Balinese Blessings
Balinese Blessings
There are no coincidences in Bali
- A Painting Dedicated to Jim Banks
Pen and Ink on Canvas - 63 inches x 47 inches
Bali is magic. Bali is sacred. Bali is the island of karma. And Bali
has awesome waves.
That's no secret.
Anyone who was blessed enough to spend a few seasons surfing and experiencing
Balinese culture in the early seventies knows that nothing happens by chance
in Bali.
In 1981 the inaugral OM-Bali Pro contest took place in perfect surf
at Uluwatu. The contest was won by the now legendary soul surfer Jim Banks.
He surfed deeper and better than anyone else in those awesome Uluwatu caverns.
There are no coincidences in Bali. Jim was also being blessed by the spirits
of this sacred realm.
In this painting I have shown Jim deep within the sacred wave of Uluwatu.
Within the wave and cliff face are images of spirits symbolising the animistic
reality of Balinese culture where all forms of nature are alive and saturated
with spirit entities. This is all contained within the sacred circle ,symbol
of the Spirit. In traditional Hindu-Buddhist Mandalas this circle has 3
outer layers symbolising purification ,consolidation and flowering of ones
spiritual nature.Within this outer circle I have shown the 4 major stages
of each of the 13 Moons we all experience as we complete one circuit of
the Sun on Earth. One quarter of the moons cycle for each of the 52 weeks
in the year.In the early days in Bali everyone was waiting to see what
swell the full Moon would bring. This was long before the modern internet
weather predictions. The 4 images of Balinese life surrounding this are
symbolic of each of the 4 elements which play such an important part in
Balinese spiritual reality.
Having lived and painted in Bali in the early years (the seasons of
74, 76 & 77) I became heavily influenced by the unique spiritual reality
of everyday life on this sacred island.
I believe Jim Banks symbolises the attitude we should all adopt when
visiting this jewel of Hindu-Buddhist culture. One of deep respect and
reverence for the spiritual nature of life here. Humble, open minded and
joyous at being given the opportunity to experience life in one of the
most magic spots on this planet.
Smile - this is Bali
This painting has been reproduced in archival quality Giclee prints.
This is a limited edition series and each print is individually hand signed
by both Jim Banks and the artist.
This painting is available
as a poster.
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