Why I Am Here

I just realized that many of you have no idea what I am doing in China. I came here in 2008 with a group of painters. We spent three weeks painting and photographing in small villages all over southern China. At the time, I was primarily a landscape painter. When we returned home, we had four months to produce up to six paintings to be included in an exhibition at two galleries in Door County, WI: Linden Gallery in Ellison Bay and Barnsite Gallery in Kewaunee. To my own surprise, every piece I painted was of the people I had encountered! This was the beginning of a distinct shift in my focus, and while I still enjoy landscapes and other subjects, my sweet spot is painting people.

I have painted and sold many China-inspired works in the last six years (you can see them on my website). In the spring of 2013 I was preparing new works to send to Linden Gallery and I realized that I was running out of reference material that excited me; this "landscape painter" had not taken nearly enough photos of people on her first trip! I simply came back for more.

I am on a photo tour sponsored by the Linden Centre and led by photographer Doug Beasley. I did not bring my oils with me, just some tubes of gouache and some small boards to paint on. There is a chance that I may not paint at all while I am here, and that's okay.

(Pssst, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. When I learned about this trip, I did not publicize it to other artists. I loved the artists I went with in 2008 and made some good friends, BUT we were all in the same places, taking essentially the same photos and, therefore, painting many of the same paintings - each in our own unique style, but still... I realized this was a problem when another artist and I each placed disturbingly similar images in the same issue of a national art magazine. Hence, I am the only painter on this trip)!

We Finally Arrive!

Today we left the city and headed to our final destination. The 6 hour drive took us through beautiful mountainous areas, dotted with small towns and villages. I continue to be amazed at how they farm all but the steepest mountains. If a piece of land can be terraced and planted, it is. One of the most abundant and noticeable crops in this area is rapeseed, from which canola oil is made. The fields are covered with masses of vibrant yellow flowers.

We stopped at a small village along the way and wandered a few of its streets. We came to a small town square where some men were playing cards and women were working on some food preparation. One of the men had his small child with him, and he was pleased when we started taking her picture. (The child was a little less pleased). I have noted before in my travels that parents are always proud when you notice their children. This becomes a great tool for getting pictures of the parent or grandparent. They think I am photographing their little one, when often it is they who have peaked my interest and my shots are mostly about them! (sneaky photo tip #1)

There was beautiful music being broadcast in the square. As several of us walked up one of the side streets, we realized that it was being played by a man on his front porch. He had a small amplifier attached to his erhu, a two stringed musical instrument that is played with a bow. We applauded and began to take photos. At that point he gestured for us to come up on the porch with him and he gathered little stools for us to sit on. As he began to play for us, his wife came out with a pitcher and cups to offer us a drink. Beautiful hospitality towards strangers. I have found this to be common Chinese behavior.

We arrived at the Linden Centre in the small town of Xizhou (See-joe) by mid afternoon and had the thrill of being finished with traveling for a while. Unpacking was incredibly satisfying! Here are a couple of pictures of the centre. You can see that we are roughing it. The second  photo is my view as I am writing this. The entrance to my room is on the left:

Blocked

Our first stop in China was a very large city, Kunming. Millions of people, cars, motorcycles, cell phones, billboards, lots of new construction, skyscrapers, wi-fi, endless stores, high fashion. Very modern and, in many ways, familiar. In the midst of their modernization and greater openness, though, the government retains tight control. I experienced it personally when I tried to update this blog. In China, online access to Facebook and Blogspot are blocked. As a result, I am emailing these posts to my husband (and all-round terrific guy), Steve, who is putting them on the blog. I'm a little behind, so there will probably be multiple posts as I get caught up.

The Late Show

At 4:30 am Chicago time, I really should be asleep in my seat in the upper level of one of those huge new planes that are an engineering marvel... except when it comes to designing for any degree of comfort. Instead, I am watching the movie "Gravity." I am utterly transfixed. After all, they have clearly based the screenplay on my current situation: Sandra Bullock's character, Dr. Stone, is from Lake Zurich; I'm from Lake Zurich. She is traveling far above the surface of the earth; I'm traveling far above the surface of the earth. Dr. Stone is convinced that she will spend the rest of her life in space; I'm convinced that I will spend the rest of my life on this plane. She is risking catastrophe and death at every moment; I'm tired and uncomfortable and my neck hurts and my seat won't recline properly. Oh well, they always get something wrong in these screenplays.

2014 Trip

I won't write much tonight because it would consist mainly of... whining! I left my house 12 and a half hours ago and I have only gotten as far as L.A. I have another 25 hours of travel before we arrive in Kunming, but I am going to say nothing more on the matter because a person who gets to travel to China has no right to complain! Let me just say that I am glad to have left this behind:

Earthquake

For me, China is no longer that unknown place on the other side of the world. When I hear or read "China" my mind is filled with images. The spice seller at the daily market. The bicycle repair shop in Xi Zhou. Huge steaming pots of rice or dumplings. The women in the Dong village hauling produce from the fields. The children who were mostly fascinated and a little scared of me. The old gentleman who sang a song for us. The wild variety of wacky vehicles on the roads, crammed full of people. The grandmothers carrying their grandchildren on their backs. I think of Tang Lei and Yang Yang, and my old calligrapher friend, Mr. Yang.

Right after I came home, we received a special issue of National Geographic that was devoted to China. As I turned the pages, I realized I was searching the pictures for a familiar face.

The earthquake feels that way, too. Like it has affected people I know. I've seen the way their houses are constructed. I've marveled (and worried a bit) at the way they build their villages precariously perched on the terraced mountainsides. I've traveled where there is only one very steep and winding road to get from one place to the next. I've seen how closely their lives are linked to the land, how vulnerable they are to the vagaries of nature.

I don't know if there was damage to the villages we visited. Some are only 500 miles (Beijing was 1000) from the epicenter so I know they experienced it. But to me it feels like they were hurt. Okay, maybe not them exactly, but... grandmothers carrying their grandchildren, and people bending over their cooking pots, and kind old gentlemen calligraphers. People I might know.

China Paintings

I did about 20 paintings in China, and took thousands of photos from which I can create paintings here at home. I will be working to get pieces ready for our show which opens August 30 at Linden Gallery in Ellison Bay, WI, (please come!) with additional works being exhibited at Barnsite Gallery in Kewaunee, WI. After that, I will continue to work on pieces to submit to an exhibition in China next spring. Lots to do!

It was hard to paint at first. The light, the people, the architecture, the landscape - everything - was different and it took a while for me to get past the "shock of the new" and really start to see things. (Painting is as much about seeing as it is about applying paint. Maybe more). Once I started seeing more accurately, I had to figure out how to express my perceptions with paint.

I worked small - 9" x 12". The light changes very quickly when you're painting on location, so you
can't spend a lot of time on large canvases. (I also kept things small in light of our weight restrictions and the knowledge that I would be hauling these things around a lot...) Some of the paintings are nice works in their own right, while others will serve more as "visual note-taking" that will help me when I'm painting in my studio.

I've been sorting through my photos (a Herculean task) and find that I am drawn to the ones that focus in on individuals. It is the people that impressed me the most, and I think that my paintings are going to be about them. I' m excited to get started!