When Carolyn Dong was attending a calligraphy class shortly after she arrived in Tokyo 30-plus years ago, she watched in horror as the instructor painted a bright orange curlicue over her painstakingly crafted kanji characters.
“Being that I am an American, I was in a state of shock,” says the California native. “She just destroyed my piece of work.”
Afterwards, Dong, who had already received extensive training in calligraphy, acrylics and oil painting, reflected on this “zen” lesson.
“She said, ‘OK. That’s good. Destroy it, and go on,’” says this month’s Frederick Harris Gallery exhibitor.
“That’s why you just keep doing art. You keep searching.”
Dong, who succeeded her mentor Shinjiro Nakamura as the Women’s Group drawing and painting instructor in 2002, undertakes a new series of oil paintings every year, from celestial dragons to Japanese gardens.
For her series portraying Britain’s drab and drizzly Morecambe Bay, Dong stood on the bay and using only four colors experimented with different shades of gray.
Her Rivers of Tokyo series, which will be displayed at the exhibit curated by her protégé–and Club Member–Rajul Shah, was particularly difficult as she manipulated different shades of green to show the movement of water.
“Basically, I have an idea. Then the idea has to have three elements,” says Dong.
“It has to have some sort of spiritual inspiration. It has to have some sort of painting technique that I am not very good at that I want to compensate for. It also has to have something that ties it together to make the theme interesting for me.”
Gallery Exhibition
Sep 4–24
Gallery Reception
Free
Open to adults, invitees and Members only
