Amanda Giacomini first learned of the Ellora and Ajanta Caves, two temple cave complexes cut into cliffs in western India, from a coffee table book. She was smitten by their earthy colors and images of a serene Buddha—so much so that during a 2006 trip to India with her now-husband Nicholas, the couple made a pilgrimage to the sites. Ms. Giacomini said the structures took 800 years to complete and involved multiple generations of artists. “Seeing that in person, I realized the scale of that project—that it would not be finished in your lifetime, your children’s lifetime. And they just did it anyway,” she said. “They thought, this is a cool thing and let’s do it even though we’ll never know the full glory.” On the visit, a mural of 1,000 monks sitting together struct Ms. Giacomini in particular, and it was this image that she later expanded upon in a multi-year art project titled “Ten Thousand Buddhas.” Her latest paintings in the series—she’s now going on 12,000 Buddhas—are on display at Toby’s Gallery in Point Reyes Station until Dec. 31. Ms. Giacomini began the project with oil paints, but now also makes prints and uses spray cans with custom stencils when she’s making murals. She listens to lectures on the Buddha as she paints, but only recently learned about the significance of the number in Tibetan Buddhist culture. “I was recently painting a mural at the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, where I met a scholar from China who asked about the 10,000,” she said. “He said there were these places where they would [summon] 10,000 Buddhas, from 10 directions, calling in all this good energy to make a power spot. Oh, that just gave me chills!” When she’s not teaching at Point Reyes Yoga, the studio she co-founded with her husband in 2001, Ms. Giacomini has been bringing her art to places such as Panama, Germany and Los Angeles. And though she didn’t have a mission statement when she embarked on the journey, as the project expands she said its meaning is clearer. “I think art is tapping into your own subconscious, beyond understanding,” she said. “In yoga, there’s a core philosophy that success comes only through dedicated practice over time. No shortcuts. I understood that intuitively. It’s not about getting to a number or finishing, but a constant practice over a long period of time.” A reception for “10,000 Buddhas: New Work by Amanda Giacomini” takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17.