Final version, Betta Dancing!A painting is like a sculpture. Sometimes, I gather my energy, and a perfect painting emerges all at once, but this is quite rare. Most of the time, I create a painting and then refine it like a sculptor, reviewing and adjusting it repeatedly. If I feel something isn't quite right in my mind, the painting isn't finished. Therefore, an artist must know when it is acceptable to put down the brush. I can't declare a painting complete if the fish depicted don’t seem to be dancing happily. As a result, I should continue to draw.
Since a painting is akin to a sculpture, I must constantly reflect and think things through. When I create a painting, technique plays only a small role—most of it is about expression. Only those who truly understand can appreciate the joy of expressing it the way I envision. In fact, I believe I strive for this joy. This particular work took nearly a week to complete. Once I finished the final revisions, it felt like I had released all my energy. However, my inspiration is replenished when I start conceiving another painting. It is a wonderful feeling to have a source of creative energy that I can draw upon every day. I hope this betta fish conveys the joy of being alive, akin to a dance. I aim to inspire as many stories as possible through the betta fish that grace the canvas. I want these fish to dance in people's hearts as if they were truly alive. I wish for the fish to live each day as if they were dancing, each with their own unique steps, without comparing themselves to one another and falling into feelings of depression, despair, or pride.
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Recent watercolor painting, Betta dancing.This is a recent watercolor painting titled 'Betta Dancing'. This painting was painted on 22 x 30 inches Arches paper. I wanted to express the beauty that watercolor can show through Betta fish. I think the Betta's tail, which sways like a curtain, is sufficiently explained through the transparency that watercolor can show. Also, the vivid colors of the various colorful Bettas give me joy.
I have loved observing the movement of fish since I was young. This is because the vivid, dance-like fluttering of fish maximizes the beauty of being alive. All living things in the world have their own beauty. When they are filled with this full joy of being alive, the inherent energy of the object is maximized. And I think it is conveyed in the form of beauty. As an artist, I want to capture this vivid energy. In this sense, I think Betta fish is the pinnacle of the beauty of living creatures that move without stopping. And I named the painting Beta Dancing with that meaning in mind. Beta means perseverance and tenacity. All living creatures have this beta energy. And even if it is not particularly beautiful or great, everything in this world sparkles and is beautiful at the moment of life. Think about it. Each of us has a secret switch. When I turn that switch on, the entire universe lights up, and when I turn that switch off, the entire universe darkens. As long as I exist, all the universes and energies I feel remain in my memories and existence. Therefore, how beautiful and precious are each of us? If I disappear, I will no longer be able to feel the entire universe I feel, so I must love myself more than anyone else. That is why the fish I drew each have their own energy and move beautifully. Trunk or Treat !At the invitation of a friend, I visited the 'Trunk or Treat' event held at the church. This event is a Halloween version designed using car trunks. They park their cars in the corner of the church parking lot, open the trunks, make various Halloween concepts inside, and give chocolates to children. My friend has a talent for making her garden and table look like a fairyland. This time, she delighted many visitors with her cute and lovely decorations. I think it was a fun event where everyone could have fun and come up with their own unique ideas, such as card games, karaoke, and hidden picture games. One person even brought his Tesla Cybertruck to let his kids sit on the seat. I think this event was more fun than the 'Trick or Treat' on Halloween. First of all, it is difficult to protect children from cars approaching when going door to door. And recently, there have been reports of crimes such as putting small knife pieces in Halloween chocolate. I had a similar case in my neighborhood last year. Fentanyl is hard to tell because it looks similar to candy. I hope that this kind of crime of misusing and abusing events that children can enjoy will stop. It is too cruel to children. In this respect, this event was safer and more comfortable. And it was educational because children got candy through various games instead of knocking on doors. And from a cost perspective, I think it's better for the environment to use the trunk of your car rather than decorating the entire house. I also think it's a great opportunity to experience and create creative ideas. I'm glad I was able to experience a different Halloween through this event.
My journey to capture the energyRecently I started to paint a 22 x 30 inch watercolor painting. The theme of this painting is 'alive'. My journey to capture the energy of things continues and has been going on for over ten years since my debut in 2011. The title of my first exhibition in Germany was 'Live, Alive'. My obsession with the energy of life began with my search for the beauty and essence of things. In the end, I concluded that everything alive in the world is beautiful. So I focused on the energy that living, living objects have. Recently, my husband was walking around the campus of our school and saw a beautiful bird and took a picture of it. It was a beautiful bird with fluorescent yellow feathers on its belly. This beautiful bird did not fly away and just crouched in one place. I think it was probably before it passed away. I have seen birds like this before. This bird also showed brilliant beauty while it was alive. If the energy that an object has disappeared, would it be possible to perfectly express the beauty of an object with only light or shadow? I think objects have their own energy and as an artist, I want to convey this accurately. In this sense, my subject returned to fish. I remember that the first exhibition I drew was two fish. I like to see the endless movement of fish as they move in the water. They never stop and continue to create beautiful curves. I like to depict fish because their various movements in the water are like seeing their energy with their eyes. And every time I try to draw with their movements, I think about what a true aesthetic approach is. Rather, it is because of these concerns and explorations that I am not afraid of living in the AI generation as an artist. This painting I started will be filled with many kinds of Betta fish to fit a large-sized watercolor painting. I will try to portray their various movements and life. I will be absorbed in drawing this fish for a while. I don't know what this fish painting can bring me, but I am grateful that after starting this painting, I have no other thoughts than this painting. And in a few days, I expect to upload my finished work through this post.
Describing animals through drawingsSince last week, I have been asking my students to pick their favorite animal and describe it in as much detail as possible. And my students have successfully completed their task. In fact, it is not easy for young students to observe objects as closely as possible and draw pictures. However, by doing so, students can further develop their drawing skills. If students are learning to draw and cannot draw the things they like as realistically as possible, they will feel frustrated. As a teacher of drawing, I tend to help students learn to express themselves as realistically as possible. I think it is more progressive to finish realistic descriptions first and then use creativity to draw the world they imagine. This is because there are many skills that must be learned first when drawing, and these cannot be ignored. When most people start painting, they tend to just paint with simple and bold brush strokes, just like an impressionist painter, omitting many things. However, if this happens repeatedly, it is easy to miss the details that need to be learned. If you skip steps without learning the details, you will miss the opportunity to improve your painting skills. In this sense, nature is a good teacher and model to learn how to draw. Just by drawing the small birds around you, there are many things you can learn, such as the direction of the feathers, the color, the reflection of the eyes, the pose, and the perspective. And if you master these, you will be able to capture the energy or feeling hidden in the bird. I know well the joy of using metaphors for objects to change them into your own feelings or to convey the message you want to convey. And I hope that students can reach this level. In this sense, drawing is a good medium to learn the joy of self-growth when you practice steadily and learn the details.
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