This is Garuda, does he look familiar? Peruse a few of my previous posts and he should. Although I wear a little gold Ganesh pendant around my neck, Garuda is my favorite of the Hindu-Buddhist gods. They are buddies, Garuda and Ganesh, some folk lore says they're kin. They are both removers of obstacles; Ganesh, the elephant-faced friendly one, does it with blessing and bliss, while Garuda with his bird beak and anger, blows in like a fiery tornado and wreaks havoc on his enemies. My hero. He also hates snakes and is usually seen with a dead one in his mouth.

And for some reason I don't understand, he always seems to have breasts. I have made several versions, like the one here which is titled Gaia, yes, a female name, painted for the first day of Spring and not really a Garuda girl at all. Well, maybe she is, don't tornados come with the turbulent end of Winter?