The Buddha statue made by young monks in Indonesia and Vietnam touched me when I first saw one at a retreat, and has been on my altar ever since.   He is now known popularly as “weeping Buddha,’ but I meditate with him all the time and I cannot call him that.  I see earthiness, a different form of touching the earth than Gautama Buddha.  I see humility.  I also see Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig Buddha, the Buddha of Compassion, who cried a thousand tears, the tears becoming the goddess Tara.  The last one is the closest to weeping Buddha, but weeping Buddha implies a forlornness or emotional state that doesn’t quite feel right.

My smaller statue is perfectly symmetrical, but the larger one, right, the one I painted during my time down with this stupid cold, is much more imperfect and unsymmetrical.

As I’ve said before, I like to play with the same shape repeatedly.  I have painted him in acrylics and mixed media over the years.  I return to him again and again.  He is a great shape!

Again I played with Neocolor II, attempting to conquer the elusive qualities and gain some control over the media!  The one above was completely loose with Neocolor and no pencil under-sketch.  I created a graduated background using the “earth” symbol, and washed it.  After, I drew Buddha crudely and started shading with water.  I enjoyed the freedom!

The ones below I began with a light pencil sketch, which you can see in person underneath the paintings below.  I also used the earth to support or confront or hold Buddha.

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