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

Friday, June 14, 2013

Goldfish worked on in Henry's class

We did 10 different subjects in Henry's classes. This was done on the 4th day and was the 8th subject - goldfish. This was one of my favorite classes. He taught us how to paint the illusion of water which helps bring the fish to life.

How wonderful to spend 25 hours with a Chinese Master and learn so much in such a brief period of time.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Henry Wo Yue -Ke

This past week I had the privilege of taking a chinese brush painting class sponsored by the Sumi-e Society. The teacher was the famous Henry Wo Yue-Kee. He has been painting for over 70 years. He paints like he breathes. Almost instinctual. His work is so incredibly beautiful. He was a wonderful teacher. I hope to finish some of the paintings we worked on this week. I need to get some new art work up.

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"

Pages

Friday, June 14, 2013

Goldfish worked on in Henry's class

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Henry Wo Yue -Ke

The Artist

Total Pageviews