Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of the arts and knowledge, including music, writing, speaking, and all forms of creative expression. Here is one of my favorite translations of Saraswati from Swami Satyananda: "She who swallows my sense of dullness and incompleteness." Count me in! Saraswati also translates as the "flowering one," the blossoming of creative action from idea to reality.

This painting is my second depiction of Saraswati. I painted this as a commission for a dear friend just after I moved out of Shoshoni. It was grounding for me to focus on this large painting (32" x 40") in a time of great change. The pink sunrise over Mt. Thorodin at Shoshoni represents the dawning of a new day in my life.

With two of her hands, she plays the vina, ancestor to the sitar. Her other two hands hold a mala or prayer beads and a book. With Aspen trees in the background, she floats over the flowing rapids of Boulder Creek, representing creative flow. Saraswati's vehicle is a beautiful peacock, resting by her foot.

Saraswati's mantra: Om Aim Saraswati-aye Namaha