The monk paintings are my own form of meditation.

When I begin to illustrate, my mind empties every thought and the art is created as the pen flows.

Drawing monks have become my own bubble of nothingness- where the mind is empty and the stories emerge with intricate details and layers. The more the details in the illustration, the more the art has transformed into a meditative act.

Without realising, the monk has evolved into an analogy to the zen space that illustrating has provided me. In these paintings, the monk is always silently reflecting. I don’t draw a mouth because he is silent and looking inwards. He is constantly reflecting and learning more about himself.

The koi fish served as a metaphor for the water that allows him to reflect and attain harmony and calmness.

Zen meditation interestingly is also about doing the same thing over and over again. Over time, the outcome doesn’t matter but the act of completely being in the now. Drawing the monks serve the same purpose, doing the same thing over and over and being in the now Over the last 5 years, the monks too have got more detailed and the act of drawing them have become fluid.

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