The mind is important
The most notable trait of traditional Chinese painting is that it cannot be worked on; it is formed wholly from freehand brushwork. Each brush stroke is like a path of life; there is no way to return. The most basic form of traditional Chinese painting is calligraphy, and both painting and writing have the same origin and technique. It is essential that everything is dominated by the mind, which is just as important as the skill.
The magic and mystery of Chinese painting
The interpretation of light and shadow in Chinese painting is made with a single brush stroke. A painter has to prepare the distribution of light and dark colors on his brush before making contact with the paper or silk canvas. There is also a distinct absence of perspective and three dimensional images. This style of art is distinctly expressionistic and requires interpretation. One can draw parallels with the creation of feelings and senses in Tang poetry. The poet would never refer directly to “love”, but might express the feeling through blossom, the scent of Jasmin or the flicker of an eye in a stolen glance, in this way allowing the reader to find the perfect interpretation of love using his own imagination. The technique of western painting appears more complicated and more complete, especially when it comes to the art of drawing in perfect proportion and realistic light and shadow. This style of painting was very appealing to me in my youth, but after meeting the great Master Zhang Jie, Hsiao Chin, Walasse Ting, I discovered the magic and mystery in the Chinese painting. I was also lucky enough to have the renound author Wang Da Kong’s introduce me to Mr. Chen Li Fu, who was not only a respectable figure in the modern Chinese history, but also well-known for his calligraphy and literature. This man enlightened my view of Chinese calligraphy.
On the dialog of painters from East and West
My masters did not hide their secrets from me so that I was able to learn their various techniques. In my paintings I try to combine eastern and western styles of art as well as following my own style. I have the same wish as many artists, to try and make the world more beautiful and to give more meaning to life by mingling different cultures. I hope that art may blossom in the heart of each one of us whether artist or not.
I thank Dr. Elmar Zorn - Curator for International art, for his critics on my paintings:
“The Chinese artist Chao-Hsiu Chen recreates colors of remarkable beauty with a fascinating certainness. The Taiwanese raised Master of many arts is well acquainted with millennia of Chinese tradition, and artfully weaves this into her work. The manner in which she captures perfection and beauty in her flower and plant motives is very much removed from the western style of painting, which often frames beauty in order to isolate it from ugliness. Chao-Hsiu Chen’s aim is quite the opposite. She tries, through her work, to cast beauty on all objects and to create harmony between her art and its surroundings. As a master of Feng Shui, her intention is to transmit inner harmony through a fusion of the surrounding environment together with her art, at the centre of which lies nature…” - Dr. Elmar Zorn - Curator for international art.
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