CURRENTLY . . .

Aug 2, 2011 I am now in the artist village SongZhuang, just outside of Beijing. Thanks to all those who wrote to me wishing me luck. The move was difficult because I had to move my luggage and the housing in the next university would not be available for a month. So, I stayed in a hotel for a couple of days, then found a small room for a couple of weeks in SongZhuang, then rented a studio. My ex-student and friend WangPengFei was veryhelpful. SongZhuang is an artist village. It is special. Many artists come here looking for a break. Some are quite poor, some are wealthier. Finding rental rooms and studios is very easy. This is unlike other villages where renting rooms is difficult. In other places, the villagers are usually suspicious as to why a city stranger wanted to live in their midst. People - This is one of the most special places I have ever lived in. It has people who are very poor, very rich, very honest, very crooked, very innocent, very conniving ... In general, chinese are very narrow in their personalities, but here it is not so. If you take the general personalities you find in the world, exaggerate them and throw them all in a small place, you have SongZhuang. So, it's more like a caricature. However, the people are very friendly and I have already met many artists. This village has a large transient artist population. Most of the artists that I have met have been here for less than two months and only one has been here for more than 5 years. Artists come here, try their best and either make it and stay on or give up and go back. One year seems to be the decision time. Looking at their artwork, I can say that most new comers will not succeed. Talent is very common here, so the artist has to create something unique to stand out. If its traditional styles, the technical skill has to be very high, plus the subject matter or handling has to be special. Some are trying to find their own styles or their true voices. This is a difficult and long process that takes years. I have found that people here are mostly right brained. They think and act intuitively. Many of their logical thought processes are quite poor. So, in many cases they appear quite naive. Contrast this with my numerous engineering friends - they are strongly logical but their intuitive and creative sides can be said to be dead. Art - I have seen quite a lot of artwork here and have met the artists. There is a strong coorelation between the artist's personality and artwork. There is also a strong coorelation between the artist's expertise and financial success. I have not found any "undiscovered geniuses". I have moved many times in my life and have lived in many cities. However, I have no emotional attachement to any of the cities. They were just places that I lived in. When I left, I forgot about them. This place is different. I feel like I belong here. I am home. I think I should have come here much earlier. Here are photos of SongZhuang. Introducing Artist: Here is a very famous Indian painter - M. F. Hussain. He passed away recently. I love his paintings. They are strong and quite simple. He uses color very well. You can see more of his paintings here. Artist - M. F. Hussain Artist - M. F. Hussain

Jun 30 2011 I have now found a job in Beijing and will be moving there soon. My present and future universities are doing the related paperwork. I should be in Beijing by the time you receive my next email in about two weeks. I am quite excited about my new life in Beijing. Here are some small paintings that I did recently. Those who came to the Nanchang exhibition have seen some of them. Not much else to write. Lord Summer promises to be hot. Stay cool. Introducing Artist: Martin K. Bulinya was in a village called Moiben near Eldoret, Kenya. Bulinya has worked as freelance illustrator for the Kenya Times and True Love magazine, as well as working for the Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation as stage and scene designer. He is a very prolific artist who's work tends to be simple, yet has the unique 'African' appeal. The paintings here are the caricatures of the Maasai people. I like the design and the poses of the different figures. You can see more of his artwork here. Artist- Marin K. Bulinya Artist- Martin K. Bulinya

Jun 16, 2011 Who is an artist? Over rocks, boulders, rivers and streams. Over mountains, deserts and wheat fields. I had searched and searched. I now saw a park bench and plopped down. I was tired. It was early morning but still quite dark. I was panting lightly. Too much walking, recently. The smell of fresh, raw sewage wafted through the morning air, assailing my nostrils. Hmmm, New York City - the big apple - the self proclaimed center of the universe. My mind raced back to my conversation with the bearded one. "Exalted one," I had asked, "What is art and who is an artist?" He looked up in his classic way, exhaled almost violently and muttered, "You fools!" I waited. I know the bearded one. I knew the answer would follow, but only at the right pace. So, I sat back and waited. Then he drawled, "Everyone is an artist and everything one produces can be art. But you idiots are so self-conscious and weak that you end up destroying what is as natural as breathing." "Think of a human being as a lens. Light enters the lens, is affected by it and light exits the lens. The lens is the person. The distortion that the lens creates is the person's experiences. The light entering is the stuff the person is experiencing in his life at that time. The artwork produced is the light exiting the lens." There was silence for a while. This is how it is with the bearded one - short words with long silences. Very different from the garbage that "modern" society spews out, with its Coco-cola and BMW ads and fads. I cleared my throat "You mean it's a natural function?" He turned his face and stared at another corner of the ceiling. Sometimes, I wonder if the answers are written in a special ink on the roof rafters. "Right, " then silence. "Is the drawing of a child, art?" I followed up. "Yes and no," he replied. "The child is not self conscious and just draws as it pleases, so in one way it's art. But on the other hand, the child has not been exposed to the society fully, so it doesn't reflect current reality. It reflects all the previous experiences of its ancestors, but not the present." "Okay. You mean to say, if an adult draws something, it's art?" I followed up. Some more silence. Then, "No and Yes." he smiled with a twinkle in his eye. "The adult has experienced society, so that part is OK, but the adult is extremely self conscious. So, he or she is trying to create what he thinks is art. And, what he thinks is art, is in reality, what was art a long time ago. For instance, if a westerner tries to draw in a realistic way, it would be in a style that's about 500 years old. It was true art a long time ago. Now its just a shallow copy. If a Chinese draws a traditional Chinese watercolor - same thing. So, just as the child had one important ingredient but was missing the other one, so does the adult, except in an opposed way." There was silence between us. Why isn't there more silence in this tumble-jumble of modern life, I wonder? Things sink in, in silence. Things become part of us, in silence. I continued "So, if I, as an adult, stop worrying about what others perceive as art and just put down my true feelings on paper, would that be art?" "Yes. And not just paper. Any medium will do. You can take two sticks and make art. But it takes practice, to find your voice. It's a new voice, never before used. So, you won't recognize it the first few times. You will know that it's true, but you won't have a good handle on it. It will take time to strengthen that skill. Think of it as water flowing through many small valves. In the beginning, the valves are aligned in random and the flow is restricted. With practice, the valves align with the flow making it a torrent and then you have art." And so the conversation had ended and I started finding my way back. It's interesting, not only is finding the answer difficult, but so is finding the way back! I looked up. I could see the sky had now brightened, throwing all the ugly steel, concrete and glass into a molten gray shape. Almost poetic. I looked down and noticed a small sparkle on my shoe. Hmmmmmm..... Introducting artist: Here is another Japanese artist whose prints are quite famous. Eisen (1790-1848) was born in Edo into the Ikeda family. His initial works reflected the influence of his mentor, but he soon developed his own style. He produced a number of surimono, erotic prints and landscapes. He produced many portraits and full-length studies depicting the fashions of the time. In addition to producing a prolific number of prints, he was also a writer. He described himself as a dissolute hard-drinker and the owner of a brothel in Nezu in the 1830s. Artist - Eisen Artist - Eisen

