Fantastic Discovery!

Christopher Chang, in his studio

 I rediscovered Christopher Chang today.  He is one of the most extraordinary artists I have ever met.  He was part of the protest at Tianamen Square in Beijing China on June 4th, 1989, called the Tianamen Square Massacre, which China forbids its people to talk of, and has conveniently eliminated the incident from its history books.  It was a sad situation which we in America watched unfold, this crushing of a democratic movement by young students.  They even erected a "Goddess of Democracy," curiously resembling our Statue of Liberty, which they formed out of styrofoam and plaster.  One young man stood in front of a line of tanks to stop the madness.  In the end hundreds died, some say thousands, and nothing came of it except a burning desire for some to escape that madness.  Christapher's art was sometimes used as propaganda in China, and so somehow he got to the United States, where eventually I was to meet him in the art world.

This was about the year 2000, years after the Tianamen tragedy, but Chris's perception of the world through his life experiences was evident in his passion for his new life, and art life, in the USA.  And so I happened upon his workshop in the Granite Street Gallery in New London, Connecticut.  It was a quaint eclectic group of artists whom I painted with and exhibited with for a couple of years, taking the few workshops with Christopher.  His portraits were extraordinary, rich with texture, stroke and color.  His use of green enchanted my sense of color and to this day when I load my brush with green to apply it to a portrait I think of him.  An interesting legacy--green paint--Christopher Zhang.  But I always tried to paint directly in back of him so that I could see every stroke, every loaded brush, every bodily nuance.  His painting process was dab--jump back--dab again--jump back, stop and stare.  I thought this behavior quite strange and did not understand it at the time, but now I do, as the whole of the painting must be constantly observed for its composition based on the gathering of strokes of color.  And one must not be too judgmental with oneself, but forgiving else the painting will look too labored over and lose its freshness and liveliness.  It's a delicate balance, the seeds of which I learned from Christopher.  I was just one of probably thousands of students by now, but this was my first portrait in oil, and I think my first attempt at the medium, having been mostly a watercolor painter, and new to painting at that.

And so can you imagine that when I visited his website, being curious about him after mentioning his name in a bio I am doing for a teaching job, that right there on his studio wall was his version of the portrait I have in my studio, which I painted at the New London Gallery with him!  I quickly went to my "stash" of unfinished or "unloved" paintings (dogs I call them) and pulled out my "Mustachiod Man" like Chris's.  The model was interesting, but I always hated his open shirt and thought that someday I would change that, update his face to the level of expertise I possess now, frame it and add it to my show collection.  Now I am inspired to do that ... it's on my "todo" list with the hundred other things.  Anyway, here is Chris's and here is mine.  What a world. You can visit his website at www.chriszhangstudio.com

Christopher Zhang's Studio in East Lyme, CT

Christopher Zhang's "Man with Mustache"

Judy Burgarella's "Man with Mustache"

As I look back on this painting which I hate every time I came across it, it's really not too bad.  A little void of contrast, color and values, but I think I will put other clothes on him, darken the background like Chris's, and put a little more color on his hair and mustache.  Maybe.  Someday.  But other shows are calling so I'd better get cracking on some interesting paintings.  Stay tuned, and happy New Year to all!

Below is the latest version of my show schedule:

Ongoing

• Sebastian River Art Club's Art Center, 1245 Main Street, Sebastian. Open Tuesday, Thursday and most Saturdays, 11:00am-3:00pm (Featured Artist for January 2015)
• Sebastian City Hall, 1225 Main Street, Sebastian
• Indian River County Main Library, 1600 21st Street, Vero Beach  772-770-5060
• My art studio (by appointment only)

Future Shows
(As of 1/1/2015)

• Jan 1-30 - Artist of the Month, Dale Sorensen Realty, 1961 14th Ave 772-492-5300 
• Jan 1- 30 - Artist of the Month, Sebastian River Art Club, 1245 Main St., Sebastian
• Jan 6 - 11:00-4:00 Plein Air Paintout on Veteran's Island, Vero Beach
• Jan 9 - April 9 - Indian River County Courthouse, 2000 16th Avenue, Vero Beach
• Jan 17-18 - Sebastian Fine Art & Music Festival (www.sebastianartshow.com), Riverview Park, Sebastian.  Tent Show, over 120 exhibitors, food, music.
• Jan 23-25 - Vero Beach Art Club's "Art By The Sea" at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, 3001 Riverside Dr, Vero Beach. Jan 23 5-8pm (Opening Reception), Jan 24 10-5pm, Jan 25 10-4pm
• Jan 24 - Sebastian River Art Club Park Show, Riverview Park, Sebastian. Tent show, 10am-4pm
• Feb 7 - Sebastian Art Studio Tour.  One of 13 Sebastian Artists whose studio will be open to the public. 9-5 pm  www.SebastianArtStudioTour.com ~ www.SebastianArtStudioTour.blogspot.com
• Feb 13-14 - Vero Beach Art Club's "Art on the Island" at the Marsh Island Club, 9155 Marsh Island Drive, Vero Beach.
• Feb 14-15 - Sebastian River Art Club's Competitive Show, Riverside Park, Sebastian. Tent show, 10am-4pm
• March 13, 14, 15 - Vero Beach Art Club's "Under the Oaks" fine art and craft show, Riverside Park, Vero Beach. An award-winning tent show with over 250 exhibitors. www.verobeachartclub.org
• March 20 - Treasure Coast Art Association's "Essence of a Woman" 223 Avenue A, Ft. Pierce info to come
• May - Florida's Finest en Plein Air info to come

Judy Burgarella

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