Method: Acrylic on canvas
Artist: Melinda Butt
Artist Quote
Inspired by the fifth chakra, I’ve created this design to encourage and celebrate the creative spirit within. I’m passionate about art and what it brings to and releases from your life. Finding your voice and expressing it is crucial to staying true to yourself, regardless of the medium; be it song, movement, music, poetry, life itself is a creative act.
The beautiful blue colours of the visuddha chakra inspired my palate. I’ve incorporated symbols and patterns from various natural and theoretical influences, the art nouveau woman suspended above the peacock, juxtaposing gentle grace with pride. The leaping stag and the humble lotus evoke joy and humility. All that is represented in these Legskins celebrates the feminine and the masculine, the yin and yang.
Balinese batiks and Japanese wood block prints have also influenced my story, the artistically stylized waves symbolize the forces behind what we see, the patterns, vibrations, ebbs and flow.
As with all art, it’s in the eye of the beholder, what is your interpretation? What inspires you? Listen, observe, express…let the creativity within reveal itself.From the Heart
Persephone Singfield, Heart Director of Courage My Love says this about Bona Fides:
When Melinda first contacted us about creating a design for our yoga wear we were really excited by the idea of working with an artist who was also a yoga teacher. Melinda’s portfolio was stunning and on first impression we wanted more. I worked with Melinda via Skype and only met her personally at the launch of her design after it was created. I remember the feeling of receiving the paintings in the mail and unwrapping them to see them live for the first time. They were stunningly beautiful. We discussed naming them Vishudha the Sanskrit name for throat, truth or blue chakra located in the throat area near the thyroid gland. I thought that name may get lost on people who didn’t have enough yoga knowledge to understand the word, but I really didn’t want to lose the energy of the name. Together we found Bona Fides was a great alternative. Another special feature of this design that many people don’t see unless I point it out, is that Melinda used two different canvases. She began her first painting by finishing one of her rolls of canvas, then opened a new roll and cut the canvas for second painting from that. I had been looking at her paintings as she progressed via Skype and never saw this detail until they arrived in the mail. I love the difference in the grain of the canvases. It makes this design really unique and shows the handmade nature of her work.
