Tag: Painting Krishna

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Choosing a Krishna Deity

Youthful krishna deity dressed sweetly in flowers from the forest playing his flute on a ornate pink background

I have long admired the Krishna deities which my friends and family have worshipped.

Krishna has so many different moods!

We know that, looking at a deity of Krishna it doesn’t matter from what His form is created. Be it carved wood, formed clay, poured metal or crafted marble – Krishna is so captivating and beautiful that it is His form and transcendental loveliness which prevails. The way in which He captures His dear devotees and accepts their worship is always different. In His adornments, the decorations He wears and the look in His eyes – dreamy, naughty, reassuring, loving, mirthful, reassuring – it’s all there when you begin a relationship with Krishna in His deity form!

But it’s kinda hard to commit to a purchase of a Krishna statue, before you begin worshiping Him.

krishna syamasundar deity with red garland, peacock feather black syamasundar marble deity formAfter so much wonder and bliss and attraction to so very many different deities, I am personally dithering and have been for years – dark Krishna or light Krishna? Because really… it doesn’t matter, it’s just KRISHNA I want!

White marble krishna deity radha kauai deity dressed beautiful garments from remember krishna silk dhoti and garments
Radha’s Krishna deity

But even so, I’ve been looking and looking at deities, thinking, I would really like Krishna to look after here, to make Him garlands and clothes and rest my eyes on Him as I chant japa and sing to my Lords.. or like I used to, have Him with me as I work ready to bedazzle my eyes and capture my heart.

deity on my work desk with little photo frames Krishna deity while I work looking lovingly at me
Krishna used to be with me like this, standing at my desk with me all day long. It was so nice! He has gone now, as He was just on a long term babysitting.

It’s this ever-going-around circle in my head. This morning I looked at the deity of Krishna I have recently painted – a black soapstone Krishna, who was imperfectly carved, but now, He is just so CHARMING! And if He were mine I know that I wouldn’t change Him for any other! He has this very JOYFUL and HAPPY look (which is just so perfect for the bubbly devotee who will be taking Him home) and it was such a delightful flash of perception. Krishna is Krishna. He will inhabit a deity form and the color texture quality etc are all immaterial because… it’s Krishna! He is above the material considerations and will sneak in and steal our hearts.

So – do I know whether I want a black marble Krishna or a white marble Krishna now? Yes. Black or white (light blue I should say) either way I am happy.

Krishna deity in white marble with flute, peacock feather and effulgence

Now its all about looking for Krishna at the right age. What’s the right age? Any age of Krishna! I’m kind of joking, but I do think that Krishna makes His own arrangements that He comes to you just as He should.

Look at youthful and blushing Krsna here: Youthful krishna deity dressed sweetly in flowers from the forest playing his flute on a ornate pink background

The mistake I don’t want to make again:

When I ordered my own dear Nitai Gaura deities, I had ordered the exact same deities that my sister has. (My sisters deities are SO SO SWEET!) Her Gaura Nitai deities have these meek and mild faces, so far removed from looking at the world, but focused on Krishna, and this dainty posture, arms raised high.. Oh I just LOVE them!

So I placed an order, with the same supplier, for these deities. But then, to my consternation, the supplier sent back a picture of the deities they were sending. I wailed and woe’d! It was absolutely NOT a set from the same mold. They were different in a zillion ways. I tried again –  I emailed back and said – “NO! These are NOT the deities I want.” And I resent the picture of my sister’s Lords, pointing out the differences. OK – next I got a pic back (of the same deities) with painted base to mimic the bases on my sister deities, and painted faces… Oh, so not the point!… So I gave up, and said ok, well, if that’s what you are sending me what can I do.

And then. They arrived.

Nitai Gaur deities sita's lords raised arms chanting and dancing deities beautifully dressed and decorated with flowers and wigs

The minute I cracked open the box (they arrived in this massive crate! So well packed and stored, and it was obvious this Immense TREASURE had arrived on my doorstep! So the minute I opened the box and before I had even untied them and lifted them out, I had lost my heart. I cried out of happiness and wonder. Krishna had chosen how to come to me and They were perfect. I have to laugh about it now, that I thought I knew best.

Krishna knows how you want to relate to Him. He knows your heart.

My deities have this amazing welcoming presence. They have wide open hearts and arms open welcoming and lifted up as they dance. They have very curved dancing hips and one foot is lifted off the ground – They are dancing all the time, and I dress Them in clothes that won’t get in the way of Their transcendental dancing. Their eyes are big and lustrous, They have beautiful smiles that are at once grave and happy, and to see them is to see how They invite us into the spiritual world.

