The Lost Buddhas

The Scarab / acrylic on board / 9" x 12"
© 2010 (NFS - private collection)

Just in time for my show, a new painting that most of the world hasn't seen yet. (Unfortunately, most of the people reading this blog probably have. I keep hoping that my audience is bigger than I think it is. What better way to prove me wrong than leave a comment.) I painted this scarab for a friend of mine, who has temporarily loaned it back to me so I can hang it in my show at The Lola Bean, whose First Friday festivities are tomorrow evening.

The Green Buddha (set me free) / acrylic on canvas / 10" x 12"
© 2006 (NFS - private collection)

I recently acquired good scanned images of both paintings above. The Green Buddha is an old one - and Buddha #2. (Buddha #1 is on the other side of the country.) When I started painting them, I gave them to my friends as gifts. This one was the only one that was "mine" during that time period. It sat on my "altar", my token special-thing shelf, for years... along with an odd mixture of figurines, incense, dried plant material, and a pink Japanese parasol - not to mention a fair amount of shiny rocks and a giant hunk of deer antler.) Then it framed our bed on one side, the other side mirroring it with the buddha painting that belongs to my husband. The other ones, the lost buddhas - are scattered across the country and I don't have good pictures of any of them, really. Some of them are fine enough for posting on the internet, but for any printing purposes are kind of poor quality. Despite the small loss of being able to show and share with the rest of the world, I am kind of okay with that setup. They are each fairly small, very personal paintings that I gave with intent to the friends that received them. Not everyone I was good friends with got one (and yea, I still feel bad about that for a few) and some people got buddhas that I've either drifted away from since or are in flux situations and I haven't heard from them in awhile. I may never see them in person again. I may never have a picture of them to show anyone. The Lost Buddhas - they're intriguing... nothing but a flash of colors and a fading memory. And then when someone (if someone) finds them, they'll be treasures.



“Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”

-- Angela Monet