Naga Crest

During my trip to Cambodia I couldn't help noticing a great beast carved into stone around the monuments, called the Naga. There are many types of nagas, with various numbers of heads, but I chose to create one with 5 heads for this painting.

The naga is a great serpent who stands between this world and the next world, and often seen as a huge carved stone "railing" going around temples (with the temple being the heavenly realm of course). You can also see the naga rising above depictions of the seated Buddha, as they are his protector.

My naga here is not based on an actual historical naga design, but is my own interpretation based on various photos I took. To create the design I chose some areas around their heads and faces to lay an underlayer of gesso. After gilding I buffed the gold leaf with a piece of silk until it shone. The raised gesso areas became smoother than the flat areas, giving it a slight 3D effect.

• Naga Crest
• 10" x 12.5"
• 23kt gold leaf and gesso on handmade paper
• Unframed
• $250.00 USD

Copyright Cari Buziak, 2005.