Lord Ganesha's Cosmic Dance - Limited Edition No.4 of 50 Print

Beginnings and endings are the special province of Lord Ganesh, which could explain some part of my fascination with him and the iconography that describes him. My life has been unusually full of beginnings and endings – good ones that ended badly, bad ones that ended well. I first began to feel the urge to paint him some time during the early Nineties, during a relatively tranquil period of my own life. Little did I know, then, that my tranquillity was soon to end... though perhaps my growing identification with the imagery of Ganesh unconsciously foreshadowed what was to come. Whatever the reason, I found increasing solace and self-realization in painting Lord Ganesh as the years went by. I have always been a maker of images: mostly, these were images other people wanted, and it was related mainly to branding and graphic design. But in my own time, when working for my own pleasure, I found myself losing interest in all other subjects but Ganesh. Pillayar, Big Brother (as he is also known), became my only model. For myself, I am not conventionally religious. Temples and churches are buildings I rarely enter. But even the most doctrinaire materialist may sometimes be chosen to serve the purposes of a power higher than themselves. Lord Ganesh’s soulful gaze, which I strive so hard to capture, both reflects and rewards my unquestioning, grateful acceptance of his inspiration and love.