Seamus Berkeley Painter of Fine Art

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Greetings from Estes Park Colorado

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:03:00 +0000

We left Berkeley CA in Seamus' Subaru Legacy circa 1990 around 3pm on Tuesday October 22. After a somewhat leisurely drive through Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, we arrived in Estes Park CO today. We're on a two week road trip but this isn't a dispatch from on the road. It's from a stopping point or more accurately, one of our destinations. Here are a couple highlights. More to come.

Elk standing in a field on Ponderosa Lane, Estes Park Colorado.

Amy's breakfast creation.

A Trip to Bikaner, Rajasthan

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Sun, 09 Jan 2005 22:57:00 +0000

Several people had told me that Rajasthan was the place to go if I wanted to see Indian art. It was also an opportunity to experience travel by train Indian style. The train left Delhi late at night and was a general class sleeper car. This is India and it is warm here, so I won't need any heavy clothes, I thought. Whoops!

As the train continued west into the desert, the air became cold in the open-windowed carriage and by morning, it was close to a frost. Add to the lack of warmth, the bouncing, rocking and noise of the train and the cramped space at the top level of a three-bunk tier and, you may imagine, it was one long night!

Bikaner is a much smaller city than Delhi and much less intense. Yes, there were the autotaxi drivers offering to give us a ride; however, they were less demanding. We chose one driver who was very accommodating and brought us to the Shri Ram Hotel. Home at last!

As I knew we would be traveling to a number of places in a short time during the trip to India, I had sent my painting equipment to Ireland where I would pick it up later. For this portion of the journey, I relied on my camera to capture images that would have potential for painting in the studio upon my return to Taos.

Wonderful images were abundant. Just as in Delhi, people stopped me and asked to have their picture taken, like this young fellow on an early morning walk to town:

Or these camel drivers, the second of whom had to run into the picture when he saw I was taking a shot of the driver in the foreground:

And everywhere there were cows:

Architectural images:

And images of the old city:

We were lead through the old city by, Bilal, a fellow who befriended us at a small restaurant

Bilal also introduced us to local several artists. It was our last day in Bikaner and here was an opportunity I had been looking for: to meet with artists from India and find out about their approach to painting. Before leaving on this trip, I had been intrigued to see a painter from India in a movie called '1 Giant Leap'. In that movie, the artist was working on an oil painting of Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god. Bilal lead us down a short alley to the artist's studio.

What I found in the studio was surprising. Indeed, everyone working in the studio was painting devotional images, just as I had seen in the movie. However, all the work was copy work from old texts. Any work that was original was not devotional; rather it was paintings of landscapes and people! So, at least in this case, my imagination about Indian art was jarred by reality.

Next: Sanchi, India - A Break from the Crowds

On to India

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Thu, 30 Dec 2004 21:39:00 +0000

My flight to New Delhi, India landed late at night. I was met at the airport by my daughter Emily who was there to attend a friend's wedding and visit with her Indian boyfriend, Gautam Gupta. Immediately, Delhi reminded me of Shanghai - lots of traffic and lots of smoke in the air. What would the morning bring, I wondered?

Early Morning, New Delhi, India

Early the next morning, my mind stopped wondering. Delhi was indeed polluted. The air was so thick that the sun was a barely visible disk just slightly brighter grey than surrounding sky. Heading out into the city was the next jarring experience. The streets were packed with people and it seemed every few feet someone was demanding my attention for money, an auto rickshaw ride or to buy a brush or blanket or food or shoes or CD's. By the time I had walked to the train station, I was already close to my limit of tolerance when someone grabbed me by the arm to demand I take his auto richshaw. My body had an automatic reaction that, fortunately, I was able to stop just before it responded physically.

Train Station, New Delhi, India

Over the next few days, I learned the best approach to walking through the crowds: stay focused and don't acknowledge anyone even with the slightest eye contact. This advice came from Gautam and worked very well. People stopped asking and didn't even try. It was interesting to hear several people from India tell me the same thing and that even they did not pay anyone heed since there have been too many instances of fraud.

After a couple of days of adjustment, I got back to my plan of seeing traditional art. The first stop was the Jama Masjid. I brought my camera for the trip expecting to photograph examples of Islamic art and architecture. This art was there indeed. What was better though, was the unexpected. It was here that I had the first experience of people wanting to pose for their photograph. This was an enjoyable and unexpected cultural difference that was repeated at every stop in India.

Jama Masjid, New Delhi, India

The next day I visited the National Gallery of Modern Art. This museum was definitely worthwhile visiting and many examples of Indian artwork.

National Gallery of Modern Art

The discovery here was the paintings of Amrit Shergil who's figurative and portrait work was outstanding. Her work was amazing especially because all of it had been done before her early death at the age of twenty-nine.

Self-portrait, Amrit Shergil

Next: A Trip to Bikaner, Rajasthan

Back to Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 18:15:00 +0000

Bangkok is another huge city with over six million residents. While the big cities are not my favorite places to spend time, Bangkok has its pluses. As in other parts of Thailand, the people are friendly and calm. The city is known as the 'Venice of the East' because of the wide Chao Phraya River which runs through its western side. Staying within walking distance of the river was great. There were inexpensive river taxis that ran frequently and stopped often along both banks. It was a refreshing means of transportation - a lot better than tuk-tuks and planes.

