Simran and Paul

It was a joy to paint this beautiful Anand Karaj ceremony at Guru Nanak Gurdwara, Willenhall. Simran and Paul looked incredible and I wanted to capture the intricate details of their outfits and the rich textures of the surrounding fabrics. To balance this precision, I introduced loose, expressive florals and abstracted the backdrop - the patterned carpet providing subtle depth and grounding.

We had agreed on a burnt sienna background, so I altered the pink, blue and gold accents throughout the room to harmonise with this and created a palette that reminds me of Degas’ Dancers in pink (1880-85) - soft elegant and full of warmth.

Water droplets over layers of different tones formed an ethereal background from which the khanda and ek onkar symbols could resonate. In contrast, I rendered the Gurmukhi scripture and Granthi more subtly, allowing the focus to remain on the bride and groom.