Willa Lin (Age 10) – “Sunset #1”

Willa Lin. Sunset #1. Oil on canvas, 8 x 10.

The first thing I would say about Willa is that she’s “painterly” – a term I imagine I would almost never think to apply to a young art student and not very often to an adult. Her use of paint is delicately restrained, but not in the sense of being scared or timid – she controls her technique in order to get the results she wants. Although she, like anyone else, has much to learn, she’s already an artist in the way she focuses the skills she has to achieve a creative goal.

I should add that none of the kids had seen my sunset paintings – I taught them at their place – so this sunset comes completely out of Willa’s head, not mine. This was one of several pieces in which Willa showed an uncanny ability to paint water, usually one of the most treacherous of subjects.

Willa Lin (Age 11) – “Table, Wall, Window”

Willa Lin. Table, Wall, Window. Oil on canvas, 8 x 10.

For this class, my only instruction was that Willa place something in real space, in a room.

Willa Lin (Age 11) – “Back from Wal-Mart”

Willa Lin. Back from Wal-Mart. Oil on canvas, 8 x 10.

All three of my students surprised me on a regular basis – maybe that’s one benefit of having poorly structured lesson plans! This painting comes out of a session for which I had only the vaguest ideas, yet, as was often the case, I was rescued by the creativity of my student. Willa had been struck the night before by the look of the sky as she and her mom headed home from Wal-Mart – and she really wanted to do that. Good!

Willa’s painting illustrates what I might call her creative cleverness – a knack for going right to the edge of her ability without overreaching – to simplify according to a vision. My input was minimal. While she painted and we talked, every once in a while she might wonder aloud about a certain pigment versus another; one or two words or a squint and a grunt were all the direction she seemed to need. I guess my students were perfect for me, since I enjoyed teaching most when I hardly had to “teach” at all. 

Willa Lin (Age 11) – “Cloudy Landscape”

Willa Lin. Cloudy Landscape. Oil on canvas, 8 x 10.

What struck me about this was the unexpected, sophisticated choice to paint a very cloudy sky. And of course I love Willa’s handling of paint in every part of the image.

I may be exaggerating a little for effect, but offhand the only adults I can name who really paint clouds are Jacob van Ruisdael and a painter in Oregon named Scott Gellatly.

Willa Lin (Age 10) – “Ode to the Willow Tree”

Willa Lin. Ode to the Willow Tree. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 6 x 9.

I would say that the delicacy and charm of this piece speak for themselves – and they do – but then there’s the matter of what is written here in the Chinese characters.

This watercolor was not done in class but was part of Willa’s supplemental education in Chinese literature and vocabulary, taught by her mother, Hong Wang. Willa is bilingual – she was born in the U.S. and lived for her first few years in China – but then Hong works with her to strengthen her skills in Chinese.

The writing in the painting is “Ode to the Willow Tree” by He Zhizhang, a poet of the Tang dynasty who lived from 659 to 744. Here is the translation by Willa herself:

Willow tree decorated in green jade,

From graceful branches hang many green silk threads.

Do you know who trimmed the slim leaves?

For the spring breezes past February are the scissors.

It’s quite interesting to compare Willa’s translation with that of a contemporary Chinese scholar, a version that can be found here. Without knowing anything about the Chinese language, it’s clear that the scholar has gone to great pains to make the lines rhyme in English, and I find the effect not as poetic as Willa’s blank verse.