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This
Tibetan monk is from the
Sumtseling monastery in
Zhongdian, now renamed
Shangri-La. They claim
Shangri-La was based on this
region. The monastery is
affiliated with the same order
as that of the Dalai Lama. The
simplicity of the image focuses
on both face and hands with only
the sky as background. I
especially liked the expression
on his face as his hands
fingered the prayer beads. The
gesture of his hands seemed to
echo the quizzical expression of
his face.
In Private Collection
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TIBETAN
TAPESTRY
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This
painting is somewhat
collage-like combining several
of the images we saw in the
Tibetan areas of China. The
stupa in the background is
ringed with prayer flags. The
young woman wears a typical
Tibetan headress and the
pony's blanket reflects the
ornate embroidery which is
found both in the Tibetan
peoples' garb as well as that
of their ponies.
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TIBETAN
WOMAN AND STUPA
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This woman
is a Tibetan from the Yunnan
province and lives on the
Tibetan plateau in the area of
Shangri-La. The clothing is
often very ornate with
embroidery in rich purples and
magenta. Behind her is a stupa,
a Buddhist shrine which has
prayer flags strung from its
peak. Surrounding their simple
wooden home were yaks and ponies
with colorful blankets. While
portraits are typically done
vertically, I decided to paint
her horizontally because I
wanted to capture the line of
the plain behind her.
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SHANGHAI
GLIMPSE
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This
image appealed to me on
many levels as I have done
a series on reflected
images as well as
transportation by bus and
subway. The juxtaposition
of the lettering and her
looking over her shoulder
created an interesting
image layered with the
reflected images of
Shanghai. A Chinese
gentleman came into my
studio once and told me
the symbol meant "looking"
as did the one before
it. My guess is it
is an equivalent of a
"sightseeing" bus.
In
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YAK
BUTTER TEA
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This
woman is a Tibetan from the
Nixi ethnic group. Her village
makes a special kind of black
pottery, one which is to the
left of the painting. She is
pouring yak butter tea, a mix
of yak butter, tea and salt,
She served us the tea together
with a wheat powder which you
pass around with a communal
spoon. You pour a spoonful
into your mouth followed by
yak butter tea to form a
cereal like paste. The tea
tastes like liquid butter. To
the right of the painting is
the edge of the ubiquitous Mao
poster found in every home.
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MARKET
GATHERING
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This
grouping is from the
Saturday market. The hats
are what we associate with
China and are worn
throughout the areas in
which we traveled. The
doorway behind them is lined
with the red banners which
are from the Chinese New
Year
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CRICKET
VENDOR
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This
man was selling cricket
cages in the Kunming
market. I stumbled across
him as I investigated the
sound coming from his
wicker cages. He is
crouched in the resting
pose which many Chinese
use and reminded me a bit
of a cricket ready to
spring. Crickets in a cage
are an old Chinese
tradition. When he stood
up he slung a pole across
his back to which all of
the cages were attached
and strode off through the
market. The writing behind
him is a Chinese poem
about crickets.
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CHINA
TEXTURES
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This
image is based on imagery at
Sanbao, a ceramics institute
where we stayed for a week.
The windows were quite
beautiful and coupled with
the wooden beams, tile
rooftops, brick walls and a
hanging hat created an
interesting textural
juxtaposition.
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BOULDERS
& PEBBLES
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These
two men are from a Naxi
village in Shangri-la. The
Naxi are an interesting
culture in which the women
make the money and the men
raise the children and are
musicians. As a result the
women dominate the financial
life. The language reflects
this dominance as well. When
the word "female" is added to
the word "rock" it means a
boulder, when the word "male"
is added it means pebble.
Hence the title of this piece.
I painted the line of boulders
because it needed a line for
flow and then recalled the
story of the language. As I
was painting this I considered
making the background a
contrasting color which would
push the two men forward, but
opted to keep it somewhat
monochromatic so they seemed
almost carved out of the
earth. I particularly liked
the line of their hands
engaged with their pipe and
cane.
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CARRYING
THE FUTURE
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The
Chinese carry many things on
their back. In this region the
women often wore a thick cape
to support a basket, or in
this case a child. I was
struck by the gentleness in
this woman's face and the
child's eyes looking off into
a different direction.
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ROOSTERS
& LIONS
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This
painting was based on the
rooftops of China which often
sheltered ornate carvings
under the eaves. The roofing
tiles contained symbols for
such good wishes as longevity
and happiness.
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HANGZHOU
MARKET
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Hangzhou,
a picturesque town not too
far from Shanghai, has a
night market. The hanging
lanterns glowed in the
evening in this open air
shop.
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