Chinese painting especially flower and bird planting can be classified into two main categories :

  • Gongbi (工筆).
  • Xieyi (寫意) 

Gongbi (工筆) is a detailed realist technique in Chinese painting. The name is from the Chinese term gong ji (工技) meaning ‘tidy’ (meticulous brush craftsmanship). The gongbi technique uses highly detailed brushstrokes that define the objects very precisely and without independent or expressive variation. Usually the outline of the objects is precisely drawn and layers of colours are filled within the outlines. The paintings are often highly coloured.

The following six paintings are typical examples of Gongbi paintings. The paintings were unsigned and undated. Mr Ip painted these paintings as demonstration during my private lessons with him in the 1980s in his studio.

 

Rose (Rosa chinesis, 月季花), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on on paper, 33 x 22 cm

 

Miniature rose (Rosa chinesis, 月季花), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on on paper, 33 x 22 cm

 

Doubtful knight’s spur (Consolida ajacis, 飛燕草), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 32 x 21 cm

 

Snapdragons (Antirrhinum spp, 金魚草), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 32 x 21 cm

 

Tulip (Tulipa gesneriana, 郁金香), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 33 x 22 cm

 

Brown’s lily (Lilium brownie, 百合花), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on on paper, 33 x 22.5 cm

 

Xieyi (寫意) is a freehand brush work style. Xieyi literally means “writing ideas”. It was formed in a long period of artistic activities and promoted by the literati (文人). This kind of artwork does not chase for the exact resemblance of the objects. Instead the artists emphasize on the beauty of the brushstrokes. Outlines are not drawn and the object may be painted with a single brush stroke or with a limited number of brush strokes. Good Xieyi paintings can grasp the most essential spiritual characteristics. Through the inheritance and development in the past dynasties, freehand brush work has gradually become the most influential and popular genre.

Master artists like Mr Ip can paint flowers to a very high degree of likeness even in Xieyi painting.

 

Christmas orchid (Catleya triaanae,卡特蘭), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 33 x 23 cm

In the painting above, the tip of the brush was charged with two or more colours. The stem was painted in a single stroke but shades of more than two colours can be seen. This demonstrates a very high level of skills.

 

Confederate rose (Hibiscus mutabilis, 芙蓉花), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 33 x 22 cm

 

Azalea (Rhododendron simsii, 杜鵑花), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 33 x 22 cm

 

Wax mallow ( Malvaviscus arboreus, 懸鈴花), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 33 x 21 cm

 

Chinese ixora (Ixora chinesis, 龍船花), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 33 x 21 cm

 

Chinese asparagus (Asparagus cochinchinesis, 天門冬), unsigned and undated, ink and colour on paper, 33 x 22 cm

 

The beautiful demonstration flower paintings of Mr Ip can truly tell the stories of the two different styles.

 

Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongbi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freehand_brush_work