Ramakien Painting

Ramakien (Good over Evil) is an epic story here in Thailand and a big influence on Thai culture, the story is the basis for much of traditional dance, drama and theatre, while it’s colourful characters are an inspiration for many forms of art and sculpture. I don’t often paint Thai art, but I was talking to my daughter late one night while sitting in the garden and telling her stories about when I was a kid living in very rural Thailand and we got on to Thai folklore many stories originated in rural Thailand. I remember my Grandmother telling me stories and I remember the one about the Evil King Tasukan who removed his heart and hid it in a box so no-one could kill him as he had no heart, in this paintings he’s the one on the right of the paintings looking pretty gruesome and he comes to take the wife of the man in the middle with the green face and looking really scared, the wife is on the left with a white face. There is nothing the husband can do. It’s a long long story but the husband’s brother is a very powerful king and has an army of monkeys to protect him and he sends some of his strongest and wisest monkeys to find his brother’s wife kill King Tasukan and bring the wife back to her husband, but first they have to find the heart…………. So the following day after talking to my daughter in the garden I decided to start working on this painting. I’m really happy with the work and I enjoyed telling my daughter the story.