Chao Phraya River, Bangkok

One of the stops made by the river taxis was a ten minute walk to the National Museum Bangkok. This museum is Thailand's largest and had a significant collection of Buddhist imagery. On the day we visited the main temple was filled with young students drawing copies of the wall paintings.

Another museum nearby was the Art Gallery National Museum. This museum had a number of paintings that reflected Thai history.

While it was interesting to see the art in both of these museums, I was not hugely impressed. The work that I had seen in Art Museum of Chiang Mai made this work seem boring.

Next: On to India

A Trip to Louang Prabang

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 14:11:00 +0000

Luang Prabang was the most pleasant city I had visited so far. It is a small city (population estimates vary from 16,000 to 55,000) located at the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers and has nearly thirty Buddhist wats within it. I suspect this explains why Louang Prabang is similar to other places in the tropics of Asia - the people were friendly and calm.

Louang Prabang

At one time, Louang Prabang had been the capital of Laos. It had also been colonized by the French. Their influence is still present in the French architecture style of many of the older buildings in the downtown.

The surrounding countryside just outside the city was a relatively easy ride on bicycle, which where available for rent everywhere. The lush valleys and hills presented some of the most memorable I had scenery so far. One particular bike trip brought us to the Tad Sadet waterfalls:

Tad Sadet Falls

The color of the water really was deep aqua and the stepped falls were formed over the years by mineral deposits. The whole setting was, thankfully, not 'dressed-up' for tourists.

Getting to Louang Prabang was its own adventure. I had first heard of the place from other travelers while in Thailand. Several people from France had told me about a river trip through Laos that lead to the city. It sounded interesting and the trip was planned in that direction. Like Louang Prabang, the whole river trip turned out to be one of the most spectacular scenic settings of the journey so far.

The boat trip started in the northwest of Laos in a town called Huay Xai just across the border from Thailand. The two day trip went through very remote areas. For eight hours the first day and ten hours the second we sat on small wooden benches in a crowded wooden boat that barely floated above the water line. Everywhere there were densely forested hills dotted with an occasional hut or small village. Every turn presented another scene like this one:

Mekong River

Notions were beginning to brew in my mind. A combination of art influences from Asia and this scenery lead to some new ideas for painting. What follows are a few images of the trip and related studies:

Golden Temple

Golden Temple Study

Mekong River Sunset

Mekong River Sunset Study

Mekong River

Mekong River Study

Next: Back to Bangkok

Return to Thailand - Art in Chiang Mai

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Wed, 20 Oct 2004 11:26:00 +0000

My first visit to Thailand was excellent and I was drawn to go there again to see more art, paint and visit other areas of the country. Most of my trip so far was spent in cities, including the past two months in Shanghai, one of the largest cities in the world. Now, I wanted to go to a more rural setting. Laurel Bastian (who had joined me in Shanghai) and I, flew into Bangkok to meet with another friend, Katie Kolosovsky. The three of us made plans to travel to Chiang Mai, a city in the north of Thailand.

Chiang Mai is seven hundred years old and the second largest city in Thailand. The twelve-hour train ride from Bangkok was comfortable and scenic. We were met with the usual crowd of tut-tut drivers wanting to taxi us wherever we wanted to go, all the while promoting their favorite place to stay. We ended up at an inn run by Dave, an American ex-patriot of eleven-years.

The following morning was our first real view of the city. The oldest part of it had been walled with a moat. The moat is still in place as well as remnants of the wall. We found that this inner part was compact enough to walk around within a few hours. We also learned that a significant wat, the Doi Suthep, and most of the art museums were located outside of the inner center.

The Doi Suthep was located several kilometres north of the city. Motorbike rentals are readily available in Thailand. Renting one made getting to the wat a pleasant ride through the hills. This wat was impressive. It is located high above the city and has been immaculately cared for.

Doi Suthep

Evening at Doi Suthep

The next places to visit were the art museums, including the Chiang Mai National Museum . While the local cultural museum had some historical displays, there was little to hold my interest in the way of art. I had been told by a Chiang Mai resident to be sure to visit the Chiang Mai Art Museum. I was glad I took his advice - the museum had some of the best contemporary art on display that I have seen anywhere in the world.

The museum is connected with the Chiang Mai University. The current show on display was of Thai artists, and it was so impressive, I went to see it twice - the second time with camera in hand. You can see here a few of the pieces from the show.

'Power of Life', Oil on canvas

Mr. Viroj Ratanajamcharoen, 'Monkey... where to go?', Oil on canvas

Mr. Arkom Doungchawna, 'Red Composition', Mixed media

Mr. Yootasak Roikaencham, 'Mysterious Object No. 2', Oil on canvas

Mr. Anusom Siripin, 'Toward Happiness', Paper, clay

While the images give some notion of the work, they do not convey the quality of it. And there was more work on display than is shown here.

I had started this trip with the notion of seeing traditional art in Asia. It was inspiring to see high such quality contemporary work.

