The radiant and peaceful divine rays formed
in the background is a representation of Lord Ganesha’s cosmic persona, which
the painter has creatively stroked in alternate shades of green and highlighted
tinges in yellow that arouse from the sun-halo formed behind this crowned head.
This oil painting is a perfect representation of Ganesha’s charm as he stands
as the protagonist in the centre on a half visible designer pedestal. The deep
skin tone of Ganesha’s body gives an intense expression of his divinity, similar to that of the cosmic sun rays that lead to a new
beginning and a positive start.
Notice the beautiful interplay of yellow
and gold colours as the painter goes on to express his aspects of luxury and
spirituality in a single creation. The deep yellow silken dhoti and the
contrasting royal red kamarband form a beautified aspect of Ganesha’s persona.
Anup Gomay is famous for his artistic skills of focusing towards the details
while portraying beauty and expressions. As you zoom in to the elephant head,
you will be fascinated by the honey-brown eyes full of love for mankind and the
aim to demolish the evils. The trunk coils a laddoo in it, and is decorated with a
row of red leaves that extend till the forehead to form a trident mark, as a symbol
of Shaivite tilak. The two serpents ornamented around his portly belly are a sign
of him being Lord Shiva’s son. The startling gold jewels and the rich kingly
crown are embellished with remarkable rubies and emeralds that complement his
wondrous personality.
As per the Hindu iconography, Ganesha
figures with two hands is a taboo, therefore he is depicted popularly in four
hands or more, as also shown here and each hand has its significant action of
divinity. As in this Ganesha oil painting, rear hands hold an axe and a noose
respectively; frontal left hand carries his favourite laddoo and the right
blesses devotees of being fearless. The yellow rays that fall on his sacred
vehicle mooshakraj are a sign of it also being enlightened by the divineness of
its Lord.
Oil painting technique – India centric
Oil painting is the most interesting technique in art. Unlike other paintings or art forms, oil painting is a process in which colored pigments are painted on the canvas with a drying oil medium as a binder. This medium helps colors blend beautifully to create layers and also makes them appear rich and dense. Several varieties of oil are used in this painting such as sunflower oil, linseed oil, etc., and depending on the quality of the oil, a particular consistency of the paint is developed. With the use of an oil medium, the painting gets a natural sheen on the surface which appears extremely attractive. India is famous for its old tradition of making oil paintings. This art form was brought by Europeans in the 18th century and is now practiced by almost all well-known artists. Nirmal, a small tribal town in the state of Telangana is the center of traditional oil paintings in India where the local people practice it with dedication. Most Indian artists still use the traditional technique of oil painting.
Canvas of the required size is prepared
The artists use either a wood panel or canvas made from linen or cotton. Sometimes the canvas is stretched onto the wooden frame to form a solid base, or cardboard may be used. The canvas is coated with a layer of white paint or chalk mixed with animal glue. This mixture is then smoothed and dried to form a uniform, textured surface. The wooden panel is more expensive and heavier but its solidity is an advantage in making detailed paintings with ease.

Sketch is drawn on the canvas
Now the artist starts to draw the subject of the painting on the canvas using the actual charcoal or a charcoal pencil. Sometimes, he may sketch with thinned paint as well.

Oil paint is applied using paint brushes or palette knives
Now that the rough sketch is prepared, the artist is now ready to paint. Oil paint, a special paint that contains particles of pigments suspended in a drying oil (usually linseed oil), is again mixed with oil to make it thinner for applying it on the canvas. Proper consistency of the paint is maintained to avoid its breakage. The most important rule for the application of oil paint is “Fat over lean” in which the first layer of paint is thin and later, thicker layers are applied. This means that each additional layer of paint contains more oil. This results in getting a stable paint film. Traditionally, paint was applied using paint brushes but now the artists also use palette knives to create crisp strokes. To paint using this technique, the edge of the palette knife is used to create textured strokes that appear different from that of a paintbrush. Sometimes, oil paints are blended simply using fingers for getting the desired gradation.

Smaller oil paintings, with very fine detail, are relatively easier to paint than larger ones. The most attractive feature of these paintings is the natural shiny appearance that is obtained on the surface because of the use of oil paint. The blending of colors looks extremely realistic and this is the reason why oil paintings are loved by everyone throughout the world.