First, a note from Vena’s team:

Last year – after another successful day celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year at the UCI festival (Year of the Rooster), Vena was overjoyed at the response she had received. The UCI students were so enthusiastic. And, like previous years, it was not just university students that were interested in her beloved art. Professors, staff, families – kids of all ages – had stopped at her demonstration booth at the festival to try it out. She said she wished there was a way to continue to teach this traditional, meditative art. That was when one of Vena’s long-time students suggested that she create video tutorials for YouTube. Making tutorials would allow her to teach but work at her own pace and still be able to stay home to take care of her husband. Later, she laughed and said that afternoon we did not know what we were getting ourselves into! But we did it! We created a channel and posted 4 videos in time for this year’s UCI festival for the Year of the Dog! Since then, we have posted another video and gotten this website and blog started. We are working on 2 more videos (Morning Glory flowers and one of the “Four Gentlemen”: Plum Blossom trees). Next on Vena’s schedule for us is “Rocks” as it is one of the essential components for painting landscapes. (Her list of subjects is a mile long!)

Please be sure to check out the Descriptions section below each of the videos on YouTube. She has provided us with tons of additional info, helpful tips and reminders to post there. We will post that info on her blog too. If you like what you see, please subscribe to her channel and “like” her videos. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, we would love to hear from you!

We are so honored to be a part of Vena’s project to share this art with “kids” of all ages. She is young at heart! Her vitality and energy are our motivation for putting in so many hours, learning everything from scratch. Although she wanted to give us credit for working so hard, we wanted the world to know that she has put forth far more effort than we have in creating this project and bringing it to life. Through these videos and blog, we hope that you will come to enjoy her graciousness and sweetness as much as we have!

Much love and peace to all!

Team Vena 😉

And a note from Vena:

There is so much to learn and practice. Bamboo, plum flowers, birds, fish, landscaping. Loading the brush properly, controlling the water ratio, knowing which side of the paper to use. The special symbolism, traditional philosophy and history of the art. Understanding what the terms “essence” or “artist’s intention” mean. We decided to begin with the fundamental information on tools and techniques with simple examples. Later we will try to do larger, more complete paintings. I am always happy for opportunities to share my knowledge and experience. Teaching in a classroom was an important part of my life. It is very different from this new adventure. Just as I said in the beginning, this is all new to me and my students. We make a good team. We started this project in late spring, worked throughout the hot summer, into fall and made it in time for this Chinese New Year. We finished 5 videos and have a few more on the way. We recorded all videos in my garage, in the early morning, using the light from a skylight. Tracy ran the video camera; Joe did the directing and planning; Stacy did much of the editing and design. I feel so fortunate to have met them. They all work together with the knowledge and resources we have available and they try to do the best they can. Usually after the video recording sessions, we came back to the house for post-taping meetings. Together we went over the subjects which may need to be redone and talked about ideas to improve our lessons. We discussed the technical details, as well as what content might be most useful for beginning students. We would eat lunch, laugh and learn from and about each other. We have enjoyed each other’s company and learned a lot about movie making in the process. We have not decided exactly how often to post new videos. However, we will post at least one each month. There are so many lovely subjects to paint.

A special thank you to all of the students who inspired me to try this new method of teaching. I am grateful to have this opportunity to continue sharing my knowledge. I hope you enjoy the lessons!

With kindest wishes for the New Year,

Vena 😊