Next: A Trip to Luang Prabang

Art in Shanghai

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Fri, 15 Oct 2004 10:36:00 +0000

The Shanghai Art Museum was the first museum I visited in Shanghai. The Museum was hosting the fifth biannale this year. I went to the opening night celebration only to find that it required an invitation. Since I had traveled some distance to attend it, I decided it was worth effort to enquire if they had an invitation for me. I asked a few of the attendants for an invitation. After a few minutes wait, one of them lead me to the entry gate, gave me a tag and invited me to enter.

The opening night coincided with the full moon and was held outside in a park adjoining the museum.
It was an international event and the crowd was thick and well dressed. The show was a video and performance affair and included a floating astronaut, live music, and video installations.

The video installations appeared in various configurations including large scale moving boxes and tall towers as in the photograph above. (Yes, that is a billboard for 'Lord of the Rings' in Chinese in the background.) The museum did well in putting on an interesting event for the international crowd living and visiting Shanghai.

The rest of the show, held inside the museum, continued its international flavor and included recognized names such as Yoko Ono and Cindy Sherman. Most of the work here was photographic, including the work of Sherman, which in this case were images of her as clowns.

The next museum visit was to the Shanghai Museum (different then the Shanghai Art Museum.) This museum was much more traditional and included more historic work from Chinese artists and artisans. In addition to pen and ink work, there were displays of furniture, carving and regional dress. The paintings were the most impressively displayed of any museum. As the viewer approaches each work behind glass, automatic lights turn up and then dim after the viewer walks away. The whole museum was impeccably maintained.

There were other shows of contemporary work that I visited. One area in particular was the Suzhou Creek area. Work here was also multi-media, video and installation. To be honest, I found most of this to be unimpressive. As I understand it, one reason for moving away from classical painting is because it is old, and that there is nothing new to explore in traditional methods. The problem is, now, what was new has become old; what was original has become now trite. Hanging beads or boxes with lamps and bulbs, slide show projectors with fast moving imagery, video clips of odd scenes with women in various stages of undress, has all become as 'worn out' as what proponents of 'modern' art want to escape. For me, there is still much more to explore in traditional approaches to art and painting. And, it takes more than just a clever idea to create interesting and expressive paintings in this manner.

Next: Teaching at the Shanghai American School

A Visit to the Art City of Hangzhou

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Thu, 14 Oct 2004 16:27:00 +0000

While in Hong Kong (see post), I had heard from Tina Yee-wan Pang, Curator of the University of Hong Kong's Museum and Art Gallery about a town called Hangzhou in that had the premier art university in all of China. I had been impressed with a show Tina had curated that featured painters from this school. Later, I was delighted to find out that Hangzhou was just a short train ride south of Shanghai. 'I must go visit Hangzhou', I thought!

China is such and vast and fascinating country that the choices for places to visit are endless. It was not until near the end of my stay there that I made the trip to Hangzhou. It turned out to be one of the best stops. The city is relatively small for China - some six million people live here and it is a major tourist spot for all of China. At the center of the city is a large lake surrounded by hills, trees, parks and walking paths. There are even multiple bicycle rental pick-up and drop-off spots.

Finding the university was fairly straightforward as it was situated near the southern end of the lake. The school is the largest one I have seen dedicated to art. All the visual disciplines were well represented here. The facility had multiple classrooms for multiple life drawing, calligraphy, painting, ceramics, video and so on.

The big difficulty for me was not being able to speak or read Mandarin. So, I could look at the campus and gather what I could without language. It seemed that the school was not as internationally inclined as I had found so much of Shanghai. However, on my way out, I came across the school's exhibition hall. It had a huge photo show of work by German photographers! While photography is not my main line of interest, it was great to see again that art is an international language crosses all borders.

Next: Return to Thailand - Art in Chiang Mai

Teaching at the Shanghai American School

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Sun, 10 Oct 2004 11:22:00 +0000

In addition to painting and seeing other art on this trip, I wanted to explore the possibilities of teaching. What would it be like to teach as I have done at the University of New Mexico and Taos Institute of Arts, only here in a foreign country? I had a brief opportunity to do this in Japan, where I gave a portrait demonstration in Sano (see Painting in Japan.)

My hosts in Shanghai, Sepi and Paul Johnson, have for many years taught internationally. This year was their first to teach at the Shanghai American School. The school had openings for substitute work, so I visited to give them my resume. Within a few days, I got a call back to substitute for Anna Koloseike, one of their art instructors. I gladly accepted the invitation.

Shanghai American School

Teaching and spending time at this school was an eye-opener. The campus was huge - very much like a campus at an American university. The students were from various parts of Asia, yet most of them spoke English as their first language with either an American or British accent. In the classroom, I was delighted to see that they were being taught the fundamentals of art: instruction in values, drawing, and color. And the students were learning and producing some advanced work.

So, teaching in Shanghai turned out to be good for me to experience. Hmmm... what would teaching abroad be like fulltime?

Next: A Visit to the Art City of Hangzhou

Paintings from the Ancient City of Pingyao

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 10:24:00 +0000

The day after arriving in Shanghai, I went with Sepi and Paul to Pingyao, an ancient walled city located two hours northwest of Shanghai by plane. Our purpose for visiting Pingyao was twofold: to attend the Pingyao International Photographic (PIP) exhibit where Sepi's sister, Soody, was showing her work and to see a more historic view of China.

