I am excited to share with you all the work of very talented Mixed Media and Portrait Artist Malinda Prud'homme. Now this is a little different to what I usually share with you all, however what caught my eye with Malinda's work is that she paints larger than life portraits of the beautiful Indian Bride. Her work is absolutely stunning with such detail and adorned with many embellishments to bring her Indian Brides to life. Therefore I reached out to her and asked to feature her gorgeous Indian Bride works of art. Especially given that I have a love of Indian Weddings and the beguiling Indian Bride, combined with being a fellow artist at heart. What makes Malinda stand out is that she is all about celebrating every woman's beauty. So I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do!
Meet Malinda Prud'homme
Mixed Media & Portrait Artist
Introduce Yourself
Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for having me! My name is Malinda and I’m a full-time Mixed Media and Portrait Artist working from my cozy home and studio in Toronto’s Art & Design District. I use my artwork to express that ALL women are beautiful; regardless of age, size, ethnicity, or personal style. I think it is essential to celebrate the uniqueness of each woman while at the same time remembering that we are all one. I am very passionate about spreading messages of love and empathy towards oneself and to others. While most of my time is spent in my studio I also love collecting crystals, doing Tai Chi, walking my cats, metal detecting, reading fantasy novels, and talking with my incredible husband Darren. I’m a quirky gal with a love for the simple things in life.
Malinda beside one of her amazing Indian Bride Portraits
You Have An Astounding CV, Has It Been A Challenge To Get Where You Are Today?
Oh goodness, thank you! It’s honestly very hard to keep up with, I haven’t updated my C.V. in quite some time. I never found it a challenge to find venues who wanted to show my work, and there always seemed to be a steady stream of content requests for publications, my challenge lay with keeping up with it all while going through the beginning stages of an auto-immune disease. Right when my career began to truly take off I was hit with an illness that no one could explain. It took years to receive my diagnosis of Ankylosing Axial Spondyloarthropathy. Trying to keep up with everything previous to my illness was a challenge I enjoyed but with these new limitations it became quite difficult. I am so thrilled to say I have begun to adapt to my new way of life and I’m finally getting caught up. I was forced to learn the importance of balance in life. I loved my career so much, it didn’t feel like I was overworking myself, but in reality I was. That is never healthy even if you love every moment of it. I’ve stepped back from exhibitions for a short break, but I am back at commissions and original work in full force. I just allow myself more time to get things done and I refuse to accept strict deadlines since I never know what might happen. I think this is all together a healthier way to approach making art for a living.
Indian Bride Portrait
What Does A Typical Day Look Like For You?
I look forward to my days so much, even with chronic pain, I am so grateful for all I have and I know making art and spreading messages of positivity is what I was put on this earth to do. I wake up, stretch, tidy our home, love my cats, bathe, put on something very comfortable and then I get into my studio. I typically start with responding to e-mails and social media notifications. I then work on one of many big projects currently on the go. It might be an original artwork, a custom painting, online promotions, website, accounting, and much more. I take a lot of breaks to stretch and exercise as well as to eat properly. And I force myself to end my work day at an appropriate time, anywhere between 4:30-6:30. Working on a variety of different things not only keeps my mind enthused but also helps my joints as I’m forced to use my body in different ways.
Preeti Indian Bride Portrait
What Inspired You To Paint Portraits Of The Indian Bride?
After about two years of exploratory artwork, where I worked with many different mediums, styles, and messages, I began to focus my work on women and beauty. It was one of my first female beauty series, “All That Girls Love …” in 2011, where I first adhered gems to the portraits. In the two years to follow my skills in realism became quite impressive and soon my work began to be exhibited and published. I was very fortunate my patron found me online and was impressed with the quality of my work. This lovely man from our local Sikh community had faith in this new artist to create a HUGE larger than life 5 foot by 7 foot Indian Portrait inspired by his beautiful wife. I created a couple of other Indian Bride paintings in preparation for the large one, to test technique and materials, and they were a great success! After the completion of two large scale Indian Bride portraits for this client I began to gain world wide acknowledgment. So many lovely Indian women and other East Asian women would contact me to tell me how happy they were to see a reflection of themselves being celebrated in this beautiful way. It was all I had dreamed come true. I soon completed a more detailed commission, going to Hong Kong, that would result in my “Mehndi Indian Bride”. Then my local clients requested their last larger than life portrait, this time an exact representation of the beautiful wife. To celebrate this long and fruitful relationship with my clients and the local Sikh community I held a solo art exhibition where I exhibited a number of other Indian/East Asian inspired artworks. So many cherished memories were created from this one chance encounter.
