This drawing is very special one to me as it kept evolving unlike other drawings of mine… This has also allowed me to come back with a bang😉 after a brief dry spell of being stuck in a creative block😑.. This is called “Samanvayam” which means bonding or joining together.. In this context, the thread which forms the basis of this doodle is the Divine union of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati which resulted in the creation of the entire universe as we see around us…
The various animals, birds, tree and lotus flowers included represent the nature around us along with the Divine mounts of Shiva and Devi, the Bull and the Lion respectively.. And then there is the mighty Ganga flowing from the hair of Shiva, who in all her splendour and glory is but a demure figure when in the heavy matted locks of the Lord! All these figures are surrounded by mandala designs.. Shiva is the masculine energy principle while Parvathi is the female counterpart whose amalgamation brings about the physical manifestation of the material Universe..
I love doing intricate works and would love to continue to experiment with different patterns and of increasing complexity.
Hope you guys liked this! Pls do like and comment if you did!
Samanvayam
Note: Please do not use any content (both writing and images) anywhere without the written permission of the author. All rights reserved to the author.
Silhouette by definition is the image of a person, thing, animal or any thing which is represented as a solid shape usually by using a single colour like black, against a white or lighter background. Here I have done a silhouette of small elephants using black marker on a white background and drew the Mandala patterns using my trusted sakura white gelly rolls.
Elephant silhouette mandala
This is the first of a series titled ” Silhouette mandalas”.. While thinking of what to draw, elephants came into my mind… And i thought why not because i come from a place (#kerala) where elephants are a craze especially during festivals and special occasions.. And what is my art without mandalas and zentangles?😉 So here are some cute #mandala elephants on a parade..Zoom in to see the details.. A mini tutorial on how to do this art will be shortly up on this blog as a mini tutorial.. Stay tuned!
Coincidentally, it was #worldelephantday on August 12th! These land animals are one of the loyal animals to be tamed by man but nowadays they are facing cruelty at the hands of humans. Let us strive to preserve and protect these majestic animals! @rohandahotre is doing a great initiative to spread awareness by doing his own art and spreading art of others…Guess what, adding to my happiness, Rohan Dahotre featured my art on his Instagram story! One of the best feelings ever!
Note: Please do not use any content (both writing and images) anywhere without the written permission of the author. All rights reserved to the author.
Inktober posts continue here. You can read the other posts on Inktober here and here.
Inktober prompt 8– star: Rohini may be just a #star among the countless and millions of them abounding in the firmament.. But in the Indian mythology, she is the only one who resides in the heart of Chandradeva, the Moon whose wife she is.. Rohini is one among the 27 wives (stars) of Chandra… Due to his favouritism and partiality to Rohini, he was cursed by Daksha, their father to wane and die… But for his other daughters, he had to give a concession and it was relieved to an extent i.e he could go through this in cycles before becoming full again… This was how the waxing and waning phases of the Moon were explained to us by our ancestors at the time the so called scientific knowledge did not manifest.🙏🙏.. . . . .
Hope you guys liked the story n the drawing! Be back with more 😊😊
Star: Rohini
Inktober prompt 9- precious: Urvashi was one of the most #precious Apsaras or celestial nymphs of Indra’s court.. Endowed with eternal youth and limitless beauty, she danced, wearing her jingling anklets embellished with #preciousjewels and gem studded ornaments, raining elixir in the minds of the onlookers in the exquisite court room!!
Precious: Urvashi
Inktober prompt 10– Flowing: Ganga needs no introduction to us Indians.. She is one of the largest rivers we have and the holiest of them all… Ganga is believed to be the only river which is said to be #flowing through all the three worlds – Aakashaganga (heaven), Bhuganga (earth) and Pathalaganga (nether worlds)..She arises, nurtures and flows giving refreshing and life giving water and is home to fish, turtles, crocodiles, gangetic dolphin and a variety of flora, destroying sins on the way.. along her banks, there are holy temples, bathing ghats and prayer areas.. Makara, a mythical creature with the snout of an elephant and tail portion of a crocodile is her mount.. I have tried my hand at drawing a gangetic dolphin( by the way he is lot cuter in photographs😋).. It is a pity that we humans are polluting her and choking her to death.. It is prophesied that by the end of the present Kali yuga, Ganga will dry out and will indicate the end of the world..
Flowing: Ganga
Inktober prompt 11- Cruel: Surpanakha, Ravana’s sister is considered to be a #cruel demoness who could disguise as an enchanting lady and whose lust towards Rama and Lakshmana led to her nose and ears being cut by the brothers.. But as a coin has two sides, she was a very loving sister to Ravana and the insult she received as a woman was sad too.. of course nobody is perfect..She instigated Ravana against Rama by describing the incredible beauty of Sita and asking him to capture her for his harem.. The great war ensued soon after and it cost her the entire family; it being torn apart.. Surpanakha is a representation of the desires in us and if we don’t keep them under control, it can ultimately lead to our downfall.. . . .
Cruel: Shurpanakha
Hope you are liking my series! Please do comment!
You can view my Inktober 2017 posts here and here.
Note: Please do not use any content (both writing and images) anywhere without the written permission of the author. All rights reserved to the author.
So another #inktober season is here and I am all geared up to do as many prompts as I can unlike last year which was the first time I participated in a challenge especially Inktober.. That was also when I started doing pen drawings seriously.. This time I am following the official prompts but with a theme of my own- women in Indian mythology, my favourite subject! .
Prompt 1: #poisonous:
The first image which comes to most when we hear the word poisonous, is snake.. So the woman I have portrayed is Ulupi, the snake princess who was one of the wives of the mighty Arjuna, the great warrior in Mahabharata.. Though little is described about her in the epics, she is said to be in the form of half maiden, half snake Nagakanya who was a trained warrior herself! Gliding through her kingdom of Nagas as an epitome of valour and courage with her retinue..
