Roopa Dudley

This painting is on exhibit at Carroll Museums in Baltimore, MD from October 8th to November 8th 2015. This painting was also on an exhibit in Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, MD from March 4th to April 4th 2012. One thing is for certain that this painting has provenance.

I grew up in the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan. It was right at the border of Baluchistan Province which is mainly a desert with huge Rocky Mountains. The weather there is similar to that of Arizona. Hot and Dry. I lived in a valley opulent with Mango Groves and surrounded by huge Rocky Mountains.

There was never a dull moment in my life as a kid. I was the youngest of the three my parents had so I spent a lot of time by myself and encountered many adventures growing up. I was often left behind to play by myself because I was so much younger then them. I remember embarking on those Rockies all by myself and having a sweet little picnic almost every week. In my imagination I often found myself fantasizing about carousels. I don't remember where I saw it or perhaps read about it in a story book but that was one of my favorite fantasies as a little girl.

I had an amazing childhood and I wanted to commemorate that feeling in a painting. As you can see for miles and miles not a soul to befriend or play with but that did not deter me from having a jolly good time being on my imaginary Carousel...and what an amazing Carousel it was. It was right there in my enchanting Chess-Wonderland. I had so much fun without getting into any trouble in my Chess-Wonderland.

This painting was published in Sediments Art & Literary Magazine in PILOT issue 2016.

This painting also was selected for exhibition in two museums group exhibits - First in 2012 at Montpelier Mansion -- A Historic Mansion Museum in Laurel MD. Second in 2015 at Carroll Museum -- A Historic Mansion Museum in Baltimore MD.

In 2016 it was on exhibit with my many other paintings in Sandy Spring Museum in Sandy Spring MD.

I would start with a 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.

This is an award winning painting and has been published in print and online on two Art & Literary Magazines: ArtAscent (International) and Sediments (USA). It is loaded with symbolism and metaphors of how time good and bad both passes so make the best of what we do have. Details on my blog: Roopa Dudley Paintings Blog on blogger dot com.

This painting deals with the subject involving complex emotions and regret experienced but seldom talked about once the virginity is gone along with the relationship with "Somebody that I used to know" (as the song by Gotye goes). How over time a person becomes just like one of the many faceless and nameless nobody. If we had the power to turn back time, would we do certain things as such differently? I know I would.

This painting was published in "Sadie Girl Press" issue INCANDESCENT MIND in Summer 2016 as well as in "ArtAscent" Art & Literature Journal's HEAT issue 2016. Furthermore this painting has also won an AWARD OF EXCELLENCE in the "Healing Power Of Art" exhibit 2016.

This painting received an award of Merit in the NEW BEGINNINGS 2016 on Manhattan Arts International.

I decided to create this painting as my reaction of what HRC had to say about Abortion during the 3rd Presidential Debate in 2016 and the Woman's March in February 2017. This issue about Global Feticide has to be stopped by promoting awareness. Just because it is legal to abort a fetus does not make it right. Just as Slavery was legal for a long time did not make it right. Most women I personally know who have opted to abort for any number of reasons - Inconvenience, Financial Restraint, Wrong Timing etc - have lived to regret their decision. Selling baby organs is a lucrative business and unless we pause to understand how it effects us all -- this serious issue will continue to thrive promoting BLOOD MONEY Globally. I consider my self to be Pro-Life and Pro-Choice --- Choice to choose Abstinence, Birth Control Pills, Plan B, Tubal Ligation or Vasectomy. When an egg is fertilized it has a potential to grow into a human -- choosing to abort is committing a MURDER. Enough said.