At 7 AM Wednesday morning, the view across Wanchai district and Victoria Harbour is clear to the Kowloon mountains, those dragon-back mountains being the nine dragons of the name Kowloon. The mid-New Territories mountains, however, are hazy, and nothing beyond is visible. From here, on a clear day, you can indeed see all the way to China. (We saw Batman/Dark Knight at the Megabox IMax over the weekend. Ledger was great, as expected. Hong Kong was excellent, with a nice shot of the skyline of buildings and mountains and a later shot of at least one of the many islands that are part of greater Hong Kong. The movie was fun, though surprisingly talky at points. This afternoon, Sue goes from her office to the airport to head to the U.S. for the wedding of a friend and a few visits to her company. Bewteen today and Friday, we should get some news about the health of our Newfie (Newfoundland dog), Gio. My mood is gnerally on the darker side, and I plan not to work on any paintings in progress. I have learned this kind of mood destroys good works in progress. If I do paint, I’ll start some new works. Chinese painting requires balances, or at least offsets, among dark and light colors, dry and wet areas, etc. That requirement is central to my love for and occasional success in Chinese painting. An all-dark work is not acceptable.
The above went unpublished until now, Thursday evening. In the interim I spoke briefly to Shen Ying and reecived some nice feedback about some recent works from her and her father. Later, I was just incredibly flattered that some of my work is being shown on her blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/1426208577 . (She had not mentioned this.) I visit her blog occasionally but only to enjoy the photos and a sense of communion with the wonderful Shen family; the blog is in Chinese and I only know a handful of characters.
I am working on three plum tree paintings. This is while I talk up my imminent move into large landscapes. For a while I thought I was just doing sketches and no paintings because I feared landscapes after several years of flowers. I was overly hesitant, and dealt with this by studying landscapes by the masters. But now I wonder what it is that I want to show in landscapes. The ones done years back all had some individual set on edge by or dwarfed by the natural world but ultimately being part of it. I probably won’t start any new landscapes until I have some sense of where I want to go with them. Meanwhile, the new plum flower paintings are going well, one perhaps exceptionally.
A little note about the subject I paint: The plum tree is symbolic of resolve, perseverance, and renewal. It’s the first tree to bloom in early spring, often so early that it can be in bloom while it’s snowing. Moreover, I enjoy painting its often quirky growth and the color and texture contrasts between the rougher branches and the more delicate blooms.
Daughter Lynn suggested that I try to articulate the painting process as I experience it. Other painters, and perhaps especially better painters, may experience it differently, so I’m not sure what is accomplished. Moreover, I’m not sure who is interested. Last, I’m also not sure I will want to stay with a diary/blog format.
