SUMI PAINTING PRACTICE: BIRDS AND BEES

I always love getting to visit my mother for a few days.  She is also an artist, and is interested mainly in Chinese Landscape and Sumi painting, as well as watercolor media.  She studied under an artist by the name of Mi Shoo, who was a personal friend of Georgia O'Keefe back in the day...and who imparted a lot of wisdom to his students!  One of the things I continue to regard as great advice..."if you can paint a rock, you can paint anything else on this earth". 

As my mother is getting ready to teach a class on Sumi Painting this fall, with the Nature Arts program that she volunteers for...she and I started in painting bees and cattails, as well as birds and bamboo.  I am anxious to continue practicing with her over the next few months, as I am learning a great deal about simplifying my compositions and detail work!  I hope to be helping with her class, and getting more exposure to this wonderful, classic art.