Dragons and Rainwater....

Due to the herculean efforts of Alea Bone, Fire On The Water: A Dragon Boat Art Show, is back for it's second year!   I am pleased to say that the piece I submitted for consideration for this show was accepted!   This Unique Group Art Show, sanctioned by the Rose Festival, is inspired by the rich tradition of Dragon Boating in Portland. The purpose of this show is to highlight one of the most glorious spectacles of Rose Festival: The Dragon Boat Races (which are held on June 11 and 12 this year)

Over 75 Artists have created work inspired by the Rose Festival Dragon Boats. Representing a diverse cross section of Portland Talent, this show is a stunning collection of artistic interpretations, including oil paintings, acrylic, water color, pen and ink, encaustic, mixed-media, batik, wood burning, wood carving, ceramics, assemblage and photography by both well known and emerging artists.

The opening for this show is Thursday June 2 at Portland'5 Center For The Arts  (1111 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97205)
Starts at 5pm....I hope I see you there!!  More deets can be found at this link:  
Fire On The Water: Dragon Boat Art Show


I call my piece "Lord Qu Had Drowned".  The research I did regarding the origins of dragon boat racing was quite fascinating.  Here is some background on Lord Qu:  The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the life and death of the ancient patriot-poet Qu Yuan who lived from 340-278 B.C. Qu Yuan was a minister who advocated reforms in his home state of Chu. The King refused to listen to Qu Yuan's advice and instead banished him from the state of Chu. In exile, Qu Yuan wrote poetry expressing his concern for his country and people. In 278, when Qu Yuan heard that his home had been invaded, he drowned himself in the Mi Lo River.
The people of Chu rushed to the river to rescue him. Too late to save Qu Yuan, they splashed furiously and threw zung-ze, steamed rice wrapped in reed leaf, into the river as a sacrifice to his spirit and to keep the fish from Qu Yuan's body.
Since that time, some 2,000 years ago, dragon boats are raced on rivers in China and people throw zung-ze into the river to honor the memory of Qu Yuan.

The Dragon Boat races themselves are a beautiful event, so it is easy to imagine how the pageantry and excitement of the races will be conveyed in Art form by the fine artists participating in this show.  I am honored to be among them!!  Come get your Dragon on!!

"Lord Qu Had Drowned" 4"X6" acrylic on maple.

Next up, we have The Recycled Rain Project!  This is my second time being included in this show and it is an honor to have been chosen to participate.  Water issues are a cause dear to my heart, and The recycled Rain Project has been partnering with local artists and educating the community on water issues for five years now.  This show entails a group of Portland artists coming together to create original works using collected rain water.  Each artist is selected by a jury of fellow artists and other people who are connected to the local art community.  This year, the line up is amazing, so you can imagine how excited I am to be included!

You can find out more about what the Recycled Rain Project is all about at this link:   

www.therecycledrainproject.org


So, the opening for this awesome show is Saturday June 4th, at the Ford Gallery.  Opening details can be found here:   
Fifth Annual Recycled Rain Project





One of the cool things about this show is using collected rain water to make your piece.  Since I paint with acrylics, rain water lends itself very easily to my work, and since we had a pretty wet early spring, I had plenty of water to use.   What's cool to see at the show are the different ways other artists have used their rain water in their different techniques.  I hope you will come out to see this beautiful show!


I decided to do a triptych for my project this year.  I wanted to do a painting based on a quote I read years ago and took to heart by Loren Eiseley.  "If there is Magic on this Planet, it is Contained in Water."  That statement rings quite true to me and, perhaps due to my upbringing on a large lake, touched my soul, so to speak.   To convey the quote and to try to bring it to canvas, I envisioned a fantastically beautiful water cycle.   I use color primarily to set the mood of a painting, but I also like to create a place that is so peaceful yet so visually dynamic that the viewer of the piece would want to "BE" there.  Anyhow, I hope I have succeeded in conveying the Magic on this Planet in my piece.  Below is a slide show of my process for this work.