A DARK KNIGHT IN QUEENSTOWN

A DARK KNIGHT IN QUEENSTOWN 9x12 Acrylic on Canvas Board by Roopa Dudley (SOLD)

I am NOT a En Plein Air or peinture sur le motif  kind of an Artist as it should be obvious to you by now with all the paintings I have painted thus far. However, I flirted and then coupulated with the idea to create my first little Fantasy Chess Town. There will be more to come in this series. Can you imagine living in a town like this?

STUDY OF ROOPA DUDLEY

STUDY OF ROOPA DUDLEY 24x18" Acrylic on Panel by Roopa Dudley

I would like to start my blog with this lovely quote:“I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson .

It is said that we are the product of what we eat, what we read and what we do in our leisure. I believe there is a whole lot of truth in it. So I decided to paint my self portrait with that in mind. 
  

Decoding Enigma. It may appear at first like a colorful Still Life painting but it is actually who I am inside. My private self that only a few have had privilege to know. When I turned 40 in Summer of 2012, I decided it was a good time to bare my soul for all to know as to WHO I AM. So that my life is not some kind of a mystery left for Art Critics and Historians to solve.

Starting from the top background. The Gears that I find very appealing in most Steampunk Paintings are symbolic of how we are all connected to each other. The workings of the Cosmos and the importance of Time.

Coming forward to the Mask. I love theater and drama (and my life has had a fair share of it) and how reality is even more fantastic than fiction - like the circumstances when I met my husband. I wore a grotesque Werewolf mask on our very first date to scare him away. I was intimidated by him as he was way above my league. Five months later we were married! It was the most amazing first date from the beginning to the end. In this Painting however, I created a pretty mask and decorated it with Pearls of Wisdom that comes through detachment and observation.

The pots on each side have my favorite quote which is barely visible as they are both covered by foliage that signify legacy that I am leaving through my two daughters. The pot on the left reads as follows: 

“Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the man that's wise!”  --Sophocles, Oedipus Rex.  

The one in the right reads as follows: 

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye".  --Le Petit Prince (1943) novel by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. 

Both of these quotes have had a deep impact on me in my College years as to me they both reveal profound SECRETS of Life. One dealing with the Head and the other dealing with the Heart. In between those two truths lies Harmony which makes my Soul.

Then comes the part of my favorite Books that I have read and cherished - all arranged from Left to Right as follows: Starting with Frida Kahlo, Enneagram, M.C Esher, Tamra de Lempicka, Holy Bible, Rene Magritte, Picture Of Dorian Gray, The Little Prince, Sherlock Holmes, O' Keeffe, Candid, Homer and ending with Roopa Dudley. There is no book written about me so far, but I am quite certain that there will be one containing all my paintings sometime in the future.

In the center I have my favorite Coffee Table with two rather large Chess Pieces symbolic of my two daughters. The Bishop is my daughter Sophia who is brilliant and perspective. The Knight is my daughter Layla who is artistic and unpredictable. These two Chess pieces although bearing same value but are dynamically different and that is very fascinating to me watching them slowly blossoming into amazing little ladies.

Lastly there is a handsome cup of hot tea. That is my husband. He is my perfect cup of Tea and I enjoy him physically and intellectually. He is my Soul mate and my life is absolutely beautiful with him in it. He completes me.

CHESS-NUT

CHESS-NUT 10x8" Acrylic on Canvas Board 2011 by Roopa Dudley (Sold!)

There is really no deep story behind this one. I was watching the Capitals and noticed some hardcore Caps fans painted their faces and showing their staunch support to their favorite team. At that very moment I had a flash of genius and decided to paint something never imagined before i.e not a tomboy but a girlie girl who is obsessed with Chess. What she would look like showing her support with a Fashionista Chess fan Mask. This was the result.

This painting was published in The Capital Gazzette newspaper in December 2012 during Midnight Madness event. 

