A bevvy of colourful "Barn Mandalas"

A prospective corporate client recently asked me to put together a portfolio of my "Barn Mandala" designs so I thought I would share the images here with you. 

It is a dark and glowering day in Maine and it brightens everything for me to be working 

on these images today.

"Abbey" mandala with 24 carat gold leaf accents

 "Stella" mandala...I started off doing circles but then I decided to get tricky and have James cut out more elaborate shapes for me to paint - why can't I ever keep things simple!!

 "Harlequin".....also featured on my website as a hand made rug design

 "Facets"...acrylic on panel

 "Fiesta" above and "Kaleidoscope" below...both of these are watercolour paintings on paper, about 10" diameter but they too can be painted up large for indoor or outdoor use...what fun it would be to paint them large with gold leaf accents!!

 I call them "Barn Mandalas" as their first application in my mind was to be used like Pennsylvania Dutch hexes....large circular paintings found in Pennsylvania Dutch country hung on the barn usually as good luck symbols and to ward off evil spirits and the like but the word 'hex' doesn't sound good to me, conjuring up thoughts of witches and Salem so I thought about the word mandala (Sanskrit for circle) which has a similar connotation in Buddhist culture - especially so as I meditate while I paint and they can be used to sit and stare at to calm the frenzied modern mind. There are two images here which have been hung outdoors for quite a few years with no ill effects...to the painting I mean...but also maybe the evil spirits have been warded off too!! YEA!!!

This mandala was custom designed and painted for "Cellardoor Winery" in Lincolnville Maine. The phrasing is the owners mantra and was incorporated into the design which now hangs over the door to the store. I created the original design as a large rectangular rug for the vineyard and then I reworked the design into the circular format you see here.