On being Unattached

Title: Mendicant, oil on canvas, 30"x20"

Original: $600

Giclee: 150

Print on paper: $70

Indian philosophy and religion have, over millenia, tirelessly pointed to one thing.

In religious discourses, public commentaries, cultural practices, that is the only thing that describes everything else. That of renunciation.

The yogis and the mahatmas have followed a lifestyle that is intricately connected to this philosophy. The general population too have not been too far away from this philosophy.

Take the example of Sri Krishna's teachings in the Bhagawad Gita. Krishna exhorted Arjuna to follow the call of duty, and renounce everything else. He asked Arjuna to ignore his feelings and emotions, and also any expectation of a fruit from his work, or labour. But just to do his duty, and participate in the Mahabharata war.

We have seen in art the theme of renunciation, not only among Indian artists, but also from other religions and cultures.

Art Fair and Stearns Wharf

Title: Untitled, oil on canvas, 36"x24"

Original: $900
giclee: $150
print on paper: $70

Yesterday I went with my husband to the screening of the Santa Barbara art walk, held every Sunday, at Stearns Wharf.

Since my arrival in Santa Barbara about a year ago, we've been at the Stearns Wharf innumerable times. Sometimes just to listen to the sea, sometimes to watch a program, sometimes to feel the sand beneath our feet (sandals/shoes?)

This time it was for my art. And I met quite a few artists. The judges at the screening were artists, some of them having shown art at the Santa Barbara Art and Craft Show for decades. One of them was a fourth generation artist.

My husband met his former manager, who has found peace in jewellery making. She did look in sync with herself. That is what art does to everyone. We find our voice, our calling.

And then there was our neighbour, who was harried by the falling real estate prices, as the value of her condo has fallen by $220,000. And paying the mortgage was an enormous task, in these times.

The Process of Creation

Title: Fair Weather, oil on canvas, 50x40"

Giclee: $300
prints on paper: $150

Any process of creation seems to me to have a similar path from beginning to the end, when the outcome takes the final shape.

I have to still think it out if this is a generalization. What does one need to create? A thought. An idea. This is the germ, the seed. Whether it is in growing a tree, or creating a painting, or writing entire volumes of a novel, the seed is of the utmost importance. Rather, necessity.

First the thought, the idea. Followed by the real seed. Whatever the idea is, the seed would follow. The idea, the thought, is the most powerful, and the first step to producing results. Greats results, or otherwise. Whatever is the seed, other things would follow.

That is the basic premise in any field of study. Botany, agriculture, zoology, veterinary science, any field of study. This also pertains to intangible fields of study, or those fields which does not require the kind of scientific discipline that produces laboratory analysis and outcomes. Like the various artistic fields.

It is the germ that determines the steps that follow. After the selection of the germ, what other steps follow this initial step, I'd write about it subsequently. Now I need to go to bed and sleep.

Picking up Orchids

Title: Picking up orchids, oil on canvas, 48"x36

Original painting available for $1,800
print on paper for $150
giclee for $300

This painting was about dreams, like picking up dream flowers. Large format, oil on canvas, the experiment was about creating a dream like feeling, with the background merging in wavelike motions.

Doing it brought me great satisfaction. Of course it took a lot time, and many many layers, as the canvas kept absorbing whatever initial layers I brushed into it.

The outcome was lovely. Somewhat stylized. And the style conservatives find points to draw attention to. But I love the effect.

Participant or Onlooker?

Title: Dilemma, oil on canvas, 50"x40"
Original: $2000
Giclee: $300
Prints on paper: $150




What is art all about? Is it about being part of something, or is it about looking, from a distance? Untouched. Not touching. Using a barge pole to experience things. Life. Anything.

I think, art is about being both. While creating, one is a participant. With the medium, the paraphernelia that goes into the making of art. But otherwise, during the period before, or after the process of creation, one is more an onlooker.

There is a distance during this period. Because, without distance, art cannot be produced. There needs to be a perspective, and that perspective can be gained only when one has placed some amount of distance between oneself, and the thing that is going to be created.

And that thing, although it comes from inside, requires some amount of observation, or being an onlooker.