May 14, 2009

Chasing my Rainbow - portrait of a princess

I generally do not take up tags on my blog, obviously since this is an Art blog and I have not yet come across any Art related tag. However, this tag is different. I am first a mother before anything else and so I am willingly taking this up, a lovely tag going around the world to list the 5 best things moms love about motherhood.

I have to say that I am no good at articulating my thoughts as well as some of my friends. Go here, here or here to read some really nicely written tags. :) I will try my best to put across what I love, though it is extremely difficult to limit it to five. I was tagged by the lovely IBH, and here goes my thoughts in no particular order.

1. I have rediscovered myself with motherhood. It is a no brainer that motherhood has made me a stronger person. My daughter has actually made me believe that I can handle two full fledged careers, a happy home, and still find time to pursue my other interests and have time for myself. She has done all this without uttering a word! Before she was born, I had time to roam around every street of Bangalore and equip myself to be a walking Bangalore-restaurant-guide. In short, all that I did was eat and sleep, and crib that I have no time for Art. All that changed miraculously and the more busy I got, the more time I had to do many more things. If not for motherhood, I am sure I'd still be a lazy bum shuttling back and forth between work and home, and nothing else worthwhile to do.

2. I feel I am actually getting younger by the day after becoming a mom. I am rediscovering the simple joys in life, I am more aware of the beauty of nature around me. I stop to notice a butterfly, a ladybug and what not. I go out and dance in the rain, jump around in snow making footprints and have no qualms about doing any of these. I have learned from my daughter to live my life as I want to.

3. Motherhood has made me a believer. In miracles. In unconditional love. It makes me want to be a better person, to make myself worthy of her infinite love. And to give back at least a percent of the love that I get.

4. I have learned to forgive. Or at least ignore if I cannot get myself to forgive. Every time I give my little one a whacking, she showers me with hugs and kisses within minutes. She humbles me with her behavior, that I really want to forgive and not harp about things/people that don't matter.

5. I get to hone up my portraiture skills by painting the most beautiful face in this world. And free of any copyright issues, how cool is that! The gratification I get out of doing her portraits is something I cannot express in enough words. The excitement in her eyes when she sees her face pop out of the canvas is priceless. I get hugs in return, and that is obviously better than any recognition my Art could ever get me. If she is in a great mood, I also get to hear nice things about my work.:) I could of course go on and on, but since the tag says only 5 things, let me stop here.

Chasing my Rainbow
16 * 20 inches, Acrylics on Canvas
Copyright Nithya Swaminathan

I have been planning to do a portrait of my princess for a while now, and Mothers' day seemed a good occasion for it. It is my way of celebrating the blessing that's my daughter, and also the best gift I could give myself this Mothers' day.

I wanted to post this for Mother's day, but I was on vacation. And I wanted to so some last minute tweaks before posting it. Now I would say it is about 90% done, though I have signed it. I don't think I have done justice to her expression, the excitement with which she was chasing these bubbles. The portrait lacks life I would say. I have also posted it on WetCanvas and am waiting for any suggestions to make it better. Else I will have another look after a week, when I hope things will glare at me.

Any moms reading this, please feel free to take up the tag and post your thoughts if you wish. I am not really tagging anyone, take it up if you wish and its fun! Oh and by the way, the first title that crossed my mind when I was doing those bubbles was "Venn diagrams in the air". I was proud of myself for a moment.:)

15 comments:

  1. Lovely! 4 is awesome. I never knew I could learn that behavior from someone. Thanks for sharing, Nithya. I feel so good after reading this post today morning.

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  2. Beautiful Nithya! Teju looks adorable! :--)

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  3. Nice work!!! btw I m ur fan from the day
    i saw ur work in Kshitij!!!!

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  4. Nithya, I am speechless!! You have captured the true essence of motherhood in your writeup and in Tej's innocent face.. But yes, I agree with you- the naughtiness that you caught in the other portrait is missing.

    Meghana

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  5. Awesome Nithya ! really beautiful potrait, and words so sweet, they made my eyes wet ..
    God bless u both ! :)

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  6. A hug to your princess - what a lovely portrait, and title too! So many layers to that title - the prismatic bubbles, the child's colorful world, a child's magic, dreams of a mother.....

    Priya.

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  7. Thank you Sandhya and SK.:)
    Yeah J, with kids I'd say everyday is a new learning experience. Quite humbling! Thank you.

    Anky, thanks so much. I am flattered:)
    Thanks Meghana. Yeah, the naughtiness is missing, still working on it. Hopefully should post an update in a day or two.

    Meenakshi, Thanks a lot for the very kind words.:)

    Priya, yeah the title has many different connotations. It also includes me chasing my own rainbow, i.e trying to find my own artistic voice.:) Thanks a lot.

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  8. The portrait...brilliant!
    The write-up....excellent!
    "Venn diagrams in the air"?....Priceless!!!!!

    -Madhumita

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  10. Hi Nithya......
    Awesome.....Cant believe the person who had Rahul Dravid's signature on his potrait (sketched by you) has grown to become a professional artist.....And Teju looks so much like you!

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  11. Lovely portrait Nithya. When she grows up she'll be very proud of her mom.
    :-)

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  12. that first point is so true na! you dont realise how adept you become in doing things till the little one arrives!

    I am working full time, taking care of kids,studying for my masters and what not! if not for that little gal, i will be sulking and complaining about not able to "do" things ....wonderfully written Nits...so like you :) and what a gorgeous baby you have :) *touchwood*

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  13. Thanks a lot Madhumita, Rose and Anand.

    Thanks Dhivya! Glad to see you here. Yeah, the RD portrait is still around, and is *so* precious!:)

    Thanks a lot IBH. Yes, I agree that we have no time to crib now, and thats a great thing.

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