SPLENDOROUS PASTIMES

SPLENDOROUS PASTIMES 12x12" Acrylic on Canvas Board 2013 by Roopa Dudley

In this painting I am exploring the significance of Signs, Symbols and Ammulets. Starting with the Red Heart. 69 is the sign for CANCER my Zodiac sign which is embedded in TAURUS sign - the Bull the sign of my husband. In Astrology it basically means a MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN.  I truly believe that my husband and I are SOULMATES and we are lucky to have found each other. Significance of the Clock. Aside from the obvious, has it's hands on 9 & 5 (My husband is an Enneagram 9 and I am an Enneagram 5) which reads as Together in Time till Eternity through our Faith in Christ and if you look closely there lies a sign of ALPHA & OMEGA. Red Roses signify the Passion and Love we share and that it is protected with the Turkish Evil Eye [NAZAR] ammulet to ward off and deflect ill wishes of anyone who may want to destroy us. Chess Pieces are My Two Daughters that I have often repeated in my paintings. TEA is my favorite pastime drink in the Mornings and Afternoons in a Black & White Checkered Cup that signifies the ups and downs in our lives, whereas the TEAPOT has a Chess-Queen's Motif signifying the attitude of my husband towards me. Gears in the back are How quickly time passes...making the most of our time doing what is most important to us. I am basically COUNTING MY BLESSINGS in this painting. If I were to die today, I have lived my life in abundance and I should be counted as one of the most fortunate woman on earth.

Question: Have you taken the time to count your blessings today? Have you dared to love and be loved back in return so deeply? Do you believe in Soulmates?

On Saturday, May 18th 2013 this painting was accepted in an up coming exhibit at College Park, MD. Here is how it appeared in my e-mail that I received:

MD Art @ College Park
Juried Exhibition of works by Maryland residents and/or MFA Members
June 14– August 2, 2013
Dear Maryland Artists,Congratulations!  With over 628 total entries, you are one of 116 artists selected by Dan Mills, juror for MFA’s open-juried MD Art @ College Park exhibition. A list of accepted artists and artworks is attached and will be posted on the homepage of MFA’s website.
Contact information: Telephone Voice/TTD: 410-268-4566MFA Circle Gallery: info@mdfedart.orgMD Relay: 1-800-735-2258
Fax: 410-268-4570
Again, congratulations on being accepted and thank you for participating. We look forward to this exceptional exhibition and hope you will be able to join us for the reception and awards celebration on June 28, 6-8pm
Sincerely,
Margaret Boynton
Gallery Manager

THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER (Knight)

THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER (Knight) 2013 Acrylic on Canvas Board by Roopa Dudley (SOLD)

Several months ago, I was asked to do a  painting on commission. My client wanted a large Oyster Shell Painting for her new house she plans on getting built on a water front property in North Carolina. She brought me a few Oyster Shells for inspiration and to be used as reference along with a page from a magazine that inspired her to commission me to do a painting for her.

I basically sat on it for a few months as she was not in a hurry and I was not inspired to even touch the canvas with a ten foot pole. One Spring day as I put in one of my old Compact Disk in, an old song One Night In Bangkok came up (which is an official Chess Song in case you did not know) and it is then when the gears in my mind started to turn rapidly and I found myself inspired. The same day I also came across an equally inspiring article by my favorite Art Business Writer Alan Bamberger: http://www.artbusiness.com/art-artists-bigotry-hate-and-thomas-kinkade.html. The combination of both experiences did something to me and hence gave birth to this idea. My first in series - a small prototype for her to see if she liked the way I interpreted her Oyster. It looked much different from the painting she showed me in that torn page from the magazine. I did not add my Chess-Knight yet as she wanted no part of Chess in the commissioned painting.

When she saw the painting I made, she absolutely loved it. I told her instead of the World, I would put a nice lustrous Pearl and she was fine with that idea. I added my distinguished Chess-Knight as soon as I got a head's up from her and this my friends is how I ended up with one of my most favorite paintings. Just by sheer accident. Something I would have never thought of painting at all and how one thing leads to another. That is why it is always good to have an open mind - especially for an Artist.

