On their thousandth birthday deers turn white.
That explains why a white deer is a symbol of longevity.

So where does the happiness come from?
From a peculiarity of the Chinese language.
The word for happiness (fu) happens to be the same as the word for bat (fu).
Logically, whenever you see a painting containing a white deer and bats—if it is in English—it means “Oh Dear, you are going batty!”;
but if it is in Chinese, it means “A Thousand Years of Happiness”.

The bats, by the way, are dancing around the moon.
Some personages have complained that those thingies look suspiciously like ink-spots.
These people lack true understanding.
Those are BATS!
If I say so.

Tags:, sumi, painting,sumi-e, japanese painting, chinese painting,

…but I fell asleep.
Instead, I dreamt two new paintings.


”A Painting Larger than itself”





“A Gordian Bird Contemplating Not”


When I wake up, I’ll explain to you what it means.

There exists a mistaken notion that Art is useless.
Well, not my art!
You could actually eat this painting without suffering any bad effects.
Really! It’s mostly fiber with a bit of inert carbon (that’s the ink).
The glue—a secret wheat-paste which I cook myself— is really nutritious!

So there are a few unknown minerals in the color.
Isn’t that what you are supposed to take, mineral supplements??

To preempt the possibility of constipation I suggest a spot of Beluga Caviar
and a flute, or two, of the bubbly…