Escape

This one is painted on a scroll, ink on rice paper, just a few simple brush stokes, that's all.

Strata

This painting came soon after the "Homestead".  It's a 24x36 in oil.  What I like about it is the simplicity of it, yet the depth and the layers of visual engagement are there too.  So I called it finished.

Btw, this one is coated with epoxy so it's shiny and looked polished, so cool!

My latest Finger Painting

It's very satisfying and rewarding to know that it is possible to paint with one's little finger and very little art supplies.
I only used a few drops of China Ink and my little pinkie and its nail, not even water, to paint this monochromatic painting.
Sooooooooo much fun!
Fell in love with the fisherman in the front, pushing through the water to get his boat, myself!

Homstead

This 36x24 painting -my latest- in oil, I call "Homestead" because of everything it represents.
The clolors red reprents my love and dedication.
The red shapes, lower right shows the structure of my home.
The flower in the red rectangle on the upper right is a symbol of life and happiness.
The fruit/food and drinks in the shape on the upper left represents my breakfast, lunch and dinner tables, healthy food and drinks.
The structure down on the lower left says all about my raising an educated daughter as an independent individual and setting her out to sail in search of her own life. 
The deal in the middle with roots and leaves shows my own roots and knowledge, every thing I leaned and taught, that helped me raise a family the way I knew how to.

Geometricals

When people look at my paintings I often hear comments like " how original"  or "you have the most versatile style".  True, and the reason is I paint the way I feel and that varies depending on where my brains or my thought process take me.  Even if I approach two paintings in the same day, they may appear differently depending on how I feel at the time.

 

 

 

I guess this one started in orange because of October and the Fall colors but how the geometrical came about?  Beats me.  I just get started, get involved and something like hunger or thirst makes me stop painting and then I look at it and I go: "did I just do that"?

Windows

People often ask me "what inspires you to paint a certain painting"?
To answer that question, "anything".

 

 

 

So the other day I was strolling around in an art store like a kid looking for candies and I came across this newly designed canvas with an inbuilt shadow box.  That became my inspiration right there and then to paint these two paintings:  Window I and Window II.  Both painted in oils borrowing plum and bamboo seasons.

Confusion!

This painting in acrylic was done on textured gessoed canvas, designed and built over, using  Bas Relief technique.  The Angel Fish came about, scanning the maze-like world around it with that patch on its tail, trying to fool the predators to mistake that fin for the eyes, protecting its visual and decision making organs.  Aren't they clever?

Story of My Life

Bought a couple of 24x36 black gessoed canvases the other day that looked exciting.  Did not have any immediate plan what to paint on them so I decided to go by my usual way of approaching a new canvas and squeezed out some paint on my palette to go with the black canvas.  The result:

These two paintings came about.  so I called one "The story of My Life", of course and the other one, "Synchronized Twirls".

Tree of Life

This painting followed the Circle of Life, as a sequel but it could be a prequel to it if there is such a word!

I see it to be hung on the left hand side of the Circle of Life.

Circle of Life

In painting contemporary or abstract, I usually choose my palette and start letting my creativity select it's own path.  Most of the time when I finish the painting and look back it gives me a positive feeling and I'm happy with it.  If there's a sign of turmoil or disturbance some where, it usually lends itself to some kind of growth or a cheerful light or some thing positive.

 

In this painting my intention was to create a cyclone type of movement.  A light hole came about instead of a black hole and the dome underneath gave birth to the growth of that "Tree of Life".

Demo at Zen Gallery

I thought about what media to take to the gallery for the demo, what kind of crowd I'd be getting and what subject matter to paint, before the date.  Finally decided on either brush painting or finger painting depending on how it goes.  While I was setting up I felt like finger painting from my memory.   The painting below is the result.
All I used was my little pinkie for the mountains, land and water; and my little finger nail to paint the boats, some foliage, the birds and the figure on the cliff and finally the steps from the mountain below to the cliff.  As if I have lived there and that's me who climbed all the up and now enjoying the scenery from up there.

Mirage

Zen Gallery's theme for the month of June is "Heroes".  I really have a lot of heroes and none in particular except for my father.  He was an amazing father, unique person, divine being whose wisdom and kindness I was blessed to receive as long as he was alive.
So I painted "Mirage", above, in acrylics in his honor.
Guess who's that little girl in her yellows and oranges!

I'm going to include in the show "Meditating on a Cliff", finger painting in China ink, because I see those Gurus as heroes too: they contribute immensely to our calm and peace and they often are not really aware of how influenced many others are by their existence.  Salute!

