Little Blue Flowers

Last summer I remember hiking around the Flat Irons in Colorado and coming upon a man who was painting along the base of one of the trails. He had his work laid out on the ground around him, some for sale and some just to dry out. I watched him work for a while (as long as my friends were patient for!) and was entranced by his technique.

In one flick of his fat bamboo brush, he laid out an entire patch of trees, or one blade of grass. His whole arm moved in sweeping gestures, splattering water and paint in a way that made the clouds appear in one flash of the brush. It was dance and it was beautiful.

I've always been interested in learning more about this asian-influenced method of painting, (generally associated with bamboo and cherry blossom paintings). But it wasn't until I started taking classes at the ArtCenter here in Miami that I felt I might be starting to grasp the seriousness of that endeavor. Learning from those who had spent time in China and Japan working under the masters of that type of painting has been an eye-opener. Hearing about the rigidity of their instruction, the countless hours in repetition of key forms to learn to create in that style has been really, really interesting. I know I certainly wouldn't have the fortitude for that kind of strict education, so I'll try to gobble up any bits of knowledge I can while here.

I did this little painting last week attempting to work from my (admittedly very small) knowledge base of asian-styled brushwork.

So much learn, so few hours in a day!