PAINTING THE MASTERS UPLIFTS MY SOUL

Why do you paint Babaji and Jesus and the Divine Mother so much?

I am often asked, “Why do you paint the spiritual Masters so much, and does it ever seem like a limited subject matter?” I recall the 20th Century Italian painter Giorgio Morandi who painted bottles and vases in small still life paintings for his whole painting career. Contrary to getting tired of that subject, or thinking it was a “limitation,” he entered into that realm as though it was a sacrament of intense stillness and wonder—of Joy and unlimited possibilities of Creation. I feel the same way about painting the Masters, and even more like it is a sacred act of intense aliveness and Joy.

Still Life by Giorgio Morandi

One of my first drawings of Babaji I did way back in 1987. There was a stillness and silence coming out of the photo I had of Babaji meditating. I liked it so well. What I found was His energy of silence transmitting itself through the small photo. It was like a “holy encounter” coming to me out of the photo. Even though I had never met Babaji in the “flesh,” I was receiving His energy in the very instant I was looking at his picture. When I got around to the drawing, that energy of stillness and silence stayed with me.

Babaji with Lotus and Lilies

This was one of my first attempts to draw and paint the Masters. Another larger work had Babaji in the background, with a wing, and in the foreground a hand holding a scepter.

Babaji with Wing

Some were more simple, like this one just simply called Shiva.

Shiva

I painted abstractly after these few portraits of the Masters. But I never forgot this connection to the face, to the holiness of the face, looking right through me. So when Sondra Ray asked me why I did not paint the Masters in 2008, I was kind of shocked what came out of me. I said, “No problem, I can do that.” This next one was my first attempt to paint Babaji again, in Houston, Texas. One of the students in the seminar, Barre Bernhardt,  purchased it outright.

Babaji in Houston

I have been painting the Masters ever since, and I never tire of that subject matter. Soon I was painting Jesus, as well as the Divine Mother. I painted this portrait of Jesus this year in Madrid, Spain. It is still available for sale, by the way.

Jesus of Madrid

One of my first paintings of Ammachi, the Divine Mother, was done in Valencia. This one is owned by Maria Jose Borras, who was our organizer at the time.

Divine Mother of Valencia

I receive a lot of spiritual benefits by painting the Masters. I call Babaji, Jesus and the Divine Mother our “Dream Team.” They bring me into the the stillness and silence within. They give me directions. They protect me from mistakes.  The reason I paint the Masters is because when I do, the gap between me and Them becomes less and less. Their Love and Being comes into my Love and Being. Painting the Masters uplifts my Soul. The more I paint them the more I become like them.

It is something like the old Chinese proverb: “In order to paint a fish, you must become the fish.”

MARKUS RAY

https:markusray-art.com

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JESUS OF PERTH, AU

CHRISTMAS EVE, 2017

Washington DC is the seat of our nation, and Sondra and I live here. Founded on the separation of “church and state,” the USA has traditionally bred a tolerant people when it comes to religious beliefs and practices. FREEDOM has been the call of the American Ideal, not the dogmas of an assumed “salvation” from the organized religions of various denominations and faiths. Even the FREEDOM to be an “atheist” is protected by this Ideal. FREEDOM has also been sought in the spiritual truths of the wise from time immemorial as well. We are egalitarian in our embrace of cross cultural wisdom and historical lessons and benefits, with a strong sense of education of our people.

However, we have not always lived up to the FREEDOM principle. In fact, many of the founding fathers of the USA were slave owners. It took a great Civil War to correct that error, followed by a great Civil Rights battle to actually apply the equality to the downtrodden. And we did not treat the Native Americas all that well either. So there are shadows in our past, and now the shadows of “terrorism” and economic domination, media hype and government surveillance get us to question how “free” we actually are.

DO GOVERNMENTS REALLY BESTOW TRUE FREEDOM? An atmosphere of free trade and opportunity is prevalent in the USA from shore to shore. Free information on the internet, etc. The successful entrepreneur is still the one at the top of this opportunity “food chain.” Creativity applied to meeting needs is rewarded. There are also those who still go for the gusto to grab all they can get. Greed is often a factor. And the “gold rush” energy is still an underlying principle that gives people a sense of striking it rich on the wave of hard work and good luck. All goes well for natural abilities applied to ingenuity that produces what people want to buy. Can one “buy” FREEDOM, though?

What about “IN GOD WE TRUST” that is printed on our money? Are these just empty words? Yes, there is a “gold rush” energy that exists in America, and too often justifies the side effects of greed that leave a trail of debris, both human and natural consequences behind. But even in the “separation of church and state,” there is an underlying TRUST that can only be met by FORCES beyond our knowing and control. We beseech the “GOOD” with this TRUST. The GOOD in us, and the GOOD in our fellow men. We somehow see FREEDOM in the love we have for each other, and the general “keeping of our brothers” from harm we would desire to escape ourselves.

On this Christmas Eve of 2017, I think about TRUSTING GOD. It is a necessary Thought. And of the human beings who most embraced this TRUST, we know them now to be the saints, the seers, the saviors and the lovers of humanity. This is why we remember this day. It is not just for giving a plethora of material gifts and presents that support the economies of the American retail machine, and make us happy to “get more neat stuff.” It is to remember one man, The CHRIST, who TRUSTED GOD and LOVED PEOPLE more than most, if not uniquely more than anyone else in his own RIGHT. I honor Him. I honor Him through painting Him in my own way. This one I painted in Perth, Australia just a few weeks ago. It is in the care of one of our students, Melissa Hughes in Perth, who is also aware of this basic human question, and declaration, “IN GOD WE TRUST.”

Jesus of Perth

(Available in Giclees of various sizes and prices;

inquire at markusray-art.com)