DELIVER US FROM SADNESS

DELIVER US FROM SADNESS (SOLD!) 12" X  9"  Acrylic on Canvas Board by Roopa Dudley

The usual comment my husband makes when he looks at my Paintings is "Another Beautiful yet Disturbing Painting". He stares at my Painting for a few minutes in silence, shakes his head, looks at me and walks away feeling melancholy. This often leaves me dejected and discombobulated. This has been going on for the past three years I have been painting on regular basis. On the bright side however, I am relieved to know that he did not say "interesting" which happens to be the most dreaded word to say to any artist including me. Call is offensive, repulsive, disgusting, disturbing, beautiful, happy, colorful, ugly, inspiring, thought provoking, intriguing, refreshing, grotesque but for the love of Chocolates please do NOT call it interesting. Those are simply fighting words. 

As with my previous paintings I have used symbolism, amulets, and color to express the disturbing world. I could have not done it through words alone. I consider this painting the exact opposite of my previous SPLENDOROUS PASTIMES painting. Here the series of unfortunate events starting from mid 1990s to this time that have dominated my thoughts. Thoughts that haunt me and boil my blood.

The Gears as usual are here representing time and how everything is connected to everything else. There is a reference to the Knights Templar (time for them to rise again), the Twin Towers that once stood tall and made the NYC skyline so glorious, the Mosque that was permitted to be built there (a slap in the face and salt in our wounds to say the least), the persecution of Jews, and how rapidly our skyline now is basically turning into a huge graveyard (with all kinds of memorial walls).

The vase in the center bearing "Nazar" (the Turkish Evil Eye amulet) bearing five Blue Lilies. Someone I know who is a Medical Doctor in Orlando Florida lost his entire family in a horrific automobile accident on April 19th 2013. There is no logical explanation for this except that a lot of people were envious of him because he seemed to have everything. History reveals that Egyptians used to use Blue Lilies in funerals so I opted to choose that to represent the five family members that he lost.

The grave of  Somer Renee Thompson  (April 5th, 2002 - October 19th, 2009) which lays in the front and center. Oh dear. On the Headstone it reads "Somer Thompson - Raped, Asphyxiated and Dumped in Garbage by Pedophile Jarred Harell". A soar subject for me and for many people I bet. I still have nightmares thinking about the final moments of that girl since the day I found out what had happened to her. There is no place for Pedophiles on this planet. They are not welcomed here and we need to do everything in our power to educate our children about their ugly existence. Times have changed. We are not safe and we must be vigilant. We are in a dire need of vigilantes and the Knights Templar. The Sheep-Dogs to keep the Wolves at Bay.

THREE KNIGHTS IN PARADISE

THREE KNIGHTS IN PARADISE 14x11 Acrylic 2013 (SOLD)

I was looking at some beautiful coral reefs on the internet and to me it looked like an under water paradise. So an idea popped up and I decided to go with the flow. I like to play with words (it should be obvious by now) and for someone who does not play chess or know about my preoccupation with chess, it may sound like an ad for a cruise to Bahamas or Hawaii.

The gears as in all my paintings symbolize time and how we are connected to each other. I took a leap of faith and used my Chess-Knights as Sea-Horses. So voila! It all worked well together like magic. I added bubbles so that my Chess-Knights seem alive and breathing in Paradise.

This painting was sold as soon as I put it up on my facebook and wrote a blog about it. Mademoiselle Mani of Alexandria, VA is the proud owner of this painting.

THREE KNIGHTS AT KING'S CASTLE

THREE KNIGHTS AT KING'S CASTLE 14x11 Acrylic on Canvas Board 2013 (SOLD)

The three adventurous Knights are out and about discovering beautiful places. First it was Paradise. This time they are discovering the Lost King's Castle buried deep inside the ocean. Nobody knows if someone actually lives there or if it is an abandoned Castle - perhaps a sculpture made by an Artist for the Coral Reef project?

It may be obvious to any Chess Player why I am calling this as "King's Castle". In Chess the only time a King is allowed to move and hop over more than one square and switch sides with the Rook is when the player makes a Castle. It is a safety measure that protects the King from checks from his opponent.  I used that maneuver here to celebrate that exciting Chess move.

