David Reid – Colourful Inspirations in Materials

Have you encountered difficulties when combining Western painting techniques with Chinese ones? I only use water-based inks on Chinese papers. The inks I use are…

于非闇 Yu Fei An: the calligraphies which helped me to paint

Inkston Note: This article is an extract from Yu Fei An's famous little book on how he paints Gongbi style flower and bird. It talks…

赵孟頫 Zhao MengFu Heart Sutra

Intro: this gallery might be difficult for you if you are not familiar with Chinese semi-cursive script. However, if you understand Chinese calligraphy and can…

BaDa ShanRen

BaDa ShanRen (八大山人) is art name of Zhu Da (朱耷, 1626 - 1705). He was descendant of Ming Dynasty's first emperor Zhu YuanZhang (朱元璋, HongWu…

Emperor Huizong of Song and His Work of Art

  Emperor Huizong, personal name Zhao Ji, was in reign from 1100 to 1126. Although he has never been considered as a good ruler, he…

Painting Guide for Gongbi Style

Since our first article How to Paint Gongbi Style: Lotus Out of Water, we have received quite a few queries on Gongbi painting. These queries…

Feng ZiKai 丰子恺 and Cats

Feng Zikai (simplified Chinese: 丰子恺; traditional Chinese: 豐子愷; pinyin: Fēng Zǐkǎi) (November 9, 1898 – September 15, 1975) was an influential Chinese painter, pioneering manhua…

Qing Dynasty Fans

A fan can be both a beautiful artwork and a useful accessory for summer! These Qing Dynasty fans are from the Royal collection in the…

十二月令图轴 12 Months in Paintings

This set of painting shows Chinese life in 12 months. These paintings show very clearly the architecture details, normal people's daily activities. There is no theme…

Song Paintings on Silk Fan

唐画如面,宋画如酒,元画以下,渐如酒之加水,时代愈后,加水愈多,近日之昼,已经有水无酒,不能醉人,薄而无味。--- 黄宾虹(1865-1955) Tang Dynasty paintings are flat,  Song Dynasty paintings are wine, paintings from Yuan Dynasty and later are going downwards. As time goes by,…

Wang Zirang 汪子让 Painting Gallery: Joy of Su Ink

Su ink Shanshui painting collection from Wang Zirang 汪子让 follower of Huang Binhong and leading Xin'An artist, well known for Su ink Shanhui paintings.

Waina 薇娜 Calligraphic wildlife painting gallery

Calligraphic Painting gallery from Waina 薇娜 celebrated wildlife artist and Fellow of the Linnean Society, now based in UK - see waina.com