Minimal Strokes

Mask III

One of my favorite classes in college was Arts of Asia. In the Western world, art for art’s sake is a relatively new thing. In times past it was usually commissioned by religious bodies to recreate scenes from scripture or by the aristocracy for portraiture.  And while the East had plenty of that, they also created fantastic pieces centered around nature.

Apriori

I’m a huge of fan of Sumi-e painting in which the subject is more representative than realistic and each brush stroke is deliberate.

I recently ran across the art of Adam S. Doyle whose work reminds me of some of my favorite Sumi-e paintings. He uses minimal, but perfectly placed, colorful strokes to create typical Sumi-e subject matter such as birds and fish and not-so-typical subject matter such as teapots and masks. His signature resembles a hanko seal which is a nice touch too.

You can buy a painting at his store or you can get a print from Thumbtack Press.

I’m dying to own Magic Fish!

Magic Fish

Birds of Paradise

Mask IV

Hive

Howl