"Serenity Reigns" (oil on stretched canvas; 22" x 28")

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I have been working on "Serenity Reigns" for almost ten years.  Its complicated, Frank Lloyd Wrightesque architecture; the confusion between the inside and outside images; and some one's casual remark that the painting was neither here nor there got in the way.  I finally worked out the design and other problems and was able to finish it yesterday.  I cannot be happier.

The painting depicts a Chinese wooden sculpture from around 1100, a part of the fabulous Chinese art collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  The sculpture is not Buddha, but a bodhisattva, an enlightened being who has delayed entering paradise in order to help others attain enlightenment.  In China and Korea, Guanyin, his/her Chinese name, is widely worshipped as a “goddess of mercy and compassion". In popular folklore, reciting the bodhisattva’s name during disaster would bring relief. I grew up in a devout Buddhist family, so am quite familiar with Guanyin's importance and popularity in the Buddhist milieu.

Seated in the lotus position, this figure wears the silk garments and gold jewelry befitting a bodhisattva. The gesture of both hands turned up with thumbs touching the middle fingers is perhaps that of discourse or argumentation. Carved during the last creative epoch of Chinese Buddhist sculpture, it expresses the gentle, benign calm of near enlightenment. (The information was collected from the MIA's website.)

On a personal level, I achieved my own calm and near enlightenment as I was working on the painting in the past few days. Let go of anger, frustration, and other emotions that interfere with the inner peace.  Don't let others determine what you should paint as well!

"Lotus Pond" (oil on linen; 8" x 8") sold

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I love everything about the lotus plant--its sculptural form, flowers, seedpods, and Buddhist symbolism.  Of course, I have to wait for five more months to see lotus flowers in bloom in my favorite park.  I went over there last Friday, a couple of days after the Nor'easter.  The scene below is what I found.  It's pretty, isn't it?  But I didn't paint it, because I know everybody is sick of snow.  Instead, I painted my favorite flowers.  How about that!

Geese in the lotus pond at the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA

"Buddha in Lotus Pose" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

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This is a famous, thousand-year-old, terra cotta statue of Buddha, from the Chinese Sung Dynasty, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  The reference photo, which I cannot find to share, was taken several years ago during my family's annual visit to Minnesota.  My husband's elderly aunt and uncle took us to the great museum, with a fantastic collection of Asian art.  Dear Aunt Betty, who suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, passed away a couple of years ago, so the painting is dedicated to her.

Buddha's gentle expression restores calm whenever I look at the picture, so I decided to paint the statue.  I have actually painted it in acrylic several years ago, not just the statue, but also the entire section of the museum where it is installed, plus the scenery outside!  I failed very badly despite my numerous attempts to save it.  The large painting (18 x 24") was not good enough to be donated to the annual Patrons Show at the Art League in Alexandria, VA.  I couldn't possibly toss it into the trash either.  So it has been sitting in my office since.  Doing a small, reasonably good painting finally released me from suffering.

Buddha, the Enlightened One, has taught that there are two causes to manyfold sufferings of the mankind--desire and aversion.  When you want something (or someone) terribly, your desire will result in pain.  If you dislike, hate, abhor something (or someone) intensely, you will also suffer. By wanting to paint the statue well, I have suffered.  No more.

As you may have guessed, I am a Buddhist.  I grew up in a Buddhist family in Korea, but didn't think much of the religion.  In my thirties, I rediscovered my heritage and have been trying to live by the Enlightened One's teachings--mindfully and with loving kindness. It's not easy for someone who is impatient and passionate (you know passion can go both ways!).  But I will continue to do my best.

"Temple Stone Steps, Korea" (oil on canvas; 16" x 12") sold

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"Temple Stone Steps" is a commission painting of a Buddhist temple, which serves as the entry to the Seokguram Grotto, one of the National Treasures of South Korea.  It is part of the Bulguksa temple complex, located in Gyeongju in the Gyeongsangbuk province in the southeast of the country.  (Both Seokguram and the Bulguksa Temple are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.)   The huge Buddha statue and the grotto were completed in the 8th century, and is considered one of the best Buddhist sculptures in the world and one of the most popular cultural destinations in South Korea. 

Eleven years ago, my husband, my daughter, and I visited my ailing mother.  She hasn't met my toddler daughter before, so you can imagine her joy when she saw her granddaughter.  Since it was my husband's first visit to South Korea, we did some sightseeing in addition to several dinners with my extended family.  Despite our hectic schedule, we made a few tourist stops in Seoul, then headed south for the famed temple complex. 

Are you surprised to learn how old the grotto is?  Korea is an old country, with many well-preserved historic monuments and buildings, most of which are Buddhist.  I would have never painted "Temple Stone Steps."  Fortunately, an old Canadian friend of mine asked me if I could do a Korean landscape painting for her teenage grandson who was in love with all things Korean Buddhist.  How about that!  I was honored and thrilled to oblige. 

I found a couple of pictures, which, pasted together, served as the reference for the painting.  It was a winter morning with soft light when I took the pictures.  It has been a while, so I don't even remember climbing up the worn stone steps.  But I was mesmerized by them while painting.  You look up the steps.  There is the colorful, old temple with a sagging roof, which is framed by bare winter trees. 

Bitter sweet memories--of my bed-ridden mother, my daughter getting sick during the trip, short visits with my dear relatives, revisiting my favorite Buddhist temples, etc.--flooded back.  How I wish I could go back in time to see my mother once more.

"Tropical Water Lily" (oil on linen; 6" x 8") sold

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There is a beautiful conservatory at Como Park in St. Paul, Minnesota.  It is landscaped outside with a floating garden of water lilies.  A sign that reads "Tropical Water Lily" that stood among the flower stems gave the painting its title.  They look like lotuses to me. 

The lotus plant has a great symbolic meaning in Buddhism.  These sculptural flowers grow in a standing water, which is usually muddy, algoid, and not pretty looking--just as you can find peace and nirvana wherever you are.  I grew up in a Buddhist family in Korea.  On the birthday celebration of the Enlightened One (April 8th in the Lunar Calendar), thousands of Buddhists made a colorful procession holding lanterns shaped like lotuses, with candles glowing inside in the evening streets in downtown Seoul.  Ah, sweet memories of my dear mother, excited like a little girl, dressed up in a Korean traditional dress, getting ready for the annual procession ....

I am happy with the way the painting turned out--lyrical and watery.  It may be the best painting of water lilies I have ever done so far.  I am sure I will be painting many more.  Not because of Monet, but for my mother.  With love.