Sumi-e and Haiku

Last post, I left you with the thought that the art of Sumi-e was directly related to the art of Haiku. Let's take a closer look at this concept. Since Sumi-e is minimalist painting and Haiku is minimalist writing, it would be reasonable to say that the two art forms would naturally support one another and often be studied and exhibited together.

In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line, while haiku in English usually appear in three lines, to parallel the three metrical phrases of Japanese haiku. Such as :

The fragrance!
Though I know not
Whence it comes.
~ Basho

Previously called hokku, haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of the 19th century. The typical length of haiku appearing in the main English-language journals is 10–14 syllables and have a  symmetrical line arrangement such as 5-7-5 or 3-5-3.  Some haiku poets are concerned with their haiku being expressed in one breath and the extent to which their haiku focus on "showing" as opposed to "telling".  Therefore haiku is concerned with showing minimally as is Sumi-e.

Now let's look at the undesputed master of the haiku, Matsuo Bashō, an Edo-period Japanese haiku poet. Bashō's poetry was quickly recognized for it's simple and natural style. Sumi-e is recognized for it's simple and elegant brush strokes. A natural combination.

Let me show you an example of how I have used haiku in combination with contemporary sumi-e. For me as an artist, usually the haiku inspires the sumi-e. This results in a simple creative expression and profound experience.  However, I have occasionally painted the sumi-e first and then combined the result with haiku. The following haiku is considered to be Basho's most famous haiku of all.

At the ancient pond,
a frog plunges into,
the sound of water.
~ Basho

Sound of Water by Casey Shannon

Fantasy Fairy in the Woods 3Hada en el Bosque 3

After finishing Fantasy Fairy in the Woods 2, I decided to make another version where my fairy is more strongly presented in the work so I cropped the background and made him fit about half of the space where the eye would normally focus. This is more in line with the way my masculine male fairy was presented in the first work in the series only this time I feel I did a better job of the wings and the pose is the same as in the second version. I make no apologies since this series was my first attempt at doing any fantasy art and wings are not very easy to do.

Fantasy Fairy in the Woods 3

Fantasy Fairy in the Woods 3 Antiqued

Fantasy Fairy in the Woods 2Hada en el Bosque 2

If you remember a while back I made my first fantasy artwork which is my masculine male fairly. I did it because I was tired of miniature fairy people that were either only female or they were extremely feminine males typically very boyish looking even though they seemed to be adults in overall shape. I was also very tired of fairy people always in bright high-key light playing wind instruments or dancing. I really don't think that is any more accurate than saying that Americans are always eating hot-dogs and that Mexicans eat everything with chili peppers. Generalizations are just that so in my quest to break the mold here is the next two works in my Fantasy Fairy series with male fairy art.

Fantasy Fairy in the Woods 2

Here's my "antiqued" version which is sepia enhanced along with a few other details.

Fantasy Fairy in the Woods 2 Antiqued

Linger in the Moonlight 1

This artwork is a digital collage although it does have some painterly qualities. A couple days ago I got a call that one of my friends had passed away so after a day of feeling loss, I made this work dedicated to those who have a passed away.

Linger in the Moonlight 1

May your memory linger in the moonlight like these ghosts dancing in a dark forest with the moon to light their path. Rest in Peace dear friends and family who are and will be missed.

The Artists' Spotlight - Ginette Callaway, Dawn Sebaugh, Wil Moore

This will forever be the age old question, "What is Art ? " Here is one definition, "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance." (www.dictionary.com ). This then leads me to ask why is one artist's work of a straight line and twisted colors or a splash across the canvas appealing and a detailed portrait may get just a simple appreciative nod? It is all stated in the above definition, art is extremely subjective, though an artist may put their all in a project, it is the viewer that determines it's popularity. Trends, schools, movements, techniques, styles, politics sets the tone for art appeal.
When one thinks of Impressionism, Monet comes to mind, Surrealism, Dali, Cubism, Picasso.
Here I will feature three separate artists in style, and genre, I have selected each one for the appeal they have on me and my taste .  I have my favorite artists, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Goya, Dali,  these names will forever be equated with art greatness, the beauty of art is as long as there is life it will never lose it's appeal or fade.  Art is life and life is Art.

Okefenokee Sunset by Ginette Callaway



Abstract - CASINO by Dawn Sebaugh




Desperation by Wil Moore

Spider Monkey in Movement 1 - Wild Animal ArtworkMono araña en movimento 1 - Obra de Arte

Yesterday afternoon I went to the zoo. Although my camera has poor zoom, I was able to get a few decent photos and more to edit. Unfortunately it was unseasonably warm with clear skies. As you might know, outdoor photos are best taken on cloudy days.



Here is my first artwork or as I like to say artistic photo from yesterday's zoo trip. The challenge here was to make it attractive since the spider monkey is behind a glass wall and the rest of the cage is an ugly wire mesh. Also I noticed that it looks like the log in the original photo appears to be coming out of its behind instead of ending at the cage so I edited out the distraction and the cage background.  The other problem is that the spider monkey was going the wrong way so I turned him around

Here is the original photo so you can compare. :-) Don't forget to comment!

Ayer me fui al zoológico y aunque me hace falta acercar bien a los objetos lejanos, logre sacar unas fotos buenas. Como un reto personal decidi hacer arte con los monos arañas aunque el sol estaba fuerte.

Aqui es mi primera obra de arte, o sea foto artistica de mi paseo al "zoo".  El reto es hacer atractiva la foto aunque esta atras de vidrio en una jaula de alambre. Aparte hay elementos como el palo que parece salir de su trasero (les aseguro que es! las fotos engañen). Finalmente tuvé que voltearlo para mejorar la imagen.
 ¿Como ven?

Pilar 1 Artistic Portrait with Effects

Pilar 1 Artistic Portrait with Effects - Finished!

You'll see the simple version of my portrait of Pilar, my neighbor, in my previous post. Here is my finished, complete version. I hope you like it.



I applied quite a few effects and filters each in its own layer. I used dodge on her eyes and burn on her shirt and quite a few other little details including changing the setting of clone stamp to lighten or darken, or change the percent of burn to almost nothing...

Pilar 1 Simple Portrait

While you probably know me for my floral artistic photo artwork, I also experiment with other types of art. This morning I had the opportunity to take Pilar's photo to make her portrait. By 1pm I was about to finish this "simple portrait". It is simple because It doesn't have any special effects or filters, just your basic touch-ups and adjustments.

Pilar 1 Simple Portrait

I hope to have a version with effects available later today.

Pilar lives nearby, and she sells tacos de canasta and tacos de guisado with her daughter from Monday to Friday and often Saturday, so if you see my Twitter and Facebook messages about the great tacos for breakfast, now you know who prepared them!  (The next person who comments about Taco Bell will be unfollowed! That was very insulting.)

A pleasant side effect to having me do your portrait is that you will look many years younger since I try to minimize sun damage, wrinkles, large pores (my personal problem!), and scars.

Here is the "before" photo.

Pale Pink Cut Rose 1 Angelic

A beautiful pale pink cut rose flower enhanced with an angelic glow.