I grew up in South Wales, within view of the Black Mountains. Once I had gained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Visual Communication in Birmingham I lived in London for more than two decades.
In 2007 I was Ordained into a Buddhist Order and given the name ‘Vidyadaka’ – vidya meaning a non-cognitive, aesthetic wisdom and daka completely free, spontaneous energy. I now live and work in Norfolk, on the edge of The Broads. Throughout my life I have painted as a way of communicating what cannot be said with words and deepening my understanding of the world.
I do not paint what I see. Looking at the night sky many decades ago I saw pin-pricks of glittering light against a near black expanse. What I was looking at, however, were unknowable worlds stretching across infinite distances, emitting incredible luminosity – an inconceivable plethora of life and light. None of this was seen with my eyes, but accessed with my mind.
This ‘imagining’ was not mere make-believe or fantasy, but a way into the life behind the visual surface of things. This experience is still with me and continues to inform my painting, and indeed my life. I paint from life, but not all life can be seen.
-Vidyadaka
Vidyadaka: Painter 