Pingyao has hosted the (PIP) for many years. Photographers come from all over China and the world to see and exhibit their work. It was fascinating to see the most modern photographic work with people from around the world set in this truly old environment. For all of us, this visit turned out to be a highlight of our time in China.

As I have written earlier, it has been my intention on this trip to focus more on painting landscapes than my usual work with portraiture. I found the people in PIngyao so appealing that I decided to work on a few pieces with them as the subject. The first of these paintings is of a fellow who I had seen several times walking through the paved streets. On this occasion he was on the side looking intently at the other people walking the streets.

'Looking in Pingyao', Oil on canvas, 20x16

The next scene was a woman looking out the window of a restaurant. Her distant gaze was captivating.

'Wondering in Pingyao', Oil on canvas, 20x16

Next: Art in Shanghai

News from Shanghai

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Fri, 01 Oct 2004 09:49:00 +0000

One of the reasons I ventured out on this painting trip was because of a very generous invitation from Sepi and Paul Johnson. Sepi had attended one of my portrait painting workshops at the Taos Institute of Arts two summers ago. On the second day of the workshop she approached me during the session and asked if I would like to visit she and her husband, Paul, in Dhaka, Bangladesh where they were teaching at an international school. My immediate thought was, 'You bet', although I politely inquired, 'Are you sure?' Sepi without hesitation said, 'Yes, Paul and I want you to come. There are all kinds of painting opportunities there.' The three of us met for lunch and the plan was set - I would go to Dhaka on a painting trip!

As is often the case with plans, the path along the way varied some from the original script. In the two years that passed, Sepi and Paul had changed their teaching post to Shanghai, China. Again they extended their invitation to come and visit with them there.

Now, I am in Shanghai.

My aim on this trip has been to paint and visit artists, art galleries and museums. This is happening here. Before writing about Shanghai from that point of view, it is well worth talking about my everyday experience of life here.

I have spent many moments thinking about what to say about this city, one of the top twenty most populated in the world. From the moment I got off the plane, to the ride from the airport, to the house where Sepi and Paul live, to the visits to the museums, art stores and galleries, to posting this weblog by means of a wireless internet connection, I have been surprised and delighted. Shanghai, China is not what I expected!

Cars, bicycles and billboards in downtown Shanghai

The easiest way for me to describe my experience has been is through one of the first and most persistent images I have encountered: the clash of bicycles and automobiles. A short time after leaving the airport with Mr. Wan at the wheel, I began to notice incongruity. Everywhere, along with the numerous cars, were people riding bicycles of all types: two-wheeled, three-wheeled, tricycles, mopeds, scooters, mini-bikes and motorcycles. And although many of these riders stayed to the right traffic, an equal number were meandering in all directions, swerving in front of cars, pedaling against traffic, stopping in the middle of the busy street and in general, creating what appeared to me as absolute pandemonium! The Shanghainese appeared very nonchalant about this chaos. For the entire hour-plus ride the scene continued in this way. Apparently, it was just the way the traffic works here.

What was more interesting to me about this situation however, was one peculiar fact: most of the cars were late model vehicles while all the bicycles were old, really old, machines. To say that they were ten or twenty years or even older would not be an exaggeration. Just this one observation indicated to me that some significant cultural change had been happening here. At some point many years ago, time had stopped. Now, Shanghai has fast-forwarded to the present, skipping over decades of gradual change.

Just outside the Sezhou art district

The new catapulting into the old has been repeated in the architectural landscape. Blocks of one and two storey buildings and homes are razed to be rapidly replaced with towering apartment buildings and shopping malls. Once replaced, the evidence of any past is gone. All that remains are a few simple old buildings awaiting demolition juxtaposed with the shiny new edifices.

This is Shanghai, a city of old bicycles and brand new automobiles.

Many thanks to Sepi and Sepi Johnson for their generous hospitality. Sepi's initiation to visit has lead me on a most fascinating journey!

Next: Paintings from the ancient city of Pingyao

Ever Painted Palms?

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Tue, 24 Aug 2004 07:22:00 +0000

One of the more outstanding natural features of Thailand is the lush vegetation. The various palm trees are the most prominent example. Seeing the number and variety here was really enjoyable. There seems to be something very quieting about them.

Every day I made mental notes about their characteristics and how they differed from the evergreen and deciduous trees with which I am more familiar. The trunks are similar while the formation of the leaves is completely different. There was an abundance of coconut palms, which have some of the biggest fronds. They looked like enormous feathers and, as I later learned, is how they are described. The question became, 'How are these painted?' What is the best way to capture the effect of individual leaflets, more often than not waving in the ocean breeze, against the blue sky keeping the painting alive and not overworked?

Without knowing all the answers ahead of time, I decided to get to work with the painting knife. It seemed that this would be the best tool for accomplishing what I had in mind. This turned out to be a really fun approach to the painting!

