"Sunset over Marshland" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

sold

I can paint sunrises and sunsets forever as long as the sun rises and sets.  I have painted sunrises and sunsets over the sea,  lake, beach, harbor, fields, hills, and even my neighborhood, but I like this new painting over marshland the best.

There is a fellow artist, William Van Doren, who has been painting sunrises and sunsets everyday for the past seven years.  Four years ago, he took on the challenge--a series of paintings of the sky over the Lincoln Memorial.  He was inspired by his experience on the extremely cold inauguration day of President Obama.  He told me that he did it for six months to get it right!  I was awed by his dedication.  Can you imagine yourself doing something like that?

"Moonrise" (oil on linen; 8" x 6") sold

"Moonrise"
sold

"Moonrise over the Sea" (oil, 8" x 6")
sold

I thought I would have some fun working on small canvases a series of big paintings, that is, paintings that feel big.  With a size 6 flat brush, loaded with paint, I whipped out three tiny paintings in one afternoon.  Not bad, ha! 

In John Murray's class, the pressure is always on painting fast and large.  There is a student who manages to finish a 18 x 24" canvas in every class!  It is liberating to brandish your big fat brush like a sword, squeeze out loads of paints as if you are a millionaire, and paint like a crazed daredevil.  On the other hand, it is also nice to rebel against your teacher by painting small since it is vacation!  Just don't tell him what I am up to.  Shhhhh.

"Dangers of the Sun Block" (comic strip; marker)

"I don't know where you are going with this," my husband said about my cartooning adventure.  I don't intend to become a cartoonist.  The field seems already crowded enough.  It's about thinking outside of the box, as the popular saying goes.  My "box" has always been drawing what I see as best as I possibly can.  Drawing from imagination, out of my head, was impossible, not alone desirable. 

As I become older (past 50, gulp!), I find myself less and less adventurous.  In my 20's, I used to be absolutely fearless, perhaps too fearless.  Now it's becoming harder to try new things.  The comfort zone is so well-defined, the calculating mind always busily figuring out what's doable without much risk to my self-esteem and public reputation.

So I decided to do something about it by taking a cartooning class.  I was in a mild state of shock when I first found myself surrounded by a bunch of kids (mostly boys), aged between eight and thirteen.  The teacher, Dana Yang, at The Art League School, is young enough to be my daughter.

The two-page comic strip I am sharing today is the most ambitious project I have ever done.  I even colored them with markers.  The T-Rex motif came from my recent discovery of James Gurney's Dinotopia series.  By the way, this amazing illustrator/writer is also a terrific fine artist.  Check out his latest book--Color and Light--as well as his blog, which is rated one of the top ten art blogs in the world.  I had a hard time getting some of the T-Rex poses right.  I can't get over the mind block of thinking as a realist painter, worrying about the anatomy.  Your getting a small laugh out of my first serious attempt at cartooning is my sincere hope.

Have a great Memorial Day!