A Corner of My Studio

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas
22" x 28"

About Chinese Traditional Painting

In last three months, I went back to my homeland, China, to see my mother and brothers. As an artist, I spent certain amount of time on attending cultural and artistic exchange activities. I was very lucky to attend several big art exhibition in China National Gallery in Beijing and have chance to have a talk with some famous artists. I have never been this impressed by Chinese traditional painting. Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as guó huà 国画, meaning 'national' or 'native painting', as opposed to Western styles of art which became popular in China in the 20th century. Traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black or colored ink; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made of are paper and silk. The finished work is then mounted on scrolls, which can be hung or rolled up. We also can frame the finished painting with frames and glass as we do for ordinary watercolor painting. Traditional painting also is done in albums and on walls, lacquerwork, and other media.

Chinese Traditional Watercolor and Ink Lotus

Private Collection