According to the Chinese calendar, I was born under the sign of the dragon. This is supposed to be very lucky for people around me. Of course, whether I was really lucky for them or not depends on their point of view.
When I made this artwork, I was going through some time when I felt a bit uninspired. All my paintings are connected to my mind and thoughts, how I feel in a particular moment, or the experience I am going through. At the time when I made this painting I was bored and clueless on what to do.
Sometimes it is great fun just to be messing around when making art, like in this case. This is also what this painting is all about. I think it has come out quite well, even if I was only fooling around. As usual it is my own individual interpretation of a moment when I thought about myself and who I think I am…
So during this uninspired time, I decided to make a painting of a dragon without actually showing exactly what it was. In reality, it is me. Most people do not know that I am born under the dragon sign. That is why the painting is not clear about it either!
This painting is in acrylic and is covered with a thick layer of matt varnish. As I live In the Indian climate, I like to varnish many of my paintings. I find that it helps protect the paintings from all the dust, mould, and dirt in the environment. Varnish also makes it easier to keep the original painting clean and protected from possible insect damage or from the occasional lizard that crawls across the surface, leaving behind poop and pee.
The type of varnish that I use depends on where the painting is going to hang and the kind of people who will own it. I tend to play a lot of games with varnish in paintings that have images of water or include water symbolism. Such paintings may have a glossy varnish or shiny resin.
I do use varnish less frequently now that I am using acrylic paints more frequently. Over the course of the last fifteen years I have used only acrylic varnish (GOLDEN Artists brand).
My mother, who is a tapestry weaver, really liked this painting. She made a beautiful tapestry based on it that is just the same size as the original. It is included here.