Poisonous: Ulupi
Here is the second prompt for inktober- tranquil: I have drawn Goddess Parvati who is undergoing severe penance on one foot (that too it is said that she stood on her single toe) in the middle of fire during the fiery summers and icy cold water during the harsh winters and yet she remained #tranquil, her mind fixed on one point devotion towards Shiva, to win Him over as her better half.. She eventually gave up eating fruits and even leaves, thus earning the sobriquet Aparna (meaning leafless)-one who needs no sustenance.. This particular episode from the Puranas actually depict the kind of devotion a man should have in order to win the affection of God, something we must remember in the present age of hatred and ill will towards traditions and religions..
Tranquil: Parvati
Inktober prompt #3: roasted: What I interpreted in terms of roasted was someone being irked and irritated to the point of breakdown.. The lady I have chosen for this prompt is the river Chandrabhaga in Odisha,which is now said to be extinct but researchers have found some clues regarding its earlier course in the area through which it is said to have been flowing.. it is generally a tenet of the Indian philosophy to revere nature and everything around it to be the manifestations of God and often rivers were portrayed as goddesses or ladies.. There is an episode about which I read sometime back in a magazine.. Konark Sun temple is said to stand at the place where Chandrabhaga existed.. Sun god Surya fell madly in love with Chandrabhaga but she did not reciprocate that love.. Blinded by love, he tried to get hold of her. She was literally and figuratively #roasted. Scared by Surya’s advances, she committed suicide by jumping into the sea.. Surya who was filled with guilt and remorse, stood there in her memory and hence the origin of the temple..
Roasted: Chandrabhaga
Inktober prompt 4- spell: Need to catch up with the prompts😑The lady who can connect with this prompt is Mohini who is the Divine Enchantress, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu .. she is all decked up in the finest of the fineries and brigtest of the jewels!! She cast a #spell on the beings of earth, heaven and hell alike with her illusory power called Maya, which is the Lord’s weapon.. last inktober too i had done a drawing of Mohini and did this a bit differently than it.. Hope you guys liked it!
Spell: Mohini
Inktober prompt 7: exhausted: To be honest, i am not at all happy with how this drawing turned out to be.. I didn’t have enough time n patience to draw it properly plus the lighting is bad too.. But anyway here it is.. . . .
Urmila begged Lakshmana to take her with him while Ram, Sita and himself went to the forest for 14 years but was denied by him because he was duty bound to protect his brother and sister in law at all times, which will not give him time to attend to her… so she had to stay back in Ayodhya.. Lakshmana had to forego His sleep for 14 years in order to keep guard.. Nidradevi, the goddess of sleep tells him that it is against the law of nature for any being to forego sleep, she transfers it to Urmila who gladly accepts it.. Urmila slept #exhaustedin turn, for her husband till he returned…This might sound ridiculous to some but the take home message that we get is of sacrifice!
Exhausted: Urmila
You can read the other Inktober posts here and here.
You can view my Inktober 2017 posts here and here.
Note: Please do not use any content (both writing and images) anywhere without the written permission of the author. All rights reserved to the author.
Jai Ganesha – black gel pen and #sakuraofamerica#pigmamicron pens on @daler_rowney paper: This is the first of the series named “Devamandalas” that I am doing now which is basically drawings of Gods in intricate and detailed manner with interesting patterned backgrounds inspired by indian jali designs found on ancient architectural marvels and textiles… Jalis are ancient Indian architectural element which were used on windows and for ventilation… These patterns are currently my craze and i will be exploring more such designs in upcoming drawings… I am very detail oriented when it comes to drawings😁…This is one of the most intensive and time consuming drawings I have done so far and hope that the patience has definitely paid off…Swipe to see the reference of Ganesha statue from Google images from which I drew inspiration…Hope you guys liked this… Please like n comment if you do!!
Jai Ganesha
Vagdevi- Black gel pen, sakura pens and sharpies on @daler_rowneywatercolour paper: This is another of the Devamandala series..This time it is Goddess Saraswathi inspired from metal statue…swipe to see the reference picture from Google..I have always been fascinated by statues cast in metal..They have an aura and air of energy around them…The level of intricate detailing achieved in those requires high precision which is just remarkable..i have made the background designs more challenging this time in an aim to perfect it.. After all practice does make a man perfect😉😉..Hope you guys liked this one..Do keep supporting like always..
Vagdevi
I have always been a person who has loved Indian mythology and its roots. I have also thought that the supreme power God is like wifi or internet (hehe just a thought which came up randomly). He is readily available to all those who are ready to look up to Him but with the right devotion and sincerity so that we are tuned to the same frequency; like a radio even.. The different forms of God or the avatars are like different webpages and if we have to sign in to those specific pages we need to invoke them through a specific password or mantra to invoke the blessings! Hope you liked my rants!
I am planning to do a small tutorial on how to do the background patterns as another post.
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It was on last year’s Ganesh Chathurthi that i started my blog and thereafter drew and painted zealously.. So here is a little #pebbleart Ganesha to mark the occasion which is something new i thought i would try… Lord has definitely given His blessings and may He shower His choicest and benevolent blessings upon all of us! . . .
Pebble Ganesha
The pebbles were picked up from below my apartment and I spent a good time searching for the right shapes and sizes before arranging it to represent the form of Ganesha. I am quite happy with the results!! Yay! Maybe I can try painting it later and this time I stopped by just drawing the eyes using a sharpie marker. Hope you guys liked this innovation of mine!
Note: Please do not use any content (both writing and images) anywhere without the written permission of the author. All rights reserved to the author.
Desisoul Arts 