Wu Xing painting: trees

 Works of Andrey Scherbakov

Wu Xing painting: birds

Works of Elena Kasiyanenko

 Work of Nataly Kotova

 Work of Margarita Volkova















Works of Yuliya Zima

 Work of Ruslan Omeliyanenko

Wu Xing painting: fruits

I didn't cover this "tasty" theme which is widely used in Chinese painting. Here it is!
Works of teachers, School of Wu Xing painting, Moscow, Russia

Wu Xing painting: video workshop, fishes

Author: Katrin Chernaya

Four gentlemen in Chinese painting

4 gentlemen or noble plants: orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum and cherry plum in Chinese painting are the most common themes for pictures as each of them has its own symbol and sense.  

Let's see how they look like in real nature: 

Orchid is gentle and sophisticated, it represents early spring, the idea of purity, simplicity and nobility. 
The leaves are painted with metal brushstroke and the flowers with fire brushstroke. 


Pictures of Katerina Chernaya (don't forget to click on the pictures to see the larger image)

Picture of Ruslan Omeliyanenko

Bamboo is a symbol of strong character, real man with high moral values. I've written about bamboo in this blog earlier http://wuxingpainting.blogspot.com/2012/02/main-themes-of-chinese-and-wu-xing.html

Among 4 gentlemen bamboo is associated with summer. For its painting movements of Wood and Fire are used.

Picture of Katerina Chernaya

Chrysanthemum is beautiful, virgin and shy, it symbolises autumn. This flower is a symbol of high-minded solitude and calmness. In Wu Xing painting there are many ways to draw this flower. 

Pictures of Elena Kasiyanenko

Wild cherry plum is associated with purity of thoughts and life troubles resilience. As this plant can preserve its juice even in severe frosts real gentleman should be able to preserve calmness and harmony inside even when life is tough.  On the North of China wild cherry plum is often blossoming under the snow. It is often associated with winter time. 


Picture of Ruslan Omeliyanenko                                                            Picture of Diana Medvedeva

Wu Xing main themes: peony

Author of the article: Elena Kasiyanenko

Why people think that only some extraordinary talented artists have the ability and right to paint? What is the need for such a barrier before so pleasant, bright and joyful pastime? There are a lot of wonderful and speedy methods of study painting in the world which can open the creation basis in every person just in 2 or 3 hours. And today I’d like to introduce the method elaborated by Russian painter Maxim Parnakh and developed for the adult people by Russian painter Andrey Shcherbakov which is called Wu Xing painting (“wu xing” in Chinese means “5 movements”). This method consists only in 5 brushstrokes which express 5 basic energies of Yin and Yang transformation: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. You can read more about this technique following this link: http://usinart.ru/englis/ . It is not a rigorous drawing of frozen objects but it is a free and open manner of expressing mood, feelings and emotions using brush, hand, body and mind resources. And I’d like to share the results of 2.5 hours open class of Wu Xing painting which took place this week in Moscow in the yoga club Aquarian (www.aquarianyoga.ru). It was a class for the very beginners who used the brush only in their childhood many years ago. They wanted to try something new which is unlike their usual office job and research another side of their personality. We painted very positive composition inspired by the paintings of great Chinese artist and philosopher Qi Baishi. And here you can see their first drawings: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.145177862274650.27830.100003473126633&type=3&l=9d74b602e0
So, don’t be afraid to make your dreams come true! It’s time to start! Good luck!

Wu Xing main themes: birds

Birds are painted with the help of fire brushstroke as they are fast and light :)
Works of Elena Kasiyanenko

Wu Xing themes: pandas

Panda is the kindest animal in the world, its look by itself make people smile and feel joy and tenderness.
Look how cute they are!
Authors: Wu Xing artists and teachers from Moscow School of Wu Xing Painting

 

Wu Xing themes: cranes

For some reason, I like this theme in Wu Xing painting the most, though I've painted a crane only once on a lamp, I adore watching pictures with them. Want to share some with you. Authors: Wu Xing painters and teachers from our school in Moscow.

Spring flowers. Wild cherry plum.

Wild cherry plum May starts blossoming in Chine earlier than all other trees. It opens flowers while the snow is still there and is not afraid of frost, announcing that spring is coming. 
The image of this blossoming tree is full of senses and implications. It is a symbol of nobility and resilience no matter what the circumstances are.
Old branches of this tree resemble the body of dragon, which is considered to be strong and wise. Also old stalk with young branches mean the consequence of generations and support among them.
But in China there are many more other blossoming trees and plants, as you can see in the video above.

Here are some pictures in Wu Xing style to enjoy.