I am apart-time artist and I intend to paint the amazing Sikh history which we are all part of. I do my research to make sure the painting is authentic and try my best to accurately depict historic events.
This week I return to the Blind Chakram on Howdah!
I added some colours to the demons. I left some of them grey to colour them later on during the process.
Remember this painting started off in black and white just like the
painting of Guru Gobind Singh ji. It did have some sepia tones but now
it's almost fully coloured.
I always wanted to sketch Harimandir Sahib. So
when I visited the gurudwara on Aug 25, 2012, I took about 40 minutes
to sketch this.
When you start drawing, boy do people wana watch you draw! I still remember the scene, it was a very memorable and yet familiar moment.
A crowd had gathered around me and there were people who were passing
by, stopping for a few seconds to take a look at what was happening.
There were pilgrims lying on the floor right behind me who were watching me draw. There was this kid, who was observing me very closely. He later told me that he liked to draw and wanted to learn from me. After I finished, we left the temple with some fond memories. Last year, when I was working on this commission on Harimandir Sahib. I actually used this sketch for the painting! http://sikhiart.com/for-sale/harimandir-sahib/
Hari
Singh Nalwa was great general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s kingdom. At a
young age, while on a hunting trip, he was attacked by a tiger. With his
bare hands, he pushed back the tiger, drew his sword and decapitated
the beast. He was known for his excellent swordsmanship and chivalry.
His father had been serving Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army. All of this
became the deciding factors for the Maharaja to accept him in his royal
service. He was given a small army of horsemen and so began Nalwa’s
career as a General.
He participated in the conquests of Sialkot,
Kasur (1807), Multan (1818), Kashmir (1819), Pakhli and Damtaur
(1821-2), Peshawar (1834) and finally Jamrud in the Khyber Hills (1837).
He defeated the Afghans, something the British failed to do, and
annexed a segment of what was the Kingdom of Kabul to the Sikh Kingdom.
In Peshawar, he rebuilt the Bala Hisar Fort in Maharaja’s name. He also
built a chain of fortresses on his conquests to strengthen his hold. He
also built one in his own name, Haripur. This expanded Punjab towards
the North-west into the lands of Afghanistan, blocked off the Khyber
Pass (which was pass through the mountains often used by Persian and
Afghan invaders to loot and plunder Hindustan), and instilled fear of
his name among the Afghan tribes.
Meditating on Hari, my and mind are totally rejuvenated, and the garden of my mind has blossomed forth in lush abundance. - Guru Ramdas ji, 849 I want to carry this metaphor of the garden to the painting, and show an abundance of greenery, flowers, and birds and animals around Guru Arjun Dev ji, as he meditates.
I also want to try experimenting with giving him an instrument at some
point. But I also like the pose from my previous painting of Guru Sahib,
which maintains continuity.
Using my previous painting of Guru Arjun Dev ji's martyrdom, I am trying to get a similar face for a new painting. I think having some resemblance will connect the two paintings and therefore identify the Guru in the new painting as Guru Arjun Dev ji.
This is important because the new painting isn't portraying any event that is from Guru Arjun Dev ji's life, and so it will be harder to identify the person in the painting without a foundation. So in this case that foundation is the painting of Guru Arjun Dev ji's martyrdom.
Back
when photography was in early stages, they didn't have a way to capture
colour on to film. So they would take black and white photos then add
colour to them later.
This painting has gone through a similar
process. I painted it in black white and I am just now beginning to add
some colour. Starting with Guru Sahib's face. I apply the first layer of
base colours.
