Dusty Roads

Hello All,
I've been slow to add some new pictures mostly due to a lack of time and proper facilities. Luckily I have landed for a few days in Rishikesh (a hill town in North India made famous by a stay from the Beatles inspiring the White album). Rishikesh sees a lot of tourists and therefore has a lot more western conveniences, even spaghetti and cornflakes. I have rented a motorbike for the time that I am here as it is the best and cheapest way to get around this little tourist area. Thankfully, SHiva is my brave and experienced motorcyclist and I just have to hold on.
I was pleased to work with some younger artists in Jaipur. Satya was a very friendly young man and I would have liked to stay and work with him more, but the temperature was increasing and we still have so much more of India to cover, so we moved north.



On the way from Jaipur to Amritsar SHiva and I stopped for a night in Bikaner, a less visited desert town. We visited the Karni Mata Temple nearby which is famously known as the rat temple, because it honors rats as the reincarnated souls of ancient storytellers. Needless to say it was a rare sight. The rats are treated with great respect and given all the sweets, milk, and sleeping space they want. Its good luck to have a rat run across your feet or to spot a rare white rat. No luck was had by me, but I did enjoy it... surprisingly enough.



I am expecting another painting to be completed this Friday. I have had to do a lot more brainstorming on themes for the artists to work on. The older more experienced artists seem reluctant to do a piece from their imagination, but I always try. I show them pictures like this to give them an idea of the style I am looking for. I think this is uniquely India.