One thing is for certain. These invincible Knights sure can swim in the depths of an ocean like a submarine, float in the open sky like a blimp and even hover out in the space like a spaceship. They are designed to explore and discover places one can only imagine about.

This painting was sold to an art enthusiast Madame Burns of Odenton, MD in December 2013.

SELF-ACTUALIZED PAWN (Queen)

SELF-ACTUALIZED PAWN 14x11 Acrylic 2013 by Roopa Dudley

The idea came to me after someone made a comment "Pawns are insignificant and thus disposable". This is far from truth and any Good Chess Player would agree with this notion.

The sheer idea how the "Normal" world perceives the most hard working and self-sacrificing folks as "insignificant and disposable" - whether it be the Pawns in Chess or the Worker-Bees in the workforce or the Soldiers in the front lines is so unfair. Yes, I was disturbed - profoundly disturbed: intellectually as well as emotionally. As an individualist I believe everything is connected to everything else and we all matter. Nobody is insignificant and we all have a shot at reaching our highest potential by being true to ourselves and knowing what our purpose in life is here on earth.

The Pawn - this insignificant Pawn has the Potential of becoming a Queen. The most valuable piece on the Chessboard. Nobody should ever underestimate the power of a Pawn. It may indeed start out with humble beginnings, but if it survives - the end could be magnificent...totally tipping the scales.

I have this habit of doing in-depth self-analysis of my emotions in the comfort of my solitude. I examine and analyze my emotions like how a biologist dissect a Frog or how a scientist looks at germs in a petri dish under a microscope. I strive to find out the triggers for their existence. I have always been fascinated with the "Why?" factor. Here is what I discovered.

Jesus had his Parables, Aesop had his Fables, Newton had his Theory Of Gravity, Einstein had his Theory Of Relativity, Helen Palmer had her Enneagram 9 Personality Types, Agatha Christy had her Mystery Novels, Shakespeare had his Sonnets, Freud had his Psychoanalysis and I, Roopa Dudley have my Allegorical Paintings.  I see myself as that PAWN who has went through physical, intellectual, financial, and emotional challenges and struggles in my 40+ year old life and have survived. I find myself now standing in that 7th Square - one move away from transforming into the Queen - one step short from gaining that Recognition as a Painter - One heartbeat away from reaching my highest potential as an Allegorical Contributor and a Visionary that I have always dream of becoming "when I grow up". I HAVE grown up. I am not insignificant. I am not worthless. I AM A SELF-ACTUALIZED PAWN.

This Painting Was Published On The Back Cover Of ArtAscent June 2014!

SOUL-MATE - A Commentary On Supplementary Relationship

SOUL-MATE: A Commentary on Supplementary Relationship  (SOLD)

This is my Third in the Twelve "NOTEWORTHY SERIES". In the last post I stated that once a couple gets married it could either be a good thing or a very bad thing. This painting is about the "Good Thing" when two people form a team and start a new chapter in their life together as one. Some people call it a chance, others call it fate or destiny that brings them together and from the moment they meet, they know that they have found that one special person that they have been hoping and searching for to share their life with.

It should not come as a surprise to my readers that my commentary is basically a visual diary of my own life. I have experienced a match made in hell, and when I least expected I discovered the love of my life and I have been blissfully married to him for the past seven years.

This Painting therefore should be a beacon of hope for all those broken hearts that there is hope and that the key is never to settle and hope that everything will be alright. It seldom works out that way. People research when they buy a house, a car and other things they deem important. Why not research for who is the best fit for you and vice versa? The secret to a lasting partnership is far more complex and deeper than the physical attraction. It also is the union of minds, great chemistry and empathy which perhaps is too romantic of a notion for the western society.

