Polo player sculpture, 7th-8th century. Earthenware with traces of white slip and paint. China, Tang dynasty (618-907). Seattle Asian Art Museum.
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I noticed this Chinese birdcage right away while visiting the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Its intricate design really caught my eye. I especially like the dragon on top of the cage.
I used Corel PaintShopPro 2021 for different photo processing effects on this picture of the Chinese birdcage. In the original image I slightly increased the contrast and fill light and cropped the edges. Use the slider to view each effect compared to the original.
The first one shows the original photograph and the same picture with a filters effect. For this image I went to Effects>Photo Effects>Film & filters>Warming filter>Warm earth tones>20 density. I liked how this effect made it look older in glowing warm tones.
The next one shows the original photograph and the same picture with a lighting effect. For this image I went to Effects>Illumination Effects>Lights>Default setting. I liked how this effect gave the subject a starring role in the spotlights.
The last picture of the Chinese birdcage shows an Art effect. For this image processing I went to Effects>Art Media Effects>Pencil>Factory Defaults setting. It looks like a soft pastel drawing that shows all its details.
This cage was made during the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911) or Republican period (1912-1949). The label near the display noted that this “birdcage reflects luxurious dimensions of pet ownership accessible to the wealthy.”
One-to-three Photo Processing Challenge – September 2025
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Today I’m sharing a painting I did of a Black-billed Magpie flying over the Painted Hills. They are both characters in my magical realism work-in-progress novel with the working title of Darkness of Hills, Lightness of Wings. I wrote this book for kids in the 8 to 12-year-old age range. Yes, it’s fiction, but it includes factual information related to history and nature.
In the book, the main character, Jīnsè, moves from China to Oregon to work with her grandfather, a local doctor. After a traumatic event, she develops the ability to understand animals and also receives messages written on the hills. The magpie character shown in my painting is named Liàng. Jīnsè also has a snarky seagull friend she names Rěnshòu.
I painted this piece on watercolor paper with watercolor paints and ink from inksticks. I used my set of Chinese brushes. Once again, I was impressed with the Chinese inkstick ink. The ink has a nice consistency. I edited the picture with Corel PaintShop Pro.
Most of the time, I do pencil sketches of characters when I’m working on books. I decided to put a little more effort into creating a color piece. Becky Wallick, my blogging friend at Wild Sensibility, suggested I include some of my artwork when I send out manuscripts for review. Thanks for the great idea, Becky! 😊
I used this picture I took at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon to create my magpie and Painted Hills painting. The colors of the soil on this visit really stood out after a rainstorm.
I took this picture of a magpie in Bozeman, Montana. Though they live in my neighborhood in Bend, I’ve never had one visit my yard. Maybe one day…
I decided to write a book for kids after visiting Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, Oregon. When a long-abandoned building was opened in 1967, a treasure trove of artifacts was discovered inside. This building served as a medical clinic and apothecary, meeting place, boarding house, place of worship, and store for Chinese immigrants and local residents from the late 1880s to 1940.
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.
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Today I’m sharing a couple waterlily paintings and a photo I created. I attempted to paint the waterlily using a traditional Chinese style. Artisans train for years to perfect this type of painting. My first efforts at Chinese brush painting pale in comparison.
In the first painting, I used watercolor paint on a smooth cold press paper. Since I like showing a lot of detail in my artwork, this type of painting, where less is more, was challenging. This was my third attempt at doing this style of painting.
In the second painting, I used acrylic paints on a mixed media slightly grained paper.
I worked from the photo shown below of a waterlily blooming at Petersen Rock Garden and Museum.
Before doing the waterlily paintings, I familiarized myself with the brushes using black ink. The quality of brushes varies, but sets can be purchased online at low costs.
Here are some of the exercises I did with ink using hard and soft brushes. I really enjoyed doing these exercises. When using some of these techniques, you hold the brush straight up and down instead of at an angle. I used The Chinese Brush Painting Bible by Jane Dwight as a guide.
I recently decided to purchase an inkstone and an inkstick. You grind the inksticks on the inkstones with a little water to make ink. In the Chinese period dramas I’ve watched, they frequently feature characters grinding ink. The inkstone I purchased is of a simple design, but some are elaborate works of art.
