Bio
KEITH F. NELSON
After retirement from a career in the computer industry, I turned my attention to numerous personal interests. These included artistry in many forms and media – watercolor, pastels, wood, bone and paper. I took art classes at our local high school and at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Several years along, I decided to focus on watercolor, and began studies with a Chinese painting master to learn traditional brush painting and calligraphy with inks and water. A new world of art opened up for me.
I was privileged to study with Ma Qing Xiong, a master of the traditional techniques and a leader in developing his own contemporary adaptations of Chinese brush painting. In my own work, I strive to extend such innovation to bridge Eastern and Western art.
Chinese brush painting is one of the oldest art forms. Using the same techniques as calligraphy, the artist literally “writes” a painting with black and colored inks. Motifs include landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, and the art may be fine detail or more impressionistic. Often, paintings are accompanied by lines of poetry, as ancient scholars linked these art forms. The works are executed on paper or fabric, usually rice paper or silk, and may be painted directly on scrolls, fans, or foldout “books”.
Since coming to Sarasota, I continue to take classes and exhibit my work as a member of the Sumi-e (“water ink”) society.
