Modern Art of West and East

When we look at art in the modern time, we can see that the environment of art creation has more freedom than any previous generation, art can now not only be of painting itself but be rendered in artistic installation, behavioural art etcetera etcetera……But is it now an old-fashion thing to talk about oil-painting itself?

At the current time, within the field of oil-painting, we can see it is full of different concepts with some of these works sometimes being difficult to understand, for example abstract painting.

I want modern art to be something simple, with warmth and beauty being the main ideas of my own art work. I believe oil painting should show the advantage of this type of painting itself, which is that it allows you to paint the subject realistically in shape and colour.

Oil painting itself can not only show a readable image, but also reveal the character of the artist who painted it, you draw your understanding of the subject within the painting, which means you can do it in a way that is not exactly the same as the thing itself.  

This is kind of similar to free hand traditional Chinese painting, where in modern times everyone can draw the same object in their own way, with different understandings of the world making each work unique.

I believe that modern art should possess your own unique character, but should also able to be recognized as what it is, a famous traditional Chinese painter Qi Baishi said that when you comment upon an art work ”if you draw the painting in a way that is totally different to the real subject, it is cheating. If you draw the object exactly the same as the real thing, it is a kind of fluttering”. This saying also describes my idea toward oil painting.

So what is the difference between traditional Chinese painting and Western oil painting? In terms of oil painting, you can use all range of different colors and hundreds of strokes to paint a subject, while in traditional Chinese painting you use only limited colors and strokes.

I think traditional Chinese painting should draw the meaning of the subject more while oil painting as I mentioned above should show more of it’s own advantages in describing reality in terms of both diverse colour and accurate shape.

Traditional Chinese Painting in Modern Art Times

To make things clearer, I will give you two examples to state what oil painting and traditional Chinese painting look like, they both have the same theme which is floral in nature, and you can compare directly how the two different types of painting work, which is clearly readable, conveying the artist’s character and showing advantages of the two different types of the painting.

The first painting of mine is a traditional Chinese painting of a lotus flower, you can see it is completed in traditional Chinese ink with no use of other colors, which shows how the deepness of Chinese ink reflects colour, and how different strokes influence the building of an image.

In traditional Chinese painting black ink can be adjusted in colour by differing the amounts of water added, compared with oil painting traditional Chinese work is often less colorful, as you will see in the second painting in which I use hundreds of different oil colors to express the same subject of a flower, and the use of many more strokes in the oil painting is clearly seen.

From my perspective another difference between traditional Chinese painting and oil painting is that traditional Chinese painting places greater emphasis upon the painter’s understanding of the subject, as the painting is less colorful and less strokes are used to complete the work.

Comparison to Oil Painting

Oil painting as you can see will more adhere to the real subject as it can be expressed with more colours and more strokes which is truly a great advantage of oil painting.

This can be seen from my own oil painting work, which not only accurately describes the flowers and surrounding environment, but also conveys my understanding of the world, which is a warm and positive style and attitude of life.

In conclusion no matter traditional Chinese painting or oil painting all need to be complete within the context of the artist’s understanding of the world, while at the same time carrying the respective advantage of the different painting methods in the modern art world.

You can see more of my art work in our art gallery on our webpage and see more art and fashion blog articles here.

Plum Blossom

Background

“For the coming of faint perfume I long knew this was not snow” – Wang An Shi, Song dynasty.

Of western the “three friends of winter” and Eastern “four noble characters” the virtuous plum blossom has been revered by Emperors of ancient China for it’s adherence to Confucian ideals and written of in poem and drawn in art throughout recorded Eastern history.

Family Wu clean ink stones by the fount, overhead a tree petals leaving light blots

No want of pay to praise work of fine beauty, only land and sky gently washed in fragrance all.

In unceasing giving of fragrance and beauty besides the now blackened brush cleaning fount of the artists residence, great poet of the Yuan dynasty, Wang Mian, composed verse comparing the plum blossoms selfless giving to the world with the artists need for complement and praise.

Enduring through relentless struggle, the conquered peoples of the Yuan dynasty strove to survive in a difficult time, for some such as Wang Mian aspects of the plum blossom such as opening in bloom despite the relentless cold served as a symbol to endure and as unceasing spring of virtue the artist could draw from.

