Professor Lynda shows students what she knows about grinding ink on a traditional Chinese ink stone. Students used the oldest form of painting and writing tools in continuous use, to both draw pictures and write a story.
The Chinese brush, ink stone, ink stick and paper are sometimes known as “the four treasures of the study.”
Photos by Angela Richardson
From Wikipedia: Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals. It was only during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) that artists began to represent the world around them.
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The “Six principles of Chinese painting” were established by Xie He, a writer, art historian and critic in 5th century China. He is most famous for his “Six points to consider when judging a painting” (绘画六法, Pinyin: Huìhuà Liùfǎ), taken from the preface to his book “The Record of the Classification of Old Painters” (古画品录; Pinyin: Gǔhuà Pǐnlù). Keep in mind that this was written circa 550 AD and refers to “old” and “ancient” practices. The six elements that define a painting are:
- “Spirit Resonance”, or vitality, and refers to the flow of energy that encompasses theme, work, and artist. Xie He said that without Spirit Resonance, there was no need to look further.
- “Bone Method”, or the way of using the brush. This refers not only to texture and brush stroke, but to the close link between handwriting and personality. In his day, the art of calligraphy was inseparable from painting.
- “Correspondence to the Object”, or the depicting of form, which would include shape and line.
- “Suitability to Type”, or the application of color, including layers, value and tone.
- “Division and Planning”, or placing and arrangement, corresponding to composition, space and depth.
- “Transmission by Copying”, or the copying of models, not only from life but also the works of antiquity.
