What Painting is Now
I think its funny what our hobbies do. They don’t stay stationary like a clock or trinket. They move, evolve, and transform. My hobby (amateur Chinese watercolor painting) started out as a homework assignment, grew to be fun, developed into a hobby, and now is a stress reliever. Yeah, tonight I painting to just relax and meditate.
Watercolor painting is a play with control. You never have full control because the brush and water love doing their own thing but yet you still have control by making them think they have it. You push and pull. You bend gravity to your will to force water to flood in the direction you want it to. Its almost like shepherding sheep. You never have full control over the sheep but you bend them to still go the way you want them to.
So, after an ok night of worrying about getting a job, finding a car, and living with parents, I decided to cool off over a nice painting. Tonight I made a tribute to one of my favorite paintings: Sheng Mao’s Waiting for the Ferry on an Autumn River. Its a Yuan Dynasty painting from a back-then commercial artist. According to my art history professor and my textbook, he was famous during his life but was mocked after his death. Its sad because I love his work so much.
I remember making a flash card for that painting! I’m glad you find peace in painting. i can tell there has been improvement in them. for me, ice cream (or a carson city cinnamon roll) soothes my soul