Anahata

AS SOME of you may have read, I have been commissioned to paint the seven chakras personified.
The whole project is to take place over some time, so that there is a development within me as I paint each one, working my way through the seven points. They are being painted in oils on Ikea breadboards!
You can see my first three in the series here and here.

I did not know a huge amount about this old Sanskrit mapping of the body and spirit before undertaking this job, and my commissioner (I shall call him Bob) is very knowledgeable about all the intricate aspects of the yoga and meditation he studies, as well as the spiritual symbolisms behind it all.
As well as this he is an ex-drawing pupil of mine and a maths and science teacher too.
A while back when I posted the third of my paintings for this series, some of you commented that it might be interesting to read his eloquent reflections on my works. I am not used to such detailed, interesting and thoughtful responses to commissioned work, so it is always a delight to hear back from Bob when he has received each painting, and he sees things in a quite different way from me. I paint my interpretations of each chakra and its meaning, whereas Bob is able to put into words (with a mathematical brain too) what he sees and feels in each piece.

I thought with the fourth and latest of these paintings I would also include a selection of these kind and insightful responses, which he has written and agreed to be shared. You need to click on them to read at full size.

Manipura

A YELLOW painting on a yellow day for you. The sun is shining beautiful warmly out there and here is the third in the series of seven paintings I am making for a client, finished a little while ago. There was going to be a stage by stage series of photographs for you of this painting progressing, with mistakes and changes and developings.. but alas they were on the hard drive. I am very pleased with this third character and his ram and with the yellowish scratchy paintwork, and so, I am happy to say, is his owner...
The painting series is to take place over some time so that even though there is a cohesive theme to the paintings, hopefully a development in my work will be evident in the seven pieces when they are all done.
I am finding it fascinating to read the thoughts of my client after he receives each painting. I find that the ideas I might subconsciously communicate in the works are not very easily accessible to me in a verbal way, which I suppose is why I paint. But to hear the thoughts and reactions of the "commissioner" written eloquently, is a luxury I am not used to, and encourages me that I must be doing something right. Number four will begin soon. A happy yellow monday to you all...