Known as the “winter plum” for it’s early blooming, the plum blossom was revered by ancient aristocracy and ruling classes for it’s aspired to purity of virtue, elegant blooms of flower radiating virtuous colour transposed by the cold of winter that most flowers would hide away from.

As a deciduous tree the plum blossom loses most of it’s leaves in winter, in Chinese art the dark outlines of branch and twig further reinforcing a sense of a cooler seasonal climate and stand to make beautiful blooms of flowers that much more evident.

The plum blossom tree is a part of the much larger Prunus variety of over forty varieties of fruiting tree, broadly including old world plums with stalked bunches of less than three flowers, new world plums with clumps of over three flowers, and apricots and their very short stalked groups of flowers to which the Chinese plum flower belongs to.

Plum Blossom and Traditional Chinese Painting

One of the earlier known works including plum blossom is the record “Pantheon of Plum Blossom” by SongXueYan among other contemporary authors. Painted in the Song dynasty over seven hundred years ago this was one of the earliest encyclopedic records of plants showcasing detailed illustrations of nature.

An artist of an artistic collective of plum blossom lovers, along with other artists he made records of over a hundred illustrations of plum blossom trees and other flowering plants.

Illustrating the passionate dedication to art which was pursued by the collective included building purpose built pavilions around the trees, allowing the artists to observe and directly record the nature of the plant.

Common with traditional Chinese painting the “knowing of the way” is the first commitment to study of the natural environment that through careful and repeat observation of nature imprints the form of the subject in the heart of the artist.

This is followed by the “life drawing” where the student takes the form of the subject and through direct observation takes and typically shortly thereafter records the subject, from simple outlines of form progressing to further finer details then composition of the greater image.

Though rarely used as the composition for a finished work, the collections of these works collected by the artist from nature will form their materials used in producing larger complex pieces.

In comparison to impressionism and other art forms that paint real landscapes or forms for the finished piece, the ancient Chinese artists rarely painted directly, instead observing the nature of the plant until they could internalise the form then return home to finish painting from memory.

One of the most important reasons for this is the weight and number of tools required that made painting outside unfeasible, the use of flexible paper as a medium also confers some impracticality when compared to more rigid canvas oil painting aisles though some ancient artists did build observation and painting “studios” in the outdoors to match their dedication to the subject.

Through repeat practice and observation the student progresses to “临摹” or reference from form, where the composition of an established artists work, or in the modern age from a well composed and suitable photograph, is followed and repeated.

Though the outcome of such a painting would be deemed a copy in oil painting, due to the way in which Chinese free hand is painted – with no ability to correct deviations – students will adjust the flow of their own work to form a painting that is born from their own hand, forming a picture whose composition of elements is generally similar but also different and unique to the artist.

The final path of drawing is realisation of the plum blossom tree as a composition of strokes of painting, following the image of the form that has been internalized and projected into ones imagination then painting it out through the accumulated experience of brush strokes that produce the constituent parts.

Plum blossom painting techniques

Chinese paintings will often follow a rule of balancing opposite elements when constructed – vertical with horizontal, large with small, few with many and so on.

Though paintings forms are led by a central focus piece, this is balanced by harmonious contrasting aspects that serve to break up and complement what would otherwise be a composition overpowering and unnatural in nature.

Drawing plum blossom trees a typically large element such as a vertical branch will often by followed by an accompanying smaller branch in the same vertical frame, this pair of branches would then be followed by a pair of contrasting horizontal branches smaller in size.

The addition of flowers will have a principal flower group followed by a supporting flower group, detailed flowers fewer in number and focused on a single branch will be followed by more smaller flowers distributed over many branches.

This balance of contrasting and supporting elements continues throughout the composition finally creating a naturally balanced and recognizable look to the painting.

With spacing carefully left for bright blooms of flowers the older coarser branches of plum tree are drawn in heavier black inks and multiple reinforcing brush strokes followed by newer young branches painted with lively actioned single strokes.

Larger branches are painted elegantly curved though with stiff composition like metal, contributing greatly to the final form of the painting, smaller offshoot branches curve more and yet are smaller and segment like in their nature.

