My Value Doesn't Need Validation Painting

Inspiration and Purpose Creating art is meditative. Experiencing art is meditative. My paintings are the intersection of my interests in living a yoga lifestyle and encouraging creativity. The technique of cold wax medium for oil painting transforms the painting with each layer; it is truly an exercise in the Zen practice of non-attachment. Mantras focus me and thus become energetically embedded into the paintings in the Mantra Series. The mantra is written, scratched, imprinted, scribbled, and collaged onto each layer, just as mantras are layered into the person using them. In the Mantra Series, color blocks are containers for the mind to explore; there are boundaries, yet the interplay between the colors magnify the positive and negative space, providing contrast for insight. Rich, bold colors amplify the mantra, while metallic and iridescent materials represent the treasures waiting to be uncovered during quiet contemplation. The Rock Garden series shares the same purpose of encouraging meditation. Rock gardens provide a tranquil setting for self-discovery. Paintings in the Rock Garden series contain paper rocks derived from imprints of lower layers of the painting and brought to the surface, a reference to the depths where rocks originate. In some instances, actual rocks and minerals such as sand and marble dust are added to the oil paint. The Pop Rocks series is my impression of the three main rocks and the lines in the sand of the Zen garden we constructed in our backyard after visiting temples in Kyoto, Japan. In the style of Pop Art, the vibrant colors of the scene are meant to depict the pursuit of a new and enlightened worldview. It is my hope that my paintings inspire introspection and are a reminder to breathe while focusing on living a balanced, positive and peaceful life. // About The Artist Amanda Marko works at the intersection of yoga and creativity. She is a yoga teacher whose workshops use the elements of yoga – breath, movement, meditation, mantras – to uncover creativity; an artist whose paintings facilitate contemplation and mediation; and an event designer whose wellness experiences encourage a yoga lifestyle. Amanda, her husband, and their color-coordinated Italian Greyhound rescues live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. www.smashyoga.com // www.amandamarko.art // @amandamarko.art // @iggysisters