Miss You, Bill

 

 

What is Chinese Brush Painting, not living in the past

Does Chinese Brush Painting have to mean Guo Hua?  I submit to you that time has changed and when we speak of Chinese Hua (painting) we are no longer limiting ourselves to the narrow definition of National Painting (Guo Hua).  This is especially true these days, with the influx of western influences, a lot of the strict rote doctrines have evolved into new windows of changes.  One thing that has not changed appreciably is the fundamentals of using the Chinese brush and the essence of Chinese calligraphy, hence Bi-fa or Gi Bun Gong.

It is not possible to think of Chinese brush painting and not talk about Qi Baishi (1864-1957).  Aside from being a personal favorite of mine, his style is so painfully honest and his brushstrokes so painfully plain.  As far as I am concerned, he "writes" all his paintings, and epitomized the Guo Hua art form.

Then there is the famous Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) who is famous for his landscape paintings.  In the following example, he was still employing the 3 perspectives concept and his small trees were still done in the styles shown in Mustard Seed Garden, despite his bold splashing of color.(click on the painting for enlarged view)

 

When  we talk about contemporary Chinese painter, Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) comes to the forefront.  He is sometimes considered the father of contemporary Chinese painting.

 strong portrayal of brush strokes

                                                                                          (tree stump and chicks)

                   Banyan Tree             

 

 



Yang Ming-Yi is known for his Ink and Wash paintings.  Born and educated in China, he actually went to the US to further his studies and have exhibited all over the world.

 

 

  









There is a new evolving style in Chinese Brush painting, the Ling-nan style ( some would call it the Cantonese style ).  This style is characterized by vivid color;  colored backgrounds and exaggerated, boisterous brushstrokes.  From a glance it almost looks like a western watercolor painting but the brushstroke says otherwise.  The pioneer in this style was said to be Gao Jianfu ( 1879-1951).  Some of the more notable artists in this camp are Gao Qifung, Chen Shuren and Chao Shao-An for those of you who are interested in further research.

 

 

 

When we take a look at the following painting by Chan Yuk-lin,  does it remind us of  Chinese brush painting?  The composition and the color suggest that it might not be.

 

 

But then look at the textbook page from the Mustard Seed Garden on how to paint mixed foliage in the woods, coupled with the obvious Chinese Brushstrokes, what do you say now?  It showed the artist's superb ability to turn an etude into a piece that carries its own weight.

 

 

 

I'll conclude this series of  What is Chinese Brush Painting  by showing a couple of paintings by Wong Lui-sang.  The color and composition does not remind one of a traditional Guo Hua, but the brushstrokes employed, the trees, and the "chuen" lines ( brushstrokes used for denoting topography, see my "Mountain Lobes" blog on 2/29/13)  on mountains definitely affirm that this is a Chinese Brush painting.

 

 

 

I am writing this series to reiterate my feelings about the art of Chinese Brush, as I did in a previous blog " Beyond Exposure, Understanding".  I don't claim to be an authority in this subject matter.  The opinions here are what I perceive to be correct for myself.  I do not own any copyrights of the images used here and it is not my intention to pilfer them.  They are here for the purpose of illustrating my point.  Please also note that Chinese put our Last name first.  Thus Qi Baishi is Mr. Qi, he might appear as Baishi Qi in some literature.  I am hoping this would help with the appreciation and connoisseurship of Chinese Brush painting without being superficial or patronizing.

 

 

 

 



What is Chinese Brush Painting, learning by rote

Traditional Chinese Brush painting ( Guo Hua)  can be divided into two main styles; Gongbi ( Gong means craft, Bi means writing instrument ), a meticulous and formal brush style and Xieye (Xie means to write, Yi means sentiment, expression), which literally means writing with expression and spontaneity. Within these styles, there are divisions into different genres such as Floral and Birds, Personalities and Landscape.  Landscape paintings are deemed the most difficult.

Guo Hua is typically learnt by rote.  Practice, memorize and practice some more.  Copying is one of the methods employed in the rote system.  Students copy their teachers and other masters.  Anybody who is serious about studying Guo Hua has labored with the Mustard Seed Garden, copying and studying different techniques and styles, honing their Gi Bun Gong.  It is perhaps due to this forced feeding that a lot of the Chinese paintings look similar to each other, especially with regards to subject matter and composition.

Mustard Seed Garden on tree arrangement

Mustard Seed Garden on mixed foliage    

 

Mustard Seed Garden on mountains        

 

Mustard Seed Garden on painting falls   

 

Mustard Seed Garden on painting incidentals

 

 

 

More contemporary examples of "how to" text material:

how to paint peony and koi

 finished painting of peony and koi

 how to paint fish                

Unfortunately we have so-called teachers these days using these as their templates for teaching Chinese Brush painting.  The "come-on" is to lure people to paint a fish with a scant few strokes and thus fulfilling the minimalistic presentation of "Asian art".  What they don't realize is this is just a gimmick and not a lesson.  The emphasis should be on the Bi-Fa..... how to start and finish and what parts of the brush does one need to pay attention to.  The result is a painting with all the lines in the right places, but shows no distinctive characteristics of a controlled brushstroke at all ( remember the calligraphy Te?).  This is fine as a means  to spark a person's desire to learn Chinese brush painting, but not an end. Being able to play "Chopsticks" on the keyboard does not make one a piano player, anymore than the person teaching it a piano teacher.

Qi Baishi (1864 - 1957) is a world renowned Chinese Brush artist.  He was born a peasant, became a carpenter, then taught himself how to paint.  He also worked on a few fish paintings.  In one, he actually wrote the following on the painting,

It is difficult to paint meticulously and be lively at the same time.  The difficulty lies in using  just a few strokes to capture the shape and attitude of the subject matter.  This fish exemplifies the masterful employment of ink tone, the superb brushstrokes, motion and energy.

How is this fish compared with the fish in the "how to" book?


to be continued