I managed to do a couple of paintings so far. An advantage of painting is that you see things in much more detail that when taking a photo. Also, it allows interaction with local people as they come to watch what you are doing.
Here is one of chorten outside the village of Samar, on the third day of our trek:
And here is one of prayer wheels at the entrance to Lo Mantang:
As I sat down to draw the one in Lo Mantang, about half a dozen kids, ages from about 4 to 10, gathered around, and sat with me to watch as I drew. Soon, the littlest ones were literally hanging off of me. When I finished, one of the older boys, who spoke some English, asked if he could try. I tore a piece of paper from the pad and gave it to him with the pencil. I asked what he wanted to draw and he pointed to me. So, I sat patiently for about half an hour, with kids hanging off of me, while he drew. I could tell he was pretty focused on it, and I gave him pointers when I could, like not to make the top of the head too small. In the end it was not a bad drawing for a kid his age.
While I was sitting there, something interesting happened. There was a stretch of time when there happened to be no other tourists around, and my presence didn't seem to matter, and something seemed to shift. More people came outside and were joking with each other. A boy monk went by trying to ride a horse, and then the horses owner put his toddler on the saddle and let it around just for fun. It was a very light, fun atmosphere, and it seemed to me to be a rare and privileged glimpse into this aspect of village life.
Here is one of chorten outside the village of Samar, on the third day of our trek:
And here is one of prayer wheels at the entrance to Lo Mantang:
As I sat down to draw the one in Lo Mantang, about half a dozen kids, ages from about 4 to 10, gathered around, and sat with me to watch as I drew. Soon, the littlest ones were literally hanging off of me. When I finished, one of the older boys, who spoke some English, asked if he could try. I tore a piece of paper from the pad and gave it to him with the pencil. I asked what he wanted to draw and he pointed to me. So, I sat patiently for about half an hour, with kids hanging off of me, while he drew. I could tell he was pretty focused on it, and I gave him pointers when I could, like not to make the top of the head too small. In the end it was not a bad drawing for a kid his age.
While I was sitting there, something interesting happened. There was a stretch of time when there happened to be no other tourists around, and my presence didn't seem to matter, and something seemed to shift. More people came outside and were joking with each other. A boy monk went by trying to ride a horse, and then the horses owner put his toddler on the saddle and let it around just for fun. It was a very light, fun atmosphere, and it seemed to me to be a rare and privileged glimpse into this aspect of village life.
It's great that you got to be a part of the scene instead of just looking at it.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great trip so far!
ciao
Mike.