About the Artist
Jack B. Kushnick is enchanted by both Chinese brush art and watercolor. His artwork blends the best of both worlds; the beauty and peacefulness of Chinese brush art with the free-flowing, colorful nature of watercolor. Jack has studied under several master artists, both Asian and American, for more than a decade. His early works were colorful and free-spirited watercolors, his most recent endeavors, simpler and monochromatic works in ink, as in most traditional East Asian paintings. In his own unique way Jack has developed an amalgam of the best of both worlds, Asian and Western styles blended together.
Jack initially painted in watercolor because he sensed the vitality in the flow of the colors and in its translucency. He felt that this could not be captured in any other medium. Later, he came to appreciate the spirit and energy of Chinese brush art, and his recent works reflect the combination of the peace, tranquility and serenity depicted in Chinese brush art with the beauty and vibrancy of watercolor.
Jack’s artworks have won numerous awards and are found in private collections in both the United States and abroad. He has had a variety of exhibitions in New York City, New Jersey, and California. His paintings are also found in a number of health care facilities due in part to his work as a Physical Therapist in New York and New Jersey.
Through the medium of ink and watercolor Jack hopes to enable the viewer to focus in on what is peaceful, good and beautiful in the world around us and in our own lives.
The collection of 25 of Jack’s Chinese brush paintings, recently published, reflect his reverence for the “The Beauty of Nature’, as titled, and his belief that art can enhance one’s sense of calm, inner peace and joy.
Jack can be reached at [email protected].
About the Artwork
My artwork consists of collections of both watercolor paintings and Chinese brush art.
Many of my original paintings are available for sale both in watercolor and Chinese brush art styles. Some of the original Asian works have been mounted and framed in galleries in Chinatown, New York City, using an approach which differs from that typically used for Western-style paintings. They are wet-mounted with silk brocade and framed in either mahogany-colored wood or black wood.
Original works, both watercolor and Chinese brush art, are also available as ‘giclee’ prints. ‘Giclee’ is a French term for ‘throwing or squirting’ paint on a surface. Giclees are fine art prints using archival-quality inks from special ink-jet printers, which are sprayed on surfaces such as high-quality paper, canvas and fabric. Images are generated from high-resolution digital scans. Paintings reproduced in this manner are superior in many ways to other means of duplication of artistic images. The images have the same tonality and hue as the original, and are significantly less expensive to purchase.
My earlier paintings are mainly works in watercolor, capturing the beauty of free-flowing color or a variety of watercolor media. Over time, my emphasis shifted to Asian or Chinese brush art, due to the inherent peacefulness I embraced in that style of paintings.
Chinese brush art and calligraphy integrate spirituality and artistry. That blend is seen in both the artwork and the rituals of everyday life in East Asia. From ‘Shan Shui’, (the balancing of human energy in accordance with natural forces), to ‘Sumi-e’, (ink painting), to ‘Fa-Hua’, (flower arrangement), the connection between aesthetics and spirituality is ever-present.
Ink painting is generally done on fabrics, such as silk, or on rice paper. Rice paper, also called ‘Chinese Shuan paper’, is not actually made from rice, but rather from the bark of mulberry trees. Rice paper comes in a variety of textures and colors. Writing (calligraphy) or painting on rice paper requires considerable skill and patience, and years of practice. Many of my original works of art are painted on one or another variety of this very thin, unforgiving paper. Some are painted on a silk-like fabric, some on silk fans.
My signature, or ‘chop’, appears on all of my Chinese brush artworks. The chop represents my name in Chinese characters. Some of my paintings include Chinese calligraphy, which is an artform unto itself, and when included in the painting, tells a story. Often it is a description of the artist’s thoughts written as a poem. The calligraphy may also pay honor to a particular dynasty, ancient Chinese leader, or may simply be the musings of the artist.
Chinese brush art should be flowing, spontaneous and unaltered. It is essential to capture the ‘chi’, or energy, of the brushstroke. Chinese brush art differs in part, from Western art, in that it utilizes various rituals and in the special preparation and use of materials such as the ink stone, ink stick, unique brushes and brushstrokes, paper and the use of color. Many wonderful ancient works of Chinese art are painted using ink with little or no color. My Chinese artworks often employ only the use of black ink. It is said that to the artist of Chinese painting, there are up to 10 shades of black, and that black is itself a color.
There is great beauty in the simplicity of Chinese brush art. It aims to capture the bond between human existence and nature. It is this sense of peace and serenity that draws me to the medium. I truly hope that you experience some of those same feelings as you view my Chinese artworks.
Please contact me regarding the availability of original artworks, (framed or unframed), giclees on canvas or high quality matte paper, (both framed and unframed) in a variety of sizes, and hand-painted silk fans. My giclees are presented as hand-signed, limited edition prints, and are available in both watercolor and Chinese brush art styles.
