THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 18, 1995 TAG: 9508160172
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Go to the Chesapeake Central Library to see exquisitely detailed goldfish swimming in radiant light, majestic herons, bold and playful monkeys, and heroic rodeo riders.
You can view these scenes at the Chesapeake Central Library as part of a monthlong exhibit of art created by Virginia Beach resident Shawmei Shen.
Shen, who is a full-time professional artist and teacher, is an expert in two traditional Chinese art styles: watercolor on silk and brush and ink.
``I visited the library and was impressed by its light,'' she said from her family's Kempsville area home. ``It looked like a good place to show my work.''
With that in mind, Shen contacted librarian Joyce Wrestler, who, in keeping with the library's policy of offering space to showcase regional artists, readily accepted.
The exhibition features more than 30 of Shen's works ranging from very colorful watercolor paintings on silk to bold and simple black-and-white brush ink works.
Both styles are techniques Shen learned from Taiwan's National Academy of Arts, which teaches and preserves all manner of Chinese art and culture.
Shen said her brush and ink art is called shei-yi (pronounced shay-ee), where the artisan captures the essence of the subject, not the details.
``It uses simple strokes, to give life and movement to a subject,'' she said. ``It's a deceptively simple style that tends to be humorous and is fun to look at. It mainly uses black and white and shades of gray to create bold forms. You capture the most important strokes of a subject.''
Shen's library brush and ink creations include traditional Chinese warriors on horseback, marching horses, marching crabs, playful monkeys, bronco busting cowboys in a unique blend of Chinese and American cultures and Chinese calligraphy.
``Chinese calligraphy is the highest form of art,'' she said. ``Every character is an abstract painting.''
Going from black, white and gray to color, Shen's other style involves detailed and painstakingly rendered watercolor paintings on silk.
``This is a special technique that's developed over the years,'' she explained. ``I did a lot of research into this technique and have been doing it for many years.''
Shen's watercolor on silk paintings at the library include birds surrounded by colorful water plants and flowers and a scene of goldfish with long, luxurious fins swimming and swirling toward radiant light shimmering in the water.
Shen has been teaching Chinese art and calligraphy at the Tidewater Chinese School, located near the ODU campus in Norfolk, for many years. She's an artist in residence at the Artist's Gallery on Pacific Avenue in Virginia Beach and has taught or demonstrated art for the Chrysler Museum, the Portsmouth Museum and the Chesapeake Watercolor Society.
A native of mainland China's Szechwan province, Shen lived in Taiwan for over 20 years before moving to Texas to attend Baylor University, where she eventually earned a bachelor of fine arts degree. MEMO: The artwork of Shawmei Shen will be on display at the Chesapeake Central
Library, 298 Cedar Road, through August during normal library business
hours. More information about the exhibit is available by calling
547-6578. For more information about Shen's art or classes, call
476-4535 or 422-3703.
ILLUSTRATION: A Chinese ink and brush rendering of a camel by Shawmei Shen.
Staff photo by
PETER D.
SUNDBERG
by CNB