Class at the Huntington Botanical Gardens was great fun as everyone loved painting Iris!
This was the week for Kita’s ‘yearly’ physical and shots.
It was also the week that I did NOT catch up on my reading!
Kita doesn’t care as long as the toy box is full.
And we have her favorite pacifier……the LICKETY STICK! This works wonders when someone comes to the door. No more jumping….just a quiet sit along with a slurpy lick! Thank goodness that’s under control!
And of course lots of Olympics' watching….especially the skating.
Catherine K. got the very last available space in Henry Li’s May workshops here in the studio! She was soooo excited!
Saturday’s class in the studio was great fun……We painted Bearded Iris and then the Japanese Iris. Tony is to the left and you can read all about his wonderful exhibit at the end of this blog. I am beyond words proud of him!
Lovely Diana even tackled the Rooster!
Thank you sweet Diana for bringing Spring into the studio!
I think this is the cutest picture. Po Chu and Violet are looking at the Mood Seal that has Po Chu’s name on it. It reads:
Tong Poet: Po Chu-yi “Even before the tune came there was passion in the air.” From ‘The pi-Bar Song”
Here’s Lizzie Girl with precious Amy and Diane.
Thank you Lizzie for the treat! It was enjoyed by all. (I’m suspecting that Diana brought the shortbread.)
Violet just really went to town!
…..and this! So wonderful!!!
Now here’s the greatest news of all. I’m so proud of Tony who is the Bakersfield Art Association’s ‘Featured Artist of the Month’!
Bakersfield Art Association Featured Art of the Month: Tony Oliver - Journey of the Imagination
So Proud!!!
http://www.bakersfieldartassociation.org/Featured%20Monthy%20Artist.html
#BakersfieldArtAssociation #TonyOliver#ChineseBrushPainting #AsianArt #Proud #NanRae
And the following from the ‘Bakersfield Californian’ newspaper.
“Harmony in Heaven and Earth," a Chinese brush painting by Tony Oliver, will be featured in his "Journey of Imagination" at the Bakersfield Art Association Art Center.
By CAMILLE GAVIN, Contributing columnist
For nearly 50 years Tony Oliver has harbored a desire to do the delicate art of Chinese brush painting, but it wasn't until 2004 that he became serious about learning how to do it.
"I first saw it when I was overseas and fell in love with it," he said. "I liked the culture, too; they have a simple life."
Oliver, who is being honored as the Bakersfield Art Association's featured artist for February at a reception on Friday, was in the Marine Corps from 1965-69 and served in various parts of Asia -- Okinawa, Thailand, the Philippines and then Vietnam.
After returning to Bakersfield, he held a variety of jobs: tile setter's helper, carpentry, remodeling houses and finally as a bus driver/custodian for the Beardsley School District.
His first attempt at creating Asian-style art began shortly after his retirement in 2004 when a friend, an oil painter, gave Oliver a Japanese Sumi-e kit, a style that employs various shades of ink.
After experimenting with that, he realized he needed better brushes, so he searched the Internet for a source.
That led him to the website of Nan Rae, a Burbank artist who teaches Chinese brush painting.
Since then he's been traveling to Rae's studio once a month for lessons. He's also taking calligraphy lessons locally from Yuriko Tomita.
But Oliver says he's got a lot more to learn before creating his own designs. For the present, he relies on copying printed patterns.
"Chinese brush painting is kind of like karate, which I also do," he said. "They don't want you to go out on your own; they want you to follow the master."
Even the parchment-like paper he uses is dictated by the subject matter. "It's made out of mulberry trees," Oliver said. "There's one kind of paper for bird and flower pictures, and landscape paper which is what I use -- it doesn't bleed as much."
The paper comes in 32-by-57 inch sheets and then is torn or cut into a desired size.
In the Art Center show, he has 16 paintings, each measuring approximately 22 by 26 inches.
One painting shows small orange-colored gourds suspended from slender black branches and muted leaves.
Its title, "Harmony is Heaven and Earth," is signified by a small rectangular red stamp in the lower right corner. In the opposite corner are a few Chinese characters that spell the artist's name.
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