Laxmi

Why Goddess Laxmi? For a while she has been on my phone screen so I felt drawn to start with her as my auspicious guide. I am open to her feminine grace. She embodies prosperity, beauty and good fortune amongst other qualities! She forms part of the Tridevi trinity of Hinduism principle goddesses, along with Parvati and Saraswati.

She is typically depicted either sitting or standing on a lotus flower and holds two lotus flowers in two of her four hands. The lotus is a symbol of purity and self-realisation and is often seen throughout Hindu art. They are known to be able to grow in both clean and dirty water, in many cultures they symbolise how good can flourish in evil and not be tainted.

In my search for references I came across the work of the painter Raja Ravi Varma. He is sometimes regarded as the first modern Indian artist due to his ability to reconcile Western aesthetics with Indian iconography. He was notable for making affordable lithographs of his paintings available to the public, which also meant more people could buy his artwork and he reached more people making him popular during his time.

I loved his depiction of Goddess Laxmi, so used it as my inspiration.