It is without doubt one of the most melancholic time periods in the history of Thailand. The royal cremation yesterday was a historic event of sorrow and grandeur, and as the mourning period will soon come to an end, Thais young and old will continue to hold onto the fond memories of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Countless books, magazines and artworks have been created in remembrance of the king's 70-year reign, and latest of all, leading Thai illustrator Terawat "O" Teankaprasith, in collaboration with illustrator Phithan Thechaniti, has put together a striking architectural sketchbook, The Majestic Splendour, to bring together the most important historical locations and events related to King Bhumibol.
"[The content] within this book is mostly buildings and atmospheres instead of portraits," explained Terawat. "It's like we're with His Majesty at an important moment -- like we're in that location and it's like we're following in His Majesty's footsteps since the start. He's been with us for so long and he's done many things for us and I feel that there's no other book that's like this."
From the place of his birth in Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, to where His Majesty was laid to rest at Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall, Terawat, who acts as the art director, asked Phithan to paint all the locations and events, constituting around 70 paintings.
"At first, Phithan and I were going to draw 50-50," said Terawat. "But it turns out that he is the better artist -- and it's more in his style. So I thought, 'OK, I'll let Phithan paint the whole book and I'll look at the overall picture, like what to draw, what colours should be used and how it will look in the layout'. "
Placing importance on all of the palaces, buildings, temples, and schools that relate to His Majesty, the paintings, created from pencil and watercolours, are stunningly precise.
Phithan, who graduated from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Fine Arts in addition to working with celebrated artist Chakrabhand Posayakrit, works in great detail. With his background and skill-set in drawing Thai patterns, which Terawat admittedly doesn't have, he was able to make certain elements -- like the temple roofs that aren't clear -- stand out beautifully.
However, working in detail on such historic places has a fair share of problems. Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, for example, looks nothing like it did in the 1920s.
And reference photographs and videos from the past are so grainy that at times the artists had to improvise certain details on their own.
Phithan Thechaniti puts finishing touches on his sketch of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 60th Anniversary of the Accession to the Throne.
"Sometimes I'd get confused with old photographs, as they're in black and white," explained Phithan. "So we had to find other reference photographs to add in more details. [Some portraits] are extremely blurry, but we're lucky that we're so familiar with His Majesty and Somdet Ya, so when I'm painting, it's easy because I already have a picture of His Majesty in my mind. The photograph of him standing in front of [one of the villas] is extremely old and extremely blurry. But because we're familiar with His Majesty, I knew how to draw his likeness.
"Personally, I'm very proud to be able to do this book," continued Phithan. "Growing up, I saw images of His Majesty's work. And for some locations, I feel [more deeply about them] and I understand [their significance] more."
"The truth about this project is that we would have to be in the locations to absorb the environment," added Terawat. "But it wasn't possible with the limited amount of time [we had]. In reality, the [only] person who has seen all of these structures in detail is His Majesty himself and we aren't able to replace even a fraction of his own perspective. We're just [painting] from photographs and did our best with what we had."
The Majestic Splendour features bilingual explanations of each site's history and significance, and will be on sale at SE-ED, B2S and Naiin Bookstores nationwide in mid-November for 999 baht.
For educational institutions or those who want to buy The Majestic Splendour in bulk for a special price, call 02-616-4648,50 or email circulation@postintermedia.com
Part of the profits will go towards one of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Royal Projects.