Flowers are painted from two ways – one way is a circular filled outline method which is common for larger clusters of flowers while a “follow the bone” technique of painting the petal with a single stroke then filling in detail is used by our artist and talked about in our blog here.

In the “follow bone” method a single stroke forms a petal with a wetted light goat hair brush daubed with either a single or dual colour being directly pressed to form the shape.

The curve of the petal is controlled by the angle the brush is pressed with against the paper, while care is taken to ensure the petals edges are distinct and firmer in tone than the petals centre, which should tend towards a lighter more transparent effect.

In the arts literature of our artist the cherry blossom flower is comprised of five petals, through five strokes the petals are formed around a central round gap which is then filled with the flowers stamen and pistil finally painted in using a fine black ink after the flowers petals have been drawn.

The three friends in cold weather

Together with bamboo and pine in Chinese art plum blossom is recognised as virtue against the cold, the first of all flowers and standing alone to declare to winter that spring has arrived.

Finding in it’s stand against the winter a reflection of the idealism to overcome and hold steadfast against unceasing challenges, the plum blossom has through the work of countless artists evolved into an emblem of virtue and beauty in traditional arts.

Traditional Chinese Painting – Birds

Background

In the dusky sky before sundown a flight of long tailed swallows darts back and forth above their haunt of weeping willow, their distinctive pointed tails and tips of wings tracing agile movements.

Besides the green waters of the lake a single kingfisher angles her long beak as she eyes a group of insects flitting above the steamy water surface.

Predating our history by millions of years these feathered animals have spectated ice-ages that have spanned western Europe, flown across seas that are now land and waded on clear shallow river banks where sun now bakes dry great dunes of yellow sand.

In traditional Chinese painting they have adorned the “bird and flower” painting series with their diverse forms of movement enriching and transforming works almost as if for their lack of presence the work would be incomplete.

A species arrived long before the first people started to record their environment through sketching and carving on medium of art, birds in many species and form have become one of the earliest and widely known styles of free hand “bird and flower” Chinese painting.

Birds in Chinese painting

Luckily to be frequented with many colourful and exotic species of bird, China of past and present is gifted with such beautiful species as yellow turtle dove perched on treetop, colourful hoopoe of mixed grassland and flights of pigeons of various colour and sort found among beautiful flowering tree.

Where Chinese painting is considered a artful representation of nature then just as important as learning the form and movement of the subject is studying how the subject is naturally connected to the scene.

Magpie perched among peach blossom or a flock of sparrow seeking nest for the night, matching the preferences of the species to it’s haunt and likely habitat or how it’s social habits are manifested in terms of grouping and form are common themes in painting literature.

Kingfishers are often draw poised on stem of water side lotus leaf naturally placing plant habitat and bird preference together while the famous mandarin duck swims in the shaded water below the great wide leaves.

Clutches of quail perched away from tree on rock and other low terrain feature suited to their limited flying nature, black crowned myna bird grouped together upon ample broadleaf tree matching their social preference to congregate in number.

Colours of work are also matched to the species of bird such as the striking white feathers of magpie set against white plum blossom flower while the gold throat of the yellow tit is sometimes seen matched to yellowing autumnal leaves.

Exotic birds such as the paradise flycatcher and it’s long elegant tail are given great reverence in traditional painting, perched upon white blossom tree the birds often appear as loving couples and more so a centre piece of the work than some smaller bird species.

Brilliant peacocks with their stunning decorated tail feathers, radiant colouring and head plume are likewise central parts of any picture wide enough to encompass their grandiose visage in these paintings flowering plants and leaf rather act as supplements of colour complimenting the greater composition of the picture.

Movement of birds in Chinese painting

Of diverse plumage and colouring, personality and habitat birds are numerous in species and with character that to each has it’s own special characteristic. It is these traits and personalities that are teased out through study and practice, matching the form of the bird to that which is painted with both arguably conveying a little of the traits of the painter who creates it.

In all Chinese painting forms the environment is captured with an essence of movement – perhaps the swifter stroke of the large free hand techniques deftly captures the movement of the moment while the smaller strokes of small free hand style delicately capture the small motions implicit to every detail of feather and wing.

Chinese texts state the bird is drawn as an amalgam of two circles of smaller head and larger body that join together to form a shape not dissimilar to an eggplant but based on the relative spatial position of the circles dynamically convey the posture of movement for the whole form – which varies considerably based on the present state and expected movement of the animal.

