Ria and Aran

A beautiful wedding at ICB, Wolverhampton. This part of the ceremony is Saptapadi, or ‘seven steps before fire’. Each step, aka phera, is a circuit around the sacred fire, which represents the fire deity Agni. Agni is considered to be the primary witness of a Hindu marriage.

There were a lot of unique elements to this beautiful scene, including the fluffy textured carpet and the pillars that were completely covered in flowers. I painted the background pillars darker to differentiate them from those in the foreground. Painting on a large 20” x 30” canvas, enabled me to include a lot of detail, including their RA monogram, intricately embroidered within a heart on Ria’s sleeve.

They looked so contented, I hope I was able to capture this in their portraits.