Sacred Geometry

I use the Pinterest app for a lot of creative inputs and ideas. And as it usually happens, one link leads to another and I almost always land up finding something beautiful each time. 

Here are some images that i landed upon one fine day: images you have seen many a times in different forms of art but never knew what they were called or what they symbolize. 

Notice that they have been made of circles and triangles. These are the Sacred Geometrical Symbols.  You might have seen these in everyday life..in earrings, home decor, religious architecture or healing tools and never have known. These are a part of many cultures and Feng Shui as well. 
Starting at a microscopic level like the double-helix DNA upto the black hole which is believed to have the shape of a toroid, Geometry is everywhere.
The more you google, you find a sort of mystism and magic in these symbols.

If you are interested in Geometry in Art and Culture, do watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg1NpMmPv48

Angels

Here is a cleverly photoshopped image that i found on the internet. These are the faces of the 4 famous women from the last 500 years of art history. They have been painted and discussed and analyzed at length.

Starting from the left is "Girl with the Pearl Earring", next is Mona Lisa looking the other side. Beside her is Frida Kahlo and the right most is Venus.

The painting of 'Mona Lisa' is world famous. 'Mona' is short for 'Madonna' meaning 'my lady' in Italian. Leonardo da Vinci did not use strong outlines in his paintings..the colours were blended into each other in a hazy way. Interestingly, in this painting, it feels like Mona Lisa is looking right back at the viewer..from whichever angle you look! :)

Mona Lisa - by Leonardo da Vinci

(photo taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa . Don't miss reading the Aesthetics section!)

I have had the good fortune to have seen this painting with my eyes. This photo has been taken from the side because of the crowd in the hall. The frame rests behind a bullet-proof glass in the Louvre museum in Paris.

'Girl in a pearl earring' is a painting by a Dutch artist Jan Vermeer. This portrait is sometimes called the Dutch Mona Lisa. The girl in this painting appears to be a commoner, yet her pearl earring is enormous and expensive. This turban that the girl is wearing is exotic for the Netherlands.With her wide eyes gazing directly at us, it seems that she is about to tell us something! :)

Girl with a pearl earring - by Johannes Vermeer

(photo taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring)

This artist, Vermeer, is famous for how he handled colour. If you google, you can see that all his works have a sense of quiet and stillness. Apparently, one of his famous colour combinations was yellow, blue and grey (you can see the combination in this painting too!). This painting kept in a museum in The Hague. Don't miss watching this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbEEl6FG2yg

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist and activist and, so to say, the youngest of the four divas in the photoshopped image above. The more you read about her, the more happening her life seems- enough to make a movie.  Frida was known to have painted portraits for many a celebrity and numerous self-portaits. This painting is actually a small self-portrait bought by the Louvre museum making Frida the first Mexican artist featured by Louvre. 

'The Frame' - by Frida Kahlo

(photo taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frame_(painting))

Frida Kahlo was always dressed in traditional Mexican clothes and was loyal to her roots. I especially like this statement from Wiki : Kahlo's artistic ambition was to paint for the Mexican people, and she stated that she wished "to be worthy, with my paintings, of the people to whom I belong and to the ideas which strengthen me"

"The birth of Venus" is the oldest of the four famous paintings shown here. This is a huge painting kept in a famous gallery in Florence and when you see it in real, you see things very differently.

'The Birth of Venus' - by Sandro Botticelli

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_Venus)

The way i interpret this painting is this: Venus(the Goddess of Love) has just emerged from the water on a seashell and the woman attendant on the right is ready to wrap her with a cloth. The Wind Gods on the left are blowing her towards the shore of the Greek islands. Notice that all figures are floating and all the drapery and Venus's hair are fluttering. This was, supposedly, one of the very sensual paintings of the Renaissance period.

I have been blessed to have seen some classic Renaissance paintings with my own eyes. One gets to see so much more than the pictures on the internet -- the paint strokes, the real colours, the shining gold paint that would otherwise appear dull yellow in a photo. 

It is admirable that someone has done a good job at bringing the four divas together in one photoshopped image - all of them seem to be having a good time together! :) They all seem happier than what they were individually! :)

Rangoli

The art of Rangoli is one of the many things that are unique to Indian culture. To me, a rangoli reflects the happy state of mind.

