SOMEHOW IT’S ALL A BLUR…..

Saturday, May 10, 2014

SOMEHOW IT’S ALL A BLUR…..

……..but that’s the wonderful thing about taking photographs and writing a blog…..you can bring it all together.

Care to guess what this is????

Kita is throwing off her undercoat and unless she’s brushed, all of this is in the house. Get the Furminator!

Actually it takes a village so I help out by holding out the Lickety Stick!

Enough of that. Going to Pavilions for essentials not found at Trader Joe’s I always love seeing the carrots as there are horse stalls right in back!

While there I could not resist this….

These cuties were outside raising money for the Burbank Animal Shelter. We found Yuki there and she was the best, best doggie ever!

On the subject of cute….how cute is this! Nikka got it so Emma wouldn’t loose the keys to her new car!

Finally got to a movie and loved ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’!

…….and then a stop at Din Tai Fung at Americana in Glendale for the best pork dumplings this side of China!

Nikka is so terrific…..putting up signs for Henry Li’s workshop last weekend.

First day was Landscape and here’s Colleen’s wonderful work! She added the terrific bridge at the bottom. So creative!

Beautiful Violet!

Henry cut Lizzie’s painting into a fan shape and then dry mounted it.

And here we all are. (Except for Laurie and Liz who had to leave early.)

Sunday it was Horses.

…..and yummy delivery from Gourmet 88.

And a special thank you shout out to Kathy who brought me these delicious cannoli from New York. I had to share the chocolate one with Nikka! I know, your mouth is watering!

Clara’s friend makes these adorable bags so check out her website at www.mylittleshoebox.com Her coin purses make the greatest little gift!

Victoria Li played the Guqin during husband Henry Li’s workshop.

On to Paradise Bakery to get a special cake for Olga’s birthday!

By now, if you’ve read my blog at all or seen my Facebook postings, you know I’ve been a supporter of ‘Brushstrokes in Hollywood’ for several years now. Dear Pam Tom the Director/Producer is so close to having it completed and they only need $100,000 more. The Kickstarter campaign helped tremendously but if you can, please do contribute to this amazing feature length documentary about Tyrus Wong, one of Disney’s ‘Legends’ and really our National Treasure. It’s tax deductable! Tyrus is 103 now and still flies his exquisite handmade kites near the Santa Monica pier the 4th Sunday of each month. To learn more go to www.tyruswongthemovie.com or www.brushstrokesinhollywood.com

Thursday evening Kc & I went to a special screening of selected segments of the film and to hear a discussion on it. What many people do not know about Tyrus is that besides being a Disney Legend (he did all the work on Bambi) he was a concept artist for Warner Brothers on so many movies such as Harper and Rebel Without a Cause.

Here’s Kc with Pam and it turned out they had film work in common.

….and here she is with Producer Tamara Khalaf who also works at Disney.

Lisa See contributed some thought provoking comments about Tyrus in the film.

Time to discuss the film….

Outside at the Japanese American National Museum

Are you still with me? This blog is getting rather long.

Thursday evening I did a demonstration for the Sunland Tujunga Art Association. A dear group I’ve spoken to through the years. Sharon won my painting!

And today was class in the studio.

Amy how can I ever thank you for the exquisite flowers???? (I’m so happy Kita didn’t have little Mia for breakfast!)

www.menuah.com

Call Amy 818.625.5243

I love the month of May and all will be explained in my next blog starting with an evening with the lovely Valerie!

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Introduction

There is no avoiding the pull of the internet, the blogs, the YouTube imaginings. It's as if we're all 'On the Road' with Jack Kerouac each in our own world of meanderings. When we tell someone to 'get a life' it might be a bit difficult when you're dragged into other people's 24/7.

I've come to realize two foundational principals, there are no accidents and everyone has a purpose. More and more I'm desiring everyone to come into a full realization of their purpose as we all find our way on this little jewel of a planet.

For me, as a professional 'Western style artist', I stumbled into Chinese Brush Painting after a trip in 1980 to Monet's home/garden. Seeing all of his collection of Japanese woodblock prints was an ahh haa moment for me and when I returned to the States I started painting in the Chinese manner and never looked back. The first year was extremely painful for me as I felt that I should be able to master the technique since I was a 'trained' artist. Not a chance ... that just gets in your way.

Now, after teaching close to 3,000 students and having my book 'The Ch'i of the Brush' published by Watson Guptill, I can say that every one of my students does better their first day than I did my first year! Why? Because I insist that they leave their critical parent outside and just enjoy the journey, respecting the work that they do. I never let anyone throw anything away because that just ingrains frustration and defeat.

We really only begin to learn when we stop and figure out how to 'save' a painting. It works every time.I am so proud of my students, their receptivity and eagerness to express themselves is a continuing blessing for me.So, back to finding your purpose. Perhaps it starts with realizing 'it's not about me'. It so easy to want our needs met and to filter everything thru this attitude. When we realize that we're here to be of benefit to every life that we touch the universe really provides the ways and means.

The best part is that it's really exciting to not have yourself on your mind all the time!I'm re-reading a wonderful book about authenticity and in my next meandering I'll tell you about it. In the meantime I'd love to hear about your journey and am here to answer any and all questions about Chinese Brush Painting.