Through my relationship with author JM White and the William Gay Archive, I was asked to do the book covers and design for his latest project on the life of Radical Dzogchen Buddhism teacher and scholar Keith Dowman. Author of many books on Buddhism himself, Mr. Dowman has lived a unique life.
From Amazon: Keith Dowman's life has been totally unconventional, and his role as an unorthodox master of Tibetan dharma has been recognized by traditional lamas and their adepts. He began as a pilgrim, became a translator, then a peripatetic teacher and finally a lineage holder. The Tibetans acknowledge Keith's role in the lineage of Drukpa Kunley in which the teacher appears as a traveler on the road, independent from institutions or ceremonial conventions. These are not the tulkus or the geshes; these are the wisdom holders, the divine madmen, the itinerant yogis, perpetually traveling, teaching, and writing.
Keith's teachings draw on his many translations and his extensive reading of Tibetan Dzogchen philosophy. He is strikingly unadorned and one hundred percent himself. He is sharp, deep, humble, transparent and unwaveringly confident in his view of Radical Dzogchen. He has no institutional links, so there cannot be any institutional lineage or formal certification. There will be no transfer of a "title" in a formal ceremony. As Keith has stated, "It will be a matter of simply pulling the torch out of the sky".
Watercolor was used for the landscape and sky, as well as the Tibetan styled clouds. The blue skinned being, Samantabhadra, was painted using acrylic. The circular torch design was sculpted and made into resin, then gilded in gold leaf. All the elements were photographed by William Lemke and separated digitally, which allowed me to collage them together in a precise way with any typography.
Thank you to JM White and Anomolaic Press for the opportunity.
