Chinese Painting Blog » painting

Waterfall in Chinese Landscapes

CNArtGallery — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 06:49:57 +0000

Many critics consider landscape to be the highest form of Chinese painting. By the late Tang Dynasty (618-907), landscape painting had evolved into an independent genre that embodied the universal longing of cultivated men to escape their quotidian world to commune with nature. As the Tang Dynasty disintegrated, the concept of withdrawal into the natural world became a major thematic focus of poets and painters. Faced with the failure of the human order, learned men sought permanence within the natural world, retreating into the mountains to find a sanctuary from the chaos of dynastic collapse.

In Chinese culture, water symbolizes wealth, and the waterfall represents profits pouring in from all sides. Therefore, Chinese waterfall painting is a well-received theme for Chinese painting.

Mountains and waterfall - Chinese Painting

Chinese Tiger Paintings

CNArtGallery — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 08:06:07 +0000

Tiger is the third of the twelve animals, the earthly branch, or better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac.

It is often mentioned with the green dragon. The combination image of "a dragon with clouds and a tiger with winds" is the best partner to subdue ghosts. In Chinese ancient culture, white tiger has the function of warding off evil, dispelling disasters, praying for good harvest, punishing evil and promoting good, making great fortunes and having a perfect marriage etc. Tiger painting, ambitious as usual, the old-aged tiger looks a little slim,but he still has an ambitious and strong mind.

Tiger - Chinese Painting

Mysterious Animal Dragon in Chinese Paintings

CNArtGallery — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 14:44:17 +0000

Dragon is a mysterious and high-ranking animal in China. It represents the icon of emperor. The dragons of China and Japan are almost exclusively benevolent mythological creatures in Chinese paintings. In fact they are so different in nature from Western Dragons that it may be more reasonable to consider them as dissimilar creatures, rather than as the same creature interpreted differently.

Chen Rong was a renowned painter in the Sung Dynasty who specialized in painting dragons. Throughout the history of China, there were some renowned painters of dragons such as Tsao Bu-Xing of the Three Kingdoms Period and Zhang Seng-You of the Southern Dynasties according to Zhang Yan-Yuan's Record of Famous Paintings of Successive Dynasties, however, none of their Chinese dragon paintings exists today.

Dragon - Chinese Painting

Horse in Chinese Painting

CNArtGallery — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 16:16:18 +0000

Horse is always known as the clever, faithful, brave animal that is able to endure hard work for its characteristic. The ancients of China regard the horse as the symbol of honor, auspiciousness and authority. They often compare horse to talented person in Chinese painting as well.

Eight Noble Horses Painting: All of them are running. This Chinese horse painting has implied that there is a splendid assemblage advance (talented persons together) bravely and successfully. It is suitable for company, office and study, especially fit for boss.

Horse - Chinese Painting

Chinese Chicken Paintings

CNArtGallery — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 14:34:23 +0000

The chicken has been the symbol of valiancy in Chinese paintings since ancient times for it eats five poisonous creatures: centipede, poisonous snake, scorpion, toad, and spider as well as eliminate plague and drive away evil spirit. The Chinese also attribute five virtues to the cock or rooster.

The chicken is a common subject in Chinese painting, belonging to the category of flower-and-bird painting. The Chinese character for the Chicken is a homophone of auspicious, thus making it particularly popular among Chinese artists.

Chicken - Chinese Painting

Who is the Master in Shrimp Chinese Paintings?

CNArtGallery — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 11:28:58 +0000

Shrimp live in both fresh water and salt water. Shrimp is one of delicious food all over the world. Their appearances, features of vivid, transparent, and energetic, are beautiful but not easy to be captured in Chinese paintings. In China, lobster is literally “dragon shrimp”. It represents energy and spirit, and regeneration, resoluteness.

Shrimp Chinese paintings can be the difficult subject for artists. But Master Qi Baishi was extremely good at shrimps. His shrimps are real in appearance and sprit Without a single brush or ink, he also expresses the water surrounding the shrimp. The subjects of his paintings include almost everything, commonly painting animals, scenery, figures, vegetables, and so on. In his later years, many of his works depict mice, shrimps, or birds. Qi Baishi is particularly known for painting shrimps.

Shrimp - Chinese Painting

Chinese Mountain and Water Paintings in Landscapes

CNArtGallery — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 15:14:45 +0000

Chinese landscape painting, in general, is the famous paintings art that take landscapes as themes, treats the natural mountains and rivers as major description objects. As the saying goes, mountains represent population and water is emblem of property. It means that if somewhere have a flourishing population is related to mountains, and whether wealthy is connected with water.

Chinese mountain and water painting forms its own artistic tradition and system. Through mountain and water paintings, people can taste both artistic conception and the artistic style of Chinese paintings well.

Mountains and water - Chinese Painting

How To Paint Chinese Bamboo Painting

CNArtGallery — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 20:30:32 +0000

Chinese Bamboo Painting

Chinese painting is of cultural implication, and Chinese bamboo painting is famous. Today, Artisoo gallery will teach you how to draw a Chinese bamboo painting in the flowing steps.

Find suitable bamboo to paint. If you have bamboo growing in the garden, set your easel in front of this. Alternatively, visit the Botanical Gardens or a Chinese Garden in your area. If you cannot find live bamboo, look online for a suitable photo. If you don't have the time to sit before live bamboo, take a photo to help you remember the colors and proportions.

Select the appropriate colors. Bamboo is mostly green, but as in the painting shown above, this coloring can be varied with shades of fawn, beige, etc.

Draw the stem first. Draw this straight. You can add the knobbly elements as you go. Draw a bunch of stems if you are making a bamboo grove; or simply concentrate on drawing a single bamboo length.

Add the leaves. Position these at even intervals along the stem.

Paint the colors. The design above provides a good example of adding shading as you paint, to portray the roundness and smoothness of bamboo.