After the posture and movement of the bird are captured from the form of the body drawn from body to head, further locomotion cues are radiated out with wings expressing large amounts of dynamic motion followed by expressive tail then smaller suggestive legs.

On the ground perched inquisitively looking at the horizon or something in the scene – perhaps another bird – or intently looking at that below or even behind it the bird will often hold it’s wings close to it’s body.

When hopping along the ground the tail carries intention held upwards and while ready for flight it will fan out and downward.

In flight the bird exhibits great movement through it’s body form while wings open outward away from the body and legs tuck away underneath.

About to land the tail fans out as a wing while legs stretch out ready to grasp the ground and wings sweep back and out.

Specific details of birds in painting

Birds are an expressive and emotive animal who have evolved to take advantage of environmental niches that are specialised and fully encompass their world where their adaptions to the natural world over millions of years have shaped everything from their personalities to their body shapes.

When painting birds care is taken to convey the unique form of the bird that has come from it’s evolution.

Haw-finches that eat harder seeds and nuts have larger rounded beaks from rounded strong heads and expressive open eyes.

Some birds eat insects from tree leaves and foliage utilising sharp small beaks such as the great tit and sparrow both of whom have also have smaller heads while those that eat insects from grassland have wider flat bills such as hoopoe and kingfisher who conversely have longer sleeker heads shapes.

In Chinese painting bills and beaks are some of the finer details of the bird, stemming from the tip of the bill successively shorter curved lines first trace the mouth then upper and lower parts of the bill, though often captured closed some paintings do convey birds with open beaks – seen in flocks of bird in cacophony of chorus or a lone bird in song to a not so distant mate.

Expressive tails usually shorter in number of stroke required are often conversely matched to size of beak and head where longer plumes of feathers are associated to smaller bills and vice versa shorter tails with longer bills are more common.

Of our short article I have prepared several of our own artist’s presently available drawings of birds of which some are available in our own art gallery, though many more “bird and flower” scenes are searchable online covering great masters works both past and present of many forms of this beautiful animal species.

Though at first glance the works of Chinese painters free hand scenes may tend towards romantic with inspection of the accuracy to detail of how the bird is seen to be in the natural world these paintings can be considered a artistic portrait of the natural world capturing not just the beauty of a single animal but the interplay of it’s connection to the incredible world within which it lives.

Traditional Chinese Painting – Lotus Flower

Background

Coloured petals of myriad types of colour and a special plant that has accompanied humanity for millennia with myriad uses – as lotus root food, herbal medicine and a beautiful flowering plant – the lotus with it’s verdantly bright lotus flower is recognised not just in China but across the world.

As centrepiece in the “bird and flower” genre the lotus flower is a well known and distinctive art focus that has been well loved in Chinese culture.

Tang dynasty poems sang by ladies of culture to regale courtesans in ancient Xian associated this flower closely with what many modern Chinese believe to the golden age of historical China, linking it’s bloom and fragrance to the fine palaces and glorious bustle of this silk road contemporary metropolis.

Chinese lotus paintings cover styles and designs wide ranging and differing in character, the lotus flower itself naturally demonstrates a range of colours which in turn are painted in many different though traditionally dictated ways, while the great leaves act as shade for plethora of painted animals which often are accompany to the scene.

The plant itself is a complex flower growing from an underwater tuber through to stem and blossoming with an evident flower with core of female receptacle and surrounding male pistil. Budding leaves, sepals, seed capsule and a defined life cycle for all components once diligently studied allow the artist to understand and better “write” the plant onto paper in a more detailed and complete way.

Drawing of the lotus flower is considered a basic prerequisite of approaching the “bird” part of “bird and flower” painting as it often is the “landscape” which forms the basis for bird to “live” in as well as fish, insect and other small animals which are often placed in scene.

Drawing of the Lotus Form

Often starting from the point of petals Chinese art comprises at least seven different techniques for drawing lotus petals.

Our designer has drawn from the – starting point – of the “draw bone” technique where different ink tones are lightly daubed in a careful single stroke to place the broad shape of each petal.

