Guide to Chinese Painting and Calligraphy

A practical “how-to” guide, this book selects 16 traditional Chinese idioms and guides readers through the artistic process of transforming them into a variety of graceful images. The volume opens a new world of color and ink, starting with rudimentary skills, such as how to hold a brush, selecting the proper paper, and color mixing, then moves on through subsequently more difficult steps. The resulting works impart a sublime visual effect even for those who cannot read their meaning, as written characters work in harmony with the painted images to convey a sense of tradition and beauty to all who encounter them.