Indian Gods
a new series of paintings by Tony Anthony
About the Artist
THE ARTIST TONY ANTHONY is a lifelong student of ancient Indian Vedic Mythology. He was a close devotee of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for eight years and spent time with him in India where he developed a passion for the many styles and traditions of Indian art. His current series of paintings are heavily influenced by these experiences. Each image is painted on a wood panel prepared with gesso and surrounded by a painted border. Painted with the most vibrant and long-lasting Rembrandt oils, each painting measures approximately 36 X 48 inches and is mounted in an Italian gold frame.
Currently living in the high-desert climate of rural northern California, with it’s clear sky and bright sun, the painter has found the optimum conditions to meld his lifelong spiritual and artistic passions.
His spiritual lineage extends back in time through Maharishi and Maharishi’s beloved teacher Guru Dev, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, and extending even further back in time to Adi Shankara and to Lord Shiva.
His artistic lineage derives from his parents—his father, an art director, and his mother, a sculptress. Anthony was tutored from a young age and learned the nuances of drawing and painting most notably from G. Scott Wright. The artist studied at Syracuse University College of Art with Siegfried Snyder and others. He later continued his studies, painting with Richard Lytle, head of Yale University Art School, when Lytle, David Gray and others created their own venue called Silvermine College of Art.
Drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam in the infantry, Anthony gained recognition for his pen and ink drawings of soldiers in combat which appeared in the Stars & Stripes newspaper and were reprinted in the Army Digest and other venues around the world.
Following the army, the artist moved to New York where he rented studio space from legendary super-realist painter Phillip Pearlstein. Anthony entered the prestigious juried competition Art of Northeast USA judged by New York Times Art Critic Hilton Kramer, who picked his painting Motorcycle Racer as Best in Show. Kramer said of his work, “Tony Anthony’s painting is distinguished for its energy, audacity and uninhibited expressionism.”
Subsequently, the artist was represented in lower Manhattan by the Barbara Ingber Gallery in SOHO. Writing about an exhibit called “Self-Discovery” in SOHO Magazine, critic Bill Jorden said, “Anthony combines a view of outer reality with a deeply realized concern for the underlying layers of consciousness or awareness. This silence, this detached but totally involved witnessing of both outer and inner reality, is achieved through an expressive process firmly rooted within the artist’s self.”
The Artist then moved to Connecticut where he had numerous shows at Webb & Parsons Gallery in New Canaan and continued to show at the Silvermine Guild of Artists.
Tony Anthony’s works have been purchased in many private collections. He is represented in major corporate collections including Chase Bank and Texaco.
In recent years, Tony has turned to writing and has authored five books including the acclaimed, “Long Before the Next War” set in Vietnam, and most recently, “A Joy-Filled Amazement” a spiritual memoir about his eight years as a student and devotee of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
His current series of paintings is of Indian gods, including Lord Krishna (God of Love), Hanuman (The Monkey God, Bringer of Health and Immortality), and Ganesh (The Elephant God, Remover of Obstacles).
As the series evolves, demons—known in Sanskrit in the Vedic texts as “Rakshasas” have appeared alongside the gods. The artist believes the Rakshasas have arrived because nature always creates a balance. With the positive influence of Krishna and the other gods, the Rakshasas emerge, begging to be acknowledged. The paintings reveal that while Rakshasas remain in hiding in darkness and thus are frightful to humans, they are simply unhappy creatures seeking love. The artist calls them “The Unloved” and lets them be revealed in some of his paintings so they might feel the joy of acceptance and be respected as gods themselves, as they have long been recognized in ancient Vedic India.
It has been said that Tony Anthony’s artwork enhances any space in which placed with vibrancy and passion, yet with the tenderness and delicacy demanded when painting the gods.
Tony Anthony
Artist at Work