Chinese Brush Painting is an ancient art form that developed in China hundreds of years ago and has recently gained new popularity among artists all over the world. For those Chinese brush painting learners, it owns a kind of charm which can not be described in words. However, from the characteristics of it, people can understand something about it.
Chinese Brush Painting is an ancient art form that developed in China hundreds of years ago and has recently gained new popularity among artists all over the world. For those
Chinese brush painting learners, it owns a kind of charm which can not be described in words. However, from the characteristics of it, people can understand something about it.
The theme of Chinese brush painting
Typical motifs in Chinese brush painting include flowers, birds, animals and landscapes. But even more important than the visual image is the message behind the painting: it expresses the inner spirit of the subject or the feelings of the artist. Most Chinese paintings have a calligraphic inscription, such as a saying, beautiful poem, or poetic description of the subject. The painter "signs" the painting by adding a red seal.
Philosophy and symbolism play a huge part in Chinese art. Every animal has its own meaning and can be used to convey an artist's message. Different flowers can symbolize a number of things, such as good fortune, good luck, wisdom, summer, old age, renewal, purity and sweetness.
Mystery of Chinese brush painting
Chinese brush painting presents a particularly interesting challenge due to its unique elements -- the ink, paper and brush. Chinese paintings are done on silk or rice paper, which is very thin and delicate and absorbs paint easily. In ancient times, shells and bones were also used as canvases. Often watercolors or special Chinese paints are used.
The single, most astonishing fact about Chinese brush painting is that each brush stroke is a defining move that cannot be improved on or corrected. No sketch is prepared and no model is used; the artist paints with rapid, instinctual strokes transporting a mental image to mulberry paper.
Chinese brush painting is more than a representation of an object; it is also a symbolic expression. Rather than looking at a subject as one paints, the artist finds the subject within, and thus becomes a part of nature.