From Crow’s Elephant Totem Song by Ted Hughes
“And the elephant sings deep in the forest-maze
About a star of deathless and painless peace
But no astronomer can find where it is.”
I painted this watercolor last week based on a painting by Ellen Fanan which I saw on Instagram. There was just something about it that drew me to it. After scrolling through hundreds of images on Instagram and Pinterest I returned to this picture. It’s my first attempt at painting an animal. I think though elephants are easier to paint than most other four-legged creatures. I’ve done the painting on a A4 sized watercolor paper using ‘Camlin’ watercolor paints.
As per my daughter’s advice I’m adding below a close-up of the elephant’s face. What do you think about the painting?
Someone who saw my painting asked me why I had painted the elephant blue in color. Incase you have the same question, this is the answer for painting it in blue. For one, its art- a medium that allows you to step away from reality. As long as a picture is beautiful, I think its fine and luckily beauty is subjective (remember the quote, ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’?) 😉
Secondly, and on a more serious note, displaying a ‘blue’ elephant shows that you care for the wellness of others and demonstrates that this is a safe place to talk about mental illness without fear of being viewed differently. The ‘Blue elephant’ in the room is a national anti-stigma campaign designed to address the stigma associated with mental illness.
Lastly, as per astrology (I read on the net), a blue elephant signifies brightness and knowledge.
To all my readers, I have a request- please suggest a name for this painting in the comments section. I have racked my brain and I can’t seem to find an appropriate name for it.
I end this post with the below quote from the net-
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