Drawing & Painting Buddhas and Mandalas in the Tibetan tradition
All about Guan Yin! 🌸 Register now for VENICE and the EXTRA Course in The Netherlands
All about Guan Yin! 🌸 Register now for VENICE and the EXTRA Course in The Netherlands
Dear Reader,
At home, on my altar with female Buddhas, I’ve had two statues of Guan Yin for many many years. A standing Guan Yin (here behind the daffodils) and a seated one, known for its ‘royal ease posture.’
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These two forms are among the ones most depicted out of the 33 manifestations of Guan Yin that are mentioned in the Lotus Sutra (chapter 25).
When Mahayana Buddhism spread from India to China in the 1st century CE, also its deities traveled along. Avalokiteshvara, the Indian Bodhisattva of Compassion (known as Chenrezig in Tibetan) was called Guan Yin in China, and the deity became incredibly popular through the centuries, as well as in Japan and Korea.
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Remarkable about this bodhisattva is that through the centuries Guan Yin slowly changed from a male bodhisattva -often depicted with a moustache and a goatee!- to a female deity. There are several reasons for that, one of them being the fact that she appeared in a female form in the many visions and appearances that (lay) people have witnessed.
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Of course you’ll learn all about this and more in the lectures I give during the drawing/painting courses on Guan Yin that I’ll be offering this Oct and Nov in The Netherlands (Oct 27-30) and in Venice, Italy (Nov 7-10), see below.
I absolutely adore her and her strong and loving energy, and I’m happy to share my knowledge of her with you and help you make a gorgeous Guan Yin, as my students did in the images above.
Namo Guan Shi Yin Pusa! Carmen
PS Note that the course in The Netherlands is an EXTRA one as the first one is already completely full. Also the courses in Venice are known to fill up fast.
Standing Guan Yin
Seated Guan Yin
Standing Guan Yin
NOTE: This retreat will be taught in Dutch, translation is provided on request (in your preferred language)
During this four-day course you will learn to draw (and perhaps color or later paint) this beautiful figure according to the tradition of thangka.
Guan Yin can be found in the various Buddhist traditions of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. She is a form of Avalokitesvara (Tib. Chenrezig) the male bodhisattva of compassion.
The story of how Guan Yin transformed from a male into a female form over the centuries is a very interesting one, and of course you will learn all about this.
For the drawing part you receive the grids of two different forms of Guan Yin -standing and sitting.
Nov 7-10, 2024​​ ​​ ​A four-day drawing course on Guan Yin, the special Bodhisattva of Compassion, in the heart of beautiful Venice.
Guan Yin can be found in the various Buddhist traditions of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. She is a form of Avalokitesvara (Tib. Chenrezig) the male bodhisattva of compassion, but changed to a female form over the centuries.
You will receive the grids of two different forms of Guan Yin -standing and sitting.
Tip: combine this course with vacation in Italy and the Art Biennale in Venice that runs through the end of Nov.
​2024 Thangka Painting Summer Retreat​ ​I recently gave the annual Thangka retreat week in buddhist center Maitreya Instituut in The Netherlands, where students learn to work with the traditional drawing and painting techniques, and also can learn to create a traditional thangka canvas and frame. ​Save the Date! Next year it will be from August 3-10, 2025. ​Want to see all pics + student artworks? Go to the photo album!
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​Eight Auspicious Symbols Summer School​ ​For the Vrije Academie in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, I offered a Summer School on the Eight Auspicious Symbols. Such a joyous week we had! Check out the pics here.
Want to learn how to draw these most famous set of Tibetan symbols yourself? The end of this year I will offer the online Eight Auspicious Symbols Course again, at the School for Tibetan Buddhist Art. Keep an eye on this newsletter as the dates will be announced in here soon.
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​Introduction to the Art of Thangka​ ​In Amsterdam I gave the ‘Introduction to the art of Thangka’ in july, a beautiful day at buddhist center Maitreya Instituut where people learn about the history and tradition of thangka painting and its place within the Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. In addition people learned to draw he face of the Buddha.
