the paintings of Norachai Thavisin
REFLECTIONS FROM AN ORCHARD STUDIO
Being a converted farm shed made of galvanised iron, my studio in an orchard in the hills near Perth, Western Australia, often becomes too hot in the summer to work in. Flies and rats seem to prefer to be there too.
But now autumn is mellow and cool. The peach trees that I can see from my window are gently dropping yellow leaves. Soon the brook at the bottom of the hill will start to flow again, nicely baked dry now by the long Australian summer. In the studio there are canvases everywhere, many of which have been there for some time. As I sit among them, getting high on fragrant oil paint medium as much as on lofty thoughts, I can talk to you a little about my art.
Red, oil on canvas, 100 x 150 cms, 1996
I have come to realise that I am trying to paint stillness. To hold and to share that moment seems worthwhile because the minimal images would hopefully allow the mind and the feeling of the viewer to wander further, as they do for me. Perhaps it's like my rudimentary understanding of the Zen moment, one which sparks further realisation about, well, life, death, the universe and everything. All of that in a hot tin shed.
In my travels and looking at art, I recognise that special moment and space in many places in the world: in Morandi's vases, Rothko's stained canvases, O'Keefe's flowers, little corners of Renaissance and Chinese paintings and Dutch stilllifes. Looking hard for evidence of my Thai background in all of this, I find placid Buddhist detachment and acceptance sitting comfortably, if illusively, in the work.
Why do I want to try to do the same difficult thing of painting this moment? Maybe for the pleasure (and pain) that the effort gives. Certainly because of my Subud belief that one should try to do what one may be able to do well, or at least discover that maybe one can't do it after all. When one is painting and seeing well, it feels the same as being in a good latihan. So it's probably good for me anyway!
I am contributing five paintings, together with some words to explain my efforts, to this lovely gallery-in-the-sky of SICA's. Please also call in at my Web site, at orchardstudio.com , where I am posting a new image of my work, matched with a wise quotation, once every few days.
Norachai
