Lavanya’s painting titled, ‘Portrait of a Peacock’ reflects the inspiration from the peacocks seen at a Hindu Temple in the outskirts of Florida
There is a temple in Florida and it has peacocks. Probably would not have known about it until spotting Lavanya Dravida Mantripragada’s peacock painting and knowing about her inspiring subjects.
“There is something to learn from everything,” Lavanya said when asked about her love for peacocks.
“When I Visit a temple or a spiritual place I try to connect with the underlying art forms such as music, architecture features etc. and I see the divinity in the details. Similarly, I find inspiration in the nature.
Peacocks are like nature’s walking canvases,” she explained.
Her painting titled, ‘Portrait of a Peacock’ reflects the inspiration from the peacocks seen at a Hindu Temple in the outskirts of Florida.
“Being there with peacocks for quite some time made me realize a lot of things. Their fanned tail feathers inspired me on when you need to be humble and when you need to display your energy.
Just as the peacocks fascinating feathers and beautiful display of colours, if one can dive into the inner consciousness, we can see our true potentials and become fully aware of our strengths and weaknesses,” she explained.
The peacocks at Sri Ayyappa Temple of Tampa 6829 Maple Lane, Tampa, FL – 33610, roam freely creating a unique ambience.
Peacocks, according to Lavanya, are one of the most challenging and fascinating birds to paint because of their insane detailing and their iridescent colours.
“Painting the feathers made me think, how heavy would it be for them to carry this much weight on their tiny body! How much energy would it take for them when the tail is extended and fully fanned!!
So, I learnt a few facts online, their feathers weigh about 300 grams and exceed 1.5 mt. Such a challenging experience which I enjoyed thoroughly.
Her journey as an NRI began from the Indian state of Andhra Praddesh where she was born in a place called Rayalaseema.
“Being in India, I travelled to a lot of temples, museums, architectural places with my parents and sister during my childhood. Everything was unique in its own way. I got intrigued more and more by the underlying art forms, for example, in Humpi, Karnataka, the seven pillars of musical notes is an amalgamation of music as well as architectural genius,” she recollected.
After her marriage she moved to Sweden and pursued her Master degree there. Sweden was her first country abroad where she lived.
“Swedes take pride on eating as naturally as possible to look after their health – and that of the planet. Farm to table is very popular. During our stay there, as vegetarians, my husband and I adapted to salads and started loving them.
Sweden is a wonderful place to live with its kind people to foreigners, good balanced work place, pollution free atmosphere, healthcare and Montessori style education,” she noted.
After their studies in Sweden, they moved to Cardiff, UK, for work that led to a different perspective in life.
“Having stayed over a decade in the UK, I garnered a lot of good memories and experiences. A country rich in natural beauty and history made me explore different facets of art. Through our children’s school friend’s and mom’s groups, I made really good friends and got to appreciate multiculturalism,” she pointed out.
Soon her hobbies began to get priority.
After moving to Florida, for work, she started to explore multiple things, “got to implement everything that I used to love into practice. America is land of opportunities and living in Florida means sunshine all the time.”
And this meant she started growing her own organic vegetables at home and this year, 2022, is her third year of growing.
She love singing and had learnt basic Carnatic music at a young age in India. After moving to Florida, a place fence in South Indian population she had the chance to restart her learning of Indian Carnatic music. She has had the opportunity to perform vocal recitals at several forums.
“Now I find myself exploring multitude of passions including organic farming, painting, singing, interior decoration, cooking, nature videography, and YouTube content creating.
I accept the fact that individually each of these fields take a lifetime to master; however, I’m happy indulging as much as I can into these passions. I find it extremely rewarding when I can apply experiences and learning from one art into another art.”
Life goes on and the peacocks continue to fan her inspiration.
One can follow her work and moments via Instagram @lavanya_dravida_mantripragada and @ldm_art_gallery.
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