A Gentle January

Heart Sutra, Acrylic on Canvas Board, 2015

It is then with a quiet simplicity that my first post for 2015 shares just one piece; the newly completed Heart Sutra; Go Beyond. This painting is a development from a Peaceful Places photograph of the entrance arch at the 'Big Bell' Buddhist temple in Tamana, Japan, in the summer of 2013. The text on the arch refers (I am reliably told) to the Heart Sutra, one of the most important Buddhist mantras. It is translated by the 14th Dali Lama as “go, go, go beyond, go thoroughly beyond, and establish yourself in enlightenment.”
The painting also includes visual references to designs that feature frequently in surface pattern on Persian textile and ceramic pieces, themselves inspired by Chinese representations of lotus blossoms.

The winter months are, for just about every species of life on planet Earth except humans, months of rest, recovery and rejuvenation; an important opportunity to build strength and resources in order to make the most of the more naturally bountiful seasons. I have been trying to learn from this observation and have attempted to keep my usual expectation to be continuously and both-feet-first into multiple projects in check. This is certainly in keeping with the essence of the Serenity Series, which has become, from apparently nowhere, the main thread of my recent creative practice.

Entrance Arch, Big Bell Temple, Tamana, July 2013