Commission in Progress
This was a commission I created for a client in May 2015.
My client wanted something based around the Indian spiritual teacher and humanitarian leader Amma. She also wanted the piece to feature abstract swirls of colours and shapes that had a supportive and uplifting feel to them.
In this blog post I want to go through the steps I went through to create this piece.
My client wanted something based around the Indian spiritual teacher and humanitarian leader Amma. She also wanted the piece to feature abstract swirls of colours and shapes that had a supportive and uplifting feel to them.
In this blog post I want to go through the steps I went through to create this piece.
Step 1 - Gold Border and Main Face
I started this piece with a gold border and the drawing of the main character.
For the face I wanted to create a somewhat androgynous look (to represent the androgynyof the soul) and that also featured the same bindi and nose piercing as Amma (as requested by my client).
I also wanted the face to be looking out optimistically over a large area of negative space that also featured (in the bottom left hand corner) a radiating heart:
I also wanted the face to be looking out optimistically over a large area of negative space that also featured (in the bottom left hand corner) a radiating heart:
Step 2 - More Colour and Some New Faces
In the second stage I added a few new faces and colours that I wanted to have an uplifting and supportive feel to them.
I put 2 supportive faces at the bottom and the middle, and then a 3rd face at the top that's watching more from a distance.
I also put a symbol of the elephant god Ganesha at the throat of the main character:
I put 2 supportive faces at the bottom and the middle, and then a 3rd face at the top that's watching more from a distance.
I also put a symbol of the elephant god Ganesha at the throat of the main character:
Step 3 - More Colours
My client wanted plenty of swirling shapes in her piece so I then started adding colours that look as though they're descending down from above:
Step 4 - Colouring in the Faces
After settling for the colour scheme I then started to put some more colour in the faces:
Step 5 - More Colours and Another Heart
My client wanted the piece to be quite abstract so my next step was to start filling in a lot of the space with shapes in the colour scheme of her choice.
Again, I wanted to have the shapes take on a swirling and supportive feel to them so I let them grow around the waving lines that I'd added previously.
I also added another heart directly above the first. I wanted it to look as though the main face was looking at and around the new heart in a somewhat diffused and non-localised way and in a way that he/she looks as though they're captivated, transfixed and uplifted by it in a loving and empowering way:
Again, I wanted to have the shapes take on a swirling and supportive feel to them so I let them grow around the waving lines that I'd added previously.
I also added another heart directly above the first. I wanted it to look as though the main face was looking at and around the new heart in a somewhat diffused and non-localised way and in a way that he/she looks as though they're captivated, transfixed and uplifted by it in a loving and empowering way:
Step 6 - Eliminating the White
My next step was to continue creating with abstract shapes until all the white on the page had been coloured:
Step 7 - Outlining the Shapes
Once all the colours had been added I then outlined the shapes to give them an extra 3-dimensional and solid feel to them.
The only shapes I didn't outline were those of the elephant at the main character's throat, as I wanted this to remain more etheric and diffuse:
The only shapes I didn't outline were those of the elephant at the main character's throat, as I wanted this to remain more etheric and diffuse:
Step 8 - Adding the Black Border
The final step was to add a black border around the piece to frame it an make all the colours and shapes stand out more:
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