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| Chinese Brush Paintings & Oils at Soft Brush Studio by Darlene Kaplan |
| Soft Brush Studio Oriental Brush Painting lessons taught by award winning artist, Darlene Kaplan in Soft Brush Studio. Classes are ongoing, you may join us anytime. |
| Soft Brush Studio Oriental Brush Paintings & Oils for private, business, and or corporate art collectors. |
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.
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.
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| 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 Soft Brush 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 Soft Brush 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. |
| Soft Brush Studio located in Northern VA. Oriental Brush Paintings and Oil Paintings by artist, Darlene Kaplan. |
