Nirupa Rao

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After an inspirational trip to the new National Gallery in Singapore, I had a renewed interest in Chinese ink painting. I lived in Singapore for two years when I was in school, and we studied about the original ‘Nanyang’ artists who attempted to forge a national identity for their young country through painting. A lot of them came from mainland China or Malaysia, and they experimented with the traditional content of Chinese ink painting to create something they could call uniquely ‘Singaporean’. 

This is my own take on the genre, using ink and rice paper I bought some years ago in Vietnam.

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This guy was in the same series of paintings as the previous.

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I did this watercolour of a decorated bull almost a year ago (a very common sight in India)

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I painted a series of botanicals for my wedding stationery (in December, 2015). Each symbolised a particular event — if you’re at all familiar with Indian weddings, they’re made up of day after day of festivities. 

My husband’s family is Hindu and mine is Christian, so we had both ceremonies in Bangalore, plus a pre-wedding weekend for close friends in Sri Lanka. The cards were horizontal format, but I’ve adapted them for the Tumbler feed. You can also see our envelope, which I hand-painted and then printed on leather-effect paper.

01 Ceylon Ironwood (Mesua ferrea): The national tree of Sri Lanka, native to wet, tropical parts of Sri Lanka, India, southern Nepal, Burma,Thailand, Indochina, the Philippines, Malaysia and Sumatra. It’s foliage is a beautiful pinkish red when young. It generally flowers during the dry season, and produces new leaves just after flowering, at the start of the rainy season, so the occurrence of flowers and red leaves together is pretty rare — but correct me if I’m wrong. 

02 Marigold with Jasmine (Tagetes patula with Jasminum sambac): Marigolds and jasmines are used in south Asia to make garlands, so they are very strongly associated with weddings. You can just about see the jasmines in my hair.

03 Orange Blossoms (Citrus x sinensis): Orange blossoms have been associated with abundance since ancient times in China, and, after the Crusades, in Europe. This is because they are one of the few trees that flower and fruit at the same time. The tiny white flowers are also associated with innocence and chastity, so it has become a custom for brides to wear a crown of orange blossoms in the hair (as Queen Victoria did). 

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HYDRANGEA LEAF: Part III of my leaf painting practice (also from Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens, Bangalore).

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AMLA FRUIT (Indian Gooseberry / Phyllanthus emblica): Considered a super berry because of its high nutrition value. In traditional Indian medicine, it is said to cure every disease, and increase longevity. I make a juice out of this every morning, which is incredibly sour, but I’ve learned to love it ( I buy my amla at Russell Market, in Bangalore).

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ARALIA LEAF (Polyscias scutellaria / Shield Aralia): Part II of my individual leaf studies. Aralia leaves are quite waxy and glossy, so this ended up looking a little artificial / plasticky-y as a painting. Also from Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens

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PEEPAL LEAF (Ficus religiosa, or Sacred Peepal): Have been painting studies of individual leaves, to focus on bringing out as much detail as possible, and showing the variety in shades of green. This little fellow is from the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens in Bangalore. 

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Painted this tiny little sprig of bougainvillea that I picked up on one of my walks around the neighbourhood. What we generally presume to be the flower of this plant is actually a colourful leaf bract. The actual flowers are the tiny white cluster of three in the centre. 

Bougainvillea is often called the ‘paper flower’ because the leaf bracts are so thin and papery, and that’s what I most wanted to bring out here. 

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Mount Fuji. Credit: Nirupa Rao

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Ink & Digital (2014)

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Above / Below (Credit: Nirupa Rao) 

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LOTUS EATERS - Above / Below

Watercolour & Digital (2014)

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The Mysore Palace (Wodeyar Dynasty, rebuilt 1912) keeps alive the extraordinary legacy of the Princely Kingdom of Mysore, which acceded to the Indian Union upon the country’s Independence in 1947. You can trace the story of the Wodeyars along the crowning archway: from the patron deity Chamundeshwary slaying the demon Mahishasura, to the two founding Wodeyar brothers laying the groundwork of their kingdom. To the onset of colonial rivalries in south India and the consequent rise of the young soldier Haider Ali as de facto ruler of Mysore. To the ensuing reign of his iconic son Tipu Sultan and his final battle with the British, ending with the Kingdom’s subsidiary alliance to the British as a princely state.Illustration by Nirupa Rao.