Sumi-e, Japanese Painting, Oriental style ink and watercolors.
... Chinese Brush Painting
... Chinese Brush Painting
| Chinese Brush Painting Techniques by Darlene Kaplan |
| Darlene Kaplan is an Alexandria, Virginia professional master painter and art instructor is currently working in Chinese Brush Paintings. Kaplan paints landscapes, seascapes, birds, and flowers directly from nature. Her works hangs in private collections in the U.S. and abroad. Gallery Representation: Past & Present Gallery Representation: Workhouse Arts Center, W-16 Gallery, Lorton, VA Gallery West, Alexandria, VA Ste Felix Gallery, Occoquan, VA Soft Brush Studio, Alexandria, VA Ariel Gallery, Soho, New York City, NY Prince Royal Gallery, Alexandria, VA The Art League Gallery, Alexandria, VA Springfield Art Guild, Springfield, VA Broadway Gallery, Fairfax, VA Lee Design, Alexandria, VA Dukes & Graves, Alexandria, VA Mindful Hands Gallery, Alexandria, VA Education: Chinese Brush Painting Master Class , 1 week workshop taught by Henry Wo, McLean, VA (2008) Chinese Brush Painting Seminar, taught by Henry Wo, Alexandria, VA (1995-2007) Chinese Brush Painting Seminar, taught by Professor Ning Yeh, Alexandria, VA (1993-1996) Landscape Seminar; Portrait Seminar, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria,VA 1988) Advanced/Still Life in Oils/Pastels, Advanced/Landscapes in Oils/Pastels The Art League School, Alexandria, VA (1981-1993) Intermediate/Portrait Drawing; Intermediate/Figure Drawing, The Art League School, Alexandria, VA (1981-1982) Landscapes; Portraits in Oils, Calhoun Community College, Athens, AL (1977-79) Exhibitions: Solo Shows Kingstown Library, Kingstown, VA (2008) Cox Communications, Springfield, VA (2008) Soft Brush Studio, Alexandria, VA (2007) INOVA Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA (2007) Pinnacle Building, McLean, VA (2007) Intellidyne, Falls Church, VA (2006) Green Spring Gardens Park, Annandale, VA (2006) George Washington’s River Farm, Alexandra, VA (2006) Soft Brush Studio, Alexandria, VA (2006) FAC-Washington Technology Park, Chantilly, VA (2005) Green Springs Garden Park, Annandale, VA(2005) Mason District Government Center, Annandale, VA (2005) Vienna Arts Center, Vienna, VA (2004) Mindful Hands Gallery, Alexandria, VA (2004) Dyn Corp, Alexandria, VA (2004) Kingstown Library, Kingstown, VA (2003) Richard Byrd Library, Springfield, VA (2003) LMI, Vienna, VA (2003) Soft Brush Studio, Alexandria, VA (1999-2004) River Farm, Alexandria, VA (1997& 2005) Eddie Morroco’s,- Oil Paintings-(1998) Washington, DC (1996) Springfield Art Center, Oils,“A Visit to the Country”, Springfield, VA (1986) Juried Group Shows: National & International, Local, and Regional Shows Durant Center, Alexandria, VA (2008) (awarded honorable mention) Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA (2008) 11th National Juried Exhibition, Gallery West, Alexandria, VA (2008) River Farm, Alexandria, VA (2008) Franconia Government Center, Springfield, VA (2008) Lorton Workhouse, Lorton, VA (2006) GRACE, Reston, VA (2003-07) The Campagna Center, Young At Art, Alexandria, VA (2004-07) (awarded 1st place in 06) McLean Art Club, McLean, VA (2004) St. Patrick’s Church, Falls Church, VA, juried show (2004-06)- (Awarded 1st Place Winner in 05) DynCorp, Fairfax Council membership show, Alexandria, VA (2004) Vienna Arts Society, membership show, Vienna, VA (2004-06) Green Spring Gardens, open juried exhibition, Annandale, VA (2004-07)- (awarded 3rd place in 07) National League of American Pen Women, International juried show, Washington, DC (2004) Logistics Management Inc (LMI), Fairfax Council membership show, Fairfax, VA (2004) Whole Foods, Annandale, VA (2003-4) Northern VA Community Collage, Ernst Community Cultural Center, Annandale, VA (2004) L’Image Salon, Fairfax Council Membership Show, Fairfax, VA (2003) Franconia Government Center, SAG membership show, Fairfax, VA (2003-07) The Art League Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Membership Show, Alexandria, VA (1993-2004) Richard Byrd Library, SAG Membership Show, Springfield, VA (2003-04) Government Center, SAG membership Show, Alexandria, VA (2002-04) The Target Gallery, International Juried Exhibition, Alexandria, VA (1996) Lee Design, Juried Exhibition, Alexandria, VA (1993-95) Boston Fine Arts Gallery, Juried Exhibition Boston, Ma, (1994) Springfield Art Guild, Juried Exhibition, Membership Show, Springfield, VA (1988) Northern VA Community College, Juried Exhibition, Landscape Show, Alexandria, VA (1988) Broadway Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Oriental and Floral Show, Fairfax, VA (March 1988) Springfield Art Guild, Juried Exhibition, Membership Show, funding Center, Alexandria, VA (1987-1988) Galerie Triangle, Juried Exhibition, National Wildlife and Landscape Exhibition, Washington, DC (1987) Ariel Gallery, Juried Exhibition, Still Life Group Show, Soho, NYC, NY (1986-87) Epoch, Juried Exhibition, Gaithersburg, Md (1986) Springfield Art Center, Juried Exhibition, Membership