Zenful Assemblage Art

Buddha Window Assemblage

This piece of assemblage art, "Buddha Window Assemblage", was made entirely of found objects that were collected, rescued, and reused to give old so-called garbage new life via a different form; I love to upcycle vintage treasures! It is true magic at work when such totally unrelated items can fit together in a way that feels unforced yet new! What I most enjoy about this piece is the ambiguity; depending upon how it's viewed, both figuratively and physically, the piece can either be of spiritual enlightenment or sociopolitical confinement -- happy or sad, mostly dependent upon how the viewer approaches the Buddha (again both figuratively and literally).

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The parts that make up the piece are few. The frame was saved after having tested a company's product where a tile fell out and broke; The frame was new, so why throw it away? The next layer of the piece is an uncommon one... a window that was never meant to be looked out. The white metal frame is a salesman's sample from a window manufacturing company, complete with black screen material and ribbed rubber seal. These mini windows were far too cool to allow them to get trashed, so it's great to use one here as what certainly must represent the industrial hand of mankind framing a spiritual perspective. Then from an antique pottery sake cup that was, sadly, broken emerges the Lord Buddha. From behind him is a bit of rusted railroad steel rising like flames. The metal Buddha figure has been cleaved off of a well loved, but totally worn out, incense burner. The left, or heart, side of the figures chest is missing. The heart hasn't been cut out but removed from the scene, perhaps for safe keeping or perhaps it was stolen somehow. No matter the frame of mind or perspective taken this piece offers a window for contemplation with clean lines, warm tones, and varied texture which I feel is a successful representation of zenful assemblage art.

Buddha Window by Tree Pruitt, 6" x 6" x 2" 2012-13

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*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use.

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Whispering Buddha

 Yesterday, I sat before the easel with an empty little canvas panel to give brush strokes the freedom to create a design from within. It could have become anything it wanted, yet what my inner self chose to portray was a serene image of the Buddha; I like that just fine. The canvas size is just a wee 4" by 5".

Whispering Buddha, by Tree Pruitt

I began with a pale parchment colored acrylic paint in lazy crossed strokes with a half inch paintbrush. The design has no symmetry, with everything being slightly out of balance to add the feeling of motion when standing in front of the painting; This also expresses the spiritual concept of individual portions creating a balanced whole. I moved to using Titanium White paint, without wiping the brush, and picked up a tiny bit of Thalo Blue (blue shade) to allow natural mixing. Using smaller brushes, I added a tiny bit of Purple and acrylic gel medium for blending. Areas of acrylic paint that do not have gel medium added will drag and sort of pull on a brush loaded with straight acrylic paint. Adding a bit of the gel medium will make the paint slide over previous layers and more translucent, depending on the amount used. The slight shade of yellow to the Parchment color mixed well with Titanium White and the Thalo Blue to create a soft Blue-Green Turquoise for the deepest shadow areas. To play off of that Blue-Green, and add some more warmth, I used a touch of Cadmium Red for the bindi spot over the third eye, and softer still in the cheek bone shadows. Thick strokes of Titanium White add a further sense of motion and greater depth overall for a small painting that glow from all the way across the room.

It's been terribly difficult for me to capture the brightness of this painting in a photograph. This is one of those pieces that really does look better in person. Perhaps I'll try shooting again on a day with better light. I really enjoyed painting in these subtle tones though, so I will likely continue despite having a hard time showing them to you at best.

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*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

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