Here is one photo i have had on my computer for many years. Both the intricately carved wooden facade and the enormous rangoli makes up for a beautiful photo isn't it? :)

The Colour Wheel

Do read this book if you can - A Child's Introduction to Art : The world's greatest paintings and sculptures (https://www.amazon.com/Childs-Introduction-Art-Paintings-Sculptures/dp/1579129560)
This book is not only for children. It gives an excellent introduction to some of the World Famous Painters - their life, their work, what to appreciate in their paintings etc.

One section that got me interested is Let's Talk Color (you may need to zoom in to read through it entirely):

It provides an excellent introduction to the different colours, their types, properties and relationship with each other.
Understanding the colour wheel is the first step in any painting class and guides one to make appropriate colour choices. Colours do affect emotional responses and create a mood. So be aware and make the right combination of colours! :)

The Starry Night

Today Vincent Van Gogh's paintings sell for millions of dollars. But when he was alive, he was a starving artist who only sold one painting. After his death however, his brother, an art dealer organized exhibitions and finally sold his work! Sad but true (which is why we need to encourage local artists!)
Most of the literature on Vincent Van Gogh also suggests that he was suffering from mental illness and is believed to have painted 'The Starry Night' while at a mental hospital.

There is always a very thin line between genius and insanity! :(  There was a lot of 'turbulence' in Vincent Van Gogh's life. It is said that Van Gogh painted some of his famous works looking at them through water and has captured natural water turbulence down to mathematical precision! Now that is a true genius! :)

Watch this TED-Ed video in order to truly appreciate this painting and to understand the scientific connect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMerSm2ToFY

(image of "The Starry Night" taken from the internet)

Why create art?

Why create art? What is the point?

Well, most artists will answer that art makes them happy. They are happy when they make it. They are happy when they look at it. But art is more than fun and decoration.
For me, art is a way to express yourself -- just like other forms of expression like dancing, creating music, composing poems and songs or story-writing. You can tell a story or record what someone looks like with art. You can share your feelings or communicate ideas or opinions.

The quote that really appeals to me as an artist is by the famous sculptor Carl Andre:

"A man climbs a mountain because it is there. 

A man makes a work of art because it is not there".

Think about it! :)

The 2018 Calendar project by A Hundred Hands

It was a privilege to be a part of the first ever calendar by A Hundred Hands for 2018.
We were a mix of 12 artists - some self-trained artists like me and some National award winning artists - each doing a different form of Indian painting! :) 

So, what is so special about this calendar? This calendar is based on 'Mudras' - hand gestures - something which is core to the traditional Indian dance form. And besides, we are all in the business of handmade art and craft!! :) 
The paintings for each of the month are: 
Kerala Mural Painting, Gond, Water colour and Calligraphy, Pattachitra, Warli (that is what i have done), Surpur Miniature painting, Kalighat, Mysore Art, Zentangles, Mughal Miniature, Madhubani and Sanjhi paper cut. 

A detailed post on the  'A Hundred Hands' facebook page can be found here

What is predominant in these Indian forms of painting:
Kerala Mural painting - these depict stories of Shiva and Rama
Gond tribal painting - involves a lot of line work, mostly based on nature.
Pattachitra - fabric painting based on mythology
Warli - folk art by the Warli tribe - based on nature
Surpur Miniature art from Karnataka - based on Vedic themes.
Kalighat painting - from Bengal based on mythology
Mysore art - are famous for attention to detail -again based on mythology.
Zentangle art - structured patterns - white and black - an art known to relax the mind
Mughal Miniature painting - mainly based on stories of the Mughal empire.
Madhubani - from Bihar - colourful and based on nature.
Sanjhi paper cut - one of the oldest forms of paper cutting in India - a picture of it is on the calendar.

Here is a photo of what i did - the Warli painting - size A3 on canvas cloth. The mudra that i was to work on is the 'Kartari Swastika Mudra' which denotes stems, branches, hill tops and trees. So the original paintings were sold while the digital prints are available as either a A5 size desktop calendar or an A3 size wall calendar. In case you want to order for this unique collection of traditional Indian paintings based on Mudras, do visit the A Hundred Hands facebook page and order for one! :)