I bought an inkstick because you can vary the density of color more than you can with traditional bottled ink. To see the ancient method used to create inksticks, watch this FASCINATING video. The oldest Chinese inkstick artifacts date back to the 12th century BC.
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.
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Near the shores of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, you’ll find a small gem of a garden. Lan Su Chinese Garden is the result of a collaboration between Portland, Oregon, and Suzhou, in the Jiangsu province of China.
The Lan Su Chinese Garden mission is to “cultivate an oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony to inspire, and educate our global community in the appreciation of a richly authentic Chinese culture.”
Kuang Zhen designed the 1.03-acre garden with the help of 65 artisans. The garden opened to the public in September 2000.
Over 400 species of plants can be found here. More than 100 plants grow near Lake Zither, a feature created for the garden.
The Garden of Surging Waves is located in Astoria, Oregon. The city was founded in 1811 and this garden was a gift to celebrate the city’s 200th anniversary. The Chinese were an important part of Astoria’s history. At one time, 22% of the city’s population was Chinese. In the Pacific Northwest, Chinese were instrumental in the cannery, logging, mining, and railroad construction industries.
I’m starting with a circular mosaic of three sturgeon. It was my favorite artwork there.
This is part of the Pavilion of Transition, pictured below. The fish theme is repeated in the circular lantern hanging above the mosaic. Nine salmon swim around its perimeter.
The pavilion has eight columns with dragons carved into each. The squares, circles, and even and odd numbers in this garden represent elements of Yin and Yang.
Today, I’m featuring photos from the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site kitchen. I’ve posted about this historical site in John Day, Oregon, before. It was boarded up for many years when the doors were finally opened, it was like a time capsule inside.
Whenever I visit there, I think about how good the various shapes and textures would look in monotone pictures. However, the vibrant colors are also interesting. Since I was unable to decide which way to process the photos I took, I’m showing both color and monotone sepia versions. Move the slider to compare them. I used a dark vignette effect on all of the photos.
The first one shows a wood cooking stove with a small shrine behind it. I like how the orange color glows in the color version.
The second photo shows various products in this kitchen of the past. In this one, I like how the labels stand out in color.
The items of various shapes and sizes in the kitchen of Kam Wah Chung stand out in black and white. I visited the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, Oregon a couple years ago. As I described in my post about that experience, it was like stepping back in time. This small building served as a general store, apothecary, doctor’s office, boarding house, religious center, and meeting spot for the Chinese people of the community in the late 1800s. Most worked in mines or on railroad line construction.
The co-owners of this business were Lung On, aka “Leon”, and Ing Hay, aka “Doc Hay.” As a result of their hard work, the business thrived for many years. Lung On passed away in 1940. Ing Hay moved to a nursing home in Portland, Oregon in 1948. The building stood vacant until it was opened in 1967. It contained a treasure trove of artifacts–over 30,000 have been cataloged so far.
Visitors can visit this site with a guide to learn more. It is a fascinating tour, made more interesting by the fact that the owners of this business were directly affected by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. It is a part of history many of us never learned. Seeing a site such as this makes overlooked parts of our history come alive.
For information on tours, visit the Oregon State Parks site. Note Kam Wah Chung is only open seasonally and may be affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
Have you ever stepped inside a time capsule and discovered a place frozen in time? You have the opportunity to visit such a place if you stop at the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, Oregon. The small building, located two blocks north of Highway 26, was, at one time, bustling with activity. Kam Wah Chung, which translates to the “Golden Flower of Prosperity,” served as a dry goods store, herbalist shop, import business, house of worship, and boarding house. It also housed an informal library and post office.
Last weekend we attended an Asian New Year Celebration, and the performances we watched were spectacular! This event brought together performances of music, Tai Chi, Parkour, aerial silks, and lion dancing. A local restaurant provided samples of Asian cuisine. There was also a silent auction.
Last month, The Darkness of Hills, The Lightness of Wings came to visit me for 25 days. Yes, that was a long visit. She spoke a little bit to me each day until she was 50,129 words long.
I started her as part of the NaNoWriMo challenge. That’s short for National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words in a month. It’s a commitment I wasn’t sure I could make, but I did it.
I knew I wanted the story to take place in the late 1800s and I wanted to include a Chinese girl who moves to Oregon to work with her grandfather. He’s a doctor and she knows how to make herbal cures. That’s all I knew when I started writing.
I found my inspirations to build a story from several sources.
