Dragon in the Surf

My series of nine hard board (Masonite) deeply cradled blocks are going to go into this coming Saturday, August 4th Clothesline Sale on the Benton County Courthouse lawn, Corvallis, Oregon. It is an all day sale from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The desire to be illustrative has won out over being more abstract. If you have been folowing this journal, you have seen these nine in beginning stages. Yesterday I wasn't sure where I was going with them. But now I have paintings and simple titles of where I have seen dragon-like form. There is still a little finishing to do before Saturday on all of these and in finishing them I hope to keep the original fresh emotion.

Hidden Dragons No More

This one tempts me to make it a happy illustration. Would I then depart from my original goal to make an architectural series? Or can I have both a story and an arch way of painting tiles telling a story? This story is not so meaningful to me personally as the previous one about emerging dragons that I come to embrace. My first intent was to have a fog dragon curling about the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. I could in a book explain about the different manifestations of dragons as described in research sources. But my imagination may be the best direction because I like the next idea of the dragon kissing.

My flaming red eyed one lays down, head turned upside down to blow upward precious dragon kisses. I don't know why he must have a forehead that fools one to think it is the mouth like camafloged animals. Dragons are usually not the hunted ones.

I am painting more for myself. Not for an interior decorator, public art or a book publisher. I will go with my strongest intuition and not be decided entirely by the architectural intention when I first made these press board (masonite) boxes.

Working Towards A Story

This morning I painted dragon shapes into my tiles and rearranged some on the wall. Then in the afternoon I listened to a Larry Fong lecture on Carl Morris at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum, University of Oregon. Carl Morris' "History of Religions" series painted for the Oregon Centennial, 1969. I was particularly interested because he painted ideas of religions in Oregon since settlement in a series of nine in a chronological order. Also Dr. Charles Lackman asked why did Carl Morris have frames on his early work but not on the "History of Religion" I suggested that it was because other Portland artists of the same period were doing public works without frames such as Louie Bunce who did a mural in the Portland Airport. Also that a frame is like a window and the abstracts expand outward and don't want to be held in.
I wonder if my paintings can have a profound story in which it is important to show the limitless expanse of the universe. Or if I can embark on a less serious more fun filled exploration in which the expanding concept without a framed view is equally appropriate.

Report on Pulling Dragons

The problem is bringing together the cool sky and ocean dragons with the warmer peace rose dragons. They are to be like tiles part of the architectural portal when complete. I am working on the arranging of them as welll as how they are complete in each one.

Most Developed Rose Dragon

"The Peak-a-boo Dragon" has the most volumes and linear detail of the nine 12" square by 1 3/4" deep boxes. It is the most like the roses I am observing. As for the dragons emerging from this series, I have not decided how hidden I will keep them. More importantly I observe and interpret. As the roses age in our garden the petals become pointy dragon heads. Their pointed shape is formed because the heaviest vein is dead center and that remains hydrated while the side veins become more prominent as the the cells around them shrivel. Then the rounded full cloud dragons were ready to nurture more roses are as round and full as I made them. There is much to do to finish this series. The arrangement of them on the wall is important. I am trying to show relationships between each one with the others so I am hanging them and then moving as well as painting on them.

Break Through Excitement

I appreciate Martha Marshall saying that she liked my new series all ready. I have painted on them a little today. The first strokes on the paintings have a great freshness and a directness I love too. I might pull more dragon forms or leave them hidden. I do like looking at them as part of the architecture. The blocks work as raised tiles might. Here they are casually arranged and I look forward to playing with their placement as well as developing them in relation to each other.

Nine on Rose Dragons

I am loving putting watercolor mixed with thinned matte medium acrylic on a prepared ground. These are Masonite boxes with three layers of gesso and three layers of absorbent canvas colored absorbent ground. It is a pleasure to paint on this surface after a week of preparation. As these boxes develop I will post results.

Sunset Blue Blue Birds

Here I can not tell you how many times I have painted over this one begun on the banks of a stream in Glacier National Park four years ago. It was once totally abstract with glitter to add texture and sparkle. After showing it around I became tired of it. The glitter is now covered. I am enjoying the texture and running my color saturated brush over it. The acrylic painting is on hard board (Masonite) and is 16" x 20".

Imaginary Lion

I used to fight it when my dragon heads looked less lizard-like and more horse or other animal. So here is my lion dragon as it wanted to be. This is painted on museum wrapped stretched canvas. 36" x 24" x 2", no frame necessary, for sale for $400 .

New Emerging Dragon Exhibit

This is the wall I am renting at Pegasus Art Gallery in Corvallis from July 12 to August 12. For location and to see more of my work click on my link to the Pegasus Art Gallery web page.

Mare's Tail Clouds

I am seeing more and more dragon shapes in nature to begin a new.

Seeing fantastic fancyful clouds was the only thing that saved me from a wasted half day yesterday in our very slow, traffic jamed, start and stop all the way trip from the Portland Airport back home. Mare's tails is what they call them here in the United States. My grandfather second generation living in China translated a story in which the Chinese looked for dragons in the clouds especially during a draught. Seeing a cloud dragon gave the Chinese hope of rain. Yesterday coming home from the airport was the worst traffic I have ever seen in Oregon. There are more and more cars and trucks meaning more people here. The wind has blown the air dirty with dust. Like in China of the ninteenth and early 20th we have cut a high percent of our forests. So too we have draught and see frequent mares tail clouds. The mare tail clouds often look to me like dragons.

My Granddaughter's computer drawing

This is Melissa's dog, Riley. She drew him today.

Writing artist statement.

At age 64 I just realized I am wrestling with being multi-cultural. I am second generation the child of a third generation China and Far Eastern born father. As a child I noticed the fearsome dragon on the silk bath robe borrowed from father and our hand mirror was Chinese export silver adorned with a finely detailed dragon. My childhood peers and Western legends taught me that dragons were evil. But I was imprinted by the joyful Chinese dragons on a family heirloom vase.

Pegasus gallery has requested a fresh artist statement. So after three tries three days, I have come up with:

Embracing Dragons

I started painting an abstract. Friends saw dragons in it but I never defined them with drawing until recently when I was doing a group of abstracts using the Peace Rose for inspiration. Now I feel free to use the dragon image after a recent discovery:

Our family heirloom vase impressed me so much as a child that it taught me the way I see and express nature. All my paintings express my child within.

Thank you to all of you who have visited my web page and left encouraging comments. I appreciate them very much.

I will be taking a vacation with grandchildren this week and will be back to blogging on July 16.

Dragon Pair Jive on the 4th

"Dragons Jive" is acrylic on cradled wood board, 30" x 22" x 3/4", for sale for $400 updated May 2008.

Painting over and over the more abstract colors, I begin to loose and regain the spirit of dragons dancing for joy. Drawing prevails here. No longer is the first impression of an abstract made up of colors and shapes and volumes: it is seen first as dragons. These dragons did not immerge immediately like some I have done.