May 31, 2011 Impressions of the Nanchang exhibition. Lots and lots of work and tiring. The planning started three weeks before the actual exhibition. Two weeks before the exhibition, we started distributing fliers and inviting people. Also, a lot of work with canopies, exhibition set up etc. etc. This was my first outdoor exhibition. It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun Cultural differences: First, the color white is used in tents when there is a death in the family. We had bought a white cloth for the tent sides and when we started putting them up as a test, the Chinese students who were helping us had such a bad reaction that we had to dye the cloth light blue. Second, Chinese are not accustomed to olives, cheese and western wines. We westerners enjoyed it very much, but the Chinse only tried it once or twice. Third, the chinese teachers did not know what to make of the wine tasting. So, even though we had invited them for it, most did not show up and were quite shy when invited again! Thanks to Randy. Randy is my friend and upstairs neighbor who took on the responsiblity of the wine tasting event. His bread and Italian dip were awesome. He is a wonderful entertainer and a good host. He added a special ambiance to the exhibition and made the experience much richer. Any person would be lucky to have a friend like him. I am now officialy a black male :-) Standing outdoors for 3 days and the Nanchang sun are responsible for this. Thanks to the many, many students and teachers who helped. The students who helped a lot were Jane, Elice and Ko. The teachers who helped a lot were Dr. Liu, Doris, Daisy, Wendy and Lisa, . I also found a new friend who helped a lot - Chris. Turnout - The turnout and reception was very good. We distributed about 400 brochures at the exhibition, added 250 emails to our Friend's list and estimate the attendance to be in the vicinity of 1500. Thanks to everyone who came. Most common visitor comment: "Your paintings are beautiful but I don't understand them well." Most common response from me: "Because it's an original style, you won't understand them the first time you see it, but you will understand it after seeing them several times." Special Offer for those who came to the Nanchang exhibition. 20% off on paintings. Wait, but there is a special condition. You must say the secret code "The bald camel laughs in the desert rain" to get the discount. No code, no discount :-) Offer expires at the end of June. Future: I have received the possiblity of future shows, magazine covers, wider publicity, gallery representation and sales. I seriously wish we had done this exhibition a year earlier!! I will move to the Beijing area in about a month, but have still not got a job there. So if you know anyone in Beijing looking for a wonderful foreign teacher, let me know. And finally... we made several new wonderful friends. I would like to welcome them to the Oneki artwork and friend's circle and would like to thank them for supporting. Photos, photos ... here are photos of the event. Introducing Artist: One of my favorite art styles is Japanese. Here is an artist who lived from 1838 to 1912, named Chikanobu. He paints women in different poses and contexts. I like the design, the sensitivity and the way the artist uses lines in his drawing. Here are some more of his works. Artist - Chikanobu Artist - Chikanobu

May 17 2011 Nanchang exhibition coming up Recently, I have finished several more paintings. They are: Red Tree Code Warrior Night Tree Night City Night Swamp High Fashion Umbrella People Gear Flowers The night series are a first for me. I like the effect of the blue, violet, green night sky. Code warrior is also a special painting. It shows a programmer with a background of technical words used in the programming profession. The Fashion show painting is my largest painting to date. I have worked on this one for about 9 months. The Nanchang exhibition is now fixed. It will be from May 27th to May 29th from 10 am to 6 pm. Many of my students and teacher friends are helping me with this event. If you are in Nanchang during those days, drop by. I am now working towards it. Introducing artist: I have introduced many artists to you and you may be wondering if I like all artists. This is not the case. Here is an artist's work that I don't like. Her name is Hazel Dooney. I think her paintings are cheap and have no artistic value. They are just meaningless cartoons that show women in sexual positions. She is also not innovative and keeps repeating the same idea in numerous paintings. Nevertheless, she is very popular. You can see her website here. Artist - Hazel Dooney Artist - Hazel Dooney

Date: April 30 2011, New Paintings. My visit to the USA and especially the New York Art Expo has given me many new creative ideas and I have been painting a lot. Here are 3 recent ones. 1) Four trees 2) Hen 3) Curly flowers I had been working on the first two paintings for about two months, but could not finish them. But when I came back from the US, things fell into place and the progress was quick. Each of the paintings captures something different. The first one - I have never done a painting of just 4 trees. So this is new for me. I am quite happy with the design, colors and feel. Similarly, I have never painted just a hen before. So this is also special. Earlier, I was struggling with the background for this painting. The third painting 'Curly flowers' is special because I have never painted flowers so large and that took up so much of the canvas. I had the design idea when I was sketching at my brother's house in San Francisco. Then, when I came back to China, I was able to start and finish it quite easily. So three good ones recently! Additionally, I was in a poetic mood and wrote a short poem for each one. You can see the poems at the above links. Upcoming exhibitions: There are two: First, I will have an exhibition in Nanchang - where I live. I am still working on the venue and time. I have never organized an exhibition by myself before. So, this is new and exciting. Of course, many friends are helping me with it. I think I will display about 30 pieces. Looks like it will be outdoors. I like that - outdoors is different and fun, but the problem can be bad weather! It will be around the middle of May. So if you are in Nanchang, be certain to drop by. The other exhibition is in Stamford, CT, USA. Three of my artwork have been chosen for the UBS Asian Exhibition. They are: Flowers and Pot Woman with lipstick Couple These three are also highly voted on my website. My brother mailed the paintings last week and they should have reached the show by now. I was quite impressed with the quality of selected artwork. UBS has a prestigious art collection and many of it's pieces are regularly borrowed by the top US museums such as MOMA. Introducing artist: Here is an artist whose works will also be displayed in the UBS exhibition. His name is Antonio Puri. He is of Indian descent and lives in the USA. He has exhibited in several countries and in several museums. His work is abstract and I like the color and design of this artwork. He states "My art is my means of identifying with the universe. Therefore, I use symbols, forms, and spatial concern as a means to express my need for universality. My inspiration comes from the unity between the microscopic and the macrocosmic." You can see his website here. Healing Artist-Antonio Puri Simran 1 Artist-Antonio Puri

Date: Apr 17 2011 - New York Art Expo completed Wow, the New York Art Expo is done. What a whirlwind! I am amazed at the amount of time and effort required for such a show. Pheeew! Let's see, where should I start? Ok, transportation to the show. I disassembled the paintings and made one big bundle with the canvas rolls and the wood. It weighed 17 kilos - not too heavy, but certainly needed a light trolley. I had a train to Guangzhou and then a flight to San Francisco. The transportation by train was a little difficult, but once the bundle was checked in at the airport, things were okay. Transporting to New York city and then to the expo was not much of a problem. Set up at the expo took much longer than I had expected. I reached the expo at ten o'clock but the manager of the Chinese organization that I went through, did not show up till 3 pm. Then he showed me my booth and I started assembling the paintings. I shared the booth with another Chinese artist, who is a sculptor. He helped me with the assemby. That was very helpful. I found that these shows are very tiring. The show went on till 7 pm everyday, but by 5 pm, most artists were completely worn out. I have never done this kind of sales work, so I learned a lot. I got a lot of valuable feedback from artists, visitors and friends. Managed to sell some paintings. Most artists sold nothing, except some small prints. So, I was quite lucky. Also, got an opportunity for another exhibition in Connecticut. Additionally, an online magazine will publish an interview with me and another magazine will publish an article about my artwork. So, overall - quite a successful show. During this trip, I met some friends that I had not seen in 20+ years. It was nice seeing them after such a long time. Some of my friends helped me with the expo - this made my life much easier. In San Francisco, I stayed with my brother and his family. They helped me with many of the prepartions. Also met Stefanie, who was a fellow foreign teacher in ZhangYe. Stefanie is one of the most kind hearted person that I know. Also, met my youngest fan!! He was walking with his Dad and sister, saw one of my prints and ran into my booth shouting "Look it's so beauriful!" Made my day! I took a photograph of him. The show was quite busy and well attended, but people weren't buying much. Perhaps, it's the economy. The Chinese group I was with, felt very let down. They sold nothing except for some cheap paintings for under 100$. They found the American audience to be cold. This is an inter cultural problem and I can see both viewpoints very clearly. Returning from the show was much easier. Originally, my plan was to drop all the wood in New York, but because I had to deliver a painting in San Francisco and get the others ready for the possible exhibition in Connecticut, I had to carry it all back to SF. From SF to China I did not carry any wood and carried very few of the paintings and prints back. So, all I had was a roll of canvas and I did not even have to check my luggage. In Beijing, I missed the fast train to Nanchang and had to take a much later, slower train. I could not get a berth and had to sit for 16 hours. When I got home I was extremely tired and slept for about 20 hours with small breaks. Even now, I have not recovered fully. OK. Overall, a very positive experience. I was a little nervous before the show because its the biggest art expo in the world and I was not sure how my work stacked up against the top dogs. Now, I am more comfortable. One of the biggest feedback I got was that my artwork is very different. This has been a problem that I have been wrestling with. I know for a fact that most of my students cannot relate to my artwork the first few times they see it. But after several times they appreciate it quite well and even offer insightful comments. Most people at the show barely glance at a booth for about 5 seconds - this is not enough to develop the rapport. I am searching for answers to this dilemma. On the plus side, I have identified several areas that I can improve on and have many new creative ideas that I would like to experiment with. Onwards and upwards. For those of you who could not make it to the expo, I am offering 25% off on all paintings and prints. Small prints are 50$, large 200$. Original paintings range from 200 to 1500$. The 25% discount would make the prices much lower. Includes international postage. Holler, if anything catches your fancy. Discount applies only till the end of May and restricted to subscribers of this newsletter. Finally, thanks to all those who helped and supported me. A show of this size is impossible alone. Photos - Here are some photos of the show. Voting result: Thanks to all those who voted for their favorite paintings. The favorite painting was "Embracing Couple". The lucky email that has won the free giclee is lolitaninecats AT qq DOT com. Congratulations! Introducing Artist: Artist Zaza Khabuliani was one of my neighbors at the Art Expo. He was born in the Republic of Georgia. He says "Art is a beautiful delirium that helps me to enter the world that I call invisible space. In that space there are my emotions and there are endless experiments." Below are two of his artwork. His website is here. Artist Zaza Khabuliani Artist Zaza Khabuliani

Mar 15, 2011 - New York Art Expo The New York Art Expo is fast approaching - March 25-27th. If you are in New York at this time, make sure you drop by. If you need free tickets, holler and I will send them to you, email. I leave in two days and am busy doing the many, many things that an artist rat does running helter, skelter to make some kind of a mark somewhere ..... anywhere. Your question - Ok, Mr. Artist, what have you done recently? My answer - I admit, art connoisseur, I have not been painting much recently. Heck, I have not been painting at all, recently. Wait. Wait. Before you throw stones and rotten eggs at me, let me explain. You see, Nanchang is a special place. In China, it falls in the weather limbo land. Not too hot, not too cold - just like Goldilocks, but in a double negative way. In China, some places have heaters in all the rooms, while others don't - depending on geographic locations. If you live in the north, it's very cold, so you have a heater and you are comfortable. If you live in the south, it's very warm, so you don't have heaters in all the rooms, but you are comfortable because its very warm in winters. However, if you are in the middle, my advice is - get the hell out, because there are no heaters. Consequently, the temperature inside your house will be exactly the same as the temperatures outside - that is near zero C during winter. So, long story short, my house was just too cold to paint. I stayed in the only room that had an electric heater - my bedroom. So, no painting. Nevertheless, every cloud has a silver lining and I wrote two thirds of a novel during this time. Writing a novel has been one of my dreams for a very, very long time. I am now happy to say that I am on my way to accomplishing this. What I am working on is just a first draft and I know that it's so full of holes that it resembles a mosquito net. Nevertheless, it's something that I wanted to do for a long time and a first draft is a very big step. OK. That's it for this newsletter. Introducing Artist: Karen Kohtz exhibited at the New York Art Expo in 2010 and was one of the most successful artists in terms of sales, exposure and career growth. Even a casual glance at her paintings can show you why. She is kind and warm hearted and has helped me immensely in preparing for my exhibition. Here are her paintings and her website. Artist - Karen Kohtz Artist - Karen Kohtx

Date: February 22 2011 - Tips to survive horror We were having our Chinese Spring Festival here and to pass the time I watched a few English horror movies. I noticed some common features and as a public service would like to offer these tips, should you or someone you know be entangled in such a situation. 1. DO try to be a good looking child - Let's say there is a group - you and 32 adults. You are the good looking child. You are guaranteed to be saved while the remaining 32 adults have their heads lopped off. 2. DO try to be a kind, good looking woman - If you cannot be a good looking child at least try to be a kind, good looking woman. Chances are decent that you will come out of it alive. If you are a guy, all I can say is - sorry. 3. AVOID being an ethnic minority. The news here is mixed. While ethnic minorities are never the first to be chopped up, they are always within the first 30 percent. 4. DON'T be a bully, cheat, thief or be obnoxious when the episodes start. If you do, you will be the first to go. 5. DON'T have casual sex when the horror episodes are about to start. If you do, you will be one of the first to meet the Maker. 6. DON'T take off your clothes and take showers in strange places. It's a fact that young, beautiful women with large breasts have an irresistible desire to do this, but please don't. You won't be leaving the shower in one piece. If you are a man, rest easy - you will have no desire to take a shower. 7. DON'T go skinny dipping in a strange lake, river, ocean or body of water! You ain't comin' out. 8. DO have deep, emotional, complicated but secret entanglements with the other characters. You will be discussing these issues during the lull between the killings. 9. If you or anyone in the episodes are scientists or government agents or in anyway remotely connected to a lab, rest assured that the thing behind the killings is a "DNA modified" something. 10. DON'T take mobile phones with you. They won't work. 11. DON'T take knives or guns with you. They may work in the beginning but will either get lost or stop working when you need them the most. 12. DON'T bother screaming for help. No one will hear you. 13. DON'T walk backwards while looking in front. You guessed it - the killer is right behind you with a big ax. 14. Don't go near windows, doors or mirrors. The monster is on the other side, waiting for you. 15. When the music becomes low and fast - BEWARE!! 16. DON'T donate blood before the episodes. You will need all of it in your final, gory scene. 17. DON'T sit facing anyone while eating. If you do, green vomit is going to land on your face very soon. And finally, 18. After about 30 minutes, it may appear that all your problems are solved and you can go back to living happily ever after. DON'T rejoice, because the killer is right behind you. I hope these pointers are of help. Introducing Artist: I met artist Emma Andijewska when I was in Munich last September. She is one of the strongest characters I have met in my life. She was born in Ukraine, moved to Germany, then to the US and then back to Germany. She is a poet, novelist and painter. I went to her home to see her paintings. Her home is full of them. She said she had about 10,000 of them. She is about 80 years old but is exceptionally energetic and creative. Talking to her was very inspiring and informative. Here are her paintings and website. Artist - Emma Andijewska Artist - Emma Andijewska

January 31 2011 - The 3 keys to a fulfilling life Here in China, we are about to celebrate Spring Festival. It's the biggest festival in China and almost everything is closed for a week, as most people go and visit their families. The shops and streets are now busy with people. Its quite exciting! Now to the 3 keys - one of my friends SunWenXia recently sent me an email and asked "How can I live a more fulfilling life?" Over time, many people have asked me this question in many different forms. Here are what I consider the 3 keys to a more fulfilling life. 1. Know the correct value of money: Money is very useful and essential when you don't have much. But when you have a lot its value decreases rapidly. Think about this - You don't have any money, you are starving and you don't have a house. Now someone offers you 1 dollar. That one dollar will be used very effectively by you. You may buy simple, cheap, nourishing food that will sustain your life! The same dollar given to a millionaire CANNOT be used as effectively. Think about it, no matter what the millionaire does, he CANNOT use it as effectively as the one with no money. Let's say he buys the same food as the poor man, it's of no use. He is already very full with all the other things he has eaten. Thus the value of money is not a constant. It's curve. High value at low amount and low value at high amounts. This is well known in economics and is called the "Law of Diminishing Returns". It is your job to find out the CORRECT value of money for yourself, because money has to weighed against yourself - your interests and your very being. If you just pursue money blindly, you are guaranteed to be lost! 2. Know thyself - Let me just quote some famous words If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else. - Lawrence J. Peter Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power. Lao Tzu Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom - Aristotle Know who you are and most of the battle is done. Know your real nature, what makes you tick, what is important and not important for you. Once you know this, you have your direction. If you don't know yourself, you will just follow what the majority thinks and you will be blindly living life by THEIR rules NOT YOURS. 3. Take action - You know the correct value of money for yourself and you know your direction. You know how much money is important to you. You know what internal values are important to you. Now its simply a question of weighing things. Evaluate which job to take, where to live, how to live and DO it. It may require courage in the beginning to make a direction change, but believe me once your journey starts you will wonder what it was you were so worried about. Regarding action, there is another saying that I am quite fond of "Hard work pays later. Laziness pays immediately". So action is the third key. Use the 3 keys and you can open the doors to a more fulfilling life. Wishing all of you a very fulfilling life! Sridhar Introducing Artist: I would like to introduce artist Ching Teoh. She will also be exhibiting at the New York Art Expo in March. She is of Chinese origin and lives in Georgetown, Malaysia. Like me, she did her Master's in Operations Research (a mathematical field) and worked in IT for several years before turning to art. Her paintings have a lot of texture and are quite subtle. You can see her paintings below and her website here. An Affair of Love Artist- Ching Teoh Lost Heritage I Artist- Ching Teoh

January 15, 2011 - Who has the lizard? First an update: The preparation for the New York Art Expo is going quite well. The artist brochures are ready. If any of you are interested, please let me know and I will mail it to you. If you have friends who would be interested, tell me how many you need and I will send them. You can help me spread the word that there is an artist called Sridhar who paints in a unique Oneki style! If you want to look at the pdf version here it is. I have also changed the design of the web site. I am quite happy with the new design. Let me know what you think or if you find some problems. The Lizard Usually I don't do commissions, but this time I did. One of my co-foreign teachers Sanjah Sanjarah asked me if I could paint a lizard. This was not completely new for me because 3 years ago I had included a lizard in the painting VJ's Dream. I said I would try. She wanted a painting of a lizard climbing up. I worked off and on, on the design for about 2 weeks, but could not get hold of a good design. Then things clicked. The design came in a flash and the painting also went very smoothly. I was very happy with the result. You can see photos of Sanjah with her new painting "Lizard" Sanjah and Lizard Sanjah and Lizard Sanjah Sanjarah is a bright, beautiful young woman from the Philippines. She teaches English at Nanchang University. I think she is a very interesting woman, so I decided to do a short interview. Here it is: Q: When and why did you come to China? A: I came to China in August '07. I had always wanted to see tea plantations. So I traveled to China to see some. Then one of my friends suggested that I find a job and continue my stay in China. So I found a job teaching English. Q: How long do you plan to be in China? A: Two more years. Q: What other countries have you traveled to? A: Other than China, I have traveled to Vietnam. I was in Hanoi for a month for my CELTA (an English teaching course) certification. Q: What did you do in the Philippines? A: I lived in Baguio city and taught English to Koreans. Q: Earlier you had mentioned to me that you belonged to a tribe in the Philippines. Can you tell me more about it? A: Yes. There are many tribes in the Philippines. I belong to the Igorot tribe. The Igorots live in the northern, mountainous part of the Cordillera region. Q: Is there anything special about the Igorot tribe? A: Many, many years ago they were called head hunters. When they had wars they would cut off the heads of the killed enemies. Of course, now they don't do that any more. Now, most of them are in agriculture. Q: Why did you want a painting of a lizard? A: In Baguio city, lizards are a symbol representing 'welcome'. Usually on the floor in front of the main door there is a tile with a picture of a lizard. Its part of the culture. Q: What are your hobbies? A: I like to sleep - ha, ha. Hmmm, I like to read all kinds of books. I also like to listen to music - mostly Reggae and Country. Q: What interesting things have you done in your life? A: When I was in the Philippines I was exposed to many cultures and nationalities. This was because I was in schools and colleges with international missionaries. I think that was very interesting. In China I went on a 24 day road trip in Tibet. That was amazing. Q: What do you want to do in the future? A: I would like to work in a nursing home for the elderly. I like working in nursing homes. Many of the elderly cannot read because of poor eyesight and if they ask me to read to them, I would and that would be wonderful. Q: OK Sanjah, it was a pleasure chatting with you. Thank you very much for our chat and for buying my painting. A: You are welcome. Introducing Artist: Artist Bonnie Mincu paints in a colorful, vibrant style. I really like the way the colors interact with each other. They pulse with energy. She is from the USA and lives in New York city. She started painting suddenly at the age 40. Her life and passion changed dramatically on vacation in Istanbul, in 1995, when she happened upon an artisan's studio. She remained there enthralled for hours, watching doll-makers, potters and craftspeople at work. She left Turkey the next day with an inexplicable burning to create visual art. Here are two of her paintings. You can visit her web site here. French River Town Artist- Bonnie Mincu Across the River - Loire Valley Artist- Bonnie Mincu

December 31, 2010 - I cut my nails! Happy New Year to all! May your wildest dreams come true this New Year. OK. So I cut my nails (I do this once or twice a year) and was about to throw them out. Then had an idea - Nail Art!! So below are some of my new nail art!! Cloud Sun Merry Christmas Tree Chimney and Smoke At the Beach Balloons Fish Introducing Artist: I would like to introduce the artwork of Dr. Mohammad Ali Bhatti to you. He is a native of Pakistan, did his university studies in the USA and is now the Director of the University of Sindh Jamshoro, Pakistan. He is a portrait artist and expresses the facial features of his subjects very well. Many of the portraits are of the poor and traditional people. His website. Joggee II Artist- Dr. Mohammad Ali Bhatti Village Boy Artist- Dr. Mohammad Ali Bhatti

December 16, 2010 - The successful vs. the unsuccessful Why are some people successful and others not? When I am buying art supplies, I find that some shops are located very well but are not so successful, while others are located in a remote corner but are doing a roaring business. Same thing with people. There are some who seem to be born for success. Everything they do turns out well. They seem to have the golden touch. What makes these people so successful, while their neighbors who share almost the same conditions are not? This question has always fascinated me. Here are some of my observations about the keys to success and I will use the retail art shop as an example. They are active: First, the successful art materials seller is energetic, positive and active. They are very aware of their surroundings and have a keen sense of what is happening around them. When you meet her, you feel energized. They are always doing something. They have a smile on their faces even when they are running helter skelter filling customer's orders. The unsuccessful ones are usually sitting with a frown on their face. Their backs are stooped, their shoulders sagging. Talking to them is not something you look forward to. "Can do" attitude: Second, the successful have a "can do" attitude. Many times I need unusual materials for my artwork. I talk to many of the shop owners. None of them have it. However, the successful ones will be curious. They will ask me questions. Why do I need it? What will I do with it? Is it available in China? What other substitutes can be used? Then when I leave, they will research it. The next time I am there they will be more informed. If I am serious about buying it, they will be able to place a special order. If it's something available elsewhere they will tell me where to find it. Contrast this with the attitude of the unsuccessful. They will just grunt "We don't have it" and quickly return to staring at the floor. Learning from mistakes: Third, they correct their mistakes quickly. In China it's fairly common for shop owners to overcharge customers they see for the first time, especially foreigners. When I go to a new city, almost all art shops give me a slightly higher price during my first visit. The very clever ones will figure out that I am a serious artist and likely to be a big customer in the fist few minutes of conversation and bring the price down immediately. The clever ones will realize the same thing over 2 or 3 visits. The dumb ones never realize this. They may get one yuan more from me when they have something that no one else does, but I know that I am being overcharged so I don't frequent them. In the long run they lose a lot of business. These are the three characteristics that I have found that separate the successful from the unsuccessful. Wishing you much success, Sridhar Vote for you favorite paintings: Many of you responded to the last newsletter and voted for your favorite paintings. Thank you very much. The voting is still continuing. If you did not vote last time, you can vote now. Introducing Artist: I would like to introduce the artwork of artist Sun Long to you. I have known him for about 8 months and met him last time in SongZhuang artist village. He paints traditional Chinese watercolors. I really like his artwork and particularly his design. You can see some of his artwork here. He will open a new art gallery on December 28th. If you are in Beijing make sure you drop by and see his paintings.

December 1, 2010 Future Plans There are two big things that I am planning now. Exhibition at Art Expo in March 2010: First, I will be exhibting at the New York Art Expo in March of 2011. Its one of the most prestigious art expos in the world. I will be going to New York for the exhibition. I am quite excited and also nervous. I don't know which paintings to take with me. So, I need help from you. Can you please vote for five of your favorite paintings - VOTE This will help me decide which ones are popular. One lucky voter will also win a giclee! Move to Beijing: Second plan that I am working on - after about 9 months I will be moving to Beijing and living in an artist village called SongZhuang. Its quite famous in China. The artist village is about a one hour bus trip outside Beijing. About 3500 artists live there. About 2000 of them are oil painters and another 1000 are Chinese water color painters. I met with one very good Chinese water color painter. His name is SunLong. I have been communicating with him for about 9 months and now had the opportunity to meet him. His works are excellent and very inspiring. I really like his design. It is my firm belief that Paris was the art capital of the past, New York is the art capital of the present and Beijing will be the art capital in the future. I could easily feel the creative energy when I visited SongZhuang village. OK. Just a short newsletter this time. But please vote for your favorite paintings. It will be very helpful to me. Sincerely, Sridhar My new artwork: Here are some of my new paintings Introducing Artist: Here is an artist whose work I came across about 2 months ago. C. Robin Janning paints in a colorful, abstract style. You can see some of her paintings here. Artist C. Robin Janning Artist C. Robin Janning

November 15 2010: One World We are the World: During my wanderings I always come across people who live in a "global village". They have traveled to many countries and cultures, or they have lived in foreign countries or they have a deep curiosity of other cultures. These are foreign teachers I have met in China, artists I have made friends with on the Internet and others that I have met directly or through the Internet. Most readers of this newsletter fall into this category. It is my firm belief that we are the leading edge. The world is rapidly becoming smaller with the spread of technology and we are coming more and more in contact with other cultures. A large majority of the population is just not comfortable or does not care. I believe this is the major reason we have wars, ethnic cleansing, terrorism etc. We serve as ambassadors and bridges. Oneki - what the hell is that? I have been having this discussion with several of my friends in real life and on the Internet. Some have traveled extensively. Our art and lives reflect it. My own art reflects it. It shows influences borrowed from many cultures. "What style is this?" - we are asked. "It is my own style." we usually say. Well, in our discussion, (sometimes with one too many beers) we discuss what to call this borrowing of things from other cultures, what to call this merging of cultures, what to call this one world - one of peace and brotherhood. Here is a term we came up with - "Oneki". It is made up of "one" in several languages. "One", "ek" and "yi" or their close variants mean one in numerous languages. A gentleman whom I met in a Munich beer garden suddenly blurted out "Your art is oneki art" and the whole table burst out laughing. Later, that night as I was getting ready for bed I thought "Hmmmm. Maybe my art is oneki art." The Global Ambassadors: Anyway, coming back to us being ambassadors, I think we are a very important part of the world social fabric. We are the grease that smooths the churning of the global gears. We are far too few in numbers but rapidly increasing. We don't just talk the talk of global peace - we live it. I think in these days of turmoil it is very essential. What do you think? What makes you so curious about foreign cultures? Let me know. Sincerely, Your "Oneki" artist Sridhar New Lanscape Paintings: I don't paint landscapes much, but this time I have painted three and am very pleased with the results. Let me know what you think. Here they are. Introducing Artist: Here is an "Oneki" artist. He is an American living in Florida, and his artwork reflects influences from another culture. You can easily guess which one. His name is Robert Malcom. His website is here. Artist Robert Malcom Artist Robert Malcom

October 31, 2010 - What kind of a city is Munich, Germany? About a month ago I had traveled to Munich for a solo exhibition. The exhibition went well and I got an article published in the local newspaper. Today I would like to tell you about Munich, the city. World famous beer: Munich is very famous for its beer. Its home to some world famous beer companies - Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrau and Lowenbrau. The beer in Munich is 100% natural. By law, the beer companies cannot add any other ingredients except water, malt and hops. The beer is served in half liter or one liter mugs. The one liter mugs are very big and heavy and because they are so heavy you hold them in a special way. Munich has hundreds of beer gardens. A beer garden is usually a restaurant with a park like area in front. This area has many large trees, usually chestnut. There are many simple benches and chairs where you can sit and order the beer. Some of the beer gardens are very old and world famous. The most famous one is Haufbrauhaus. Its about 400 years old and can seat thousands of guests. The atmosphere is very lively and friendly. If you go there at night, almost all the seats will be full and it is customary to share the tables. The waiters are extremely busy. The waitresses are famous for their ability to carry 10 of those big beer mugs. They wear traditional dress and look quite colorful. People are very friendly and will start talking to you. Every time I went to a beer garden I made good friends and had wonderful conversations. Munich Culture Munich is quite advanced in art. There are numerous museums. There are separate museums for historic, traditional and modern art. Many of the artwork in the museums are world famous - Degas, Picasso, Van Gogh, Klimt, Renoir .... If you really want to enjoy the works, it will take a long time and several visits to each museum. There are also museums for engineering, nature, hunting, fishing, dinosaurs etc. There is even a museum for potatoes. Some of the museums have a cheap ticket on weekends. I usually went during those times. There are also many art galleries, exhibitions and shows. There are many performances and theaters. So artistically, Munich is a very vibrant city. Many artists live and work in Munich and I got to meet some of them. I will introduce some of them and their art in future newsletters. Excellent Public Transporation: The public transportation in Munich is excellent. There are subways, buses and trams. You can get a 3 day, or a weekly pass that allows you to use all three as much as you want. I bought the weekly and any time I was free I would get on a tram or bus and ride it. This way I got to see almost all areas of the city. All taxis in Munich are Mercedes. Taxis are expensive, so I never used them. The people of Munich are very friendly. Any time I was lost, or needed help, they gladly assisted. Most of them speak at least some English, so I did not have any language problems. The city is also cosmopolitan. There are many non-Germans, especially Greek, Turkish and Italian. Because of this, there are many ethnic restaurants. One of the best food I ate there was called a Durum. Its a Greek dish. There are also numerous Indian restaurants. A beautiful city: The city and its surroundings are beautiful. It has modern buildings as well as historic ones. The city center is Marienplatz. It's a huge, several century old building. I was quite fascinated by the architecture. There are also many other famous old buildings, and many not so famous old churches. I enjoyed looking at the architecture of these as well. Munich is a clean city. There are numerous parks, the most famous one being English Garden. The roads and houses in Munich are well maintained. Many houses have flowers on their balconies. I could see the German love for order in the streets, houses and gardens. The outskirts of Munich are rural. The city is located near the Alps. So if you like hiking, you can take one of the subways and get to the mountains in one hour. There are also many lakes, streams and mountains. I visited an artist friend who lives and works a little outside the city. The nature there was wonderful - tall trees, meadows, hills, streams and lakes. In conclusion, if you have the chance to visit Munich, do so. I highly recommend it. Have you visited Munich? What is your opinion? Have you visited any other interesting place or city recently? What do you remember most? Tell us about it. You can email me or add your comment. Sridhar V Ramasami My Art Work: I am now painting in acrylics. One of the paintings is a gift to my cousin who got married about a year ago. I had started painting it a year back in oils but could not finish it. I have now finished it in acrylics. You can see it here. I really like acrlylics because they dry very quickly. Introducing Artist: I recently came across the artwork of Steven Krueger. He is an American but has lived in several countries. He usually moves every 2 to 3 years to a different country. His paintings reflect the environment of each country he lives in. His paintings are spontaneous, strong and made with emotion. Here is his website. Artist Steven Krueger Artist C. Stever Krueger

Oct 18 2010: Perseverence Job searching woes: Susannah, one of my ex-students from Hexi university, ZhangYe, China wrote to me that she is looking for a job. "It's hard to find a job and the situation is difficult", she says. She is a bright, talented, post graduate in a good university in China. This view is echoed by many of my friends and students. Some are in India, some in the USA and many in China. It's a difficult time to find a job anywhere in the world. How can one keep going in the face of letdowns and disappointments? My experience as an artist: As an artist applying to galleries and museums I get hundreds of rejections. So, I can easily relate to my friends' problems. It's a very disillusioning thing to be rejected over and over. It eats away at you. "Nobody wants you" you say to yourself. You sit at home or in your dormitory or your studio, and imagine your friends with happy, wonderful lives. What is the answer? Persistency. The answer is persistency. Keep on. Keep on. Keep on. Money grows on the tree of persistence - Japanese proverb. Hit after hit after hit, even the heavy grinding stone moves - Tamil proverb Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance. - Dr. Samuel Johnson My Long Hike: Several years ago, I did a long hike - 4800 miles (about 7000 kilometers). Such long distance hikes are incomprehensible to the average person. But, when I finished my hike, the biggest thing I realized was that I did not finish it because I was great, or strong or talented or lucky. I finished it because I had a burning desire and everyday I kept completing those miles. Think about it. Can you walk about 15 miles a day? Sure you can. Can you do this for about 8 days at a time and then have a day or two of rest? With a small amount of practice you can. After that, you just have to keep repeating it!! It's that simple. As I kept crossing the 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 mile marks, I could not believe how easily they were conquered. In Conclusion: So perseverence is the key. It doesn't matter what you are trying to do. Getting a good job, getting admitted in a good gallery, writing that novel you have always been dreaming about, starting a big company - they can all be done. But you need persistence. Life will inevitably give you a blow. You will have to get up. And you have to get up again and again and again. After some time, you will gain experience, your skills will improve and you will attain your goal and your friends will wonder how you managed such an amazing feat. So don't fret. Go ahead and send out the resume, call the friend who has an uncle in IBM, post your resume on the internet, send your portfolio to the museum. And do it again and again. Get time to be your friend. Are you having a similar problem? What is your opinion on this subject? What other advice would you have for people who are? Please let me know. Thank you and I hope all of my friends of this small group become more and more successful, Recent Paintings: Recently, my painting style has changed. They have become much simpler and the backgrounds have become almost white. You can see them here. Introducing Artist: Here is an artist whose artwork I have been following for about a year now. Her name is Agnes Trachet or Clementine. She paints in a very positive, colorful, abstract style. I love paintings that are positive and uplifting. Here is her website. Artist Agnes Trachet Artist Agnes Trachet