Show, Springfield, VA ((1985-1987) Decatur General Hospital, Juried Exhibition, Decatur, Al (1978-1986) Decatur Courthouse, Juried Exhibition, Decatur, Al. (1978) Professional Orginizations: Gallery West (President) Associate Member of Lorton Arts Foundation Springfield Art Guild (Past President) Sumi-e Society Fairfax Arts Council The Art League Virginia Watercolor Society Greater Reston Arts Center National League of American Pen Women McLean Art Club Vienna Art Society, Inc. As a child, drawing was my passion. Was brought up on a farm in Mulberry, Tennessee, which is still owned by my family. Was the ninth of ten children, and idolized my older brother, who could draw well. Would watch him for hours imitating him while drawing on anything ready at hand. Started oil painting seriously in 1976. At the time I was living in Decatur, Alabama, where I was employed as Chief Technologist of the Electrocardiogram, Encephalogram, and Graded Exercise Testing department. Working days at the Decatur General Hospital and attending night classes at the University of Birmingham, Alabama left me little time to pursue my avocation and great love of art. However, as soon as I received my degree, enrolled for night classes in Art 1 and Art History at Calhoun Community College in Athens, Alabama. This is a small town close to Decatur, Alabama. I attended Calhoun from 1977 through 1979. Also joined the Decatur Art Guild and displayed my work in various community centers during 1977 and 1979. In 1981 I resigned as a Registered Cardiology Technologist and moved to Alexandria, Virginia, and accompanied my husband on his job- related travels. While on these trips, as my husband would leave for work, I would set up a portable easel and paint on location or in the motel room. Included with all my painting and drawing supplies was a 35mm camera. On the days that my paintings were too wet to work on, would go scouting for subjects for later work with my camera and a drawing pad. Have a variety of realistic oil paintings, which were completed, while traveling throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, and the Middle East. All of these paintings were oil on canvas. From 1982 through 1984 I studied with Danni Dawson in figure and portrait drawing in oils and pastel, at The Art League School in Alexandria, Virginia. From 1984 until 1988 I took further classes in Landscape and Still Life in oils, from Diane Tesler, also at The Art League. In 1995, I started classes in Oriental brush paintings with Henry Wo. This art is on rice paper and the medium is mineral and ink. I was interested in this style of art because of my martial arts/Tai Chi’ training. The Chinese believed that to be a well rounded person one had to have experience in the following: martial arts, painting, medicine, poetry, and music. Have the ranking of 3rd degree black belt in freestyle karate, have been painting for over 30 years, worked in the hospital for many years, play the violin, but so far no poetry. That will be next on my list of things to do. The Chinese Brush Paintings (which are the bulk of my paintings now) in my art gallery are rendered on rice paper, then mounted on a thicker paper using glue. The color is ground from minerals or plants and mixed with glue so it will stick to the paper. The ink comes in liquid form or ink sticks that are ground on an ink stone made of slate and mixed with water. The ink stick is preferred over the liquid ink. The brushes are soft (rabbit hair), medium (mixed fox and horse hair), or hard (horse hair), and are loaded with water first, then as many layers of color or ink will be added depending on the subject matter. By loading the brush in this manner it allows the blending of one color into the other gradually in one brush stroke. After the paintings have been mounted the mood seals and chop with name of artist will be added. One chop has my name while the mood seals are poetical sayings or a symbol, which has a connection with the painting. The seals are pressed into a tin of cinnabar paste, a scarlet red color, and is pressed onto the painting. When using a red seal on a monochrome painting, it is said to be adding the eye to the dragon. Besides the signature seal, my work also has my name in Chinese characters, and my signature in English. The subject matter varies from landscapes to birds, flowers, fish, landscapes, animals, insects and so on. Much of the subject matter has symbolic meaning. For instance,if a couple were getting married, or moving into a new house, a great gift would be a painting with fish. Fish symbolize long life and happiness. If you have fish in the work place it keep cash flowing, so a painting of fish in the office would be a great choice. Landscapes symbolize tranquility, which makes a living room a great place for a landscape painting. Both Crane and pine tree are strong and is a symbol of long life . These paintings are used by many interior decorators to feng shui home and or office for their clients. |
About The Artist
