January 12, 2012

"Monica's Wedding"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 8" x 10"

Technically speaking this was the first painting completed in 2012. However, I have been working on it for quite some time. It was a challenge since the original reference was artfully taken in black and white and I had to transpose the color from a plethora of miscellaneous snapshots from the wedding. The painting was commissioned by my friend Deb who provides the following commentary:

– Monica was married on June 24, 2011 in Penang, Malaysia in a Hindu ceremony. This is an image of her following the wedding in her wedding sari, which is traditionally red. The ornate necklace which can be seen is customarily placed on the bride during the ceremony in lieu of a wedding ring. During the ceremony, Monica’s hair was covered by a scarf, which remained on until the ceremony was completed. When it came off, an elegant braid was revealed underneath. The jasmine in her hair is the flower customarily worn; the smell was exquisite.

For those of you not familiar with Hindu weddings, they definitely know how to party. These festivities lasted for four days and at each event there was wonderful food and drink, with all who were present dressed to the nines in fabulous saris, gowns, cocktail dresses and amazing Indian garb. On the first day, there was an engagement party where the engaged couple received blessings. On the second day there was a Mehendi party where the bride and female wedding guests received henna tattoos on their hands, arms, legs and/or feet. This was followed by a Sangeet, an evening party, held under a tent on the beach. On the third day, the wedding took place under a tent at sunset followed by another fabulous meal. The kilted groom and his family, who are Scottish, were escorted to the wedding site by a group of bagpipers. People hung out their windows to see this sight in tropical Penang. Finally, on the fourth day, there was a formal reception.

The painting was commissioned as a gift for Monica’s mother, Usha, in thanks for her warmth, generosity and hospitality. The original photographs that were used as reference for this painting were taken by Monica’s new sister-in-law, Alicia Betham.

4 comments:

Terry said...

What a show-stopper! And a great piece to end the 2011 drought. Looking forward to seeing what else you do this year!

Pat Burns said...

How lovely! Rich feeling!

suzanneberry said...

this is breathtaking. i love everything about it!

Dottieb said...

Wonderful way to start the New Year~to hear that you are back!
This is so beautiful. Once at a similar wedding I asked the Bride (who had just met her Groom 2 days before) about the closed jasmine in her hair. She said it would open during the night, just for him.