(Return to: Gallery / Wildlife+Nature / Birds )                                    <<PREVIOUS …. NEXT>>

“Chinese Bird” Watercolor      Private Collection
This painting takes me right back to University! When I was in my second year of college (Broome Community College in Binghamton, NY) I met and befriended a Chinese exchange student named Ayte Sun. I always loved Chinese style brush work and paintings so he taught me how to do some basic paintings and numbers using the brush, in exchange for helping him to learn better English. So yes, I wrote the numbers at the top of the painting! If I remember right, it says “1982 year fifth month” Then the little red ‘stamp’ is hand-painted and says Mary Mac, my nickname!

Doing these little Chinese style paintings really influenced my watercolor painting style of being loose (in the beginning). Most of my early watercolor birds were loose and playful with using the brush to make marks and splashes.