As a result of mingling in the larger, international community of artists on the internet, I have had the privilege of meeting many wonderful people with whom I share mutually supportive and inspiring relationships. One cannot underestimate the positive effect of open and genuine feedback from other artists! For me, it has moved my creation process into new, interactive levels within which I learn much about myself and my own potential. Sometimes what I am capable of in art becomes much clearer to me when another person notices it first. This then works as a foundation from which I experiment with new artistic techniques or styles.
Being a self portrait photographer, a big part of seeing myself in a new light, is seeing myself in the eyes of others. When a fellow artist engages a work of mine to create their own rendition of it, or incorporate it into a work of theirs, it challenges my own perspective of limits, and takes me beyond them. I have been honored to have had several artists invite me into such collaborative experiences over the last two years.
Today I would like to introduce you to one such artist by the name Rajdev Singh, from Sydney, Australia. Raj is a self taught photographer and a romantic painter whose work plays with light and form. Recently, I was most pleased to have one of my Eastern-themed, self portraits used as a guide for one of Raj’s lovely oil paintings.
It is exciting to see my art be transformed into another medium, through the creativity of another artist! In Raj’s work, entitled “Princess”, I was especially moved by what I experience as a sense of anticipation and wonder. As the princess looks out her palace window at the broad horizon full of endless possibilities, she feels the anticipation of all the experiences the world has yet to offer her. The window is a wonderful symbol, as is the vase: emblem of femininity, the womb, growth and development.
To me, the colors my fellow artist chose also beautifully capture this sentiment, for green resounds with the openness of the heart chakra, or energy center, in Eastern thought. It is a color of fresh grass, beginnings, trust and hope. The orange border on her veil bright with the colors of creativity and expression, as the princess prepares to step beyond the boundaries of her palace, and interact with new environments and individuals, which shine as a white, welcoming light before her.
The warmth in Rajdev’s painting is inviting to me, just like the spring season that is now upon us! I encourage other artists to adopt the sentiments of the princess (as I experience her), and step beyond your previously perceived limits, into the wonderful world of creating collaborative works with other artists. It is a definitely a thrill that compares to flowering landscapes after a long winter! Enjoy your creativity during this spring season!
View more of Rajdev's art here
