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Artist finds few are willing to learn traditional painting skills
By Xu Wenwen |
October 12, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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A folding fan is an indispensable prop in many oriental operas that gives a character a sense of grace and sophistication. Mei Lanfang, a famous Peking Opera actor, has a fan exclusively for "Drunken Beauty," the most famous traditional Peking Opera piece. The fan was painted by Chen Tuizhai, the deceased master of "Hangzhou Painting Fan."
During the opera, Mei performs a glamorous fan dance. The fan is gilded and on one side is painted with vivid peonies while the other side features noble plum blossoms. Both paintings feature deep colors, making the fan stand out due to its beauty.
It is characteristic of Hangzhou Painting, which is known for bright-colored patterns, especially flowers. Moreover, the style is known for its detail, making it quite suitable for fans.
However, like many old arts, Hangzhou Painting is close to extinction as the art is demanding, yet not that profitable. The only living master is 56-year-old Chen Zhiyun, the daughter of Chen Tuizhai. Chen Zhiyun started learning during her childhood and has devoted her life to the art.
She says that while the end result is beautiful, it is very difficult to achieve.
For starters, Hangzhou Painting requires deep colors, which means thick dyes. But thick dyes are unsuitable for fans, as they make it difficult to fold the fan. To resolve this issue, the painter needs to mix water and dye at the perfect percentage so that the pigment is bright and vivid, yet thin.
Chen says the perfect percentage changes each day depending on the weather and humidity.
This becomes even more complicated when painting black fans because of the dark background color.
In Hangzhou Painting, fans feature either a white or black background. Some may also have gold or silver foil.
"Rich colored patterns on black fans look beautiful, yet the color is apt to shed and does not last long because of the special coating on the fan leaf," Chen says. "It's even harder to paint when the fan leaf is covered with gold or silver foil."
Chen's father had invented a special material named Longhua Powder, which, mixed in the dye, solved the problem. But, the recipe was lost during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) and she has been working for years to recreate the recipe.
Still, she says these are just technical problems. The real test of an artist's skill is the actual painting.
She says painting a fan is more difficult than painting on paper or canvas, because the surface is never completely flat.
Chen uses two clips on each side of the fan to keep it from moving.
"The larger the picture, the more difficult it is to paint," she says, saying she recently spent four months painting "Leifeng Pagoda," of which there are 60 ribs and the fan extends almost 1 meter.
"I had to draw many straight lines that extend about half a meter on an angle, and I had to make sure I finished every line with one brush stroke, otherwise the painting would look dull. I could not do it with a ruler or the color would be messed up," Chen adds.
Similarly, to paint a face or a flower pedal that expands across more than one rib is also demanding.
Considering the difficulty, few people want to be Chen's apprentice.
Wu Enyuan, Chen's husband, said they started their company, Hangzhou Painting Fan Company, in 2005.
"We hired some graduates who studied art in college, but they left soon afterwards," Wu says. "But I don't blame them, we can't pay them much since the market is small."
Despite the small market, Chen says the fans have value as a collectible.
"Many of the fans my father and I have made have been purchased by celebrities, or given to political leaders as gifts from our country, including (former US president) Richard Nixon."
In 2009, Hangzhou Painting was listed as a Provincial Cultural Intangible Heritage in Zhejiang.
Like other traditional art forms, it faces a dilemma: to be highly value within a small market, or to disappear.
Wu is working to widen the market.
"I am trying to export some fans to foreign countries," he says. "I believe the art can only be carried on when the market is enlarged."
During the opera, Mei performs a glamorous fan dance. The fan is gilded and on one side is painted with vivid peonies while the other side features noble plum blossoms. Both paintings feature deep colors, making the fan stand out due to its beauty.
It is characteristic of Hangzhou Painting, which is known for bright-colored patterns, especially flowers. Moreover, the style is known for its detail, making it quite suitable for fans.
However, like many old arts, Hangzhou Painting is close to extinction as the art is demanding, yet not that profitable. The only living master is 56-year-old Chen Zhiyun, the daughter of Chen Tuizhai. Chen Zhiyun started learning during her childhood and has devoted her life to the art.
She says that while the end result is beautiful, it is very difficult to achieve.
For starters, Hangzhou Painting requires deep colors, which means thick dyes. But thick dyes are unsuitable for fans, as they make it difficult to fold the fan. To resolve this issue, the painter needs to mix water and dye at the perfect percentage so that the pigment is bright and vivid, yet thin.
Chen says the perfect percentage changes each day depending on the weather and humidity.
This becomes even more complicated when painting black fans because of the dark background color.
In Hangzhou Painting, fans feature either a white or black background. Some may also have gold or silver foil.
"Rich colored patterns on black fans look beautiful, yet the color is apt to shed and does not last long because of the special coating on the fan leaf," Chen says. "It's even harder to paint when the fan leaf is covered with gold or silver foil."
Chen's father had invented a special material named Longhua Powder, which, mixed in the dye, solved the problem. But, the recipe was lost during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) and she has been working for years to recreate the recipe.
Still, she says these are just technical problems. The real test of an artist's skill is the actual painting.
She says painting a fan is more difficult than painting on paper or canvas, because the surface is never completely flat.
Chen uses two clips on each side of the fan to keep it from moving.
"The larger the picture, the more difficult it is to paint," she says, saying she recently spent four months painting "Leifeng Pagoda," of which there are 60 ribs and the fan extends almost 1 meter.
"I had to draw many straight lines that extend about half a meter on an angle, and I had to make sure I finished every line with one brush stroke, otherwise the painting would look dull. I could not do it with a ruler or the color would be messed up," Chen adds.
Similarly, to paint a face or a flower pedal that expands across more than one rib is also demanding.
Considering the difficulty, few people want to be Chen's apprentice.
Wu Enyuan, Chen's husband, said they started their company, Hangzhou Painting Fan Company, in 2005.
"We hired some graduates who studied art in college, but they left soon afterwards," Wu says. "But I don't blame them, we can't pay them much since the market is small."
Despite the small market, Chen says the fans have value as a collectible.
"Many of the fans my father and I have made have been purchased by celebrities, or given to political leaders as gifts from our country, including (former US president) Richard Nixon."
In 2009, Hangzhou Painting was listed as a Provincial Cultural Intangible Heritage in Zhejiang.
Like other traditional art forms, it faces a dilemma: to be highly value within a small market, or to disappear.
Wu is working to widen the market.
"I am trying to export some fans to foreign countries," he says. "I believe the art can only be carried on when the market is enlarged."
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