After a 13 year career as V.P. of Treasury and foreign currency trading for a major international bank, Lisa Chakrabarti embarked on a new journey to seek her 'true calling' as a fine artist.   The next 10 years were spent honing her skills in a variety of media:  oils, watercolor, pastels, graphite.  Introduced to Oriental ink painting technique in 1997, she became captivated by its freedom and depth.   Lisa expresses that the discipline of Oriental brush and ink has given her a new 'voice' to create paintings that reflect her own spirit as well as honor the traditions of this ancient and much esteemed art form.

         Drawn to the inherent mystery, elegance and subtlety of Chinese ink painting, (sumi–e in Japanese) the genre has become Lisa's artistic passion.  "Combined with the idiosyncratic design of the Chinese brush, Chinese ink is ideally suited to reveal the essence and emotion that reside within even the most simple and commonplace of subjects.   The brush techniques echo natural shapes and patterns which appear consistently throughout nature," she explains.

         The substrates for ink paintings – Chinese xuan paper and various washi  (Japanese paper) – each have distinct characteristics.  This individuality contributes to the “organic” feel of her artwork and invites spontaneity in execution.  Lisa Chakrabarti's approach to painting is minimalist in the sense that it strives for purity of form through direct expression and well-tempered brush strokes. 

E-mail Lisa Chakrabarti at: dragon@clouddragonart.com

 

“self Portrait Of the Artist as a Young Dragon”   (apologies to James, Chuck, and Vince….)   Graphite on paper.

Lisa Chakrabarti, Fine Artist

Original Brush and Ink Paintings