Painting and Perseverance

I am excited to share that I have just completed my largest painting ever, at 6ft by 4ft! This project has been a labor of love, spanning four years and over 1,000 hours of work. It was a challenge to find the time to work on it consistently—and in fact, I took a two-year break from painting it during the pandemic—but I am proud to say that I persevered and finally finished it.

The painting is in the Kerala mural art style, a traditional art form that dates back to between the 7th and 16th centuries in Southern India. The art form is considered “folk art,” and traditional Kerala murals used only “panchavarana,” which is Sanskrit for “five colors:” red, yellow, green, black, and white. The colors were traditionally prepared from vegetable and mineral pigments and mixed using wooden utensils, and the binding media was derived from tender coconut water and extracts from the neem tree. The characters in the murals are colored according to their characteristics, with good characters in green or blue, those influenced by power and wealth in red or yellow, and evil characters in white or black.

The painting is set in panels and tells a classic tale from Indian mythology called “Gajendra Moksham” in Sanskrit, which translates to “The Salvation of the Elephant King.” The central story is about Lord Vishnu coming down to earth to protect Gajendra, the elephant king, from the clutches of Makara, the crocodile. Gajendra achieved moksha, or salvation, and was liberated from the cycle of life.?

There is a deeper symbolism that I love in this story.

In this panel we see that the lake, which represents life, is beautiful with lots of temptations, represented by flowers and fish. However, it hides the crocodile, which represents greed, evil, and violence, causing a lot of suffering. The elephant king, representing humanity, is caught in the clutches of the crocodile and cannot escape. His herd and family watch helplessly as tears flow from their eyes. The baby elephants are unaware of their parents’ sorrow and continue to play in the mud. The symbolic meaning of Gajendra moksha is that materialistic greed causes us pain, like the crocodile clutching at the helpless elephant, and we are stuck in a muddy pond chasing things with no purpose. The message is that our own humanity is liberated when we look beyond our greed and selfishness.

In this frame I strive to capture the majesty of Garuda, the mythical half-human bird, whose wings fan out in flight, dominating the panel. Vishnu and Garuda’s expressions are a study in contrast. Garuda’s eyes are filled with rage at the stubbornness of the crocodile, while Vishnu’s countenance is filled with mercy and compassion as he puts an end to the agony of Gajendra by killing the crocodile.

It is a beautiful story, and one I loved bringing to life in the traditional Kerala mural painting style.

As a strong advocate for mental well-being and creativity, this painting has been an important outlet for me. Creativity is a powerful tool for maintaining balance and managing stress, and as a self-taught artist with no formal training, taking on this project allowed me to tap into my own creativity and explore new ways of expressing myself. It is in moments like these, when we are immersed in the creative process, that we are most present and in tune with ourselves.?

I hope that my painting and my journey with this project will inspire you to embrace your own creativity, persevere through difficult challenges, and find new ways to express yourself. No matter your field or industry, creativity and perseverance are essential for success, and for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

If you’d like to see more details from my painting, you can follow me on Instagram at @padmasree or @padmasree_art .

What are your creative outlets?