I was thinking something about ram skull. I painted it before in 2018 and loved it. However this time I didn’t want to do the still life again. I was looking for something unusual but also peaceful. Although the skull was from a dead creature, it didn’t have to be gloomy or desperate. So I tried to put the ram skull in different environment such as beach, woods or mountains. Finally I found out a reference photo of waterfall. It was perfect for my needs. Now I had a giant ram skull standing as a waterfall deep in the woods. I still needed a human to be the size reference. This time, it had to be human figure. The ram skull represented animals already. First I tried climber. It didn’t work. Then I tried traveler, paddler, swimmer, explorer and hunter. They didn’t work either. As usual, I started to go through random human figure reference photos online. Suddenly, I saw the monk. I was so excited! That was it. The monk. As a “small” human, the monk quietly sits in front of the giant dead animal’s skull. He is doing his Zen practice. He is surrounded by water peacefully. Life on this earth comes and goes. At this moment, the monk is seeing through this giant creature’s glory in the past time. Although I tried my best to match the digital image the same as actual painting but the color may vary due to different monitor and monitor settings. Please be aware of this fact. Hope you enjoy this one. :D

Name Of Artist (So You Are Searchable!)

Yue Zeng

Exact Dimensions

16" by 20"

Year Created

2023

Materials

Stretched canvas