Offering Goddesses

 When feeling whimsical I have been creating characters to represent the offering goddesses of the Buddhist tradition.

Gandha offers perfume to Buddha Amoghasiddhi

Dhupa offers incense to Buddha Ratnasambhava

Pushpa offers flowers to Buddha Akshobya

Aloka offers light to Buddha Amitabha

Chod Dancer

A watercolour study of a Chod Dancer. 

I enjoyed the granulation of the earth colours which added to the atmospheric effects

More Akashadhatesvari variations

 I was on a roll exploring variations on the theme of the Lady of Vajra Space, hands in the gesture of turning the wheel of the dharma, holding the stems of two lotuses bearing a Dharmachakra and a Vajrabell. Here is a selection of these images.

Vajrasattva Painting in Process

Reviewing the progress photos of the Vajrasattva I painted last year this image spoke to me. We see  the image emerging and taking form. From here I simplified and refined the background, adding drops of nectar.  I placed a saffron cloth around his loins and the 5 jewels of the Jinnas in his Bodhisattva crown.  I find significance and meaning in this version. It speaks to me of the mystery of emergence and transience,  Although lost as a physical object the image lives on.

 

Manjushri on blue lion

Here is a small commission from 2016. Acrylic on canvas. I've been reflecting on this figure this week and pulled this image out of the archive.

Manjushri

A couple of digital drawings of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom with his sword

Jizo/Kshitigarbha

This iPad drawing was created in about ten minutes in the museum on Mount Koya during my trip to Japan last spring.

And this one is a recent version a year later.

Ratnasambhava

A new image that I created last night on the iPad.  My intention is to offer a complete set of the 5 jinnas comprising the 5 Buddha mandala here: http://www.redbubble.com/people/visuddhi/collections/177738-buddhist-icons So far you will find Akshobya, Amoghasiddhi and now Ratnasambhava as well as other figures from the Buddhist tradition.

Medicine Buddha/Bhaisajyaguru

This is a digitally made image trying out the potential of layers in the Brushes app. The starting point was a photo of a line drawing done on paper followed by various digital manipulations using graphics apps.  I am enjoying experimenting with the technologies which are coming on line for the iPad.

Avalokitesvara Variations

Here are a set of variations using the traditional iconography for the four armed form of Avalokitesvara.  He holds the wish fulfilling jewel or cintamani, a mala or rosary and a lotus.   The first picture is a gouache commission painted in 1998 

(Go to  http://buddhist-pics.com/commissions.php to see more commissioned work).

The other images were created on my iPad using a photograph of the gouache as a starting point. The apps I used were Brushes and Waterlogue. I am really enjoying exploring the possibilities of this touchsreen technology.

LOCANA - Our Lady of the Water Element - Buddha of Mirror Like Wisdom

Here is an image, a piece I painted some years ago.
I am inspired to share it alongside today's reflections on the Water Element.