Rafael Katz’ paints using traditonally crafted Chinese brushes constructed from bamboo, ox-horn, and hair from goats, dogs, and/or various rodents. His brushestrokes apply ink and color to raw handmade xuan paper. He’s been doing this for decades.
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Abstraction
I don’t have many paintings that are purely abstract, which in my mind means no attempt have any narrative image. I consider this painting a cityscape because of…
4 min read
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Am I too cynical to create beauty?
I have been translating and illustrating classical Chinese poetry for kicks. I strive for English translations that are good modern poems, in the hope that poems written many…
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Laws of Color, Physics and Painting
My effort combine to words with images in my paintings have led me to think about the properties and rules of color. I learned that one of Newton…
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Blue Olga
For decades now, I have tried to integrate words or poetry into my paintings. I tend to try, get discouraged, give up for a while and then try…
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Man Walking Into Red, Gold, Black and Blue
Without the figure what would this painting be? An abstract painting where people would bring their own sense of scale….landscape or postage stamp? It doesn’t have many brush…
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Chinese Poetry and Philosophy Illustration and Translation
I have maintained a regular practice of translating Chinese poetry, Taoist philosophy, and Buddhist tidbits into English. One of the great pleasures of studying Chinese is the poetry.…
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