This winter I enrolled in a Chinese brush painting class through my local parks and rec. I have long admired the beauty of both Chinese brush painting and the Japanese Sumi-E styles. Determined that I will one day paint a beautiful bird perched with blossoms I have discovered that this so-called ’simple’ art is very complex and challenging. each stroke must be made with meaning, each image is full of symbolic meaning and once a stroke is made it cannot be corrected. The picture above is my first successful attempt at a pine tree.

This is my first attempt of a bird with blossoms. I actually have not been taught how to paint a bird yet, but decided I would try one from a book that I have.   I am very excited about my progress and plan on continuing to learn this beautiful art. I have registered in the next set of lessons and cannot wait to see where my continuied practice takes me.