I kicked off this painting with absolutely no vision in my mind, striking large brush stokes throughout the canvas. Then as I outlined a face with lighter skin color , it struck in my mind to portray a Bengali woman with big and bright eyes. Interestingly as a Bengali, whenever you think of big bright eyes, the very first thing that clicks in your mind are Kalighat and Jamini Roy's unique style of Paintings. Kalighat paintings and Vishnupur temple's terracotta inspired Jamini Roy and he blended this heritage with his signature bold use of line & sweeping brush stokes. Undoubtedly he is one of the most influencial and respected Indian artist of the 20th century.
Constantly having Jamini Roy's " Maiden" at the back of my mind, I knew I was going to portray "Maiden" in my own way as soon as I finished the face with large eyes. How does a real woman look like in her "Maiden" form ? What if she is no more a maiden but gets transformed into a newly married woman with all the blushes of her pristine happiness? Her first Durga puja after marriage when she is dolled up to go to the temple with the fresh fragrance of shiuli flower is all I could think of as the quintessential "Newly Wed" Bengali woman...... my answer to all these questions !
Maiden
Photo taken from a article by Alok Deshwal
.JPG)
" Newly Wed"
Acrylic on Canvas ( 16" x 20" )
