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

Monday, December 16, 2013

I worked on Cardinals about a year ago in Darlene Kaplan's class and was so frustrated. Then I painted them again about 6 months ago in Hsi-Mei's class. Still Frustrated. This past Saturday Hsi-Mei covered them again. I believe I'm finally starting to get the hang of it. Doing the strokes over and over really does help. The best part about a blog is I control what I show you. All of my mistakes turn

into wrapping paper. I have a lot of wrapping paper.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Chinese Brush Art Christmas Card - Silent Night

I am back !!! After a long sabbatical, I have returned to the studio - where I belong. And, just in time for our first Winter's storm (maybe). I finished our 2013 Christmas card just in time. I hope you like it. I call it "Silent Night". I studied snow in Henry Wo Yue-Kee's class and it was the inspiration for the snow in this painting. I studied the birds in Hsi-mei Yates' class. It's a nice combination, don't you think?

This is my third Chinese Brush Art Christmas Card. Last year's card was a cardinal. The year before was a poinsettia.

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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Monday, December 16, 2013

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Chinese Brush Art Christmas Card - Silent Night

The Artist

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