The Indus River

A month or so ago I was given a commission to paint a painting about the Indus river, which flows through Pakistan, as a birthday present for a friend of my client, who had named her child after the river. The person who had made the request had given me a copy of a picture taken from the internet and asked if I could paint something similar, but to Samirafy it… love that... So I did.

But first a little bit about the river itself. The Indus River starts from Tibet, it flows in a southerly direction into Jammu and Kashmir through Pakistan, eventually merging into the Arabian Sea near Karachi. The Total length of the river is just under 2000 miles. It is one of the largest rivers on the Asian continent. The Indus Valley Civilisation has a rich history surrounding it. Many Palaeolithic sites have been discovered near Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, with evidence of cave dwellers dating back 15000 years. The cities of Mohenjo- Daro, and Harappa, located within this area, are well known to be one of the largest human habitations in the ancient world.

Now, back to the painting. At first I did not have a clue on how to start the painting, I had the usual thoughts about it turning out to be a disaster and my client hating it. I suppose this is normal for any artist taking on a commission. I thought I would get some inspiration and discover the history of the river. I spent days researching, looking at images on the internet. My father even gave me an old 70’s book about Pakistan, for inspiration, bless him. Anyway, my friend sent me a picture that she liked, so that I could get a feel of what she wanted. Finally, I decided to paint a picture of a mother and child walking along the river, with one of the ancient cities, standing majestically, in the back ground. I liked it, but I did not feel as though it fitted the brief, so I looked at the original picture that my friend had sent me and painted that too, with a hint of Samira. Yep, I gave her a choice. Luckily my friend loved them both so much she could not decide which one to go for. So after much deliberation and asking around 12 people, very sensible I thought, she decided to go for the majority vote, the one she sent me a picture of. The painting was a HIT… relief.

Coincidently, the client, for whom the painting was for, originated from the area and was delighted to receive the painting, which by the way she said she would treasure… awww… don’t you just love it when a plan comes together.

Here are both of the paintings the first one, and the second that was given as a gift. I hope you like them.
 
Love
Samira

The Indus River

S-Indus River