Awakening(Commissioned)

The second and final installment of the Buddha series is a painting titled Awakening, which was made to order for an office space. The brief was to create an image of the Buddha in the highest state of consciousness, that is, Nirvana.

I had been specifically asked to use muted colors, hence I restricted my palette to earthy tones, comprising of warm hues like yellow, orange and brown, with just a hint of red.

Nirvana is a place of perfect peace and happiness and the realization of this state is the awakening. The path to attaining nirvana is meditation, which was practiced by the Buddha himself. Hence, in my painting as well, I have depicted him in a meditative pose.

The look of serenity on the Buddha’s face in this composition symbolizes the joy and contentment he experienced after he awakened to nirvana. I have attempted to highlight the two important aspects of Buddha’s Awakening here, namely, the “what” and the “how”. The former is what the Buddha awakened to, which is the fact that immortal happiness does exists. The latter refers to the means of achieving this eternal happiness, which is human effort.

While painting this piece, the biggest challenge for me was to portray not only the tranquil expression of the meditating Buddha, but also  a vision of the ultimate reality that he was able to see once he awakened to nirvana. I have tried to illustrate this vision in the form of the Buddha’s reflection in the flowing stream. This image of the Buddha himself in the water is symbolic of the eternal happiness that was within him. In order to realize it, all he needed was the right perspective.

In other words, you don’t need to see different things, but rather see things differently and the undying happiness that we are looking for in worldly delights can be found within ourselves.

I have also attempted to capture some of the other important aspects of nirvana in my painting. One of these is mindfulness, that is, an awareness of reality around us. The background of the painting, specifically the negative space and the flower buds around the Buddha, represent this reality.

Another factor is concentration, which is evident through the calmness in the face of the Buddha, thus displaying that one pointed state of awareness.

Yet another facet that I have tried to bring out is tranquility of both body as well as soul, by rendering an aura around the body of the Buddha and a warm glow in the center of the torso. The former denotes calmness of the bodily form and the latter, serenity of the mind and soul.

The Buddha’s look of contentment personifies equanimity, wherein the body, mind and soul are in equilibrium and accept reality as it is, without any craving or aversion.

I have once again used my favorite medium to create this composition. Yes! Oil paints!! But, to bring about a tactile feel to my work, I have also combined it with the technique of impasto, which I have discussed in detail in one of my earlier posts (Dragon-Resurrection, dated, July 6, 2019).

I have applied the impasto in the flower buds and their stems in order to give them a 3D effect.  Previously, I had used it in combination with acrylics but this time, I have taken the conventional approach with oil paints.

One thing that I realized is that the end result obtained with both mediums is entirely different. While acrylic impasto gives a matte effect, impasto with oil paints has a glossy sheen to it.

Now I am not saying that one is better than the other…that is a matter of personal choice. So try both and take your pick!