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Ancient Chinese Artwork
Hong Liang
CHINA
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"If you have a great idea, write it down, because it might pop out of your head the next second."
Hong Liang is a painter from China currently living in Birmingham. She likes to use painting to express her feelings and ideas and convey beauty. Under her brush, you can see vital flowers, beautiful-looking girls, scenes of ancient people's life, etc. She has a relatively wide range of expressions, traditional and contemporary, still life, and women, etc.
Mediterranean Air | Watercolor
$2,200
40 X 19
The image of a girl and a flower often evokes simplicity and beauty, which is indeed the theme the author wants to express. The work uses the mineral pigments of Chinese painting and is on hemp paper. The composition eschews fussy details and concentrates on simple, modern shapes, with a slight gradation of bright, soft colors. The mounting process of Chinese painting makes the work look flatter and more beautiful.
Irrespective of the vivid style and themes she works with, all of Hong Liang’s works emanate a common emotion. Her artistic expressions carry a sense of serenity and purity that is unique to her. Her welcoming painting style creates a soft and cozy atmosphere for her viewers, making people feel as if they are out in the fresh air, relaxing both physically and mentally. Her ancient Chinese artworks are inviting and calming to look at.
Morning in England | Watercolor
$2,400
44 X 21
The work shows a moment in the early morning in England when the leaves are still dewy and snails are crawling around in the grass, a girl is standing in front of flowers, stroking her hair, smelling the flowers, and seemingly lost in thought. Through the window, we can see a poetic idyll in the distance.
Hong Liang's love for art began as a child when her grandfather– an art teacher, began teaching her calligraphy and painting when she was seven years old. Later, when her cousin moved away to live with her parents, she liked to include her own drawings in the letters she sent to her sister, sometimes of beautiful princesses, sometimes of cute little animals, and sometimes of imaginary exotic flowers and plants.
“I often tell my students, they have to be honest with themselves and find their true self, instead of imitating others all the time.”
The medium for most of her ancient Chinese artwork is rice paper, and some are acrylic quartz sand and oil on canvas. She loves the visual effect of the wonderful collision and osmosis of paint, ink, and water. This effect is partly controlled by the artist and partly uncontrolled and natural. This combination of natural and man-made synergy fascinates her because nature has a magical power.
Sunny | Watercolor
$1,800
28 X 20
When I stopped painting and took a short break for a cup of coffee, I noticed that the withered green had been rejuvenated by the water and sunlight it had absorbed. It made me realize that even tiny things have a strong will to live.
This piece was created under the influence of a painter friend of mine, with whom we share a genuine friendship and I am often inspired by her dedication to her art. Whenever I see this piece I think of the wonderful times I have spent with her.
Window | Watercolor
$2,100
34 X 24
Liang as an artist takes time very seriously and understands that once it flies away, she can’t get it back. However, this realization has never made her anxious. Instead, the result has been quite the opposite. The result of this realization is that she values her time even more. She refuses to socialize ineffectively or spend it aimlessly. She chooses to allocate it reasonably to creating and communicating with traditional Chinese artwork, spending time with her family and mentoring her students.
“It is difficult for me to describe this feeling of natural beauty in words, but if I use painting to transform natural beauty into artistic beauty, this fleeting beauty can be preserved for a long time and be felt by more people.”
“If you ask me what is the most difficult thing about making art, I’d say time. Other problems are easy to solve, such as painting techniques, which can be learned and applied with skill, and inspiration, which can be found in life, nature, society and even classical works.”
Hong Liang worked as a curator in a museum for a few years, and one morning when she was walking through the square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (an ancient building in Xi'an, China), she saw the spring flowers in full bloom, and the bright, dazzling colors under the sunlight and the shapes of joyful smiles quickly spread to her heart, making her forget her stress and worries and filling her with joyful pleasure.
