The Story of Amalakaa

I would define myself as a strong one. I like to take care of myself and exercise regularly. I usually ride my bike far into the mountains or along the beach where I live. I'm from Hua Hin Thailand and we're well known for our beautiful beaches and mountains.

"My studio is actually on a mountain, in the temple grounds. I chose this temple because I would come here to meditate everyday" - Amalakaa

and I really enjoyed the peaceful environment. Unlike Bangkok, you don't hear a lot of traffic and you don't have pollution in the air. I love it here and I think it brings out the best of my abilities in my artwork.

View my entire collection of Birthday Buddhas, Original Paintings by Amalakaa here!

I like to stay fit and full of energy! I think this type of lifestyle really shows through in  my Paintings. To me, my style is my style, it doesn't have to be "perfect" according to anyone's opinion.

"Twice a year I trek into the mountains of Northern Thailand and teach the children there. Even though I'm the teacher, I'm actually the one that learns the most." - Amalakaa

I draw a lot of inspiration from a child's development. Painting teaches a child patience and discipline, these are traits easily instilled at a young age. I aspire to be the one that passes on Thai culture to these young children, my direction can stay with them for a lifetime.

I created the Birthday Buddhas Collection to express ASEAN Culture to Western people. You can easily notice the descriptive colors and feel the vibes of ASEAN in these paintings. The subject matter is obviously Buddhism but with

"each individual painting I really go deep into Thai people's beliefs." - Amalakaa

For example, Thai people always pray to the Buddha of their Birthday, mine is the Buddha of Monday, but they really don't know why. I decided to make this the theme of my collection because it would give me an opportunity to study the different meanings and develop my own personal understanding.

I want my audiences to feel welcomed when they see this collection because they can understand where I'm coming from. When they see the Buddha of their Birthday I want them to appreciate the finer details of this one aspect of Thai Buddhism.