2007 - Discovering Chinese Ink

"First I saw the mountains in the painting; then I saw the painting in the mountains." Chinese Proverb

Woman with Back to Artist

In 2007, I was living in China and had came to appreciate the balance and refinement of stylised ink wash paintings. As well as appreciating the aesthetics of ink, I also came to appreciate the process of creation. Ink from a brush flowed like water from a hose, and would give me a sense of flow that I could never feel when painting in oils. Specifically, ink allowed sweeping brush strokes while oil required the brush keep returning to palette after a small dab on the canvas.

Unfortunately, I soon came to realise that just as great tango dancers look free because they have taken the time to master the steps, ink painters are free because they have mastery of brush control. I just didn't have that skill and an ink painting doesn't allow for any mistakes. While I enjoyed the process of creating with ink, I was not satisfied with what I was producing.

I found somewhat of a hybrid style by using oil paints with a high turpentine mix, which I used as a kind of impressionism. Sometimes I would further experiment by adding colour behind the black outlines while sometimes I just went for the refinement of form and line.

Another influence of China came about due to constantly seeing Chinese characters that I could not read. Despite not being able to read them, the emotion expressed in their creation, as well as their shape and design, gave me a feeling which I found to be gratifying. In response, I started my own symbols that likewise gave me a feeling but not a clear meaning. Sometimes my symbols had a form like a hieroglyphic. Sometimes they were like three dimensional symbols merging into each other like a network.  Additionally, I started portraying a scene, such as an emotion towards a woman, as if it were a hieroglyphic.

I think creating and using the symbols helped cultivate my right brain. It involved going into a head space that was beyond linguistic explanation yet retained some kind of meaning that I just couldn’t explain with words.

Chinese Lady

Woman Alone

Roar

Lady in a Bar Wearing Red Shoes

The Gentleman Asks the Lady to Dance

Son of Man

Exploration of a Gentleman's Form