Category Archives: News

AGM 2024

All events of the CBPS AGM will  be held by Zoom.  All events are free to CBPS members.

Saturday 2 November 11am – 12.30pm AGM
Reports from Officers and vote on proposed resolution.

Saturday 2 November 2pm – 4pm: painting demonstration by Virginia Lloyd-Davies
Watch or paint along as Virginia paints wisteria and bird.


Sunday 3 November 2pm – 4pm: painting demonstration by Li Xiaobai
Watch or paint along as Xiaobai paints a waterfall.
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Bird Life

Album Leaf by Ren Bonian, Metropolitan Museum, New York

Geese are important in Chinese imagery and poetry.

British Cranes and Flocking Waders

Natural History Museum exhibition 24 May 2024 – 5 January 2025

Gongbi crane demonstration – not very clear on the technique, but nice effect

Ducks in Thai rice field

Birds of Beijing.  Bird guide books by  Birders, PrincetonVetbooks; birds of Japan and north China

Lists of Chinese birds, with links to photos: Wikipedia, Shanghai birding

A human murmuration!

Mystery Objects

Our recent Newsletters have featured mystery objects associated with Chinese art and culture.  Check out the October Newsletter for the secret of Objects 1 – 3!

Mystery Object 4, October 2024

Mystery Object 3, July 2024

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Mystery Object 2, April 2024

Mystery Object 1, January 2024

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Clouds, Mist and More

Fu Baoshi is famous for his watery landscapes.  Henry Li painting in the style of Fu Baoshi: he uses a special brush but you could experiment with your own stiffer brushes to see which gives the best effect.  The Met Museum had an exhibition about Fu Baoshi, with lecture.

Nearly abstract paintings of the Yellow Mountains – and a large brush!

A peaceful interlude of wind in the rice fields.

Is the famous Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains a real place?  Dance inspired by the painting!

Phoenix by Paul Maslowski (c)

Phoenix by CBPS teacher Paul Maslowski to complement his phoenix and dragon on p13 of our July Newsletter.

Peasant paintings referenced from the Newsletter, and more.

The  Mystery Object in the April Newsletter was an inkstick rest.  I saw a very bling Qing rock-crystal one in the Capital Museum, Beijing.

Learning and Looking

CBP Learning:

CBP Looking:

The Blakeney group’s exhibition: two weeks from 4th December, 10.00am – 4.00pm, paintings of five artists will be on display, plus cards, calendars and Chinese themed small gifts.   Their venue is the purpose-built art gallery at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s visitors centre at Cley in North Norfolk, overlooking the salt marsh nature reserve.  Refreshments are always available in the cafeteria, light lunches and cakes highly recommended!

Their advertising flyer was designed by graphic artist member Moira, who has cleverly incorporated several of their paintings within the ship sails.
Coming up in 2025 Desmond Chung, KC Chan and Phillip Chan have an exhibition of their Lingnan-style paintings at Lauderdale House (Highgate, London) 8 January – 3 February 2025.

Poetic Life

Portrait of a gentleman gathering chrysanthemums, Hua Guan (Chinese, ca. 1740–ca. 1822), Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, China
Portrait of a gentleman gathering chrysanthemums by Hu Guan, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Michael Wood has a new book out, about famous Tang Poet Du Fu,
Watch  the launch video and British Council video.
He is also speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival.
Review of the book.
Talking of poetry, those familiar with Peek Inside the Farm might like to listen to this podcast about the Chinese translation.
Vision and Verse: The Poetry of Chinese Painting is a new exhibition the  Metropolitan Museum.  Even if you can’t get to New York, you can enjoy the objects.  This painting refers to ancient poet Tao Yuanming.

Interesting essay on the poetic in contemporary painting.  Itincludes paintings by Fang Shaolin, who featured in our October 2022 Newsletter.

Dragon Year

Beijing Airport
2024 is the year of the Wood DragonHow to give a New Year greeting in Mandarin, or Cantonese.
There will be dragons in Bath all this year – very appropriate as they are water creatures!
Article on the origin of dragons.

The number nine is associate with dragons and there are many nine-dragon walls in China., eg in Beihai Park, Beijing and this Ming one in Datong.  Urban dragons – How Cities Across China Are Welcoming the Dragon.  Meet the Dragon King.

Door Gods are an important feature of Lunar New Year.

We mentioned Hokusai’s drawings before.  Here is a project to make new woodblock prints from his drawings, including a splendid dragon – it would be wonderful to have one!

Warning – this “dragon chicken” looks grotesque, but is apparently edible.

Door God in Yunnan, 2016