Three pigments are prepared which are a breaking or light tone colour, proper mid tone colour then the same colour toned with a blacker ink, in one stroke a tending toward light brush is dipped into the three colours respectively to daub it in the light to dark colour gradient after which the petal is drawn.

In a single stroke the shape of the petal is then defined by the movement with which the brush touches the paper, from the tip to the base the brush is splayed out forming the petal from tip to root.

The general petals depth and shape is defined by the manner in which the brush touches the paper, from the tip the brush is splayed out to the base with pressure varied over the stroke to produce gradient in colour – in this case the tip of the petal is darker than the base.

This play of pressure will create bands of colour in this particular style while the manner in which the angle of the brush is splayed out will define the shape of the petal conforming the perspective angle.

Continuing with the above picture after the basic impression of the petal is drawn the petal is continued with the “lay line colour” method, this is continued with a finer brush laying a typically deeper colour line impressing the outline and the veins of the petal over the previously drawn “draw bone” strokes.

In Chinese painting each stroke like the stroke in a character is made to represent an evident and precise part of the greater picture – as a complex character is represented by many strokes to produce a particular meaning so in painting the strokes are precisely “written” out to make a final form.

Though similar to other painting techniques in that a series of strokes create a final form the traditional Chinese technique is more stipulating in that each and every brush stroke must have a clearly defined and recognised form. It is the layering of the these carefully placed and impressed strokes that form the object with a stroke count that is very small in number in comparison to other painting methods.

This painting better represents a simpler “draw bone” technique of which the petal is impressed in a single stroke.

As before a selection of three pigments are prepared and applied to the brush while the gradient of pigment applied is controlled by the depth to which the brush is applied to the ink.

As the petal is drawn colour is gradiated out by the angle of which the brush touches the paper and the coating of the previously prepared pigment which now coats the brush while care is taken to control the flow of ink to paper corresponding to the depth of colour and shape required for the petal.

Large expansive leaves of the lotus plant are drawn in similar fashion to the petals, this unfinished work above as well as displaying a beautiful small blue bird resting on a stem of a lotus flower illustrates large shady leaves drawn in the traditional fashion.

In the draw out bone technique a dry vertical brush first strokes out the bare shape of the leaf bones, a wetter black daubed brush then draws out larger impressions of leaves where when the brush is wet the heaver elements of the leaf are applied and the lighter parts are drawn from the drier part of the brush.

In this second painting using a frequently used mineral based black ink lotus leaves are drawn in a different technique.

A large though fine haired goat or rabbit brush is used for this style of black pigment drawn leaf, where the large brush is carefully applied to draw the leaf in a single stroke care being taken to apply gradient of colour to better define the edge of the leaf.

In the second stroke to complete a dry brush finishes the structure or bones of the leaf including the central stem part this is in opposite order to the first technique talked about.

Summation

Of myriad techniques for painting lotus I have covered only a few basic points taken as highlights from some of the many Chinese texts available on the subject and recommended reading for any interested in painting in this way.

Perhaps the most important point of all dedicated books is that the characteristic of the plant should be recorded from nature and learnt by heart, continuous practising and careful reflection of the key traits of the flower will ensure the best results.

In this observation and recreation of the natural world modern Chinese traditional paintings is as much connected to the natural world as the first peoples who discovered tools to record the world which was then as is now so connected to us.

Traditional Chinese Painting – Fish

Background

Perhaps proceeding the better known “Flower and Bird” scenes in Chinese traditional painting practices, drawings of fish acting as a precursor to this better known cultural art have been found in various historical finds in China dating back to the neolithic periods.

From paintings and carvings to jade pots and porcelains in the long history of Chinese culture have been found with various types of fish artwork.

In human history fish and fishing have an intimate connection as an important food source that connected ancient peoples to the land and sea and helped us flourish, in some historical texts fishing and proximity to bodies of water and shorelines have been identified with the migration of people from the great continent of Africa to the far reaches we have stretched to now.

Reflecting the world that they were so closely connected through the medium of art ancient peoples of Chinese culture better connected to perhaps what could be called “Sea and Fish” rather than “Flower and Bird” as more intimately connecting them to the natural world.

Though traditional Chinese Arts came much later than these neolithic times, the carving of character and the reflection of the natural world upon paper continues this traditional expression of natural reflection.

