24-hour fundraising drawing at the LBC

Aaron Matheson, an artist from the London Buddhist Centre mandala, has recently completed a 24-hour-long fundraising marathon - drawing the view from the balcony of the centre looking out onto the road. He says -

"We raised over £700, which is incredible. Thanks to those who sponsored me. The drawing itself was a lot more fun than I expected it to be! It felt all absorbing, a huge task. And I loved the sense of completing one cycle of the earth- (that natural rhythm which defines our lives), which I didn't think about before. It felt exhilarating much of the time. Who says you've got to suffer to raise money?

Lots of people came to see me, and some posed. Drawing them under pressure of time lent an urgency to it. I got interested in the perceptual space - shown by the way the railings seem to bend away from you in peripheral vision. Our vision as a whole isn't a flat screen but more like a sphere. Also, the way that things that are distant seem compressed when you draw them.

I also like the way everybody is looking out of the Buddhist Centre towards the rest of the world. Seems to echo the other-regarding nature of the LBC and our 'Breathing Space' project. I admire the altruism of the people here, so it came into the drawing naturally. The Dharmachakra, central in the first page of the drawing, is also in their gaze - the turning wheel of the path of wisdom and compassion. Contemplating all life through this vision, the people on the balcony are trying to find kinder and more positive ways of living. That's how I see it, I think.

Click here for a glimpse of the completed drawing on the LBC's weblog.