CAMBODIA REFELECTIONS
2025 works

A series of works made in 2025 from memories of the
kingdom’s river deltas created during its mighty monsoons.
This series has two single paintings plus a tryptic.

Mangroves
with 1560 lotus impressions

In early 2020 I had a solo exhibition at The Sofitel Phnom Penh, entitled Les Impressions Khmères / Khmer Impressions. These Sacred Lotus Ink Paintings contained 31 works, totalling of 132,383 impressions.

Some five years later I’m still revising paintings at the hotel. This work, part of my 2025 Cambodia Reflections series, incorporates all of my techniques learned over the past decade.

Mangroves holds a special part in my heart, as I was inspired looking out from my hotel balcony, watching the Monsoon clouds form and then drift away. I felt the afternoon downpour of torrential rains. This work, shows the rivers and gullies formed by such rains.

When I start an artwork, I start with a row, and I am compelled to continue until the page is filled with impressions. While staying each I reflect about the Cambodian people offering lotus flowers at temples. I would go to temples, collect the flowers after they were discarded, then distil the ink that I use in my art. As I paint I consider each person offering gratitude, people spending previous money to buy a flower or two to show their gratitude to the world of spirit. I feel blessed and privileged to paint with this ink filled with the love and gratitude. While painting I strive to imbue the artwork with this vibration of gratitude and humility. ‘Thank you for letting me do this’ I think. ‘Thank you for the blessings and the beauty of the world.’

Monsoon Delta
with 1,390 lotus impressions

I started painting these lotus artworks in late July 2025 during a visit to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat. I secured suitable thick-stemmed lotus stalks from flower sellers outside the royal residence, serving for my brushes. I commenced the piece at a hotel cafe, viewed by people on a guided tour I was hosting. My goal during that trip was to reach the mark of 700,000 lotus impressions for my accumulative count.

I planned to make five large works on this trip, but I first wanted to start with a smaller work, just to get the feel of the lotus stalk between my fingers. I reflected on the monsoons and the massive ominous black clouds that were growing in volume, before the refreshing deluge. I wanted to get this feeling onto paper.

I used In, distilled in 2018 from lotus petals collected while still living in Battambang. I inked a stalk and pressed it onto paper. My first Louts impression of the year, with an aim of 13,455 more lotus impressions on this art tour. I imagined the deluge and the waters flowing through the rivers and escaping at the deltas into the sea.

Three Squared
with 1,194 lotus impressions

I’ve been asked to make a few smaller works for Stairwell Gallery in Phnom Penh. As they have one of my original larger art works for re-sale. (Yes, Im on the secondary market!) I envisioned a tryptic called Three Squared’. It consists of a tryptic depicting rivers and waterways created by the deluge of Cambodian Monsoon season.

I had art paper and my Sacred Ink, so all I needed was lotus stalks to create this work. Off to the banks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers I went to seek from the Royal Place flower sellers. There I chose suitable stalks, and back to the ink and paper I went.

With this artwork I envisioned a river, with gullies and crevaces, some impressions dark and others tapped lightly to create highlights. The rivers were depicted with water flowing from mighty monsoons. From the clouds I viewed the skies all around Phnom Penh. My vision for this piece was achieved. More artworks of rivers and deltas had been created. Interestingly, in a second viewing with an art collector, we both saw it from not above like a birds eye view, not as a landscape with mountains with massive black clouds filling the skies.

I do love how people discern a completely different aspect, or image, in my art. Numerous times I am told by someone who sees something that I have not seen in the art before. How my art speaks in different ways to different people always gives me great joy.

Do you see different things in my art?
What do you see in my art?