There are the traditional and popular portrayals of Buddhas, and then there are contemporary Indian artist Umakant Tawde’s mesmerizing paintings. He first focused on Buddhas as a way to process his personal challenges and counter the tumult of city life in Mumbai, entering a meditative zone while painting their calm and spiritual presence. This process manifests a soothing energy across his work. Since then, art by Umakant Tawde has expanded to include hyperrealistic scenes of Tibetan Buddhists. Inspired by his experience visiting and photographing Bylakuppe, a Tibetan settlement near Bangalore, he captures nuanced vignettes of monastic life punctuated by bold splashes of the monks’ red and orange robes. His original paintings often incorporate various symbols of one’s spiritual journey such as the prayer wheel, prayer flags, the ‘gyan’ mudra, the lotus, and of course, The Buddha. Umakant Tawde graduated with a BFA from the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Arts in Mumbai. He has had several solo shows in India, and he has exhibited abroad in Singapore and Dubai.