Also I'll be showing the figures above inspired by my daughter, I'm truly proud of her.

An opinion

I'm not a political activist or a radical or even interested in politics that much but sometimes it comes to a point that an idea gets enforced on people to the limit of oppression, then I start feeling people's hurt and frustration and then against my will (otherwise I try to show the positive side of things), I paint something like this one above (Chained Down).  A tribute to those who have to wear layers of dark clothing from top to toe in the 40oC heat against their will.  If it's truly their educated choice, then I don't feel that bad.

Four Seasons in Oils

More on borrowing ideas and applying them onto other media:
Plums, Orchids, Chrysanthemums and Bamboos are symbolic for Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, respectively, according to Chinese or Japanese brush painting philosophy.
In the process of my translation of Eastern art into Western media, here's my version of 4 Seasons.

Translating Sumi-e/Chinese brush painting onto another medium

As a multi-media painter, I enjoy the privilege of being able to switch to different media and sometimes even borrow one and apply it to another. 

Sumi-e or Chinese brush painting techniques now come so naturally to me that they surface onto my canvas as I'm painting with acrylics, oils, gouache, etc.

From top to bottom: Lotus in oil, Sunflowers in watercolor on watercolor paper, Lotus in gouache on yupo, and Bamboos in acrylics on canvas.  Also see blogs:  "I love bamboos", "Spring is here" and "The Four Seasons".

I Love Bamboos

Chinese brush painting, known in Japan as Sumi-e, was the first art form I learned.  I always appreciated the elegance and simplicity of this art.  The motto "Less is More" appeals to me tremendously.  It has helped me to paint fast and achieve a great deal of detail work, quickly and effortlessly by using different techniques I learned.  And of course, the design and composition is never boring, even as "Subject Matter" referring to painting something as portrait, centering it in the middle of the surface, whatever it may be.

I learned this art under a wonderful teacher, Master Lim Opas, in Thailand.  I remember the first day I was at his studio, he asked me to paint a bamboo leaf.  He loaded his brush with ink and handed it to me, pointing at a piece of rice paper laying on the table.  I must have looked puzzled thinking how on earth am I supposed to paint that leaf, holding the brush the way he held it in his hand, awkward indeed.  But I took it anyways and painted a bamboo leaf for him.  He then asked me how long had I been painting?

He knew it was my first day and I knew then that I was invited to take lessons from him.

Master Lim once told me that I have a bamboo personality, tough but flexible!  How he figured it out, I have no idea but he was right.  Love you Master Lim, miss you a lot!

These bamboos are painted in ink on rice paper watercolor on watercolor paper, acrylics and oil on canvas.

Today's paintings

My art class got canceled today so I got up really early in the morning and started to paint these two paintings.  They seem to be good conversational pieces.  Vibrant colors, lots of energy to compensate for the linear composition, still enough resting areas for those keen eyes.


PS:  I am flattered to see how some local artists (Houston) became inspired by my artwork (the diptych above in particular) to create theirs.  As a teacher at heart and by education and upbringing, I'm willing to share and am proud to be a good influence on others.

Playful contemporaries

Depending on how I feel that morning, my paintings show their own personalities.

The painting above is called "Back of My Mind".

The painting above is called "Calico Falls"

The painting above is called "Morning after Ike".

Ornate paintings

Some subject matters are so interestingly adorable that I tend to overdecorate them.  I call those my "candy store paintings."

Still life

Gather a few props, find yourself a light source, shine it on your props and you're ready to go.  Even the process of setting up can be fun.  The trick is the more time and thought spent on the set up, the easier is the process of painting.
Still life paintings are so popular that they disappear from your possession before you get a chance to name them or photograph them.

Snowscapes

Although I now prefer living in places with a warmer climate, I still appreciate the purity of snow.  There is a certain neatness about it, isn't there?

I call the painting above "warm inside", hoping that the viewer will feel the warmth by just looking at the red cabin on the left, even though the painting relays that wintery cold feeling.

The painting on top was painted to prove that the color blue does not always recede.  There's a saying among landscape painters, "blue in the background gives depth" or "when in doubt, use purple to achieve depth."  In this painting I have my water (blue) in the foreground as well as some purple and it works, doesn't it?  So the lesson is: "know your rules and learn how to break them."

Seascapes

Water when it's calm can be my best companion -- but I would never want to see the rough side of this friend of mine.