Recently, my family and I made a trip to China. On our travels, we discovered emerging contemporary art districts, such as 798 in Beijing and No. 50 Moganshan Road in Shanghai.

China has an amazing amount of young contemporary artists... artists who are producing calligraphy, sculpture and abstract art. As with the rest of modern Chinese culture, much of the work is infused by western influences.

I was particularly impressed by the work of Wei Li Gang, and Xiao-Jian Yang who is famous for his abstract ink-wash. A highlight of the trip was meeting Tsai Yu Long, who works in a sort of cursive calligraphy.

His pieces are very intriguing. It takes a greal deal of dedication and skill to make one stroke on the paper and having it turn out the way you intended. It is a fluid and powerful ancient art form that has slowly been replaced by technology... fonts, machines, replicated charters, etc. Fortunately, there are still artists in China preserving the technique... we witnessed traditional calligraphers produce charters within the blink of an eye.

After returning home to my studio, I have slowly been processing all of the subject matter and technique that I absorbed in China. I have always had a fascination with dark and light color contrast painted on a very textural surface.

Keeping that in mind, I have made an attempt to incorporate my new Asian influences into my latest series.

I have recreated my signature using a "chop" that was made in Suzhou. The characters on it mean "East-West", representing the new direction and melding of cultural styles. I hope you enjoy my new series.

My next trip planned is to Ecuador... I hope to continue to expand my artistic knowledge with that visit as well.