Watercolor Pencils created from December 2008 to March 2009.

Knowledge is power, it is true, but it depends on what you know , how you know it, what you do with it, and when you do it.

Symbolism and Ideas

Inspiration was Buddhist Sutra or teaching about Kriya Yoga, literally meaning work, working towards Yoga, which we can understand as a union, bridge, connection between our inner selves, which we all have to some extent, and the outer world, which is everything else, from your face to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

“The organs are the  horses, the mind is the rein, the intellect is the charioteer, the soul is the rider, and the body is the chariot.  The master of the household, the King, the Self of man, is sitting in this chariot.  If the horses are very strong and do not obey the rein, if the charioteer, the intellect, does not know how to control the horses, then the chariot will come to grief.  But if the organs, the horses are well controlled, and if the rein, the mind, is well held in the hands of the charioteer, the intellect, the chariot reaches the goal.  What is meant, therefore, by this mortification?  Holding the rein firmly while guiding the body and the organs; not letting them do anything they like, but keeping them both under proper control.” –The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

The purpose of the Stonehenge in the background is to characterize abstract ideas.   Humility, in the bottommost layer, fellowship, the mid layer, and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the top layer, written in stone, as it were, embodied and connected to the cosmos  by the mystery, reverence, and timelessness of Stonehenge.

The waves emanating from the hoof symbolize reflection, the passing of time, and the interdependence of everything.

The orange flame colors in the horses and spirits in the chariot alludes to a Buddhist belief originating in the Atman, or no self.  The proposal is that nothing exists in and of itself for its own end.

All are conventions created for our understanding ,  a sort of  painted reality.  There are infinite levels of organization of infinite levels of things and everyone understands and sees things differently, with their own conscious and subconscious conventions, and some things are understood by multiple people or animals or even plants, as conventions.  So, the question is, if we don’t exist what am I that I am still here?

Inspirations During Creation

Our “self”, a convention, for lack of a better word, is , according to Buddhism, is better understood in terms of a flame, being lit from one moment to the next, or a river, flowing forth, one moment to the next, this constellation or aggregate of things that we recognize as me and you.  I found this an exciting thought, though I know I do not grasp the entire concept, and it actually gets better, but the contemplation of it is more fun than going to the beach.

Technique

This is my first attempt at using watercolor pencils.  I want to do more and  I think it is a successful experience.  Of course just working with color will espouse wisdom and confidence, but the nature of watercolors give me awe and the pencil form give me courage, as I like to think with the lowly pencil…this is a big step forward for me.

The colors of the characters in the stones are the result of the mixing of contrasting colors the obtain a gray, using the primary colors of Deep Vermilion, my Red, Cobalt Blue, and a Lemon Yellow.

I started with a set of  Bruynzeel pencils and ended with Derwent pencils which, I have been told, are from the same company.

I’d first learned of beautiful grays from Monet’s paintings and became inspired by it and the belief that the colors would have harmony if I used the same ones throughout the picture.  So the whole picture is actually made from these three colors, used in different combination.

Trial Thumbnails

Well, I think I have gone as far with this picture as I can.  The sky progressed from a water filled brush moving over all the little characters spaced throughout the space. I am pleased. A layering of the blue,red,yellow, and blue again.

I’d like to try an illustration of another Buddhist idea called “Indira’s Jeweled Net”, which proposes a net stretching out to infinite in all directions  and at each juncture is a perfect mirrored sphere in which you can see every other sphere perfectly reflected on to infinity.  Hmmm, smells like a little bit of Escher, fractals, and Vallejo for  techniques of illustrations.