Embracing Energy-New Beginnings

16th October 2021 Suchitra Narayan

 The parched earth looks up,
Hands stretched out –
Reaches out to the glowing star.

In the distance too far,
Its brilliance outshines
Others in the firmament.

The star itself is a figment of a brighter constellation,
Recreates in its own way the brilliance of its master.
What pure joy to be in that light!

The earth’s core burns
Unseen to anyone
Yearns to be part of that Universe.

This poem was written several weeks ago and I did the artwork for the same but did not like the artwork, I so rejected both. However, I decided to use the artwork as part of a greeting to send to family and friends for Dusherra, sending the message of embracing energizing new beginnings. (Nonetheless, while I share the artwork on this website, the poem still has to be part of it)

Dusherra is a festival celebrated by Hindus in India for 10 days. It usually falls in the period between 15th September to 15th October according to the Lunar calendar. The 10th day of the festival was yesterday the 15th of October 2021.

The main theme of the celebration is the triumph of good over evil. People believe that each of the 10 days is a way to let go of the vices within each one of us. So, wishing everyone energizing new beginnings and good health and happiness in plenty.

Now back to my artwork…

How does one evaluate one’s art as being worthy to be seen by others? That’s a question I often struggle with…especially when one is not very happy with the outcome. Does the image reach out to the viewer?

In music or sport or dance there are parameters to judge excellence – like the precision of – the notes in music; rhythm or the movement in dance, the form in sport… and many other such parameters.

Another important factor was, I was using watercolour in a more expansive way than ever before, and being almost completely self-taught, I was unsure of the quality of the work I had created. I was looking for constructive feedback that would help me improve on the kind of strokes or use of colours or the form.

An artist and a very good friend of mine gave me the following profound inputs…

“- The brush should move softly. Movement should be like a dance. One should be as gentle as water.
– Watercolour should be staining the paper not applying the tones nor painting as such.”

Hence, I realized, before I use a totally unfamiliar medium, I should just play around with it, be gentle, explore the possibilities, before I embark on using it to “paint”.

So here it is …my artwork – for you the viewer to see in connection with the poem. What does the artwork tell you? Look forward to all feedback – even critical ones.

Thank you :).

4 thoughts on “Embracing Energy-New Beginnings

  1. Hi
    Thank you for a beautiful art with a poem that just describes Hope. Something we all need right now. On your question of evaluating artwork, it is rather subjective. We all have various styles. People love Picasso, but am not sure sometimes I understand it. Well, that is just me. I do believe practice does help us improve and positive feedback too. Your work so far is great, so please keep going. I love the way you always incorporate a poem in your writings.
    Hope you will continue to contribute:)

  2. Dear Beena,

    Thank you for the feedback on the subjective nature of art..as that from the perspective of the artist as well as that from the viewer.

    Your constant prodding and positive support has helped me lose my inhibitions in posting my work here..😊

  3. Suchi, a beautiful poem and painting. I love both. The movement in your art shows energy. The person with arms raised shows the joy in being in the light of the sun. To me, art is just an interpretation of what one sees. I find that my art often means something different to the people who see it. And I learn something new from it.

    With regard to which medium you use, that really does not show the value of your art. Any medium needs practice to master it. I remember when I started using acrylics, I almost gave up many times because I couldn’t create the effect that I wanted. But, every medium has its strengths and weaknesses. Watercolor can be a delicate medium, or it can be layered to create brilliant vibrant color.

    I love that you are enjoying your creativity. That’s the only thing that matters.

  4. Thank you so much Kala for your words of encouragement and positive feedback..I value every word of it..❤❤

Leave a Reply to Kala Pohl Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 1 GB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

Subscribe

Sign up for our newsletter and stay up to date

*