How to Paint Colorful Grape Vines - a Chinese Watercolor Tutorial

This video is a special painting class based on a masterpiece done by my teacher Zhang Zhengyin(1912-1995). I took this lesson from Mater Zhang in the Fall of 1974 when I was only 15 years old. Chairman Mao is still alive at that time and yes, it was during the Cultural Revolution. It was a one-on-one private class in Master Zhang's studio and I still remember what he taught me in that class about how to observe natural grapevines and grasp its essence in our painting. He was so kind and gave this teaching sample to me for free, 

which I have treasured for 36 years and kept learning every time I open it. 
In this 30 minutes video you will learn how to mix colors for the leave and the fruits, 

vines and tendrils. 
Do you want get a first hand approach to Chinese brush painting? Chinese painting supplies used in this video are available at http://www.BlueHeronArts.com Henry Li

Grapes reflected through black glass.

                        It took me ages to paint these grapes reflected through black glass.

How to paint fruit and silver reflections in Watercolor

My mother's pears on her tree this year are falling off like crazy, they are sooooooo pretty,

I can't seem to stop painting them. Here's an unfinished painting but some of the steps.

Lori Andrew

King of the Wood.

This fantasy wood grows in a temperate climate due to the height and density of the trees,

and provides the magical setting for the glimpse of the stage as he claims his home.

I like the wet, rich and deep soils that indicates the time, colours and events of the layers formed over many centuries. I also like how the trees do not dig their roots into the soil 

but that the soil and life force of the earth slowly grow into trees as they stretch to join in with the sky and each other.

Perhaps you’d like to checkout my sister blog www.innermindreading.blogspot.com

and find easy, fast and efficient ways of working with the issues or the little unpleasantness’s in your life. I am now featuring aspects of my upcoming internet programme to teach Inner Mind Reading.

A roaring Red deer

Inspired by a roaring Red deer, I made this painting. borninfreedom

Moon Ship

                             Moon Ship, emulsion paint, gold acrylic and space gel.

I found the history that I 'lost' for the schooner below.

My name is Rajan Koshy  Artist & curator of Rice Straw Museum. 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/151122827/cuauhtemoc-sailing-ship-of-mexico
This unique art is in the list of endangered form of leaf art. Less than 100 artists practice this ancient art around the world and I am the only rice straw artist in USA. Rice Straw art is an ancient & endangered leaf art existed many centuries ago but very few people knew about this art, also handfuls of artists still practice this unique, beautiful leaf art. This art originated in the southern tip of India called Kerala & in danger of being extinct. Not many people want to learn this art because they can make better living doing something else.

I learned this leaf art working with some of the masters of this art. I lived with them and learned this art and practice this unique art in Galveston, Texas. Now I to create an awareness of the beauty & uniqueness of this special art. You have to see it to believe they are made out of rice straw ( Dried leaves of rice plant). No color paint or dye added to the natural color of rice straw. All the colors or hues you see in rice straw art is natural colors of rice straw. This art originated before we knew how to make color, paint or dye. The artists selected & sorted out different colored straw, opened it with a sharp tool flattened it out, apply glue ( gum Arabic is the glue used & it is the sap from a tree ) on one side placed it on a cloth or paper and cut with a double edged razor blade. Before the razor blades they used sharp stones to cut the rice straw. Everything used to create rice straw art is natural substances like leaves, rice straw, glue, stones etc. even now the artists use the same techniques as used by the forefathers. No two leaves or leaf art look exactly alike. It origin goes way back in time to hundreds (may be thousands) of years when people didn't know how to make paints, colors or dyes. The shades of rice straw goes from pale brown to golden brown and everything in between. Some work take half hour and some others take weeks to complete. Some work has twenty to thirty pieces of rice straw and some others have three to five thousands of tiny pieces in it. Especially in portraits, each strand of hair is over a dozen tiny pieces of rice straw. 

Handmade Straw Pictures - 2000 Year Old Artform

        Unfortunately I have lost the history I discovered about this ancient Indian art form
        and I can't get the youtube to copy:  http://youtu.be/HzOKxPhXTiE
        if you copy and paste the link into your browser you can find two videos;
        if you use the name below you will have to scroll down to find the art videos.

Pushkala Subramanian

Creating pictures using small pieces of straw is an exacting skill that requires not only a discerning eye for choosing and mixing the right shades of straw, but artists with immense patience and with hands that have deft fingers to transform straw into gold. Narrow strips of differently-colored straw are selected and sorted out and each individual piece is cut to the right size with a primitive spear shaped instrument and glued together by hand on to a crepe silk canvas with gum arabic (tree sap). No artificial color, dye or paint is added to the natural color of the rice straw. Each picture has several hundreds of thousands of straw pieces carefully handpicked to reach the required shade and depth. This art is made by a very small group of artisans in villages of South India whose unique skills have been preserved over the centuries from generation to generation.

    

     The Japanese have a history of using Rice Straw in their Titani mats and in sculptures.

The Beech nut fairy

                          I have quite a collection of Cicely Mary Barker's fairy books.
The last few years I have become sufficiently sensitive to feel the energy of some trees
and have spent time 'making friends' with a sycamore tree on Newmarket's July Race Course.