Orchid Elegance

We have a new student joining the class yesterday. And we revisited the painting of orchid, starting from its constituents, the petals. Then it just kind of took off ...

When the grapes are getting ripe ...

Another addition to my calendar-inspired painting series, this time of drooping grapes. This is a relatively fast piece since it is painted in the one-stroke fashion. Also, the blog title refers to the title of a chinese song popular during my younger days. Talk about bringing back memories ...

Calendar-Inspired Nature Paintings

Here are two more chinese brush paintings patterned after those in a calendar, but with some changes to the original for the bamboo painting. This is an old calendar issued in 2004 by the TC Choy Group that operates TC Choy's Asian Bistro and Oceanic Oriental Supermarket. The proprietors hailed from Malaysia and we have patronized both premises on numerous occasions, though lately the freqeuncy has been decreasing somewhat after we moved from South Tampa to next to USF. Also, the calendar is on loan to us from Tom, who also dabbles in chinese brush painting and has the good sense to keep the calendar after all this while. That has been my good fortune indeed. I plan to finish painting the entire calender in a couple of weeks' time, which would necessitate a quickening of my current pace, for I have been keeping the calendar for quite some time now.

Flowers and Insects: A Symbiosis

Bees seeking food for sustenance, and flowers needing vectors for pollination and propagation: a perfect symbiotic relationship carved out in Nature. And humans stand to gain too: nectar-turned honey, not to mention the mind-soothing and serenity-inducing setting. As for the praying mantis, well, besides being the subject of our painting class today, it does add variety and diversity to the insect world.

A Leaf-watching Bird

My lone offering today is a Chinese brush painting, patterned after one on a calendar, on rice paper captured on camera.

Of Heroes and Beauty

One of the items Viky bought for me in China on his recent trip there is a chinese calligraphic writing of a famous poem penned by Master Su Shi, a famous Chinese poet and artist who lived in the 11th century during the Sung Dynasty. The 100-word poem is about remembering a hero during the era of the Three Kingdoms who ascended to the height of his heydays flanked by his lovely concubines of unparalleled beauty. But history would only remember him as the one who perished at the Battle of the Red Cliff, bringing home the message that the grandeur that men seek is no match for the tide of time.

Here then is my own calligraqhic rendition of the famous poem, to be read from right to the left and top to bottom, and a landscape painting to go with the mood that the poem may engender.

Trees: the forest constituents

The denizens of the forest kingdom are the subjects of today, chinese brush painting style.

Landscape, Bamboo and Orchid

A smorgasbord of nature paintings to share.

Landscape Paintings

These black and white landscape paintings are based on a rather old chinese guidebook on chinese brush paintings on loan from my Arts teacher, Mrs. Fan.

This is a 1982 edition (unfortunately, it did not say when the original edition appeared based on my skimming of the publication, which Mrs. Fan bought in 1983). The guidebook incorporates practically the whole gamut of typical subjects one would learn in chinese brush paintings from landscape to all things one finds in nature. This treasure trove of learning tips would serve me for quite a long while.

Nature in Harmony

Here are additional nature paintings as a continuation of my last blog, except for the orchid, plus two more drawn on rice paper patterned after a calendar of paintings.

Chinese Brush Painting of Flowers and Nature

These paintings are patterned after those found in the publication Chinese Brush Painting (Pauline Cherrett, Quintet Publishing Ltd., 1991) on loan to me by Tom of Middle Way Buddhist Association.



I added these Chinese verses penned by Kong Ming, the famous military strategist in the Chinese Epic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, loosely translated as "Who can realize the great dream first? I'm the only one through this life."

Magnolia.

Orange Climber.

Peaches.

Dicentra.

Still More Pandas!

This is momentum working by itself, making me churning out, but by judicious combinations of some previous panda paintings in new settings, yet more panda renderings.

I note that pandas given out as national gifts by China are named after some chainese characters with auspicious portents such as Kang-kang (health) and Le-le (happiness). Perhaps I should do as WJ suggested, giving them names in the same fashion as well. And I think I would work on them.

Incidentally, we are planning to watch Kung Fu Panda today. So perhaps that will lead to some inspirations on the next crop of pandas to be born here.

More Pandas!