Painting With The Mind's Eye

"Breathless"  Ink, pen, wash   2013

Japanese dry landscape gardens (Karesansui), are excellent examples to use as visual demonstrations of the connection between garden principles and Zen spatial philosophies on Emptiness or the Void.

"Topographical View"  Ink, graphite, pen, wash   2013

In their book, Reading Zen Between the Rocks, authors Berthier/Parkes wrote: "The purpose of these dry landscape gardens is to copy faithfully the attractions of an authentic landscape, and to convey the real impression that a genuine landscape communicates."

"Stone Code 3"   Ink    2013

These gardens can also have an artistic facet, as Parkes recalls an ancient master’s description of the Zen garden as “Paintings painted without brushes, sutras (Buddhist teachings) written without characters.”

This is one of the aspects which inspires the current work I am making with the garden. Under it's influence, I  try to keep what artist Agnes Martin called  "a state of empty mind" so that space may meet Space and express itself simply and clearly, no frills attached.