'Two Palms', 18x14, Oil on Canvas

Next: News from Shanghai

More Painting from Thailand and the Surprise Painting Visitors

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Tue, 24 Aug 2004 07:22:00 +0000

When I first arrived at the OK Bungalows, I checked out the area for painting possibilities. Immediately, I saw lots of opportunities for landscapes and seascapes. From inside my bungalow, I also saw some possibilities for working inside which would allow me to work in the event the rainy season started early in Thailand. What most caught my eye indoors was a white lawn chair that had been left by the door. It looked perfect for posing a model.

Over a few weeks, I kept to my goal of painting only landscapes. My mind kept going back to the chair and the notion of painting a model there. As a general rule, I prefer to entertain the notion and see what develops. As the days passed, I thought many times of finding a model but none appeared, but the simplicity of the chair against a simple background remained. Simplicity in painting is one area I have been exploring on this trip and the question began to occur, is it possible to create a painting that has interest even if the subject was only this chair? It was time to find out. I experimented with painting the chair over a period of several days. Here is the result:

Often I will ask for comments from others to hear what they see in my work. The two people I asked both had the same comment: something is missing. This was good news, since it was exactly what I wanted to convey. It also confirmed the title I had i mind for the piece - 'Waiting for the Model.'

During the days I worked on this painting, I had some unexpected visitors. I had stepped away for a coffee break and returned twenty minutes later to get back to painting. I sat down and turned to get more paint from the palette. This is what I saw:

There were a lot of ants in these two square inches and this same population density of Thai red ants extended across the whole palette, and the sides, and the lid, and onto the table. Apparently they have a fondness for the walnut oil that is in the some of the paint. Hmmm... what to do? Keep painting. Unfortunately for these some of these creatures, they are now part of several of my paintings. Traveling does have its
surprises!

Next: Ever Painted Palms?

The Painting Continues in Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 04:57:00 +0000

One of the reasons I paint is that it offers endless possibilities. It is enjoyable for me to consider new ideas for painting - what the next painting might be. And experimenting with these ideas keeps the process alive and new. Traveling is one way that can help foster new ideas.

One example of a travel experience like this was seeing the process of brush and ink paintings and the differences in their composition. In many western paintings, the weight of the painting is at the bottom of the composition and the painting fills the entire canvas. In many brush paintings, the canvas is not filled, the weight of the composition is sometimes not at the bottom and further, the whole painting is done with greater simplicity.

I wondered if it were possible to use some of these ideas using oil paints. With these ideas in mind, I worked out a composition from the balcony of the bungalow where I am staying and began the experiment. Here is the result:

Tree, Island, Beach

Next: More Painting from Thailand and the Surprise Painting Visitors

New Paintings from Koh Pha-ngan, Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Tue, 10 Aug 2004 13:56:00 +0000

Seeing the art in Kuala Lumpur was good as much of it had been unexpected. I was glad to be leaving the city though. Since leaving Taos in June, I had been in cities or urban areas the entire time. Going from San Francisco, to Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur was good for seeing lots of different art. Now, I wanted to go to a more rural area so I could concentrate on my own painting.

I had heard from several people about an island in the Gulf of Thailand called Koh Pha-ngan. A quick search on the internet for this island turned up plenty of pictures, so it was easy to get an idea of the scenery. One bus from Kuala Lumpur brought me to Hat Yai and a second one to Suratthani on the western coast of the Gulf. A three-hour boat ride finally brought me to Koh Pha-ngan.

The island has over five thousand bungalows most of which were filled! Fortunately, a travel agent in Suratthani recommended the OK Bungalows run by Mama OK. The place was just for painting - it has beaches, ocean and plenty of tropical plants and trees - exactly what I had been looking for. The first scene that drew my attention was a set of stairs at one end of the beach. They became the subject of this first painting from Thailand:

Next: The painting continues in Thailand

Art in Kuala Lumpur

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Fri, 30 Jul 2004 00:44:00 +0000

Since getting more painting supplies was the main reason for me to stop in Kuala Lumpur (KL), I thought I would see a couple of galleries and leave quickly. As it turned out, KL had much more art than expected.

A few friends from home had given me the names of a couple of people living in Kuala Lumpur. The first person I contacted, Ginny Bieberich, happened to be in Oregon at the time I was in KL. Ginny did email me a list of art places to visit and, coincidently, I was staying only a block or two away from several of them. One nearby gallery was the Artrageously Ramsay Ong Gallery, which had a variety of artwork from Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak. A little further away was the National Art Gallery of Malaysia. The most inspiring work here was a photographic exhibit by Ralf Tooten. All the images were monochromatic portraits of major spiritual leaders from around the world such as the Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama, accompanied by a quote from each person. It was a really well done show and very thought provoking.

Another friend of mine living in California, Sean Yiu, had given me the name of his brother, Leonard, who owns the Art House Gallery. I spent quite a long time visiting with Leonard and his father Hong, at their gallery in downtown KL. We talked about the art in his gallery and the current art situation in Malaysia, which is recovering slowly from a major downturn that began in the 1990's.

