The words of Rabindranath Tagore are finding their way into my paintings. So far, I’ve created three mixed media paintings with a Tagore quote highlighted within the piece. I find his words wise and wonderful… and there will definitely be more of these paintings to come. In fact, I am in the process of creating the next one.

Rabindranath Tagore was an Indian poet and writer, born in Calcutta in 1861. He has a huge body of work and I’ve only recently begun to explore the beauty of his writing.

Inspired by the words of Tagore, I have begun to play with canvas, text, and paint in a textural way. Here are the three completed paintings, along with their respective quotes.

Let Us Unite

“Let us unite, not in spite of our differences, but through them. For differences can never be wiped away and life would be so much the poorer without them. Let all human races keep their own personalities, and yet come together, not in a uniformity that is dead, but in a Unity that is living.”

One Door or Another

“If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door - or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.”

Let Me Not

“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it. Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield but to my own strength. Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved but hope for the patience to win my freedom. Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling your mercy in my success alone; but let me find the grasp of your hand in my failure.”