Travel Days Series - Nepal Sadhu Drawing
Today, we will take our Travel Days Series to Nepal. I wanted to limit my supplies and work only in black and white creating a portrait in less than 20 minutes.
One of the things I hear most often from creatives is that they don't have time for their art. I understand, we all get caught up in life and other obligations. I spent years not creating because my art always landed on the back burner. Then one day I realized if I didn't start, years would pass and I would never reach for a paintbrush. We don't always have to sit down for hours at a time and create a finalized painting. We can work on a painting or sketch for 10-20 minutes per day and this will make space in our life to prioritize our art, to prioritize that which we love. That painting may take you a month to finish but you are making the time for your art.
You see, I felt like without creating space for myself and my art my time would automatically get absorbed by something else in my life. Limit your time, limit your supplies, keep the subject matter simple but allow time for your art practice. Lets begin with this quick black and white sketch in charcoal and Stabilo of a Sadhu from Nepal.
Connect to Nepal
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Nepal the soaring Himalayan mountains and the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. This country which borders China, Tibet, and India is filled with incredible scenery and spiritual sites. Spirituality seems to echo through Nepal in all the photos and details. Even the way the Nepalese people say hello, “Namaste” means “I bow to the divine in you”. The prayer flags and the colorful textiles had a large influence on my color palette selection.
Nepal is so ethnically diverse with over 120 different languages spoken in its borders. The people of Nepal have a depth to them that you don’t see everywhere. I am relying solely on photographs, research, and stories since I have not visited the country yet but you can truly see something powerful in the eyes of the people.
Sadhus can be found in Nepal and India and are typically near Hindu temples. They have left behind all material and social positions. When they take the path to be a sadhu they relinquish their life so they have already “died”. They abandon convention for a spiritual life. The sadhus were inevitably an influence to me as an artist when researching Nepal. Their dreadlocked hair, colorful paint and ash, occasional adornment of flowers and beads, perfectly combined simplicity with vibrancy.
