The quest for a purple Lotus

This is the beginning sketch. I've found some brush painting tutorials, and I have my books.  But I thought rather than do this in Sumi ink first I would sketch our the  general idea first.  I mean I'm adding in fish as well as changing some of the composition, I should get the idea out in pencil so I can scratch and erase.

I really didn't do that much though, but it was low on the paper. I had the flower centered well so the bottom filled up with an empty sky line.  I will be completing this with a purple flower and creating a logo of sorts for Power up for PCOS.

There is always a meaning in the Chinese culture, so here is what I know: two fish are a symbol of harmony and married bliss in China. The lotus is a symbol of purity, summer and fertility, and when accompanied by a fish, love.
The purple lotus is a rather mystical symbol itself and has meanings in many cultures.  I have loved the freshness of Brush painting and am delighted to know that this sketch is being well received by those it is intended for.

Panda & Old Beggar - Week 3

Panda - this is the final version this week.  His body still is not what I'm looking for, so I will be painting him again.  I will post pictures of new paintings of the panda as they improve.  But he will be one I will work on matting and framing properly, this is a whole art form in and of itself.

Here are two other panda's one of which was painted on the wrong side of the paper.

This guy just needs help, but the look in his eyes is rather endearing in a pathetic way.  The ink was too light on him, and the body was shaped strange, but the ink flowed pretty nicely.

This is what happens when you paint on the wrong side of the rice paper.  There was a lot of bleeding in the paper. Another lesson to remember regarding water, keep paper towels by your side so you can dab off excess water.  The runny ink is not pretty. 

There are those who think that Chinese brush painting is easy, this is not true.  There is a reason that the masters spend life times working on capturing bamboo, and other subjects.  When painting in this medium it is very important to use good quality brushes.  The ink is permanent, paint in old clothes and have lots of sheets of paper to keep painting even when you do not get the image right the first time.  There is no correcting mistakes, no lifting the ink, no changing the lines once the ink is on the paper.  The simplicity is deceiving, there is a careful balance of ink and water, very deliberate strokes and then just knowing how move the brush with your arm instead of your wrist.  If you hesitate in the middle of a brush stroke, the ink shows it.  I love to paint like this when I get to wrapped up in the details on other pieces of work.  I can just paint, and start over again if it turns out awful.  These will not be posted on Fine Art America until I feel like they are better.

This weekend I finished another piece for a friend, The Old Beggar.

I'm not sure who took the photo, so I will not be posting this on Fine Art America either, but he is complete.

Drawing's still get me twisted in knots, trying to make it perfect.  He is not perfect, but he is complete.

So, the lessons for the week: use heavy duty drop cloths, paint in old clothes, use good quality brushes, and keep painting until you like it.  Simple beauty does not always mean it was simple to create.

Goals for the new year, and a viewing of pieces in private collections

I am not generally a writer when it comes to my art, I feel it is much more important for people to view the pieces and let them speak for themselves.  Today though it seems a good time to start with goals for the up coming year, not resolutions as those are too easily broken.
I have only begun to paint and create again, so I have not done to many new pieces and have not developed a clear direction up to this point.  This decision will not work any longer, I must have a clear objective.  From my readings on the expectations of galleries it seems that many artists produce at the very least 2 - 3 pieces of work a week.  My goal this year is to increase my productivity to 1 - 2 pieces a week.  This goal may be small in comparison, but it is larger than I have accomplished in previous years.
I have four pieces of art that are laying in my make shift studio, waiting to be finished.  I do plan to complete two of them this weekend, and of course I will capture them in photographs and post them here.
I have three different collections that I would like to build this year.  One of these would be my abstracts with nature objects and bright colors, I enjoy these pieces very much.  The second group will be my adventure series which will include an Ice Climber, Mountain biker, and White water rafter, etc.  The third group will be the desert flowers and cactus, these do not share any one medium but only the subject matter.  I'm open to other portfolio ideas if anyone chooses to leave a comment.  For now I will leave you with some pieces that are in private collections, have a great new year.

Breakfast 

 Carousel Horse

Wild Flowers

Emmet Kelly Jr

Dreams

Elk in Moon

 French Clown

Grey Girl

Sadness

Safe Harbor

Promenade

Plumeria

The Climber

  The Hiker

To see other pieces that are available please check out my account at Fine Art America 

There are others which have yet to be posted there, you can leave me a comment regarding them and I will gladly assist you in any way I can.

To view a slide show of other pieces I have created: IDrawandpaint

Pencil Sketches

Cactus with Butterflies

Graphite pencil 15" x 18"

Carmen

White colored pencil on black board 16" x 13 7/8"

Circus Elephant

Graphite pencil 7.5" x 10.25"

Lady at the Foot of the Cross

White colored pencil on black board 23" x 22"

White Roses

White colored pencil on black board 18.75" x 17"

These are a sampling of pencil drawings that I love.  My favorite is still the White Roses, I love flowers of all types.  Pencil drawings are a labor of love for me, and I take time in completing them.  It may be a while before I post more pencil drawings.

The signature on Carmen is actually the singers signature.  I had friends who knew him and got it signed for me.  I was excited to have that particular autograph, it's the only one that I have like that.  I'm sure that pencil drawings will never become my signature piece, but I do like to branch out and express myself in different mediums all the time.  These are the more conservative artistic voice.