A box for Sanjana

Some commissions take you out of your comfort zone. This box for Sanjana, was a little like that. Now I have painted Memory boxes before, but this one was done after quite a long break from that style so it took a little while to get comfortable with it again.
You can see some more memory boxes here, here and here.

Her partner wrote to me on Instagram and gave me the low down on her. Both he and Sanjana like my work and so he wanted to surprise her with a painting from me. But the list of things he wanted included was a little too much to incorporate into a traditional portrait. So I needed to get creative.

This box has a portrait of her and her dog on the top, the sides depict her love for plants and her house is a veritable summer garden. The cat is a reminder of the time she rescued one, who has since healed but still comes back every once in a while demanding food. She is an emergency physician and has had a tough time these past months dealing with the onslaught of Covid. So that too finds a place on the back of the box.

Her favorite color is purple. You can see that on the top as a halo around her and on the purple stethoscope he gifted her 🙂 (And the box I used is up-cycled. Just saying!)

I leave you with the clients reaction 🙂