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Sumi-e Watercolour and Ink Brush Paintings

Limited Edition Prints

by Joan Relke

Lady Li series, based on ceramic sculpture images of Demeter, Pythia, Persephone, and Eve.


 
Contemplative Paintings for Quiet Spaces
 
LADY LI
Limited edition prints
by Joan Relke
 

sizes are without black border

archival ink and watercolour on watercolour paper

unframed, but suited to a black mat, as illustrated here, and a plain black frame.

$55.00 - $65.00 AUD each, packaging and shipping included to anywhere in the world.

Lady Li with Wild Flowers

21 x 30 cm (8.25 X 11.75 in.)
$65.00 AUD
Print #1
 

Some of these prints are very delicately toned. You may have to adjust the contrast or brightness of your screen. If you have any difficulty viewing any print, please email me at jrelke@sculptors.net.au.

I also have a selection of original paintings. Prices range from $130-$200 AUD, which you can see and purchase here.

If you wish to ask a question about this page or anything else on this website, please email me and I will be delighted to correspond with you.

 


Lady Li with Bamboo #1

21 x 30 cm (8.25 X 11.75 in.)
$65.00 AUD

Print #2

The Chinese Legend of Lady Li

One night, in the tenth century, AD, Lady Li sat by her moonlit window, brush in hand, practising her calligraphy. The wind rustled the bamboo leaves outside her window; the full moon shone through, casting a delicate shadow on her rice paper screen by her table. Awakened by the rustle and the cool luminescence of the moon, she noticed the fragile beauty of the bamboo pattern on her screen. Raising her ink-filled brush, she traced the shadow onto the luminous surface. Chinese ink painting was born.

Whether myth or history, Lady Li is acknowledged as the inventor of Chinese ink painting. I find it bemusing that the origin of an art form usually restricted to men is attributed to a woman.

Lady Li with shadows and wild orchid

21 x 30 cm (8.25 X 11.75 in.)
$65.00 AUD

Print #3

 
Persephone #1
ceramic
65cm high

Moved by Lady Li, I cast shadows on my paintings and sculptures using an overhead projector, and paint the designs onto the works. I also photograph shadows on walls and objects, and overlay these onto the images.

Each painting has a goddess in mind, and originates in a black and white photograph of a sculpture, some of which can be seen on this page and on my website under Goddesses or Mythological Females. The photograph of the sculpture is first printed onto watercolour or rice paper, and using traditional Chinese and Japanese brush painting techniques, I embellish each sculpture with a painting.

The red seals, based on the traditional "chops" of Chinese painting, are my own design and carved by my partner Carl Merten. You can also see his work on our joint website.

Lady Li with Bamboo #2

21 x 30 cm (8.25 X 11.75 in.)
$65.00 AUD

Print #4

Each of these paintings is from a limited edition of 50 prints. All have been reproduced archivally to last at least 80 years behind glass and not in direct sunlight. Each print has been stamped individually with the red seals and is numbered and signed. The choice and position of the seals vary with each print and may not necessarily be the same as the image depicted on this page. I choose and place the stamps on each print according to my whim. Prices vary depending on the complexity and size of the piece, as well as the quality of the paper, which ranges from 185 gsm watercolour paper to 310 gsm "vellum" quality paper.

 

Lady Li Dreaming

21 x 30 cm (8.25 X 11.75 in.)
$65.00 AUD

Print #5

 

Pythia Dreaming

cast marble
23 cm long

Lady Li with Blossom #1

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #6

 

 

Gaia and Demeter

ceramic
each 46 cm high

 

 

Lady Li with Plum Blossom #2

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #7

 

Lady Li Dreaming #2

21 x 30 cm (8.25 X 11.75 in.)
$65.00 AUD

Print #8

 

 

   

 

Lady Li and her Cat

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #9

 

 

 

 

Lady Li with Blossom #2

21 x 30 cm (8.25 X 11.75 in.)
$65.00 AUD

Print #10

 

 

 

Lady Li Shadow Blossom

21 x 30 cm (8.25 X 11.75 in.)
$65.00 AUD

Print #11

 

Lady Li Reflecting

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #12

 

Lady Li in Shadow

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #13

 

 

Lady Li with Bamboo #2

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$55.00 AUD

Print #14

 

 

 

 

Lady Li with Bamboo #3

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$55.00 AUD

Print #15

 

 

Lady Li in the Wind

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #16

 

Lady Li Reflecting #2

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #17

 

 

 

 

 

Lady Li with Eucalyptus #1

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #18

 

 

 

 

Lady Li with Eucalyptus #2

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #19

 

  

Lady Li with Windy Blossom

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #20

 

  

 

 

 

Metis, goddess of thought

cast stone
16 cm high

 

Lady Li in the Wind #2

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #21

  

 

 

 

Lady Li Dreaming #3

19.5 x 28 cm (7.75 x 11 in.)
$59.00 AUD

Print #22

 

 

Goddesses used in these images are Gaia, Demeter, Persephone, Metis, and Pythia.

 

  
     

I am grateful to Patrica Bralley for support and technical information on photo printing and painting on watercolour paper.

To visit her site and view her inspiring photo paintings, click on either image below.

 

Spinal Tap
by P. Bralley

 

 

 

 

Shadows Cast by the Moon
by P. Bralley

 

 

 

JOAN RELKE CARL MERTEN

  

 
 

01/2011 jr