John David’s Art
Painting
One of John David’s passions is painting. He started painting at a young age, he painted when he was with Osho in India and continued during his time in Australia and in Germany. His paintings reflect the creative spirit at the core of all his work.
John David talks about his Painting
Q: John David, are you trying to say something with your paintings?
JD: When I was painting, there was certainly no trying to. Usually the paintings just simply happened out of either some kind of feeling or because there was much peace and emptiness inside me.
Something wanted to express itself. I would take a piece of handmade paper and acrylic colours but then I would have absolutely no idea nor intention about what was going to come. All the paintings are totally spontaneous, in-the-moment manifestations of colour on the paper.
These paintings create an environment. I hope that you start to feel something – like innocence, playfulness, childish, naive and hopefully you’re touched by a sense of joyfulness in the paintings. Through the colour, the energy, the brush strokes and so on, you can understand that when they were being painted there was a lot of joy and fun.
I am trying to say to people, you could absolutely paint these paintings too, although your paintings would be different. Why not create more fun in your life? Why not celebrate yourself by doing something like painting? In that sense, there is a statement but it certainly was not there when the paintings were being painted. But now there is an intention to create a dialogue between myself and anybody who would come to see it.
Q: Could you say there is a spiritual dimension in your paintings?
JD: The longer I spend on a spiritual journey, the more it seems the spiritual life, is actually life itself. There isn’t a separation any more between my daily life and spiritual life. I have chosen a life style which most people would call a spiritual way of living. This is simply my life. The paintings are coming out of that. In that sense you could say all these paintings have a spiritual dimension to them.
Q: Have your paintings changed since you have been on this spiritual path?
JD: In 1992 I underwent a profound spiritual transformation. Out of the emptiness and peacefulness that I have been experiencing since then, creativity wants to express itself. It emerged in these paintings. It might have expressed in dance or music but my skill is painting. Previously my paintings were being created more from the mind, whereas now I would say these paintings are very little from the mind.
