The Art of Wu Wei Hai

Many of you know him as "Wu De." His full dharma name, however, is “Wu Wei Hai,” which literally means “Ocean of Emptiness” and is signed on all of his pieces as a reference to his dharma name and to the very special way in which he approaches painting and art. In Wu De’s words:

True art has always meant more than entertainment or decoration. Art is that special place in us where we meet the world around us without any intermediate, nothing to confuse or cloud our communication with Existence. Through an artist, the world is channeled and pulled back out onto itself, carrying some of the artist with it on its way. Like water running through a wet cloth, our experiences flow through us and come out dyed the reds, yellows and blues of our soul. Art is that journey. Years of meditation and focus have allowed me the ability to quiet this mind (at times). And it is only when my mind is balanced on that equanimity, like a poised crane effortlessly circling above an ocean of silence that I ever even pick up my brush. This is what the ancient sages called “wu wei,” or effortless effort. It is the ripples on the surface of an ocean that is ever so calm, endlessly so, just beneath its thin surface—a sea we all drift on. And that’s why I always sign my paintings Wu Wei Hai (Ocean of Nothingness). For that stillness is the real artist, not me. Remember that as you look at my art."

Wu De Portrait.jpg

Wu Wei Hai is not like other artists that paint a lot every day, all the time. Of course, there is nothing wrong with practicing. That is how artists learn their skills, and what helps them hone the ones they already have. This is just a different kind of art. You might call it channeled work. He only paints when his mind is very calm, and after a tea session. Wu De only paints when Tea Herself is doing the painting. Of course, all paintings carry the artist's emotions, and so many gorgeous and sacred paintings have expressed the entire gambit of human emotion from torment to bliss, but it is the aim of this artist to capture only one: tranquility through the Way of Tea. Every painting is therefore tea inspired. You might say that they have been dyed by great teas. In fact, they literally are dyed with tea, since Wu De grinds all his ink in tea liquor—each and every painting is therefore actually infused with tea. As much as it is filled with tea in spirit, it is in body as well. We have found that they add not only a beauty to our tearoom, but an extra bit of peace also. Wu De hopes these paintings will hang where people drink tea, inspiring you to put on another kettle and have another session. He has resisted well-intentioned suggestions of friends to raise prices on his work, keeping his paintings affordable so that any tea lover who wants one can afford to have one. Having a painting dyed in tea spirit can certainly help uplift a tearoom.