NEWSLETTER
Swing Festival On The Cover Art
by Guna Mani Nitai Dasi
I am originally from Mauritius but moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2007 to complete my Bachelor of Commerce degree. That is where I started my devotional life and met my beloved spiritual master. I had the great privilege to tour South Africa with His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami in October 2011 where I met many wonderful devotees.
I have been painting for as long as I can remember. As a child I was extremely shy and reserved and painting with vibrant colours was my way to express my internal exuberance. I majored in art in high school with a 2-metre tall painting of my grand-mother, which ranked 3rd nationwide. About a year ago I began digital art thanks to the encouragement of my husband. It is so much more feasible and less messy to paint digitally when you have young kids!
The work on the cover is entirely digital and was done in the Procreate App on an iPad Pro. I wanted to create a candy-coloured outlook of the spiritual world. I had a specific perspective in mind so I simulated Krishna’s and the gopis’ postures in an app called Easypose to get the proportions right. I am inspired by art with a variety of textures and bright colours and I hope to inspire others that way too.
This particular piece “Swing Festival” was inspired by the Jhulan Yatra festival, which is when I started the painting. When I worked in the Member Services Office at the Melbourne Temple, every year we were always on the hunt for newer and fresher artwork to make the festival posters. So, I guess I tried to add to the repertoire of choices for others in that same quest. I was hoping to represent the joy and youthfulness of the ever-fresh activities of the spiritual world, which is an actual reality. Working on such a piece helps to enhance my meditation of the absolute goal and destination
The greatest take away for me with this artwork is perseverance. I wanted to give up on this painting many times. For hours and hours I was unhappy with the outcome but the silent yet firm voice of the Supersoul rang: “Keep going! You’ve got this.” Krishna is the best inspirational coach! This painting took 22hrs 36mins to complete and was done over the course of two and a half months. I tend to be impatient so I seek results quickly. But at the same time the perfectionist in me doesn’t want to call it complete until it is perfect … if there is even such a thing as perfection in the material world. Whatever may be, I stuck at it; painted over many of the different elements many, many times and this is the final outcome. I hope that this painting will inspire you as much as it inspires me. You can view my collection on Instagram & Facebook @g.m.nitai_art
Special Feature
Cheating Death
Soul Poetry
The Gita
Till the Last Breath
Hip Hop Gita
A Bitter Fate
For the Kids
Krishna in Our Hearts
Oh Govinda
Faith Makes You Fearless
The Vaishnava Chef
Festive Churros
Click here to download the pdf: http://iskcondurban.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/NovDec-2020-HKN-web.pdf