The Grasshopper, my trade mark piece of work

This painting was done as a companion to the Cicada painting. I so enjoyed the form and the subject matter of the Cicada, that I wanted to create another one but with the leaf in a different orientation. Again the grasshopper was done with a elaborate brush, paying attention to minute details and the banana leaf in the Xieyi style.

I submitted this painting along with others to the Portland Open Studios and was accepted to be one the exhibiting artist. In fact this painting was also shown in the Asian Reporter and was used in one of the POS ads.

Now, when I look at this painting, I could find quite a few faults with it. Lets look at some of them. The picture on the bottom helps to illustrate my point. First, the hind legs are crooked. I've drawn a straight line out along the axis of the legs and somehow the rear portions bend and deviates from the line.The antennae should not have bulbs at the tips; these look like butterfly antennae! Then the leaf was not done with the same determination and forcefulness as the Cicada painting. I've circled the portion of the leaf to show as an example. The strokes were tentative and segmented.

Nonetheless, perhaps of all these imperfections, especially the weird angle of the hind legs, this painting seems to possess energy and a certain liveliness. The subject matter is no longer static.