盧山之三 （Mt. Lu-3）

During my current visit to Nashville, Tennessee (May 30-June 9, 2011) I started a new project--to emulate Jing Huao 荊浩, one of the great masters of Chinese landscape painting of late Tang Period (後梁）. This landscape painting of his includes Mt. Lu in South China (盧山之五老峰，爐峰，三峽，左蠡等地的景致)。Working little by little on a daily basis from top to bottom for about ten days I have done this much, perhaps about half of the original painting... I still have a long way to go.

廬山之二 （Mt. Lu-2）

I have been gaining some ground in the lower right section of this second part of my emulation.
As I plot slowly on, I remember one story about Master Jing's learning process: It is said that he had drawn pictures from live pine trees for ten thousand times before he felt he could capture its spirit. Alas! What an effort and what a perseverance!

A new project in painting: 廬山之一 (Mt. Lu-1)

I don't remember how many days (perhaps three, I guess) of careful emulation of the original painting before I took this first picture to record my progress. Though trying to be very careful with eyes wide open and sometimes with the help of magnifying glass, I was amazed to find that my emulation came out somewhat "differently" from the original. After all, this is not a photo copy. I have to admit that in my concentrated efforts to emulate there are things in the original that seem to be tantalizing and are beyond my ability to put down in paper, however hard I tried. Then I realize why he has been regarded as one of the great masters of Chinese landscape painting....