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art “He has a shocked expression because of the blue flowers he is holding. My painting will have him holding white coloured flowers and so he will have a calmer expression. This is all according to the texts.” Text: A.B. Shrestha THE PERFECTIONIST A Japanese lady sits in his studio, engrossed totally in painting a Paubha depicting the Rimpoche, Padma Sambhava (The Lotus Born). From time to time she studies a similar but finished Pauwa hanging on the wall. The Rimpoche in this painting has startled eyes that express shock and outrage. I point out the eyes to Lasta, the Japanese lady, and she explains, “He has a shocked expression because of the blue flowers he is holding. My painting will have him holding white coloured flowers and so he will have a calmer expression. This is all according to the texts.” Lasta , who has been in Nepal for the last seven years is only one of the many students, local and foreign, who study the art of Pauwa painting under Lok Chitrakar at Simrik Atelier in Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur. As is evident from the above, Pauwa painting requires some knowledge about religious shastras (sutras), or texts. All Pauwa paintings are religious in nature but not necessarily based only on Buddhism according to the self taught master, Lok Chitrakar. 14 NOV-DEC 2005 SPACES
However, if one were to look around his studio, one would see mostly Buddhism inspired Pauwa paintings. Such as the 68x68 cm Garbadhatu Mandala, the 65x65 cm Vajrabhairaba Mandala and the 68x68cm Chakra Sambhava Mandala: all of which according to Lok Chitrakar were painted by students. A strikingly elegant Pauwa, the 39x34 cm Samantha Bhadra-Samantha Bhadri (Yam-Yum) hangs in one corner and was painted by the master himself as were the 33x47.5 cm Nilotpala, the 21x24cm Mahakala and the 27x87 cm White Tara. However, it is not uncommon, and indeed, the norm, for many artists to work on the same canvas- so intricate are the details, and so long is the time taken. In fact, Lok Chitrakar is currently at work on a massive 5 ft x 7 ft Amitabha which still remains unfinished three years down the line. “It might be another year before this is finished,” say Chitrakar. The painting, although large, does not have as many intricate details as is present in many of the smaller Pauwas, but Above: A strikingly elegant Pauwa, the 39x34 cm Samantha Bhadra-Samantha Bhadri (Yam-Yum). Below: Lok with a Japanese student, an art teacher himself. “Pauwa actually comes from two words, ‘Pau’ and ‘Wa’ derived from the Newari term Patra Bhattarak, which means, ‘depiction of god in flat form’”. this is explained easily enough by the artist, “ Since it is so big, I want the painting to draw people’s attention like a magnet and so I would like to make the details large enough for long distance viewing”. In addition, he confides, “Many of the finer detailing has yet to be done.” Because of the time consuming nature of Pauwa painting, it is understandable that Lok Chitrakar manages to finish but four or five Pauwas a year. And one of the reasons for the paucity of his own works in the gallery is simply because most of what he paints is sold as quickly as they are finished. In fact the artist reveals that on more than one occasion he has had to request buyers to lend him their collections for exhibiting. To a question about the time factor in the art, this is what Lok says, “There are no time limits whatsoever.” He points out a large (about 3.5ftx4ft ) HeVajra Manadala which still has a lot of work left to be done and a Vasundhara in which only the ink sketching has been finished. “At any time you will find me working on a number of pieces. As soon as I get tired of working on one piece and monotony sets in, I start work on another. When I get in the mood again, I go back to the previous unfinished piece. That is why I cannot say with certainty when a work will be finished.” Explaining his craft, Chitrakar says, “Pauwa actually comes from two words, ‘Pau’ and ‘Wa’ derived from the Newari term Patra Bhattarak, which means, ‘depiction of god in flat form’”. He adds, “Pauwa painting is an ancient art form and the oldest one ever found, a Ratna Sambhav, is lodged in Los Angeles County Museum in the United States. I believe it is either from late 12 th century or early 13 th century.” Lok Chitrakar is disappointed that this art form has not been given much importance within the country itself and rues, “ There are no grants and no research done on this traditional art form in Nepal.” Most of his customers are from abroad and his largest works, a set of 2 m by 1.5 m Garbadhatu and Vajradhatu Mandalas is housed in a temple in Saitama Perfecture in Japan. “It took me four years to finish “ he informs. But it seems the time taken was worth it as it fetched him a whopping Rs.25 lakhs. It is true that many of his Pauwa paintings have earned him a pretty penny SPACES NOV-DEC 2005 15
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