My dad is an artist. Yes, it’s his full-time job. No, my parents aren’t rich but I’m proud of him because he is happy and I believe art matters in this world.

My sister, my brother and I were all given pencils, paint, clay and other art supplies very young and we were encouraged to express ourselves. I clearly remember drawing on the back of bookshelves and no, I wasn’t punished for that.

Later, my sister went into ballet and acting, my brother is into drawing and sculpting and I like photography and writing.

I hadn’t had the chance to teach Mark how to hold a pencil or draw shapes—I figured my dad will. So we took him to my dad’s atelier. He set up a canvas for him and we gave him charcoal. He stood there, “drawing” and dancing to the music playing (Pink Floyd, bien sûr). We sat there, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes, watching Mark discover his own artistic skills.

Plutôt cool, non?

Mark at the Atelier
Mark at the Atelier
"Toy Gun" my Brother Made
“Toy Gun” my Brother Made
"Toy Gun" my Brother Made
“Toy Gun” my Brother Made
Mark, My Dad and Feng
Mark, My Dad and Feng
My Dad and Mark
My Dad and Mark
Mark Drawing
Mark Drawing
Feng and I
Feng and I
The Artist
The Artist
The Artist
The Artist

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9 Comments

  1. Holly Nelson July 3, 2014 at 8:42 am

    This is a fantastic post. What a talented family you have got! Mark looks like he is having the best time!

    Reply
    1. Zhu July 3, 2014 at 3:08 pm

      Most of the time, he is happy. Unless he is throwing one of his two-minute tantrum!

      Reply
  2. Shannon July 4, 2014 at 1:21 pm

    So cute! He seems to like drawing!

    Reply
    1. Zhu July 4, 2014 at 2:02 pm

      If only it would keep him quiet…

      Reply
  3. I Say Oui July 4, 2014 at 7:45 pm

    You and your siblings covered a lot of the arts! Thanks for linking to your dad’s work.

    I love charcoal. It’s very soft—you can smudge and create gradients.

    It must be nice watching your dad facilitate Mark’s art the way he did with you.

    Reply
    1. Zhu July 5, 2014 at 3:00 pm

      Charcoal is really cool, although pretty messy. So simple… yet such a great tool!

      Reply
    1. Zhu July 20, 2014 at 4:12 pm

      🙂

      Reply

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