lesson 11

Dear Creative Friends: We painted Poinsettia this past Tuesday at Joyousbrush Club. Your students did wonderful stroke works on their paintings. I am so proud of their progress. Thank you for the opportunity for me to share my joy in brush painting with your students. I certainly am blessed painting with them. I hope something has ignited in them, be it creativity, confidence, observation, personal style, composition, stroke technique, color theory, nature, design, new appreciation for beauty, or peace and tranquility...etc. Tomorrow will be our last class for this semester. They will all bring home their profolio with the paintings we did week after week. You may also view http://joyousbrushclubatkincaid.blogspot.com/ to see all of the demo paintings. I look forward to see you all after summer. Have a great summer

lesson 10 Azalea

Dear Creative friends We catch the bloom of Azaleas in our mind not realize what we know. We are surprised to find that nature trains us subliminally what beauty is. There is a natural sense of satisfaction as we imitate nature. It is like as we are speaking to nature with its language. The strokes are deliberate. Your students will their pedals one by one. This is the realization. I can transfer my emotion and ideas to yours. My mind wills and you agree. My hand executes and you appreciate. This is communication without words.

lesson 9 grapes

Dear Creative friends: We don't have class this coming Tuesday (Spring break). We have 3 more classes after spring break. I enjoy each and every class with your students. Thank you for this opportunity. Letting the painting tell you what it needs. While it's all about surrendering to the work itself, it's also the quality of the dialogue in front of it. Well-chosen placement of the confident strokes gives us great satisfaction. Then they all speak and tell us what we really are inside. As it is said, "How do I know what I think until I hear what I say." In our case, "How do I know what I know until I paint" We did grapes last week, attached for your reference. Your students are now very comfortable in loading their brushes. They are very deliberate in executing each strokes. You should see their focus and concentration when they paint. Their paintings in the hall way may speak for themselves. Enjoy it. Have a great Spring Break.

Lesson 8 plum blossom

Robert Genn, a renown Canadian artist in his Twice-Weekly Letter says:

"It's safe to say that too much drawing can destroy form and pattern. Fact is, paintings are best made
of patches, not lines....But lines themselves are a way to understand those patches and the
underlying forms....

Joyousbrush painting incorporate the patches approach to explore and understand.  It forces the students to rely on their mental imagery to paint.  We don't pencil in before we paint.  We paint directly on rice paper.  The learning takes place in both ways.  In realize what's in our mind, and to interpret what appeared on paper.  The understanding comes from the form, and the image in our mind produce the form.  This process connect the command center of your students with their environment. This exercise motivate students to integrate mind and hand in a more engaged way.

We painted traditional plum blossom with ink and color. We explored how to paint tree trunks and branches.

Lesson 7 Cherokee roses

Lesson 6 Sun flower

We did sunflowers on this lesson.  This lesson is designed to drill the mid point strokes as in bamboo leaves.  You may see each sunflower peddle is composed of 3 of these strokes.  Instead of having students work on a scrap piece paper painting stroke after stroke as traditional Chinese brush painting instructor would do, we did the same amount of practice and realized a beautiful painting.  The emergence of the beauty comes from their strokes actually motivate the students to paint on.  I don't have to convince them to work harder, they all worked their hardest.  You should see their paintings.  Nothing like a beginners work.