Paintings based on photographs:

An erhu player in Beijing, unperturbed by the passing tourists. It was one of those perfect days, a first visit to Tiananmen Square, the Mao mausoleum, and the Forbidden City; we were all free and joyous. The pink paving perfectly captures that mood.   

Beijing 2005, 18″ by 24″ oil on canvas

I snuck in to take this photo of a monk in study while visiting a temple in Xi’an. I’m in love with the dragon’s (?) head.  

 

Contemplation, 18″ by 24″ oil on canvas

Coming down Yellow Mountain in the fog. The climb, the day before, was miserable, cold with a drenching rain, but the fog was worse. I don’t know where that couple in the background came from; they weren’t in the photo I was working from, they just appeared in the painting.

 

My grandmother with her dog Shep in her backyard in Pennsylvania. She always had a huge  black dog, she named them all Shep, and they all absolutely adored her. 

Back to the temple at Xi’an. I don’t know who these people are, but I feel that I know them. 

 

One of my favorite paintings: a friend posing in costume at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing. A modern young woman weighing ancient ways – and that red!

 

A visit to World Heritage Villages, and an affectionate comment on tourism, After three attempts this painting attained a lovely light-hearted jauntiness. 

 

From another July 4th photo taken somewhere in Old City, Philadelphia. I can’t make up my mind about this one.

 

 

I rudely followed these monks one very early morning in Xi’an. This is the oldest painting of the China group, and another favorite. And it’s the one that changed most from its original photo. That featured pleased, neutral faces, but here are different individuals, and apparently some drama.