While I was there, another painter, Chung Chen Sun, stopped in. As it turned out, Chung is one of the most celebrated painters in Malaysia, has books published of his work and is collected by the most noted art buyers there. The majority of his paintings are traditional Chinese brush and ink paintings. However, he had applied this approach with oil paints and brushes to achieve some very interesting results. Our conversation about his work was even more fascinating. He spoke about the paper or canvas and the Eastern view of this as part of the painting, not just a support for the medium. As he explained, the white or toned surface was not just empty space rather it was the land, or the sky or the water, just very simply stated. He contrasted this with the usual western approach of covering every square inch of the canvas with paint. For me, this was great information and more of what I came to find out about on this journey.

The surprises continued. On my last day in KL, I decided to get a cup of coffee at an internet cafe around the corner from my hostel. The Olé Cafe, as it is named, has great coffee and free wireless service. 'A good time to catch up on email', I thought. While I was drinking (a cup of really good coffee) and writing, the manager, Christopher Quay, came over and started to chat. He told me that the Olé Cafe had been opened not too long ago and that its main theme was, you guessed it, art! Of course, this lead to an extended conversation which carried on for hours. Each month, the cafe puts on a new painting show and is constantly looking for new work and new ideas for them. He brought me upstairs to see the current exhibit, which included some modern work and some more traditional figure painting. The work was good and the space was great. Hmm... I wondered, a good space for a Taos Society of Portrait Artists show?

Many thanks to Ginny, Sean, Leonard, Hong, Chung and Christopher.

Next: New Paintings from Koh Pha-ngan, Thailand

Traveling to Kuala Lumpur

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 03:44:00 +0000

I needed to pick up some art supplies before going to my next destination, Koh Phangan, Thailand. Through the internet, I found a painter,
Taveepong Limapornvanic, living in Phuket who said the best place for art supplies was either in Kuala Lumpur (KL) or Bangkok. Since KL was on the way, I chose to go there for a few days to restock. Originally I had planned to travel north from Singapore to Thailand by train, but after talking with several people, I took their advice to go by bus instead.

This trip to KL continued to change my notions about Southeast Asia. Once the bus had left Singapore, the countryside was mile after mile of palm oil tree plantations. Here and there, within the plantations, were small huts and buildings that appeared to be where people both lived and worked. This scene was contrasted by the ride on a brand new air-conditioned bus, where the passengers were talking on their mobile phones while being entertained by a Hollywood movie playing in English on several LCD screens. As the bus kept rolling for mile after mile down the four-lane highway divided by a median of colorful flowers, I began to notice more contrasts to the run-down huts. There were Mercedes, Nissans, Toyotas, mobile phone towers, and billboards advertising everything from Subarus to Shell oil to brand new homes in the outskirts of KL, and finally, some distance south of the city, an amusement theme park that included tall water slides. Where was I, anyway?

When I arrived in KL, the contrasts continued. The bus stopped near a new high-rise hotel. Within walking distance, I could see the KL Towers (KLCC), the tallest in the world. I decided to walk there to get money exchanged to ringgets. The streets were full of taxis and crowded and the air smelled heavily of exhaust fumes. On my way I noticed, there were less well kept older buildings between the newer hotels. Then came the towers. They were brightly lit steel and glass structures that spoke of an enormous investment of money.

I entered KLCC ground floor, which was a shopping mall - a high-end shopping mall. Gucci, Nike, Bulova and similar brand stores were here. The familiarity of these icons was offset by women wearing full chadors pushing their babies in denim covered jogging strollers accompanied by their husbands wearing tight t-shirts sporting Von Dutch logos. And there were teenagers with tattoos, piercings, mid-riff shirts and super tight fighting Levis. As I walked a little further inside, a young woman from the Tommy Hilfiger store approached me, asking in English, 'Would I like to try Tommy's latest cologne?' 'Sure, why not? Can you tell me where there is an ATM.' 'Oh, yes, just over there on the right.'

On the short taxi ride from KLCC to the hostel where I was staying, the driver took me by the club area. From each one I could hear the music blaring the Doors, Groove Armada, Ibiza Chillout and Norah Jones. On one corner was a Spanish band performing Flamenco. And the sidewalks were filled with crowds of people just as I had seen in the mall. Quickly, the buildings here were older, less kept-up, the sidewalks dirtier and street vendors were everywhere.

It appeared that change had happened quickly in Malaysia. What would the art be like here, I wondered?

Next: Art in Kuala Lumpur

Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Wed, 21 Jul 2004 11:43:00 +0000

In Singapore, I continued my travel plans to visit art museums and galleries while staying in the cities. First stop here was the Singapore Art Museum. It was the oldest and smallest collection of any museum so far on this trip.

There were some Chinese brush paintings, including work done by an artist working with his finger and fingernail, as well as some modern art work. Other than that, it was pretty much uninspiring. The art galleries had more varied and interesting artwork. Artists from the region had made most of the art; however, just like in Hong Kong, it was influenced by work from around the world, rather than specifically from this area.

The limited selection art in Singapore was offset by the artistry of the city itself. Singapore is the most clean and carefully planned city I have visited. Walkways and footbridges followed the meandering river for miles through the city. Most of the streets were tree-lined and clean. The planning was so thorough that each block contained everything for city living. So in every block, not only were there restaurants and convenience stores, but also housing, parking, grocery and clothing stores. It made it very easy to walk for a few minutes to find most necessities.

