Janet Chui

Janet Chui is well-known for her watercolour work and I have come across her Prayer Tree's which link in great with my project and they remind me a lot of my charcoal tree that I am going to tie memories to...this will be like an interpretation of Janet's work.

“To all sentient beings may I be a wish-fulfilling gem, a vase of good fortune, an efficacious mantra, a great medication, a wish-fulfilling tree…” —Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

Wishing trees and prayer trees are more common in Asia than they are in the west. Painting them is a calming exercise for me, a way of combining making art with a bit of Buddhist meditation. The trees I paint exist in a surreal world, where the prayers on the trees come from people who don’t visit prayer trees—because everyone has aspirations, prayers, and needs. For me these trees are a reminder that suffering and wishing are universal, and we can always use more kindness in the world.

 

I really like Janet's work, however I prefer work that has more texture to it because her labels are all painted into the picture, however I feel like it would work between with labels placed on top after the work is finished. I still love the watercolour work as it has been done very well and the different colours could relate to the different prayers.