Abstraction into Landscape Part 2

More images made with granulating watercolours.

Abstract forms become elemental landscapes. 

Abstraction into Landscape

Playing with granulating watercolours to make abstract images which veer into landscape. 

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

From the archive - Blanchisseuse Bay

 I am back on track with the idea of occasionally posting old work from my archive.

Browsing an old sketchbook I came across this little watercolour study. I painted this whilst hanging out in Blanchisseuse Bay, Trinidad decades ago.

It  brings back memories of Caribbean adventures and a memory of a magical spot.

Green Princess

 Whimsy from my sketchbook playing with watercolours

Out of the dark

 Two sketches of wood spirits coming out of the woods.  Dryads?

Elemental Sprites

 My take on offering goddesses - more to come - 

two elemental sprites with offerings 

I used earth pigments - watercolour on paper

Chod Dancer

A watercolour study of a Chod Dancer. 

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

Night Peacock

 I painted a peacock on black paper using metallic watercolour.  It did not photograph well.  I tweaked the photograph as best I could using various filters, then copied it into the Brushes App and played with the image digitally, using various digital brushes and colours until I had an image I was satisfied with. 

Medicine Buddha - Bhaisajyaguru

 Here is a quick watercolour study of the Medicine Buddha on cotton rag paper

Dakini on Horseback

 Here is a recent watercolour painting of a dakini with a sword.

And here is another red dakini riding a golden horse from years back.

My plan is to do a monthly post with old work from the archive. Here is the first of these.

It is a piece I came across in an old sketchbook.  I was staying in a caravan in Cornwall, reflecting and making work. I found a snail shell tucked in a corner under a cupboard. Found spiral shells carry symbolic meaning for me and this one became a personal talisman for a time. 

I improvised with materials I had to hand - gouache, paint, PVA glue and white powder paint. There is a gold thread tracing a spiral from periphery to centre. If you look closely you might be able to make it out.