The city also showed the huge influence of the west. The influence of England, and now the United States, was everywhere. English language predominated, colonial architecture was common and KFC, McDonalds and Levi's were everywhere. It has a little bit odd to be so far away, and at the same time, not to have experienced a very foreign environment.

Next: Traveling to Kuala Lumpur

Hong Kong Central

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 04:17:00 +0000

Before I left Taos, Jan Mellor had given the name of a travel writer, Andrew Leung, who lives in Hong Kong. Andrew had visited and written about Taos last year. I was staying in Kowloon, which is immediately north the main Hong Kong Island where Andrew lives. I had emailed him a couple of times and hadn't heard anything so guessed he must have been away on assignment. As it turned out, he had been away, but got it touch with me two days before I was scheduled to go to Singapore. Andrew offered to meet with me and give me a tour of Central.

Most of the art scene in Hong Kong is on the island. There were a lot of galleries here, so I spent the morning exploring them before meeting with Andrew. For the most part, the galleries were carrying work of living artists from Asia. What was the surprise here? I could have been in Taos or New York or London or Osaka. While there may have been some slight differences of style, it is apparent that artists around the world are producing work that is emerging from the same set of influences.
This is unlike the wood block prints of Takeshi Uemura or the brushwork of Yang Shen-sum, which come from different and unique traditions. And, unfortunately, it appears that in the process many of the fundamentals of art have been lost or forgotten. It was a good thing I met later with Andrew.

Andrew met me at the Fringe Club, a center for artists and the arts. He lead us on a walk at a quick clip in the afternoon heat of Hong Kong around the back roads to the out-of-the-way fruit stalls and antique dealers. The whole way Andrew gave me a short history of Hong Kong. Finally, we stopped for a glass of yin yeung, an iced drink of coffee and tea (really good) before we headed off to the University of Hong Kong Museum.

I had thought we were just going to see the collection at the Museum, which contained a fair amount of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. What I had not expected was to be introduced to the curator of the Museum, Ms. Tina Yee-wan Pang. Tina and I chatted about the exhibitions she curates and what she likes in art. It was good to hear about her very high standard for the quality of the shows. Catalogues from the exhibits contained work that showed a depth of knowledge of painting. In particular, one recent show was of paintings from artists at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, the premier art school in China. The school is a bus ride away from Shanghai where I will be on the next part of the trip. Visiting the school is now top of my list of places while there.

A big thanks to Jan, Andrew and Tina.

Next: The City of Singapore

Visit to Hong Kong and the Art of Yang Shen-sum

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Tue, 13 Jul 2004 06:59:00 +0000

Hong Kong is another city with incessant activity. The streets are constantly filled with taxis, buses and people from all over the world. The difference here, like other cities I have visited so far on this journey, is a certain sense of calmness. People appear to be not so driven to get somewhere and walk around in a more casual pace. For me, it made being in the city more tolerable.

The first art museum I visited here was the Hong Kong Museum of Art. A significant portion of their collection was of ceramics and carved objects. The quality level of the work was very high, even for objects more than two thousand years old.

The great discovery for me, however, was on the top floor. The galleries here had many examples of traditional and contemporary brush painting. One painter of note was Yang Shen-sum who passed away this past May. The museum had put together a fairly large collection of his work and it was worthwhile to see.

Even better than the paintings, however, was a DVD showing Shen-sum at work. For me, it was thought-provoking to see his use of the brush. His whole approach appeared to be more about letting the brush do more of the work and letting his hand be the guide. This approach allowed for very fluid brushwork with terrific variety of edges, shapes and value. Watching Shen-sum paint was so useful, that I came back the next day to watch again. Later, I spoke with Jennifer Chu Shui-ping, a curator at the museum, who put me in touch with the person who made the DVD. So, I had the good fortune to buy a copy the day I left Hong Kong!

Next: HK island visit with Andrew Leung

The Last Painting in Japan - a Portrait of Jason Kelly

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Fri, 09 Jul 2004 11:39:00 +0000

Jason Kelly and I met some fifteen years ago. We lived in Colorado at the time and although we both moved away, we have stayed in contact. Jason has lived for the past two years in Japan. He had invited me to come and visit on a number of occasions, so it seemed very appropriate to make Sano-shi the first stop on my painting adventure.

Jason writes both fiction and financial books (you can see his website here.) Over the years, we have had many fascinating conversations about the parallels between the creative process of writing and painting.

While I was in Sano-shi, Jason introduced me to his circle of friends, taught me some Japanese, showed me around many sights and made me welcome in his apartment. It was a fabulous visit.

Toward the end of time there, we decided the time was right for me to paint his portrait. Over several days, Jason posed and I painted. As is often the case, I find a monochromatic can convey as much, if not more, than a full color painting:

Many thanks to Jason, and every one of his friends there, who made my journey to Japan a very personal and insightful one.

Next: Hong Kong and the Paintings of Yang Shen-sum

The Visit with Takeshi Uemura

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Mon, 05 Jul 2004 13:04:00 +0000

The following morning, Jason called Mr. Uemura's office. He agreed to meet with us for a short time in the afternoon at his office in Kyoto. We made our way there by train and bus, where Uemura met us at the stop and lead us to his office. He and Jason immediately began conversing in Japanese. We entered his office, which turned out to be his printing studio.

