About the artist

Laura Pasternack was born into an artistic family, with arts and crafts of all sorts as the family gathering on the inevitable snow days of east coast living. The house was filled with woodworking, ceramics, quilting, stained glass, painting and play with everything and anything. While earning her living for many years as a stained glass artist, it was painting that finally emerged as the medium she ultimately chose.

"I love to paint. I will paint anything: wall art, the house, a rock, the neighbor's fence. It does not matter. I just love the moment paint goes on surface. It brings joy to my heart. I encountered Chinese Brush Painting about 25 years ago when I attended a Buddhist Temple in San Diego. I thought it was stunning. Since then I have studied under two teachers. My first teacher, Tara Hu, taught me Chinese calligraphy. With my second teacher, Jean Shen, I learned two painting styles, free style and fine line style. My favorite style is the fine line style (traditionally called 'Gong Bi'). This is an ancient style that involves the laying down of many layers of paint in precise and shaded fashion creating a very detailed painting. The process involves two brushes held in the same hand, one delivering a little paint and the other spreading the paint into a fine gradation. It is tedious and I find it meditative. The clicking of the two brushes as they pass each other has become the sound in my moving meditation. I paint because the process brings peace to my being. With this style, in the end, the paintings tend to be peaceful and serene. I like that."
Laura Pasternack