Sfumato: creating harmony to experience oneness

The illustrious Leonardo da Vinci crafted captivating works of art using meticulous detail and techniques. His impeccable impressions of harmony between humanity and nature created ethereal masterpieces. The famous Mona Lisa is the pinnacle of his genius in masterminding the art of light, tones, form, and illusion.

This piece exhibits a boundless posture of mystery and wonder. By using many thin layers, fine brushstrokes, and the effects of optics, there is a diffusion of shadow and light, a soft transition creating a fantasy of distinctions, phasing and blurring in and out of each other.

This technique is called sfumato, which may be translated as vanished or evaporated, akin to smoke. The edges become blurred and indivisible with each other, the boundaries vanish, and the observer sees a continuation of forms, light, shadows, and beauty.

This is the grand illusion created in Mona Lisa's eyes and mouth. As one gazes upon her face, her features become a three-dimensional image, almost floating, while penetrating the existence around her; she becomes magical.

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As DaVinci examines,

"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen."

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This sfumato effect was radical at the time, a true invention of a master and genius. The interdependence of all the fine lines and blending of tones softens the edges until they become obsolete; there are no definitions or dividers, only an intimate oneness of experience.

This blurring and fading is as tender as a candle burning its own wax; the wax becomes pliable and molds into the hardened surface while softening and changing. It becomes boundless.

When we paint our lives with rigid edges, our masterpiece can be jagged, one-dimensional, and defining. This is a place where our sharp lines divide and disconnect with the balance of our universal painting; each abstract element is detached from the other.

Just as there are many shades of gray, when we begin to transform our internal elements with many fine, soft lines and techniques, our inner and outer form generate and illuminate a beautiful sfumato effect.

The strong lines melt, and our angles become less abrupt. The edges begin to blend, and the continuum from one aspect to another flows effortlessly into each other. We become boundless.

This is characteristic of dependent origination, the concept of interconnectedness, where all entirety arises from other factors; there are no solid, unyielding lines. By observing our perceptions, thoughts, and actions, we enter inward, noticing our jagged edges and rough lines.

Subsequently, through consistent layering with mindfulness practices and awareness, our edges and lines begin to soften. Over time, the shadows and hues we develop create a beautiful vaporous existence where all merges in perfect unison. The fading in and out becomes a unified magnificent experience of wholeness and freedom, creating harmony.

Just as Leonardo, we are the master geniuses of our artwork, with the guidance and capacity to create the most exquisite art for the universal gallery of being. One fine brushstroke at a time. One smile at a time.

Cheers!

Kether

Spunky Mind

"Nature is the source

of all true knowledge.

She has her own logic, her own laws,

she has no effect without cause nor

invention without necessity"

Leonardo da Vinci