As a practicing landscape painter, I
have employed Chinese painting techniques for many years,
finding my path in and out of the tradition. I have also written
several books on the fundamentals of design, searching for
underlying visual principles and new possibilities. This
particular background perhaps enables me to take a fresh
approach and avoid the pitfalls of echoing and summarizing views
of others, producing just another manual of Chinese painting.
It is, of course, not unusual for a
Chinese painter to produce a painting manual to convey his ideas
and experiences. Chinese painters, over a period of no less than
fifteen centuries, have established definite methods that all
beginning artists are expected to learn and practice prior to
any creative departures. Painting manuals contain this
information, and the best known of such manuals is the
Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, dating back to about
1679, and an important source of inspiration for this book.
Brought up in a bicultural environment,
I understand very well the wide cultural gap existing between
the East and the West and the difficulties in bridging that gap.
Specific aesthetic values pertaining to Chinese views of life
and the universe, for instance, require considerable
elucidation. Thus this book starts with Part One, under the
heading Way, which examines aspects of Chinese philosophy
concerning these values. This leads to Part Two, under the
heading Principle, which focuses on the language of Chinese
landscape vision and forms the core of the book. Part Three,
under the heading idea, discusses the general conception of a
painting. Part Four, under the heading Method, introduces brush
and ink techniques. Part Five, under the heading Synthesis,
features finished paintings explained with reference to earlier
parts of the text. . . .
This book, whatever its limitations,
contains as much information as the pages allow. It should be
self-sufficient for sustaining reading and browsing pleasure
with no demand for prior knowledge of Oriental culture on the
part of the reader. For almost a decade I have cherished it in
my mind, and it is only now, in my seclusion, away from teaching
and other duties and devoting myself to painting most of the
time, that I am able to realize it. In gathering materials and
sorting them, in preparing the diagrams and illustrations, in
graphic design and word processing, my wife Pansy has provided
invaluable assistance. Her contribution exceeds any verbal
acknowledgment of gratitude. It is to her that this book is
dedicated. W.W.
