Culture

Penjing drawing & photo: First Friday Art

Today I’m sharing a colored pencil penjing drawing I quickly drew this morning. Penjing, or penzai, is the Chinese version of Japanese bonsai. While bonsai often focuses on a single tree, penjing represents a scene in nature in a “three-dimensional painting.”

In China, these plantings have been created since at least the Han dynasty (206 B.C. to 221 A.D.).

My drawing is based on a penjing planting at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon. In my photo below, the wall of the gift shop made an interesting background.

I’ve always admired the artistry that goes into creating penjings. It requires a lot of patience and foresight.

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.

First Friday Art

Bend Branches always appreciates your comments and likes. Comments may not appear right away since they’re screened for spam prior to posting. Thanks!

SoyBend

Centered in Bend, Oregon, my blog branches out into nature, history, and art-related topics.

View Comments

Recent Posts

Prickly pear fruit up close: Macro Monday

This year, we had a bumper crop of prickly pear fruit on the cactus growing…

1 day ago

Clouds over Pilot Butte: Weekend Sky

Clouds over Pilot Butte in Bend, Oregon Weekend Sky Bend Branches always appreciates your comments…

3 days ago

Southpark Seafood: Foodie Friday

Last February, on a trip to Portland, Oregon, I had a meal at Southpark Seafood.…

4 days ago

A Painted Hills morning: WW

A Painted Hills morning in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon Wordless Wednesday (WW)…

6 days ago

Kwakwaka’wakw art, Seattle Art Museum: Sculpture Saturday

This beautiful collection of Kwakwaka'wakw art is at the Seattle Art Museum in Washington state.…

1 week ago

A marmot drawing, painting, and photos: First Friday Art

Today, I'm sharing a marmot drawing, painting, and photos. I took several photos of this…

2 weeks ago