I began painting bamboo 20 years ago as part of my meditation practice.  I had been attracted to Japanese aesthetics and had been reading Alan Watts’  book, “Uncarved Block, Unbleached Silk”.  There he elucidated the Zen aesthetical spirit of Wabi - elemental simplicity, and Sabi - solitude, impermanence.  This spirit is in many Zen art   practices, such as painting, poetry and flower arranging. I have also been inspired by John Daido Loori’s book, “The Zen of Creativity”.

 

Painting bamboo is a way to express this meditative awareness.  It is the paradoxical union of assertion and stillness. From grinding the ink stick on the ink stone to putting the brush to the rice paper, it is the manifestation of stillness in the breath.  With each exhale the bamboo comes to life on the paper and what emerges is accepted with no retouching.  The simplicity of black ink on white paper and the emergent form is a source of peace and joy for me.

 

From painting bamboo I began painting the other Four Gentlemen:  Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Plum Blossom. Experimenting with colors and textures of the various rice papers have lent more expressionism to my paintings and reflect the beauty of nature that surrounds me.  The flowers and birds in different seasons have inspired me to paint more vibrantly and inspired me to write haiku.  Some of these have been translated by my Chinese Painting teacher, Yinglei Zhang, and accompany my paintings.

 

Living in the country in Northern Vermont, I am often struck by the forms and textures of the landscape.  Surrounded by hemlock and balsam, hearing the nearby waterfall, seeing the mist rise over the green mountains, I am inspired to paint these images.  Like bamboo, painting the mountains and mist captures the “emptiness” that is at the ground of fullness.  In Buddhist understanding, Emptiness is the Absolute “field” on which all manifested things are emergent.  Landscape painting expresses this dynamic movement of empty and full.

 

I have studied landscape painting with Frederica Marshall, Jo Steinhurst, and Henry Wo, all of whom are inspiring teachers.

 

My work has been exhibited in many galleries in Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Maine, including a one woman show at Central VT Medical Center in 2010.