Krishna Ink Canvas Wall Art

Seven scenes from the life of Krishna in ink-wash silhouette, each beneath a brushed halo of grey ink on a pale ground. Every scene is complete on its own, and six of them form the Life of Krishna gallery wall.

Flute-Playing. Krishna plays his flute beneath a brushed halo of ink, a peacock feather in his crown and his scarf flowing as he stands on rocky ground, with a peacock at his feet. The sound of his flute draws every listener to him: the call of the divine to the soul.

Vasudeva. Vasudeva wades through the flooded Yamuna on the night of Krishna's birth, the newborn held high in a basket above his head, while the serpent Shesha rises behind them and spreads its hoods to shelter the child from the storm. Churning water and a brushed halo of ink surround them. It is the first moment of Krishna's story: carried across the river from the prison at Mathura to safety in Gokul.

Makhan Chor. Little Krishna sits beside an overturned pot of butter, licking it from his fingers with a peacock feather in his hair, beneath a brushed halo of soft grey ink. Makhan Chor, the butter thief of Gokul, is the best-loved image of Krishna's childhood mischief.

Kaliya Mardan. Young Krishna dances on the many hoods of the serpent Kaliya, one hand raised and one leg lifted, as the black waters of the Yamuna churn below and a brushed halo of ink rings him. Kaliya Mardan, Krishna's triumph over the serpent who poisoned the Yamuna, is courage and the victory of good over evil.

Gopala. Krishna plays his flute beside a cow who turns to him, with a peacock at his feet and a leafy branch overhead, in soft washes of grey ink beneath a brushed halo. Gopala, the cowherd of Vrindavan, is Krishna at his gentlest: the protector of cows and the music of the forest.

Raas Leela. Radha and Krishna dance the raas with dandiya sticks raised, Krishna's peacock feather in his crown and his scarf flying as he leaps, Radha's long hair and swirling skirt turning with the beat, all in washes of grey ink beneath a brushed halo. Their raas, the dance of Vrindavan danced to this day with dandiya at Navratri, is the soul's longing for the divine and the best-loved image of devotion as love.

Vishwaroop. Krishna reveals his cosmic form to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra: many heads and many arms holding the discus, conch, mace and lotus, rising like smoke above the kneeling Arjuna and his chariot. Vishwaroop, the vision at the heart of the Bhagavad Gita, shows the whole universe held within the divine.

Part of the Dev Chhaya collection of gods and goddesses in ink-wash silhouette.

16 × 20 in is a slightly wider frame: the same artwork, recomposed with a little more background.