Initially Uemura showed us a few of his original prints. As Jason translated, I learned that Uemura is the last in a line on wood block printers. His father and grandfather had been doing this at a time when many people were involved in making prints of all types from the Ukiyo-e prints to book liner paper. It is now the end of this era. No one is making wood block prints of the type that Uemura and his family once made. Of the future, Uemura's comment was, 'We don't know.'

As we looked over all of his work, I was amazed at the level of quality and attention to detail in them. The fineness of gradation was almost invisible. This was particularly noticeable in one set of prints where the original art was a watercolor painting of a woman in kimono. It was hard see that the print was not the original. We were told about the variation of application of ink on paper and how he had always looked for new and better ways to apply the inks. In one example, he had figured out how to make a paste from seaweed with which he was able to control the saturation of the ink.

In another print of a woman peering into the night sky, I noticed the absolute control of the subtle value change across the background. Uemura commented that the background can be the most difficult part to of the process. I smiled when I heard this. Indeed, backgrounds can be the most difficult in painting as well. In order to achieve this particular background, Uemura had at night projected the light of the full moon onto the paper. From this, he was able to approximate the lighting effect using ink that was made from crushed pearl.

Uemura kept getting up and leaving the room return with yet another large box of prints. The stacks on the floor kept growing. By the time we looked up, our short visit had been over two and one-half hours long. We had a train to catch for our return to Sano-shi, so we bade farewell and were graciously invited by Uemura to come back and visit again.

Many thanks to Jason, without whom I would not have been able to meet learn about Takeshi Uemura. And many thanks to Uemura for his kind invitation to visit.

Next: The Last Painting in Japan - a Portrait of Jason Kelly

The Unexpected Meeting at the Kamigata Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Sat, 03 Jul 2004 14:40:00 +0000

Jason and I decided to take a weekend trip to visit art sites in Kyoto and Osaka. We met with a friend of ours, Atsuko, with whom we had traveled through Europe in 2001. Atsuko was our tour guide and led us through several of the more known sites including Kinkakuji and the Ryoanji Temple:

While it was nice to see these more known destinations, I was more interested in seeing art. Fortunately, Atsuko and Jason had seen these places several times before and so we switched the focus to the art museums.

Our visit the next day included a stop at the Osaka Museum. To be honest, the museum was unimpressive. We took a break for lunch and I contemplated why I had come all the way to Kyoto and Osaka - it was a long train ride and it was hotter here. Fortunately, the situation was about to change.

I had been very interested to see the Japanese wood block prints in the Kamigata Museum. During college, I had studied these prints in some detail and was looking forward to seeing them firsthand. We proceeded to the museum, and indeed, it was enjoyable to see and learn more about these classic works of Japanese art.

Then came the unexpected.

The three of us were taking a break on some tatami mats in one of the exhibit rooms, when a woman in a kimono came and asked if we would like to go upstairs to meet with some artists. I was up in a hurry! We got to the top floor and were invited to take off our shoes and join a group people sitting on the floor poring over a number of wood blocks and wood block prints.

Jason began translating the conversation. One of the artists we were sitting with carves the wood blocks and another one makes the prints. These two people are the last remaining wood block printers making these traditional works in Japan and, quite likely, in the world! They had come to Osaka that afternoon to visit the museum in Kyoto and we happened to be there at the same time. Was I astounded? Very much so.

We spoke about art and lost traditions and heard more about the process of wood block printing. Several of the blocks we were looking at were sixty-five years old. There was a time when many families and generations of families were involved in this work. Now, it had come down to these two. "No one is interested anymore," we were told.

We continued the conversation over tea and after some time had passed, the group got up to leave. My attitude had changed. Good thing I had come to Osaka after all. 'A good day,' I thought.

Then it got better.

The three of us headed downstairs. Outside, we met the printers again. While Atsuko and I spoke with one of them, Jason spoke with the other. When we finally parted, Jason informed us that Takeshi Uemura, the fellow with whom he had been chatting, had invited us to come and see him at his studio in Kyoto.

'We're going!' I told Jason.

Next: The Visit with Takeshi Uemura

Painting in Shiroyama Koen

noreply@blogger.com (Seamus Berkeley) — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 07:05:00 +0000

Shiroyama Koen, within walking distance of Jason's apartment, offered so many possibilities for painting I decided to visit it several more times. This painting was started early in the morning - before six actually. The sun rises at 4:30 in the morning in Japan and they do not observe daylight savings time here. So, getting out early was a good use of the daylight.

The day began completely overcast which was appealing since I knew the light would not change for most of the day. Of course, as weather does, it changed and by noon the sun was shining brightly. Time to pack up and continue the following morning.

One nice aspect of early morning painting was meeting people on the walk to and in the park. Shopkeepers were up, retired people out strolling and neighbors out walking dogs all offered greetings of 'Konnichi wa'. And many of them stopped by to take a look and make inquiries about the painting.

Later that day, a friend of mine, Rumiko, met me in the park to pose for a study. Time was short as the sun set about an hour after starting. A study resulted from the sitting:

Thanks, Rumiko!

Next: The incredible visit to Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum