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shuen (8" X 10"), february 2007
mixed media

for some reason,
painting chinese ideograms has me in its sway.
while a smaller painting, shuen,
the second such ideogram i've painted,
took longer to finish than one might suspect.
shuen, when translated,
re-presents "deep and profound."

what is visible, but inadequately so, is the fact that shuen
is actually a very layer-intensive painting.
the ideogram itself is raised about 1/4" off the canvas.
additionally, as is visible,
small cut-glass beads of various colors are inside the image.

the finish on the painting is actually more a coating.
the image is encased by a layer of this cool, clear resin-based finish.
it's messy in the making,
but once done and dry,
it leaves the painting frozen under
a sheet of ice-like clarity.

i really like this painting.
oddly enough, it seems to be a very moody or dark piece
but i find it exactly the opposite.

UPDATE: the painting now has a fabulous new home
with three truly amazing people,
one of whom will always be family to me.