Exploring new media – India ink on Yupo paper

Recently, I started to explore painting with black India ink on synthetic, non-absorbent Yupo paper, whose water-resistant nature can be exploited and allow some interesting effects when the ink is washed, sprayed, scrubbed, and removed. I am happy with the results; these new paintings look richly layered, light and shadow contrasted in a complicated and mysterious way, and the flowing ink traces are often unpredictable, playful, and evocative.

Petals
Petals, Ink on Yupo paper, 14"x11", 2023

Petals, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 11”x14″, 2023

Petals, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 11”x14″, 2023

Petals, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 11”x14″, 2023

Dandelions
Dandelions, Ink on Yupo paper, 14"x11", 2023

Dandelions, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 14”x11″, 2023

Dandelions, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 14”x11″, 2023

Dandelions, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 14”x11″, 2023

C Major
C Major, ink on yupo paper, 9"x12", 2023

C Major, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 9”x12″, 2023

C Major, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 9”x12″, 2023

C Major, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 9”x12″, 2023

Scour
Scour, ink on yupo paper, 9"x12", 2023

Scour, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 9”x12″, 2023

Scour, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 9”x12″, 2023

Scour, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 9”x12″, 2023

Ripples
Ripples, 11x14, Ink on Yupo paper, 2023

Ripples, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 11”x14″, 2023

Ripples, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 11”x14″, 2023

Ripples, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 11”x14″, 2023

Resting
Resting, 11x14, Ink on Yupo paper, 2023

Resting, India ink on Yupo paper, 11″x14″, 2023

Resting, India ink on Yupo paper, 11″x14″, 2023

Resting, India ink on Yupo paper, 11″x14″, 2023

Orbit
Orbit, India ink on Yupo paper, 11"x14", 2023

Orbit, India ink on Yupo paper, 11″x14″, 2023

Orbit, India ink on Yupo paper, 11″x14″, 2023

Orbit, India ink on Yupo paper, 11″x14″, 2023

Stone Flower
Stone Flower, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12x9, 2023

Stone Flower, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023

Stone Flower, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023

Stone Flower, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023

Diffuse
Diffuse, Ink on Yupo paper, 14"x11", 2023

Diffuse, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 14”x11″, 2023

Diffuse, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 14”x11″, 2023

Diffuse, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 14”x11″, 2023

Luxuriant
Luxuriant, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12x9, 2023

Luxuriant, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023
🔴 Sold

Luxuriant, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023
🔴 Sold

Luxuriant, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023
🔴 Sold

Pervade
Pervade, India ink on Yupo paper, 14"x11", 2023

Pervade, India ink on Yupo paper, 14″x11″, 2023

Pervade, India ink on Yupo paper, 14″x11″, 2023

Pervade, India ink on Yupo paper, 14″x11″, 2023

The View
The View, ink on yupo paper, 12"x9", 2023

The View, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023

The View, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023

The View, India Ink on Yupo Paper, 12”x9″, 2023

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Petals
Dandelions
C Major
Scour
Ripples
Resting
Orbit
Stone Flower
Diffuse
Luxuriant
Pervade
The View
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Featured Installation – Wilting Flowers

Recently I created an installation Wilting Flowers and fully documented the creation and installation processes.

This new effort was spurred by my continued fascination with paper material – delicate, malleable, and transitory, characteristics well suited for hinting at, versus representing, a world full of fragility and vulnerability, constantly under the threat of total destruction.

My local newspaper, “The San Francisco Chronicle”, served as the foundation: a segment of our time, distilled and encapsulated. Inky strokes and splashes were added to the newspaper sheets, which were folded and tied up to form large flowers, with aluminum wires wrapped with dyed twine as stems.

For the background, I chose five sheets of plain white paper, streaked with similar black strokes of ink diluted with various amount of water.

To install, I attached these background paper to a wall in an uneven row, then affixed those flowers, 13 total, to those sheets. There were no strict rules about how to lay out the background sheets and flowers, as long as the finished installation looked balanced, and the flowers largely faced outwards.

I have installed these sheets and flowers on different surfaces – a colorful graffitied plywood wall, or somber looking wooden fences, at different times of the day. The differences between the surfaces, the different light cast on the wall or fence, background sheets and paper flowers, all contributed to a murmuring polyphony.

Wilted Lowers Installation _ DSCN4040 - modified - 800px
Wilting Flowers
Ink on paper and newspaper, aluminum wire, cotton string
40″ x 140″ x 5″
Completed in 2016

Wilting Flowers / 凋萎的花卉 / Wilting Blumen