http://www.darlenekaplan.com
Pink Lotus Art Studio

Oriental Brush Painting lessons
taught by award winning artist,
Darlene Kaplan in Pink Lotus Art
Studio.  Classes are ongoing,
you may join us anytime.
chineseart@darlenekaplan.com
Pink Lotus Art Studio

Oriental Brush Paintings & Oils
for private, business, and
or corporate art collectors.

For private viewing
703-922-4175
About the Art

The Chinese Brush Paintings (which are the bulk of my paintings now) in my art gallery are rendered on rice paper, then mounted on a
thicker paper using glue. The color is ground from minerals or plants and mixed with glue so it will stick to the paper. The ink comes in
liquid form or ink sticks that are ground on an ink stone made of slate and mixed with water. The ink stick is preferred over the liquid ink.
The brushes are soft (rabbit hair), medium (mixed fox and horse hair), or hard (horse hair), and are loaded with water first, then as many
layers of color or ink will be added depending on the subject matter. By loading the brush in this manner it allows the blending of one
color into the other gradually in one brush stroke. After the paintings have been mounted the mood seals and chop with name of artist will
be added. One chop has my name while the mood seals are poetical sayings or a symbol, which has a connection with the painting. The
seals are pressed into a tin of cinnabar paste, a scarlet red color, and is pressed onto the painting. When using a red seal on a
monochrome painting, it is said to be adding the eye to the dragon. Besides the signature seal, my work also has my name in Chinese
characters, and my signature in English.
The subject matter varies from landscapes to birds, flowers, fish, landscapes, animals, insects and so on. Much of the subject matter
has symbolic meaning. For instance,if a couple were getting married, or moving into a new house, a great gift would be a painting with
fish. Fish symbolize long life and happiness. If you have fish in the work place it keep cash flowing, so a painting of fish in the office would
be a great choice. Landscapes symbolize tranquility, which makes a living room a great place for a landscape painting. Both Crane and
pine tree are strong and is a symbol of long life . These paintings are used by many interior decorators to feng shui home and or office for
their clients.
ART EXHIBITIONS

Have had gallery representation and art exhibitions in SoHo district of N.Y. City, Alabama, Tennessee, Washington DC, Maryland, and
Virginia. All the exhibitions have been juried shows, either one person or group shows.
My Oriental brush paintings and Oil paintings are collected by private, business, and corporations worldwide.

Yearly exhibitions at Pink Lotus Studio in VA. with over 200 paintings of Chinese watercolor arts. The shows have been very
successful. I get to meet all my guest, and can answer any questions that they may have about my work. It would be my pleasure to
give a private viewing to any client that is interested in seeing my work. To make an appointment, please e-mail
chineseart@darlenekaplan.com or phone 703-922-4175 Monday-Friday from 10 am till 6 pm, Sat from 10 am till 6pm..

Active member of and Past President of Springfield Art Guild, member of Sumi-e Society, Virginia Watercolor Society, The Art
League/Torpedo Factory, Vienna Arts League, National League of American Pen Women, McLean Art League, GRACE, and The Fairfax
Arts Council, Associate member of Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton VA, President of Gallery West, Alexandria, VA..

My art may be viewed at Pink Lotus (Art) Studio, 4609 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, Gallery West, Alexandria, VA, Workhouse Arts
Center Building 16, Lorton, VA, and at ABACA Imports, 1120 N. Fairfax Street, Alex., VA 22314.
Pink Lotus Art Studio located in Northern VA.  Oriental Brush Paintings and Oil Paintings by artist,
Darlene Kaplan
chineseart@darlenekaplan.com
Chinese Brush Paintings & Oils at Pink Lotus Art Studio
by Darlene Kaplan
What I Do

For many years I painted realism in oils before making the change to oriental brush painting.  Studying martial arts for years
inspired me to try this medium, which I fell in love with right away.  The calming effect of grinding the ink before painting, the energy
that is put into throwing ink on paper is just the greatest of pleasures that only this style of art allows me to feel.

I grew up in the country in Tennessee where all of my spare time was spent walking in the woods searching out bugs, plants and
anything else that was alive.  Those childhood days spent with nature is brought alive every time I put a brush stroke down on paper.
 All of my paintings are derived from nature.

The paintings are from the very simple, elegant brush stroke of the bamboo orchid to the complicated soothing landscapes that
your eyes can take a journey up into the mountains and off into the mist before returning home.  

Subtlety of a good painting lies in its being alike and yet unlike the subject where the absence of content can itself create rhythm and
variety.

I believe that an artist is a person who can see something within the mind that can be brought into reality where it can be seen, felt,
touched, heard, and even sometimes smelled.
Pigeons of Hawaii
Chinese Brush Painting
by Darlene Kaplan
Lotus in the Rain
Chinese Brush Painting
Darlene Kaplan