Kenistudio

This is a painting I completed recently and I am so excited to finally share it with you, along with the journey of how it came to be. This piece is incredibly personal and technically challenging, pushing me far out of my artistic comfort zone. ​The subject is Draupadi , one of the most powerful figures in the Mahabharata, but I wanted to paint a specific, liminal moment: her birth from the sacred yagña fire. ​The Vision: Innocence and Intelligence ​According to scripture, Draupadi did not enter this world as a baby; she emerged as a full-grown young woman. This is what compelled me to paint this exact scene. It’s a moment of profound in-between. I chose this moment because it has a raw innocence of a child but the intelligence and knowledge of a woman. ​You can see that liminal state in her expression. She looks forward with intense energy, ready to fulfill her destiny. As a mother, I couldn't help but see reflections of my own teenage daughter in that face. Especially in those ...

Yajñaseni Draupadi - Progress The second pass of Yajñaseni has been less about adding detail and more about discovering relationships between flame and form, darkness and light, coolness and warmth, innocence and inner power. The first stage of the painting was still very much immersed in darkness. Draupadi seemed to exist almost within the fire rather than apart from it. Her form was there, but it was deliberately indistinct, allowing the surrounding blue, violet and earthy tones to establish the atmosphere before the figure itself became fully visible. As the second pass progressed, I began moving away from simply describing fire and started trying to create the feeling of a divine blue radiance from which Draupadi emerges. Less like something burning around her and more like the sacred energy through which she has entered the world. At the same time, Draupadi's face began to take shape. I wanted her to retain a certain youthfulness and innocence, while carrying a quiet intellige...

Half-Face Portraiture: Capturing the Infinite in a Single Eye   When painting sacred figures, the conventional approach is to display the entire form. We want to show the full posture, the intricate jewelry, the surrounding landscape, and the complete facial expression to convey the magnitude of the infinite being. But sometimes, showing less actually reveals more. In this oil study of Shri Krishna, I decided to break away from traditional framing. I wanted to experiment with a tight, asymmetrical, close-crop composition, slicing the face directly down the center to focus entirely on a single side bringing the composition to a more modern type of depiction with stylized form.  The Power of the Half-Crop When you cut a portrait in half, you immediately disrupt how the viewer interacts with the canvas. Instead of their eyes wandering across the entire face, they are forced to stop and look deeply into a concentrated space. The Inward Gaze By painting Krishna with his eye gently ...

 Harapanahalli Bheemavva Some paintings begin with a story. Others begin with a face. When I decided to paint Harapanahalli Bheemavva, I wanted to capture something of the quiet strength associated with her life and devotion. Rather than depicting her as an elaborate saintly figure, I chose to paint a simple portrait. A woman with a sense of stillness and contemplation. This painting was done on a 12 × 16 inch canvas board. Building the portrait I began the painting with a fairly limited palette of burnt umber, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and yellow ochre. These four colors formed the foundation of the skin, hair and clothing, allowing me to establish the values and overall warmth of the portrait before introducing stronger colors. Once the first layers were established, I glazed the painting with transparent red oxide and indanthrone blue. The transparent red oxide brought warmth and depth into the earth colors, while indanthrone blue helped create the cooler passages and deepe...

Natural pure pigment - Hand Mulled Oil Paint Discovering a Handmade Earth Red When I began work on Matsya, the first painting in my Dashavatara series, I found myself searching for a particular quality in the skin tones. I wanted warmth, depth, and a sense of life beneath the surface. My initial attempts using commercial colors, including mixes based on vermilion hue, did not quite produce the effect I was looking for. That search led me in an unexpected direction. I ordered a few natural earth pigments and began experimenting with hand-mulling my own oil paint. Among them was an earthy red pigment that immediately caught my attention. After mulling it into oil and testing it in my paintings, I discovered a quality I had been struggling to achieve with tube paints. Hand mulled pure pigment paints, earth red and warm yellow.  The color produces a remarkable warmth in skin tones. It seems to create the impression of blood glowing beneath the skin without requiring additional glazing....

Painting Light – Bringing Matsya to Life Matsya - Manu One of the greatest joys of oil painting is watching light emerge layer by layer. This painting was never intended to rely on dramatic contrasts alone. I wanted the light to feel as though it originated from Matsya Himself, gently illuminating King Manu's face and hands. The warm glow across Manu's chest, neck, and chin was built using transparent glazes of  Quinacridone Sienna  (with  PO48 ), one of my favourite pigments. Its rich golden warmth has a depth that I have always found difficult to replace. Since this pigment is no longer manufactured, every painting that contains it feels a little more special to me. I'm glad that it became part of this one. The fish is the only true source of light in the painting. I wanted its glow to gently illuminate Manu's face and hands, hinting that this is no ordinary creature. The Divine often reveals itself softly before it reveals itself gloriously. Stages of painting Workin...

Ramayana has moments that are grand and unforgettable. Like the breaking of Shiva's bow, the building of the bridge to Lanka, the great battles, and then there are quieter moments that speak just as deeply to the heart. Shabari's Patience Shabari's story is one of those moments. She spent years waiting for Rama. Everyday she prepared herself with the same faith, never knowing whether that would be the day He would arrive. She simply continued to wait with unwavering devotion, never allowing hope to fade into doubt. That quiet patience has always moved me. Every morning, I imagine Shabari waking before sunrise. She cleans her little hut, finishes her daily chores, walks into the forest to gather berries, and returns home to place them carefully in a basket. Then, almost without thinking, she steps behind the familiar tree and looks down the forest path. Not because she knows Rama will come that day, but because love keeps hoping. After years of waiting, perhaps... today. In ...

Capturing the Blues: A Study in Monochromatic Oil Portraiture, featuring Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones There is something uniquely challenging and incredibly rewarding about stripping away the full color spectrum and forcing yourself to see the world through a single hue. I recently finished this small oil portrait (roughly 10" x 8"), and it was an exercise in pure value, atmosphere, and light. The Foundation: Crafting the Surface Before the paint even touched the surface, this piece started as a hands-on experiment. I wanted the stability of a wooden board but the organic texture of a canvas. To achieve this, I pasted a thin cotton cloth directly onto the wood, sealing and priming it with three precise coats of gesso. The result was a beautifully textured, responsive surface that allowed the oil paint to glide smoothly while retaining a lovely, subtle grain. The Palette: The Power of Two Blues When working in a monochrome style, your choice of pigment d...

Vasudeva Carrying Krishna Vasudeva carrying Krishna -Oil on Canvas The birth of Sri Krishna is not merely the arrival of a child into the world. It is the appearance of the Supreme Lord Himself, who descends out of compassion for His devotees and for the protection of dharma. Among the countless souls in creation, how great must be the fortune of Vasudeva and Devaki, who after lifetimes of devotion and tapas were blessed with the opportunity to serve Sri Hari as His earthly parents. Yet even after witnessing the Lord's divine form, their service was not complete. On the night of Krishna's birth, Vasudeva was entrusted with a sacred duty: to carry the infant Lord safely across the flooded Yamuna to Gokula. The river was in spate, the skies were dark, and rain lashed down relentlessly. Yet none of these obstacles could discourage him. When one is given the opportunity to perform seva for Sri Hari Himself, what hardship could possibly seem great? This episode has alway...

A charcoal sketch Of my daughter Anvi, done on my sketchbook paper.