Ganesha Child

Inspired by a National Geographic photo of a five-year-old Indian boy from Kanpur India posing for a family portrait. In the photo, the child's posture and facial expression seemed to convey a sense of defiant Royalty not uncommon to that of the Hindu Gods. My study and love of the Hindu culture, religion, and language inspired the Idea to depict the boy as if he were an actual Hindu God.

However, during the course of this creation my vision evolved, and I thought it would be a cool effect to combine the photo of the child with my own versions of known Hindu Gods i.e., the trunk of Ganesha, the warm blue skin tone of Vishnu, and a burgundy skin tone of the reincarnated aspect of Shiva. The six arms and the elephant trunk represent purity or the number seven.

The items the boy is holding are symbolic representations of my past (the snake represents misdeeds, the lotus represents regret, my present (the cigarette represent dying habits, the money represents continuity), and my hopeful future (the paint brush represents my new life as an aspiring artist).

I decided to create this image on Chip Board because I like how well the colors saturate, although a lot more work was required to maintain the vibrance.

Medium: Oil Pastels, Ink, and colored pencil on a chip board surface. The original is available in our Esty shop.