Diverse and Varied Painting Plum Blossoms -- New Edition of Chinese Painting Training Series II

Author: Qi Yukun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: Plum blossom is one of China's top ten famous flowers and is known as one of the "Four Gentlemen of Flowers" alongside orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. Countless renowned plum blossom painters have existed throughout history. As early as 1,700 years ago in the Southern Dynasties period, the great painter Zhang Sengyou created the "Plum Blossom Ode" painting. In the late Tang Dynasty, Teng Changshui, and in the Five Dynasties period, Xu Xing and Huang Quan were all celebrated for their plum blossom and bamboo paintings. During the Song Dynasty, there were many masters of plum blossom painting. Emperor Huizong himself loved painting plum blossoms, and Yang Wujiu was once considered a master painter of plum blossoms, whose works were unique and elegant. Wang Mian of the Yuan Dynasty was known as the "Sage of Plum Blossoms." In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were even more masters of plum blossom painting. Despite the numerous painters and diverse schools of thought, when it comes to freehand plum blossom painting, there are essentially four main styles based on technique: one is outlining and coloring, the second is coloring with dots, the third is painting with ink dots, and the fourth is outlining the white flower heads. In this book, each of these four styles is introduced in detail, accompanied by beautiful illustrations. The plum blossoms depicted in the paintings are mostly in bloom. When plum blossoms bloom, they have no leaves, consisting only of flowers and branches. Painting the branches is considered the most challenging part, and this book devotes significant space to explaining the use of brush and ink, the basic structure, and the interweaving and combination of branches. As long as readers practice repeatedly and earnestly grasp the essence, they will quickly master the key techniques of painting plum blossoms.