Chinese brush painting is a traditional style of painting that has evolved over many centuries. Artists use ink and colour pigments to paint onto rice paper or silk.
An important characteristic of this kind of painting is holding and directing the brush in the right way to produce strokes that are delicate and refined. The four co-authors of this book - Sun Chenggang, Ning Xiangying, Ning Jialu and Miao Hongbo - are particularly gifted proponents of this style, which has connections with traditional calligraphy.
Chinese brush painting typically includes themes such as birds, plants and flowers, landscapes, fruit and vegetables and fish. This book explores these themes through the four seasons, with the peony depicted in spring, the lotus flower in summer, the vegetable harvest in autumn and the bamboo bud in winter. Many of the subjects are symbolic and have connotations of good fortune, auspiciousness, good health, a long life, a good harvest, a flourishing family, wealth - even immortality!
Explained in the introduction to each project, the symbolism is followed by clear, step-by-step instructions and illustrations. There is a short section at the beginning of the book describing tools, materials and techniques to help readers achieve the almost ethereal beauty and delicacy of this style of painting.
Sun Changgang was born in Rizhao, Shandong. He is a member of the Chinese Artists Association and sits on the boards of many other artists' associations. He is a part-time professor at Shandong University and has published several books on brush painting.
Sun Chenggang was born in Rizhao, Shandong. He is a member of the Chinese Artists Association and sits on the boards of many other artists' associations. He is a part-time professor at Shandong University and has published several books on brush painting.
Ning Xiangying is a professional artist from Yucheng County. She studied at China Academy of Art and has developed expert traditional painting skills. Her works are deeply rooted in tradition and she exhibits widely.
Ning Jialu is a professional artist from Jishan County. He was a producer on a TV programme called Learn to Paint and his career has centred on writing books on painting skills for children.
Miao Hongbo was born in Hangzhou. He studied traditional Chinese painting at the China Academy of Art and specialized in flower and bird painting. He is director of the Zhejiang Artists Association, sits on the boards of many artists' institutes and has written several books on traditional Chinese painting. He is a visiting professor in the School of Art at Zhejiang University.
Title: Chinese Brush Painting through the Seasons
Author: Chenggang, Sun,Xiangying, Ning,Jialu, Ning,Hongbo, Miao
ISBN: 9781800920064
Binding:
Publisher: Search Press Ltd
Publication Date: 2022-12-13
Number of Pages: 112
Weight: 0.4900 kg
It's been a long time since there was a book on Chinese painting, but they were once all the rage. This one has been worth the wait and is about as authentic as you can get, being adapted from a series of Chinese originals.
For all that, the approach is accessible for the Western reader and, although the introduction to materials contains some terms that may not be familiar, more obtainable alternatives are suggested. Interestingly, where colour is used, the authors prefer gouache as being more like the heavier pigment used in China itself. Previous, more Western-based books have used transparent watercolour.
The book consists of a series of simple demonstrations and, of course, simplification is very much to the fore. As a result, although each project is covered in no more than three or four pages, there is no sense of foreshortening and the number of steps is perfectly adequate. Chinese art involves working quickly and there simply isn't that much to do - there's no room for fiddling when you're contending with a large, soft brush.
This is a welcome return to the world of Chinese painting which, even if you don't want to pursue it in much depth, offers palate-cleansing simplification that can only refresh your own work.
-- Henry Malt * Artbookreview.net *