Qi Bai Shi is one of the most well known and famous modern Chinese watercolor painters. While he started art at a mature age – learning how to paint at the age of sixty, he is well known throughout the world. His contemporary Chinese pieces always had a very playful, whimsical style to them. The once-carpenter held great stock when it came to his influence. His biggest artistic influences were the Qing Dynasty painter Bada Shanren and Xu Wei who was from the Ming Dynasty.
The biggest claim to fame in his paintings was the fact that even though it was during the early nineties, Qi Bai Shi did not allow western influences into his paintings. He painted a lot of birds, flowers and insects but with each painting he brought a refreshing perspective to each object. He was often praised for his “freshness and spontaneity”. In his paintings even though he often painted common, every-day objects, he often found a beautiful and careful way to paint them.
Some of his simplest paintings were the most beautiful. These simple images of flowers and insects managed to grab the attention of the viewer, making Qi Bai Shi a very popular modern painter. It was his fascination with the ordinary object that resonated in his work. His paintings of flowers were always cheerful and positive with a bright use of colors. There is a large amount of colors that he used but the most prominent were red, blues, greens and blacks.
When looking at his paintings from his early years he experimented with a variety of different styles. Fortunately, he finally found his own unique style which is often sought after by Qi Bai Shi lovers. It was his dream to paint all the insects and flowers in the world but he only managed a few. Yet to these few flowers and insects he portrayed he breathed in a sense of life.
A few of his most well known paintings are The Butterfly, The Fan, The Fisherman and The Cabbage. It was amazing that this artist could take something as simple as a couple of cabbage leaves and turn them into a work of art. His paintings often focused on just a few colors making the simplicity of the art work even more powerful. His paintings also tried to portray the relationship between the animals. Ducks, for instance, shows two ducks floating along peacefully together. The painting Many offspring shows off a proud father with all of his hatchlings.
By: Sheila Bridge
About the Author:
Qi Bai Shi is a famous modern Chinese artist and for a good reason – his work transcends culture and time and manages to touch everyone who gazes upon his works.
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