In my blog posts I would like to document my experience through my art. I believe art, in whatever from, is extremely valuable in creating a deeper connection and understanding to all things or feelings. As I explore different geography, interactions, apparel, feeling, rituals and the many other aspects of culture I will create art pieces to represent my interpretation and understanding of them. Along with my creation I would like to post a description of what I wanted to portray, and important things I learned in my experiences.

To start this first post I have a painting I did last year as a gift for my mom. She went on an amazing trip to India, exploring many different cities and temples. The pictures and her stories of her travel inspired me (and made me really want to visit!). She asked me to do a painting of a particular landmark in Rishikesh called Parmarth Niketan, and I said yes immediately. She gave me a photo she took for reference and this is what I made:

My mom wanted a focus on the arch and this particular women from the picture included. While I don’t quite know the reason, to me the women was a good representation of the sort of peacefulness among the crowd. She wears a beautiful sari and headdress, representative of her culture and the beauty of how unique apparel can be. The arch is the main attraction of the painting, from my reading it serves as in entrance into Parmarth Niketan a place for calmness and meditation. It offers ritual practices in groups, meditations, prayers, teachings, and even spa/healing type treatments. I really enjoyed creating this piece and learning more about its meaning. I hope I can visit in person someday and create more art from my perspective.