Dharuma Punk

This is a painting that I did based off of both the Japanese tradition of making wishes on a doll called a Daruma, who is based off of a Buddhist Monk, and on a book called Dharma Punks by Noah Levine.

I really like Darumas. I find the concept very interesting.


Via wiki : they are hollow and round Japanese wish dolls with no arms or legs, modeled after Bodidharma, the founder and first patriarch of Zen. Typical colors are red (most common), yellow, green, and white. The doll has a face with a mustache and beard, but its eyes only contain the color white. Using black ink, one fills in a single circular eye while thinking of a wish. Should the wish later come true, the second eye is filled in. It is traditional to fill in the right eye first; the left eye is left blank until the wish is fulfilled.


This is the first in a series of paintings of Darumas. I gave this painting to my friend Jason Storey who is a tattoo artist in San Francisco, he's currently working at Light House Tattoo at 3402 Geary, San Francisco, CA. He is an old school punk who specializes in Japanese style Tattoos. If you ever want a Japanese demon tattoo he is the man to see about it.






















Admittedly, I misspelled Daruma and I also painted the wrong eye, though I like to think that that adds to the rebellious spirit of this punk Daruma.