Painting Birds in Cherry Blossoms with Darlene Kaplan

Award winning Professional artist and owner and CEO of Soft Brush Studio, Darlene Kaplan has been captivating art lovers worldwide with her energetic Oriental Brush Paintings using Chinese watercolors for over 40 years. She is a Tennessee native who moved to Virginia to pursue her love of painting. 

Kaplan paints in the Ling Nan style of Oriental Brush Painting which is a combination of Western and East Asian art. The Oriental art consists of many styles of painting that originated in China centuries ago and spread throughout Japan and Korea. This style of art is also referred to as Sumi-e, which is the fusion of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese art.

Kaplan attempts as an artist to show purity in painting the snow, brightness in the moon, fragrance in the flower, sound in the waterfall, and spirit in people. Before beginning a painting, Kaplan will have a vision in mind. In other words, "the mind has the plan and the hand follows." Once started, the brush and ink require full attention. Without the mood, brush and ink do not have anything to attach to; without brush and ink, the mood cannot be expressed. These are inseparable elements.