Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Before We Visit the Goddess


I was very pleased when the Art Director at Verve magazine invited me to illustrate a story by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I had wanted to illustrate for Verve ever since I saw their beautiful magazine years ago when I returned from Australia. Then, during pre-internet era, when I contacted them with samples of my work, they sent me an article to illustrate almost immediately. However, because of the logistics of couriering actual work across during those pre-digital times, it was an exercise in futility and nothing came of it. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when I received a mail inviting me to illustrate for them this time. 


I haven’t received my copy yet, but a walk along Indiranagar with a friend and a bid to escape the heat by plunging into air conditioned Crossword assisted me in getting my hands on a copy and photographing it.Do check out the April 2016 issue of Verve. But you can also read the story here >>


The story is a beautiful one about young lovers, a red sari and stars in the night sky on the terrace. It was a pleasure to do and it is one of my favorite assignments to date. The focus of the illustration is on his hands cradling her and her sari enveloping them. The resulting shapes remind me almost of a foetus within a womb, safe, loved and secure.

For those of you interested in such matters, this illustration was done on Canson Colorline paper with the rich pigments of Daler Rowney pastel. I love the grainy texture and the rich but muted, sophisticated colors that resulted. This has been one of those rare moments when there is a sense of satisfaction with what has presented itself to me at my desk. 






8 comments:

zoe said...

It's really beautiful, that red is just perfect, and the placement of everything just so.
Congratulations!

pRiyA said...

Thank you Zoe :)

AntiquityTravelers said...

Gorgeous! so much emotion in this one!!

priya vadhyar said...

How rich! The intense colours really evoke a sense of deep emotion. The composition is lovely, very lyrical.

pRiyA said...

Thank you Cynthia :)

pRiyA said...

Thank you Priya. It is always nice to get a comment from an artist whose work I like.

Julie said...

The emotion, the composition, the colors; it's all beautiful Priya. There is such love and intimacy in your drawing. I love how the red from the sari travels and merges into them.

Priya Sebastian said...

Thank you for that lovely comment Julie :)