What I discovered is that Myers-Briggs 16 Personality Types and Enneagram 9 Personality Types combined together and studied well will create a sound understanding about oneself. Idealists fare well with Rationals, and Guardians fare well with Artisans. As mentioned before I have Asperger's Syndrome so I tend to study things that fascinate me in great detail. I strongly believe that if you are looking for that special someone, you must first discover who you are and then use the two studies to formulate your best match. A perfect GPS for finding your one true love. Good Luck!

TEAM-MATE - A Commentary On Comradery

TEAM-MATE - A Commentary on Comradery

The First in the series of Twelve "NOTEWORTHY CONCEPTS" that I intend to paint exploring the suffix "Mate". My goal is to illustrate Abstract Concepts in Representational Style. If I can make you (the viewer) think for a minute and perhaps chuckle, then I have succeeded in my mission.

Here the Knight and the Bishop are two Chess Pieces - equal in value but equipped with quite different personalities. Knight is the most misunderstood yet intriguing piece in the game. It would be prudent to notice that they are both in Red belonging to the same Team or Family but assigned to perform different functions. Both chess pieces are equally essential to have in a Team to get the mission accomplished. It kind of reminds me of the movie "The League Of Extra Ordinary Gentlemen".

"You have to get along with people, but you also have to recognize  that the strength of a team is different people with different perspectives." ~Steve Case~

Growing up in a Nuclear Family of five, I was often compared to my older siblings (My sister who is a Medical Doctor and my brother who is an Engineer). It only complicated the matter even further when my family refused to understand or accept that I have Asperger's Syndrome - a developmental disorder related to autism and characterized by higher than average intellectual ability coupled with impaired social skills and restrictive, repetitive patterns of interests and activities. This disorder gave me an edge in many different areas such as Foreign Language acquisition and Visual Arts. To this day my biological family is in denial and expects me to change and conform - at Forty One. I am totally serious.

"It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage both because it is so powerful and so rare." 
~Patrick Lencioni~

This Painting is therefore a tribute to Artists with Asperger's Syndrome.  My way as a Visual Artist to raise awareness and to explain that just because we are different akin to the Chess piece Knight who looks unlike the rest of the other Abstract Chess Pieces and moves awkwardly, we are still part of the same team. We are just wired differently or perhaps our mothers dropped us on our heads as babies (it is a possibility). We are therefore quite focused, obsessed and fascinated with ideas that occupy our minds and we don't rest till we have explored all the possible ways of analyzing the same topic in a dozen different ways that most of you find dull and boring. This really should be counted as a virtue don't you agree? Our inner world is rich with imagination and just about anything is possible there.

If you are reading this blog, please do not count us out just because we may be socially awkward, devoid of empathy and clumsy at times. We are very much human just like you even if we appear a bit snobbish with a Poker Face akin to Spock then the beloved Captain Kirk. Just imagine how boring the movie "Star Trek" would be without Spock. We are Team Mates. We are Aspies!

CHECK-MATE - A Commentary On Dating Leading To Marriage

                   CHECKMATE: A Commentary on Dating leading to Marriage  (SOLD)

This is my Second in the in the "NOTEWORTHY SERIES" of Twelve Paintings. The blossoming romance has come to its conclusion and is taken to the next level of making it legit. So one follows the tradition of a religious ceremony (notice the presence of a Bishop) to make it into a Holy Matrimony soon to discover that the alliances made are of the most unholy kind. But that is the topic of another later painting in this series. Let us enjoy and analyze this concept.

Here I feel empathy for the King who is left with no choice but to accept his fate and surrender to the pressures of a traditional marriage or to perish alone unloved and unwept and leaving no legacy. Once the paper is signed, the Game is literally over. That could actually be a good thing or a really bad thing. If it is a good thing, then the union is of a divine kind - the Marriage made in Heaven and a brand new chapter in life together as partners begins as you will witness it in my next Painting in this series. However, when it is not a good thing, the differences that once looked so endearing now become repugnant and unbearable. The grand realization starts to sink in that the person one thought one is getting married to is not that person at all but a total stranger. One feels violated on many levels and the downward spiral begins. That is when one is forced to reckon with the situation and accept the fate that the Honeymoon is over!  All there is left at this point is COMPROMISE.