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Being of half-Chinese decent, it was important for me to visit China. I was particularly moved by Beijing, it's bustling streets and it's poorer areas where people were living with many generations of family in cramped quarters.  During the day, they would spread out along the pavement with their babies and sell street food and whatever else they had.  Despite my thinking that this way of life would be terribly oppressing, there was always a lot of smiling, a strong community atmosphere, and they were some of the kindest people I have ever met.  There was this underlying difference in our cultures which I associated with the stories I've heard of my grandparents escaping the Communist, Cultural Revolution.  I wanted with this painting to make a symbol of the China I have felt.  With Mao looming in the background, Chinese uniforms gleaming, the impossible contortions and distortions that this super power inflicts on it's people, but more than that, the grace in which the people even at the bottom still thrive, and the enduring spirit that is gorgeous and attempting beauty in cooperation.  I also love any reason for painting red.  Although the bridge to The Gate of Heavenly Peace is not red, in the time of the revolution during important political events I've seen pictures of it paved in red carpet.  This painting was painted very large so that the colour red would fill your eye-sight. My friend posed for both figures although she is not a contortionist, I used other references to find contortionist poses.  The Gate of Heavenly Peace is at The Forbidden City.
Being of half-Chinese decent, it was important for me to visit China. I was particularly moved by Beijing, it's bustling streets and it's poorer areas where people were living with many generations of family in cramped quarters.  During the day, they would spread out along the pavement with their babies and sell street food and whatever else they had.  Despite my thinking that this way of life would be terribly oppressing, there was always a lot of smiling, a strong community atmosphere, and they were some of the kindest people I have ever met.  There was this underlying difference in our cultures which I associated with the stories I've heard of my grandparents escaping the Communist, Cultural Revolution.  I wanted with this painting to make a symbol of the China I have felt.  With Mao looming in the background, Chinese uniforms gleaming, the impossible contortions and distortions that this super power inflicts on it's people, but more than that, the grace in which the people even at the bottom still thrive, and the enduring spirit that is gorgeous and attempting beauty in cooperation.  I also love any reason for painting red.  Although the bridge to The Gate of Heavenly Peace is not red, in the time of the revolution during important political events I've seen pictures of it paved in red carpet.  This painting was painted very large so that the colour red would fill your eye-sight. My friend posed for both figures although she is not a contortionist, I used other references to find contortionist poses.  The Gate of Heavenly Peace is at The Forbidden City.
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VIEW IN MY ROOM

Guarding The Gate of Heavenly Peace Painting

Katharine Alecse

Romania

Painting, Oil on Canvas

Size: 59.1 W x 59.1 H x 1.2 D in

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SOLD
Originally listed for $3,770
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About The Artwork

Being of half-Chinese decent, it was important for me to visit China. I was particularly moved by Beijing, it's bustling streets and it's poorer areas where people were living with many generations of family in cramped quarters. During the day, they would spread out along the pavement with their babies and sell street food and whatever else they had. Despite my thinking that this way of life would be terribly oppressing, there was always a lot of smiling, a strong community atmosphere, and they were some of the kindest people I have ever met. There was this underlying difference in our cultures which I associated with the stories I've heard of my grandparents escaping the Communist, Cultural Revolution. I wanted with this painting to make a symbol of the China I have felt. With Mao looming in the background, Chinese uniforms gleaming, the impossible contortions and distortions that this super power inflicts on it's people, but more than that, the grace in which the people even at the bottom still thrive, and the enduring spirit that is gorgeous and attempting beauty in cooperation. I also love any reason for painting red. Although the bridge to The Gate of Heavenly Peace is not red, in the time of the revolution during important political events I've seen pictures of it paved in red carpet. This painting was painted very large so that the colour red would fill your eye-sight. My friend posed for both figures although she is not a contortionist, I used other references to find contortionist poses. The Gate of Heavenly Peace is at The Forbidden City.

Details & Dimensions

Painting:Oil on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:59.1 W x 59.1 H x 1.2 D in

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Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.

I am devoted to studying life, light and form.  I'm a constant student and believe that the more I understand something or can reproduce its essence, the better I can create a language of expression that the viewer can understand.  In this way, I can paint impossible scenes, as with realistic lighting or juxtaposition, any scene can look plausible and incite the viewer to dream.  Alternatively, sticking to a more rigorous realism, by distorting a person's facial features or anatomy just a tiny bit, I can say more about them than you would see if you looked at them in the flesh. I'm fascinated by animals, humans most of all and have a compassion for wildlife and a concern for their habitats. Particular areas of interest are: - How different animals can mirror different human characteristics.  - Power structures such as the predator-prey relationship in the animal world. - The human condition and our place in the universe.   Oil Painting was love at first sight. The colours are so vibrant! The Renaissance palette i use is limited so i can mix for exact colours. Oils have a slow drying time allowing for wet-on-wet painting, which you can't neccesarily get with fast drying paints like acrylic or water colour. They also last for centuries, which i love! I like to make large scale works as when they are seen in person, they become more than just 'paintings'. The position on the wall at eye height transforms the painting into a window, giving the illusion that it is not a 2D surface.  My portraits are mostly life-size so that you feel like the person is in the room with you.  For my series of tiled portraits I put real diamonds in the glints of the eyes to give them that little extra sparkle that white paint alone can't achieve.  Viewing a painting should be an experience and the more life-like, the more real the experience. My influences are many. Artists, musicians and friends. Some favourites include Michelangelo for his handling of form as a sculptor and use of poetic distortion, Caravaggio for his use of light, Heironymus Bosch for his monstrous inventions, his combining of the real and imagined and his high horizons. Egon Schiele , Ai Wei-Wei, Van Gogh, John Currin, Francis Bacon, Malcolm Liepke, Norman Rockwell, Banksy and Japanese woodblock prints such as Hokusai. The older I get, the more I believe that being an artist is a way of life.  I am creating the very way I live and work, and producing what I want to show to the world.

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