I started out with painting circular ripples, I am going to try to paint the linear ones. In a way, my desire to do this was sparked by visiting an exhibition of Ellsworth Kelly's prints. I have vivid memories of how those prints of rivers resembled my photos. Coincidentally, as I glanced at my pile of old vinyls spewed on the floor, I noticed the LP cover of Linda Ronstadt (Different Drum) and it has a water theme. Nice!
Going linear has not subjugated my errant brush. Chinese has a saying about holding the brush, that of fingers of keen grasp (for control ) and a light wrist for expression and movement. My wrist is still laden with indecisiveness. Ever try to learn piano or guitar or violin? There is a disconnect between the hand and the mind resulting in digital arrhythmia and rigor mortis of the fingers. Definitely not Xieyi!!
Obviously I am not thrilled by my etudes, but to add insult to injury, the quipping I received was that " these are not Chinese paintings ". So what defines or qualifies as a Chinese painting. What are some of the attributes? Bi-Fa? Scattered point perspective? Treatment of void spaces? Lack of light values? Minimalistic? Poetic? The 3 Perfections? Should Chinese paintings be forever entombed in the classics? Should I feel insulted? Is it important for my works to be accepted as Chinese paintings?
I myself am getting confused.
I am not in a position to offer any insights, but I will attach some pictures of water works I took of a famous master painter Ma Yuan from the Song Dynasty ( about 800 years ago ).
