some others. The layers finally merged together to bring a cohesive unity to the piece that is unique.
Take a look at the picture above to get a sense of where the painting started (with the colour drips), and how it finally ended. It almost felt as if the painting "painted itself" with very little conscious input from my side. I had read about how using such techniques brought a certain freedom into our work but experiencing it first-hand was quite something. Enlightened One is now offered for sale through the website 1000 Words. If you want something similar for yourself - perhaps a different size or colour combination, or maybe some other figure - just drop me a detailed mail at creativerumblings@gmail.com.
Moving on to other thoughts....Now that the year is drawing to a close, it is time to take stock. Those of you who have been following the blog for a while would have noticed how the frequency of posts has gone down considerably this year. But I can explain that.... ever since I started toying with bigger pieces and newer techniques, the output has taken longer. And hence the falling numbers. This year my biggest achievement has been to get over my fear of working on larger canvases. I think adopting a more loose and abstract style of painting has helped go over the bump in the road. Now let us see what the next year has in store....
Meanwhile, here is wishing all my wonderful readers a happy, peaceful and creative 2014! May our interesting interactions continue into the new year!!
