Duality

Medium: Oil Pastels on Sandboard
Size: 11" X 9"

I am still working on Chatterbox and Nutcraker. So I just thought of writing this new post in between about this painting which I did few months back. This is abstract Radha and Krishna
with four cows.

Have named this painting Duality because Krishna depicts the Masculine form here and Radha depicts the Feminine form. Duality exists everywhere in every form....which is one of the basis of Hindu philosophy. And even when we talk about energy body...we talk about Ida(Feminine Energy) and Pingala(Masculine Energy). Radha and Krishna symbolize that duality which exists in the universe in a beautiful way.

I did add something recently to this painting...Lot of people who saw this painting before and some of them were not familiar with Krishna and Radha were not able to differentiate between the male and female. And Krishna in sanskrit means Dark blue...a particular blue which I have used here conveys completely the identity of Krishna...But it did not seem enough to people not familiar with krishna and therefore I added the nose ring to Radha. It also looks much better to me now...so posting it...

The Sunset

Medium: Oil Pastels on Sandboard
Size: 18" X 16"

The inspiration behind this painting was Banaras. But I let the painting remain very abstract and that was achieved by using "less is more" approach. This was a sort of study where I tried to work with minimum strokes and played with colors. The use of red and orange for the boatman in foreground was deliberate for the obvious reason that warm colors appear nearer and therefore achieved depth. I took complete advantage of the excellent texture which the sandpaper provides.

Mystic Sadhu

Medium: Oil pastels on Sandboard
Size : 11" X 9"
This painting is oil pastels on Sandboard ( as I call it ). Sandboard is nothing but Sandpaper pasted on a thin wooden ply or compressed board. And this provides excellent texture for pastels. If you love working with oil pastels then this is a must try.
Coming on to the Sadhu...I just love this composition and anyone who is from India or understands India will find this painting very engaging. And what makes it interesting is the idea of the Sadhu holding a Beedi ( handcrafted cigarette) along with his usual kamandal ( Water vessel ) and Lathi (Wooden Stick). The credit for this idea...I mean sadhu holding the cigar goes to my art instructor " Sirish Sir" from whom I learned oil pastels and drawing.