Bamboo In Color

The artist that inspired me the most to want to be able to paint myself is named Michael Kopald. He had a gallery in Lexington, VA where he created some absolutely stunning brush paintings of bamboo. Amie and I just happened to walk into his gallery back in 2003 and I was transfixed by the beauty of his work. I couldn't afford $800 for one of his small paintings, so I left the gallery dreaming of learning to create one myself.

Last night one of his paintings popped up in my newsfeed in an advertisement for a showing in Lexington this weekend. I have an obstacle race and can't go. Boo. It did give me an idea though. Aubrey has always asked me why my bamboo paintings are all in black. I told her I don't have the traditional inks to do the colored paintings. Thats true, but I also just don't feel comfortable with color for bamboo.

Today I decided what the heck. I grabbed one of my favorite greens, Hookers Light, and mixed some up. I played around with the same basic bamboo stalk in two different sizes, 9x12 and 12x16. I like my leaves better in the small painting and the bamboo better in the larger one.

Leaves are always going to be my achilles heel. I just. can't. relax. when its time to paint them and they ALWAYS turn out stiff. Its ok though - one of these days I am going to have a breakthrough, and my doggone leaves are going to flow!!!

Anyway, Aubrey loves them ("you used color Daddy, you used color!") and that's all that really matters to me!