Good evening everyone! I hope that you are all well! This week I wanted to showcase my most recent painting titled Payal. This painting is one that I am very proud of.
Payal, (18″ x 24″) done in oil paint, depicts a woman putting on an ankle bracelet (called a “payal” in Hindi) while dressed in traditional Indian garb. Specifically, she is wearing a sari, maang tika (forehead jewelry), bangles, and flowers in her hair. I decided to make this piece for various different reasons. Firstly, I wanted to challenge myself by doing a portrait in oil paint that was as realistic as I could manage. Secondly, I wanted to depict a beautiful woman wearing traditional Indian clothing, something that I have hinted at in past pieces but never focused on. I have created pieces centered around various Hindu festivals and mythology but nothing that was solely focused on material culture.
This piece has given me the confidence to be able to peruse even more difficult portrait work. My plan is to create a tryptic, potentially making two more pieces: one with a woman putting on earring, a second with a woman putting on a nose ring or bangles.
In this piece, I focused greatly on light and shadow as well as tonality. I wanted to create a dramatic light source while keeping the background simple and non-distracting from the main figure. If you have any thoughts or would like to discuss this piece further, please feel free to reach out to me!
I am so excited to get back into my newly revamped column. Please let me know if there is anything you all would like to see from me. If any questions or thoughts arise, please comment or reach out to me at my socials!
Until next week,
Riya
Instagram: @riya_aggarwal.art
Portfolio: https://theindianartist.weebly.com/
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