A Visitor for the Observant

American Goldfinch
watercolor on paper
7in x 5in
copyright 2013 Rose Welty

Yesterday my husband and I enjoyed a brief influx of American Goldfinch to the yard. They are a tiny bird but in color, the brightest yellow you can imagine. They eat seeds, so you tend to see bright yellow flashes bobbing in the grasses, almost like flowers under a breeze from a distance. They also eat the seeds from liquid amber trees. When they are in the trees they are quite acrobatic, bending every which way for a crack at more food. But, as I said, they are quite small and quiet, so you have to be looking in the trees to find them.

It's probably for the chance to see them that I keep the liquid amber trees - picking up those little balls is one of my least favorite yard jobs.

Looking for a Suggestion

For a long time I've wanted to understand the philosophy behind Chinese and Japanese ink painting. It's not easy to find a book that goes beyond the "how to". I have a few "easy sumi-e" books. I'm not all that interested in learning how to wield a Chinese brush. I'm much more interested in understanding their composition decisions and what makes a "good painting" from the eastern perspective.

Recently I did find The Way of the Brush and happily received it for Christmas.

I'm loving the book - it has answers to many of my questions. Although, I will admit that I probably also need a more basic book or, at least, more reading on the subject to fully grasp everything.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

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