05 Oct My Most Recent Mural Commission Guru Nanak
I have, as a mural artist, been commissioned to do a vast range of subject matter, mostly
decorative but many personal to the commissioner. After all, if you are going to commission a
muralist, get him to create something which means something personal to you.
Historically many artists creating murals would have been creating murals in places of worship
especially in churches and temples.
Up until the renaissance, the only real employer for talented artists was the church, the artists
were required to have some knowledge of the gospels and sometimes bringing an original and
heartfelt feeling to their subject matter.
There were however more than a few artists who were
perhaps more irreverent of the subject matter and it was the only way to get work (Caravagio
famously used a harlot as a model for the Virgin Mary)
Painting of Guru Nanak
As a mural painter, I accept almost any subject matter as a topic and try to bring something
original to the theme, the more interested I am the more inspired I become, and of course if there
is some history or an added bonus of learning something new all the better.
I have always had an interest in religion but from an early age whilst being drawn to the church
for its art and respect as a place of worship my own beliefs are more agnostic following
Darwinism but admitting to inner spiritualism more in alignment with Buddhism.
I have spent time in India as a student teacher in Scindia school and learned about Hinduism and
had a deep respect for the culture and at the same location alongside the school, there was a
Sikha temple but I never had the time to study the religion assuming it was an offshoot of
Hinduism.
When I was recently approached to paint a mural of a Sikh saint I jumped at the chance and
was rewarded by discovering how much I could relate to his teachings. The mural is of Guru Nanak with my patron he acts as her protector.
Guru Nanak is the first Guru of the Sikhs. His followers address him by the names Guru
Nanak,Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Baba Nanak, and Nanakshah. He is also known as Nana Lama in
Ladakh and Tibet.
Guru Nanak possessed the qualities of a philosopher, yogi, householder, religious reformer,
social reformer, patriot, and Vishwabandhu-all in his personality. He preaches to people the
message of Ik Onkar (one God) who dwells in every one of his creations and constitutes the
eternal Truth.
His teachings were immortalized in the form of 974 hymns, which came to be known as ‘Guru
Granth Sahib’ the holy text of Sikhism.
My mural ended up being painted on canvas in oils and occupies a small wall in the clients
house.
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