Reading Day | Watercolor
$2,300
35 X 28
This artwork depicts a scene of children studying in ancient China. In a courtyard surrounded by stones, bananas tree, plum blossoms and bamboo, the children gather to study the classics. The author believes that in today's learning society, the habit of frequent reading should be maintained, that reading is a ladder for human to inherit the wisdom of his predecessors and progress, and that the act of continuous learning is the only way to improve oneself.
Hong Liang has cultivated a habit of reading and believes that classical writings are summaries of the wisdom of previous generations. By reading and absorbing energy, a person’s mind becomes fuller and stronger, and the wisdom of the ancients illuminates their decisions and actions. In her mobile phone notes, she writes down all sorts of wonderful creative ideas that excite her when she reads them and give her a sense of accomplishment when she turns them into works of art.
Lychee | Watercolor
$1,100
14 X 14
This work of art depicts a basket of sweet and juicy lychee fruit, inspired by a poem. Su Shi exaggeratedly praised the deliciousness of lychee: "If I could eat 300 lychees a day, I would be a Lingnan man forever." Su Shi was banished by the emperor to Lingnan, a poor place, and he often went hungry because of the scarcity of food, but I like the poet's optimistic spirit. Although he was in a difficult situation, he never complains and continues to live a positive life.
She also teaches traditional Chinese artwork-related courses at the university and guides students in their art-making. For her, it is important to create a good environment for creating, a space that is not necessarily large, but at least one that is not too easily disturbed, like a room or a table that is not used for anything other than creating art, and where the materials and utensils are all available at handy, ready to go, so that as soon as you reach that space, you can start creating without distractions.
The plant in this painting is the daylily, also known in Chinese culture as the forget-me-not plant, which means to forget one's troubles. The artwork uses a combination of traditional Chinese literati paintings in the form of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and sealing. The poem reminds people to learn to cherish beautiful things such as flowers in spring, cool breeze in summer, bright moon in autumn, and snow in winter, and that the best time of the year is when one is free from worries.
Daylily | Watercolor
$1,110
17 X 14
“It was my belief in continuous learning and hard work, as well as a bit of luck, that led me to obtain a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Fine Arts and a PhD.”
Greetings from Mother's Day | Acrylic
$1,000
16 X 12
This is a Mother's Day blessing received by the artist. The tulip blossoms are watery, making the heart soft. The artist wanted to freeze this beautiful emotion in the picture and turn it into an eternal memory.
The artist loves to visit museums across the world. She believes that the process of creation is a dialogue with oneself, while going to a museum is a dialogue with others through artworks. She has visited museums in Italy, France, England, Spain, China, Austria and many other countries, and she can enjoy artworks in museums all day long, which she sees as a kind of communication across time and space. It allows her to soak the creativity around her and channel it into ancient Chinese artwork, in a meaningful way.
Potatoes can be found in British specialties such as fish and chips, Jack potatoes, Sunday roast, etc. and they have saved many lives during certain war periods in British history. Another reason for the author to depict this potato was the news of Princess Kate's cancer in England. Feeling sad, as this fatigue trekking and physically and mentally prickly potato.
The Wounded Potato | Acrylic
$1,000
24 X 18
The artist firmly believes that approaching art is a devotional practice. An artist shouldn’t get into making art with too much utilitarianism, which tends to make their work flat and lacking depth and dimension. But that doesn't mean you have to be completely isolated from the contemporary world, in fact artists can't be isolated from the external world they live in either. They are either implicitly or explicitly influenced by their social environment, it's as if they are compiling their own energy with their paintbrushes and having an impact on the world they live in.
That 's What She Is |Acrylic
$1,500
24 X 18
This work contains the author's thoughts on "SHE." They are often soft but strong; many of them are emotional, but some of them are very rational and logical. Women have gained knowledge and competence and learned to embrace their self-emotions, but they have also faced unprecedented pressures, such as walking down a muddy road with spikes piercing the soles of their shoes. High heels, though glamorous and beautiful, make them walk on thin ice and struggle.
“My work as an artist should be a complete microcosm that lets the world see me as an artist, my thoughts, my feelings, and my perception of the world.”
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