"Destiny"...an acrylic painting by Manisha Vedpathak

"Destiny"

Acrylic on canvas,50x70 cms

 Available

The sketch of this girl reminded me of my househelp

who worked for me some years back. Her name was

Destiny and I thought that the expressions on the face

in my painting also tries to say ,"I wonder, what is in

my destiny?".

Having said this, a question popped into my mind ,

how many of us believe in the concept of destiny?

 Do you believe that you can control or shape

your destiny?

Would greatly appreciate a feedback from my readers.

"Akua'ba".....an acrylic painting by Manisha Vedpathak

African symbols are very intriguing, their Ancestors made
symbols out of everything. Fertility Doll is one of the oldest
symbol which is also known as "Akua'ba"(pl. Akua'maa).

. The round, flat disc heads, columnar body with outstretched arms

 and smooth, black surface convey the Asante (or Ashanti) ideal of beauty.
In Ghana ,fertility dolls represent youth and fertility. These dolls are
carved in wood and are believed to induce pregnancy. Fertility dolls are
famous and special for the reason behind its creation.

It is one of the most familiar stories in African culture. At some time in the 
past, there was a young Asante woman called "Akua"( wednesday born)
who was having trouble in conceiving a child("ba"). So she was adviced
by a priest to commission a wood carving of a child. She was instructed 
to treat carving just like a living being. She was to carry the carving 
on her back as all the children are carried , tucked into the wrapper 
,with only the head appearing above the cloth and look after the carving
just like any child is been looked after. So Akua did just as she was told
but people teased her pointing at her carving. But eventually Akua got pregnant
and gave birth to a beautiful healthy girl and her success encouraged others
suffering from infertility to follow her path and thus the carvings came to be
 known after her name Akua'ba(Akua's child).

 And so the title of my painting is "Akua'ba". There are a few fertility dolls
in my painting and the images of mother carrying the child on her back
(these images which I am very fascinated about) , and thus came the abstract and 
very interesting juxtaposition of these images and various geo shapes .

Hope you all enjoy the painting!
 

 

"Akua'ba"

Acrylic on canvas,27"X50"

Available

"Supremacy"....Contemporary figurative painting by Manisha Vedpathak

I totally enjoyed this painting. Right from the composition 

to the color combination to the finishing touches.

Two male and female figures from Royal family are portrayed 

in an abstract style.Male figure with large gold bead necklace and
golden band on the forehead, is the tribal chief. I always 

love the way the African ladies wear their headgear. You will find 

them in several of my paintings. There are the Adinkra symbols
that are related to Royalty.
The circle in the center is called "Adinkrahene", which is
chief of all Adinkra symbols and symbolizes greatness, leadership.
The symbol "Gye Nyame" which is showed halfway in a rectangular
 shape shows the supremacy of God, that no one is above God.

In the upper right corner below the circle in green color is the design
 of "Kente" cloth. Kente cloth is woven in bright, narrow strips with
 complex patterns; it's usually made from cotton and is always 
woven outdoors, exclusively by men.Kente cloth is a festive cloth
and is traditionally worn during the festivals and the religious occasions.

Upper right and left corners are the umbrellas. During the festivals ,
tribal chiefs and Queen mothers are shaded with these traditional umbrellas.
These all are combined with some geometrical shapes used in textile designs.

There is a lot to see in this painting .Hope you  enjoy this painting as much as I enjoyed.

"Supremacy"
Acrylic on canvas, 27.5"X50"

Contemporary figurative painting by Manisha Vedpathak

Untitled,acrylic on canvas,35"x35"

This is fresh off the easel .

Small paintings by Manisha Vedpathak

Puppy Face

Acrylic on canvas,20*20 cmAcrylic on canvas,40*40 cm

This was painted from a reference photo

taken on the beach after sunset.