day 384 – four paintings that i bought in india

I haven’t “studied” art since I graduated from art school about five years ago. My education in that field has been through my own art practice, meeting people, seeing other people’s works at galleries, museums, books, and very often through various online sources.

Today I’m presenting four paintings that blew my mind when I went to India in 2009. They were so impressive that I bought and brought them back to Canada for my education. If you click on the images below, you can see high-resolution version of them with a lot of intricate details. My own artworks have been quite a bit more intricate and detail-oriented since I encountered these paintings. You’ll know what I mean if you enlarge those images, so click click, click on the images!

Sorry for the reflection/glare on the glass surfaces. I didn’t go the extra mile to set them up to reduce it when I photographed them at home.

The paintings above are a diptych.

Left:
Portrait of Mumtaz Mahal (Shah Jahan’s Wife) in the Palace with Taj Mahal as Background
Paint, cut ruby and emerald on carved composite board made of camel bone powder
305mm x 230mm (framed: 410mm x 480mm)
Circa 1990-2009 India

Right:
Portrait of Shah Jahan in the Palace with Taj Mahal as Background
Paint, cut ruby and emerald on carved composite board made of camel bone powder
305mm x 230mm (framed: 410mm x 480mm)
Circa 1990-2009 India

 

Left:
Portrait of Tibetan Deity Samvara (painted by a Buddhist monk)
Paint and gold leaf on prepared cloth
650mm x 482mm (framed: 753mm x 590mm)
Circa 1990 – 2009 Tibet

Right:
Portrait of Tibetan Buddhist Guru Padmasambhava (painted by a Buddhist monk)
Paint and gold leaf on prepared cloth
587mm x 481mm (framed: 707mm x 604mm)
Circa 1990 – 2009 Tibet

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