ROSS LEWIS

Sung and Yuan Dynasty fan paintings are the stimulus for "The Shan-zi Series" of paintings. In the Chinese landscape painting tradition the rocks, trees and other calligraphic forms are merely the ABC's for an internal language. They express in code the real world as traveled by the artist. I turned to the Chinese fan format as a departure point for my own internal exploration. The early Chinese silk fans are no more than 10" diameter, however, in pursuing my idea I enlarged the scale to give the viewer more space in which to travel. This size allows me more surface area in which to develop a layering of the acrylic paint on the hemp paper. The semi-round shape of the fan is a space, which constantly brings the viewer back into the center of its orbit- a contained world or an eye. The techniques of Chinese calligraphy and Chinese scroll mounting, printmaking and etching all inform my artistic process: Continually working towards a layered image.