Indian Bride Portrait
What Process Is Involved In Completing One Of Your Indian Bride Portraits?
I begin by drawing a to-scale sketch of the artwork on white printer paper or brown kraft paper, depending on size. This drawing is then transferred onto the canvas. I then start with acrylic paint, as this must go underneath the oil paint. The acrylic is used to block out basic layers in the clothing, jewelry, and hair. It takes many layers of acrylic to fully cover the canvas. At this stage I begin applying oil paint to the flesh and once dry I will go over it again in a more precise way. I then include the facial features with very fine detail. Once everything is to my liking I use the oil paint and go over everything adding shadows, highlights, outlines, and the most time consuming part, the hair fibers. When everything is dry I can apply the gold and pearl mica as well as the real acrylic gems. That’s the sparkly finishing touch that really adds the “wow” factor I’m known for.
Time lapse video of one of Malinda's commissioned piece's known as Preeti
What Mediums Do You Use To Paint Your Larger Than Life Indian Beauties?
- Acrylic Paint - Oil Paint - Gold/Pearl Mica (Muscovite) - Acrylic Gems (Glue: Alene’s Jewel It)
I Love That You Add Some Sparkle To Your Brides With Embellishments, Where Do You Source Such Large Diamonds?
Oh thank you! It’s something I started early in my career and I’ve become known for it! Most of my high quality acrylic gems are purchased from AllStarco (https://allstarco.com/en/). Their head office is in Canada so the shipments are fast and reliable. They also have gorgeous quality extremely large gems. I have talked with them many times, they are always helpful and kind when I call to ask questions, so I would certainly recommend them. However, when it comes to small Aurora Borealis (multicoloured sparkling) gems I prefer to purchase mine from “art-la-lic” on eBay. They may not be as high quality but the shimmer is so beautiful and intense, I haven’t found anything else like it!
Time lapse video of embellishment application process
How Long Does It Take To Complete One Painting?
It definitely depends on size and the amount of detail. A hand, for example, adds a lot more detail; make it a hand with mehndi and you’re talking a week or more of extra work. From small to large, regular detail to very detailed, it can range from 90 hours to over 500 hours. My smaller ones tend to take about 3 weeks to a month to complete and the larger ones or highly detailed ones take multiple months.
Preeti Indian Bride Portrait
Have You Ever Been To India?
Sadly, I have not. My husband and I are avid travelers and we both know we WILL go to India, there is no doubt in our minds. I’ve loved the Indian culture since I was a little girl and my husband Darren has heard so much about it from working with many Indian colleagues, so we are both very much looking forward to it. It will certainly be a life changing experience.
Indian Bride Portrait
Do You Have Any Upcoming Exhibitions Featuring Your Indian Bride Portraits?
At the moment I haven’t booked anything with my usual galleries/curators. It is very time consuming and expensive to show your artwork, and it can be very draining on a sick introverted artist like myself. I love exhibiting, but I’m taking a little break for now. However, anyone is welcome to schedule a studio visit if they are interested in studying my work up close.
Preeti Indian Bride Portrait Commissioned Piece - Size 5 ft x 7 ft adorned with Embellishments.
What's The Process If Anyone Would Like To Commission You For A Piece?
I would absolutely love that! They can e-mail me at Info@MalindaPrudhomme.com letting me know what size they had in mind and attaching an image they’d like me to use. If they could also express how many gems they’d like included and where, that will speed up the process of getting a price quote. I look forward to hearing from you! I hope you enjoy my work. :)
Time lapse video of commissioned Indian Bride Portrait known as Preeti
You Can Follow Malinda Through These Channels:
Website: www.MalindaPrudhomme.com
Facebook: @MalindaPrudhomme Instagram: @MalindaPrudhomme Twitter: @MalindaArt
To view more of her Indian Bride Portraits and other work be sure to jump onto her website. I have featured but a small portion of her portfolio of amazing artwork with a focus on Indian Brides. Malinda's work celebrates the beauty of all women so you will be sure to find a vast selection of portraiture in her online gallery. I hope you have enjoyed her work as much as I do. Be sure to leave your comments below. (Only available via desktop view)
Note that all images and videos featured are courtesy of Malinda Prud'homme and are original copyrighted content and cannot be used without her express consent.