Worshipping Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda deities is so nice; we develop the mood of service. If I’m lazy out of bed or lazy to cook dinner I remember that I haven’t woken up my Lords or offered them food, actually it keeps me more regulated! And I worry about them, while I am cooking, if they will like it and try and keep the mood of cooking it nice. Mostly I’m super lazy, so it helps to have this little prompting!

When my parents took care of my Nitai Gaura while I was away for a week, years ago, here’s my Lords with their Lords:

nitai gaur deities in two sizes, small gaura nitai large nitai gaur deities both beautiful

My parents  darling Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda deities, but they love to come and visit my Lords and offer worship with kirtan.

If you think you might like to order the same set (haha!) you can contact me to get the name of the supplier!

Read my blog about different types of deity forms that may work for your family -:How to choose a Krishna murti for Family Life“

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Beautiful Carved Krishna Deity Project

It’s no secret that Krsna is our hero…  He’s just so all-attractive!  When I was lucky enough to be asked to paint this beautiful Krsna deity hand carved by an incredibly talented artist it was pretty exciting.

this isn’t an amazing diy tutorial, more of a rough process documentation!

Because, you know, like all artists I’m also insecure  it took me a while and Krishna had some repaints.. I canvassed the opinion of every visitor while being coy about the progress on my personal online diary (ok I mean instagram).

There’s nothing quite as exciting as painting a Krsna statue or Deity. I don’t know if there’s anything else as daunting either!

So from the start (no I didn’t prime – why? Coz the paint dries faster and first off I was planning to leave all that beautiful wood showing through.. I soon decided against that, and there was a scary dark blue stage (not shared) which got painted over…

“What do you think of this? Does He look good?”

Well I kinda had a lovely friend over, and we decided I need to improve him.  You must be crazy! Agreed. Totally bonkers.

He was pretty much perfect except a tiny detail of his eyes…

So of course when I repainted him I did one thing and another and ended up with a full repaint virtually.

When you blend your own skin color it’s probably a good idea to save some of that paint blend (for acrylics you can put plastic wrap over it & refrigerate to save it).

Painting deities is a huge commitment, a really big deal undertaking. Personally I love painting Krsna deities so much as a meditation on Krsna that all the time and tears are forgotten afterwards.

 

Krishna_murti_DIY_deity_Tutorial

Start painting a wooden statue of Krsna straight away:

  1. Acrylic paints
  2. tiniest paint brushes you can. Buy. Order them online if you can’t find them small enough. It’s critical to get tiny eye details. As a note on paintbrushes quality matters. I have found Windsor newton brushes the most reliable because the paintbrush hairs don’t split off. You pay about $10 per brush so you really don’t want it to fray on you after a week of use.
  3. Lots of time
  4. Reference picture of Krsna is always a plus! I had a beautiful picture of murli I was looking at but then really that beautiful pic of Krsna bringing water to his devotee.. I’ll try & find a pic to show.

If necessary you can lightly sand the wood. The nicest surface will be completely smooth. You may have the opposite problem and need to actually strip a clear varnish off the wood, if you have bought a Krsna deity who has been heavily varnished. “forget perfection just aim for the best you can do” Seriously you could do this for years if you chase the dream of perfection.  Krsna is so sweet He is a delight to look at, even if you’re not the worlds most talented artist (or anywhere close).

Decide if you are going to completely paint the wooden Krsna deity/ statue or if you are going to leave some of the wood shining through (I do really like that look, it’s beautiful, you see it in a lot of Christmas natural carved statues).

Lay down the base skin coat first. You may need a couple of layers to acheive the depth and brilliance you like. My favorite shade of blue (coastal blue) is so watery and thin I think it takes about 5 coats before it looks good.

Krsna_deity_painted_diy
Adorable but shiny

Allow decent drying times!

If you’re antsy like me you can use a heat gun. Pure genius.

Next work on your eyes, for me I feel like painting Krishna’s eyes is super important to get them done asap, it informs everything else, the angle of His smile, the cheek coloration, etc etc.

Then it’s open slater anything goes do whatever area you like.

After that I would start laying in any shading or colors you want, I love to make Krsna look all fresh and youthfully innocent, like He’s just about to run off and play with the cowherd boys or girls.

Next paint in his lips/ features/ hair.

Once dry and you have made any required corrections lacquer using a polyurethane varnish but be careful! Two coats might cause him to have a sheen. I wasn’t thrilled when this Krsna developed a glossy look after two coats of lacquer, totally my fault for not testing enough. I have three bottles of Jo Sonja lacquer and I always forget which does what. Think I’d better label them with notes!

*I am not an expert I’m an enthusiast! I still learn as I go (ergo the total repaint which all to often occurs!) So please, use common sense and if you can think of a better way to do something, or a step I’ve missed in the process, then you should do that.