Types of Fish in Art

It’s very nature of continue movement floating, swimming, moving in some form continually expressed through movement of tail, fin and body this is an animal that is drawn moving and of a character of movement in order to draw it upon paper.

In Chinese Art the gold fish, black ink fish, red carp and cat fish are some of the more common types of fresh water fish portrayed in painting, these fish are often used as actual reference in drawing, studying their movements in a pond of tranquil place to help guide the principal direction of stroke to better place their movement when drawing.

Of the more commonly encountered salt water fish including the popular blade fish, puffer fish their nature tends towards being more active, though saltwater and brackish water types such as perch also have more energetic character.

Drawing Fish in Chinese Painting

The typical manner of fish drawing flows through three parts; from beak to gill as the head, from the area of the gill to the apex of the body as the body and from this apex to the tail or tails as the tail.

Through this process perhaps most critical is the movement, as the flow of the body carries the movement of the fish just as much as the tail, fins and other barbels and feelers.

Depending on the fish the colour mottling and patterning will be different as will the general flow and proportions of the body of the fish.

As “Flower and Bird” in equal importance is the capture of the scene through it’s foliage and bloom of flower and spacing of wood and bark though the water scenes of the habitat of fish these are sometimes replaced with the sub aqua environment of weed, pebble, lotus flower and other leaf and natural matter.

YAN Examples of Fish painting

Vibrant lovely colour and peaceful warming nature perhaps better defines our own resident artist’s collection of fish paintings. Of gold fish variety most abundant she has chosen warm colour tones and a peaceful feel to represent her work showcased here with this selection of drafts and the circular finished piece above.

The aqueous environment is one of freedom unrestrained in dimension and in our own artists and many Chinese work the forms of fish are oft portrayed liberated from a single plane of movement instead floating and poised in all manners of movement and position.

Movement in our own paintings is perhaps best seen from the large tail, it’s shape best defining the feel of movement, in many Chinese paintings the combination of a large tail best guides the viewer to appreciate the movement of the piece – aided by various fin and barbel which extend that movement across the body which itself is drawn to capture the movement of the fish.

Typically added last in painting is the eye and the spattering of marbled dots and skin textures which add final life to the fish.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this short piece see our Arts gallery and further Arts blog for other examples and reading.

Our Designer

Our talented designer Pan Yan is an accomplished traditional arts painter and oil painter with works displayed in the provincial gallery of Hebei in China. Her love for flowers and design and attention to detail in following the meticulous rule sets of Chinese painting follow through in the detail implicit in her designs.

The designs of Pan Yan are based largely from the floral world and the rich symbolic Asian connection between art and flowers, simple basic forms present in painting that build up to convey images of much presence and richness which are evident in the design of bead jewellery.

My designs are based on the natural colour and texture of the gemstones, bringing out the best possible natural beauty of them. My design ideas come from nature and important aesthetic concepts throughout human history, for example, ocean and Gothic.

To best reach the design result, I need to coordinate different colors ,which my previous oil painting art work experiences help me a lot, and variety components, which my traditional Chinese painting skills help me a lot.  

Traditional Chinese Arts and Jewellery Design

Traditional Chinese arts and jewellery design have a kind of similarity in many ways. Firstly, when you draw a traditional Chinese painting you need to have a theme, the main things you need to draw and how to structure the things you want to draw are perhaps the most important thing.

For jewellery design, you need to have a kind of inspiration like the traditional Chinese painting, for example we have concepts to catalogue the jewellery. Those concepts are the things to inspire me that day.

Secondly, in terms of dealing with lines and patterns, when you draw a traditional Chinese painting, you need to use lines to construct the picture, like bones in the body. In the jewellery design, you also need to decide which kind of gemstones are needed to build up the jewellery and how to use silver component like a pattern to best reach your design idea.

These are two important aspects of similarity between traditional Chinese painting and jewellery design that we can talk about today, we may talk about the topic later again in the future.

Read more in depth articles from YAN Jewellery on our YAN Fashion blog while see our connected social media accounts at YAN Jewellery instagram and detailed blog postings on YAN Jewellery Facebook. Jewellery displayed in this article is among our range of exclusive designer jewellery available in store.