blending east and west

Crane, Dragonfly and Bird, ink and watercolor on paper.  In my tireless quest to adapt Chinese painting techniques and materials to more modern content, I find myself recombining and juxtaposing certain elements with alarming regularity.  My Chinese calligraphy has probably benefitted more than other elements of my painting from being in China this last year.  Hopefully my brushwork also gets better over time.  It should all peak when I am on my deathbed.  This painting has the Chinese phrase that can roughly be translated, `A success measures their own strength and then acts'.  The loose brush strokes transport this painting from just a post-modern ironic narrative to something a touch more visceral.