Chinese Celebrations

What's not to love about art? It can be serious, it can take on many forms, it can transform in front of our eyes. It all evolves and emerges from our painting surface. Sometimes it goes as planned, and other times it changes, and takes on a life of its own. Just like the journey we call life, I guess.

This very lovely Asian Lady enjoying her role in a full-on Chinese New Year Celebration Parade. The complexity of her elaborate headdress captivated me, along with her beautiful glowing face.

I painted her face (transparent & opaque watercolour - gouache) and then started on her hair, and realised that my painting's story wasn't so much about her, but the culture, and joy and happiness, and traditions of such events.

I preferred the 'unfinished' look to her hair, and the headdress amazed me with so many elements, so that is when I decided that someone had to design it, and that starts with imagination, fantasy, and design, eliminating some of the complexities of 'real life', and decided on ink drawing, and bringing in some stunning twinkling metallic watercolours to add 'sparkle' to this lively celebration. These metallics will change and sparkle in light, viewed at different angles. If I'd painted her clothing, hair, and headdress, this would have been a 'heavy' painting, and so I am loving the whimsy and fantasy of my adaptions to this. I hope you enjoy this also.

Unframed. A small border beyond the image size is provided for framing purposes.
Initials on front. Further details on rear.

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Completing the circle.
Enchanted even as a child by 'everything' art and artists, and always with pencils and other art materials in hand.
Life is a journey - with art appearing and disappearing as part of my life with many twists and turns one's life seems to take.

Fortunate enough to win some awards and recognition for my artworks from time to time - enough not to give up hope - doing art when I could manage to.

With more time on my hands, of late, maybe it's time to paint some of the subjects that have caught my eye, that present a challenge, and discover and confront some of my deepest depths and emotions attached to my desire to always do art.

My mother's family of Noble, and my father's family (Hannaford) have artists - families that came to Australia from the earliest beginnings of the settlement of Adelaide in South Australia.