Chinese Brush Art - American Style: 10,000 brush strokes in search of that 1 "perfect brush stroke": March 2013

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Happy Easter 2013

I was talking to some great friends and one suggested that I do a rabbit for Easter so I took her advice and here goes. Thanks Pam. Peter Cottontail was hopping down the bunny trail and stopped here briefly for a quick Chinese Brush Art portrait. I hope I have done you justice Peter.

Friday, March 29, 2013

101 years of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms

This is a wonderful time of the year in the Washington D.C. area. Every year, local residents and hundreds of thousands of visitors enjoy the National Cherry Blossom Festival, especially along the Tidal Basin near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. This festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. This very special gift and annual celebration honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the people of these two countries.

Having spent more than 9 years in Japan on three different occasions, the cherry blossoms carry special meaning and emotion for me. This is an example of one of my Chinese Brush Art painting of some local cherry blossoms.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Koi - First Chinese Brush Art Painting I Sold

Koi represent strength and perseverance.

This is the first Chinese Brush Art painting that I sold. I participated in the Potomac Bonzai Festival at the United States National Arboretum on New York Avenue in Washington D.C. in 2011. I was honored to have the President of the Potomac Bonzai Association purchase my work. This is an annual festival and the next one is scheduled for 3, 4 and 5 May 2013. Hope to see you there.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Pheasant

This is my first attempt at a pheasant. There were more brush strokes than I would care to count. If I came close to 10,000 strokes the pheasant should be perfect. But, I didn't.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Grapes

This particular watercolor was inspired by friends of thirty years, The Wilsons of Leesburg, Virginia. We've shared countless bottles of fine wine and great conversations over the years. As with my other Chinese Brush Art works, this is only the beginning. Like a fine wine, I hope my works will improve with age and practice. Imagine these grapes after 10,000 brush strokes of practice !!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Goldfish

This is one of my first attempts at painting a goldfish. The hardest part of painting the fish is getting the fins to look natural as if they were flowing in the water. I'm not quite there yet. But I keep trying and that's the important part to remember.

My Journey Into Chinese Brush Art

I started Chinese Brush Art about 2 years ago. My first paintings were what you might expect from someone just beginning. This blog is about that journey of 10,000 practice strokes in search of that one 'perfect stoke'. And like my Chinese Brush Art journey, this is my first post of 10,000 on the way to the 'perfect' post.

Artist Statement

I have been a ‘learning artist’ since 2011. I believe what Malcolm Gladwell said about mastery of any subject – with a twist. He said it takes about 10,000 hours to master a skill. I believe it takes 10,000 strokes to truly master a Chinese brush stroke. And, with that philosophy in mind, I practice Chinese brush strokes every day, looking for that perfect stroke. I hope to produce paintings with at least one perfect brush stroke in each. The idea of perfection is elusive and I hope to be a ‘learning artist’ for the rest of my life. Stop learning – stop living.

Artist Biography

Lynn Lambert was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin. At 18, she began traveling the world. Her first stop was Misawa, Japan where she began her fascination with the Far Eastern cultures.

She was educated at Southern Illinois University, where she majored in Horticulture and minored in Art. She returned to Atsugi, Japan in the early 80s and renewed her love affair with the Asian culture studying Ikebana in Tokyo and was a florist upon returning to the United States. Her return to Asia in the late 90s found her teaching English at Sakamoto and Iriyamazu Junior High Schools in Yokosuka-shi, Japan.

In 2011, the love of the Asian culture finally manifested itself fully when Lynn took her first Sumi-e brush art class through the NOVA educational system with artist Arlita Kadar. She moved from there to art classes at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia.

Additionally, she studied with these fine artists: Darlene Kaplan – 2012; Charlene Fuhrman-Schulz – 2012; Hsi-mei Yates – 2013; Henry Wo Yue-Kee – 2013 and Joan Lok – 2014. She has also done self-study online with these artists: Henry Li – 2013; Ning Yeh – 2011; and Danny Chen – 2012.

She sold her first painting “Koi – Following the leader” to the President of the National Arboretum Bonzai Association at the National Arboretum’s 2011 Annual Bonzai Art Festival.

Her work "Kohaku and Sanke” (Kohaku-koi with red patches and Sanke-koi with red and black patches) was sold by Tiara Galleries and Gifts in Rockville, Maryland to support Fisher House – in honor of our Nation’s heroes who have been wounded in combat in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Her work has been displayed at The Smithsonian Institution and National Museum of Natural History in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of National Asian Pacific American Arts and Crafts Day in 2011.

Her artist philosophy is based on Malcolm Gladwell’s perspective on the mastery of any subject – with a twist. Gladwell said it takes about 10,000 hours to master a skill. Lynn believes it takes 10,000 practice strokes to truly master a Chinese brush stroke. With that philosophy in mind, she practices Chinese brush strokes every day, looking for that perfect stroke. She hopes to produce paintings with at least one perfect brush stroke in each. The idea of perfection is elusive and she hopes to be a ‘learning artist’ for the rest of her life.

Stop learning – stop living.

Chinese Brush Art - American Style: 10,000 brush strokes in search of that 1 "perfect brush stroke"

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