Origins of Warrior and Scholar

"Origins of Warrior and Scholar" is a recent piece that I created. I use abstracted forms of the Japanese rising sun and a dimensional abstraction of the Kenpo Universal symbol. It is done in colored pens and ball point pen. There is a certain freedom in drawing, and an immediacy, unlike in any other medium in two dimensional art work. The size of the work is six inches by six inches, and it calls to mind, for me, a journalistic type of reference. A journal in the sense of a personal journal one keeps. For any Kenpo practioner, it is known that we are called to think about our art extensively. Some people may keep a written journal, which is useful for me, but there is also a use for a visual journal. In this image, I tried my best to include every color used to denote the ranks that we pass through to get to black belt. While proportions are not really equated with the number of practioners, it is an interesting thought to to create a piece based on color and the perception of what one goes through in that particular belt. What may not be noticeable in the image here is the line quality in the drawing. I love the use of line and what it can say and communicate to a viewer. I had the opportunity recently to view Cezanne and Monet at the SF DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park.

http://deyoung.famsf.org/

http://www.golden-gate-park.com/

It was amazing what the brush strokes could communicate to a person. Lines and strokes communicate, among other things, movement, personality, texture, and form. That is to name only a few things. It also speaks about the personality of an artist. Given that I enjoy the surrealist influence so much, I wonder about where my subconscious leads me when I compose a piece like this. An intimate work like this is really a response piece. I sit down and start drawing, and the vision forms as I go. It is rare that I sit down and an actual formal plan, at least at this size of work. It is about an intimate journey through life and experience for me, specifically my experience through kenpo, in  this case.

Thanks for visiting. :-)

~Jesse