Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA)

Your Art-making Activity: Chinese Painting

Resource Kit Overview

Let’s explore and practice before making your Chinese painting. 

Exploring the Visual Effects on Xuan Paper

Video Viewing and appreciation

Artist Introduction

Based on the HKMoA collection, this series, ‘In Touch with Hong Kong Artists’, provides education materials and activity sets designed with the aim to raise the interest in artists and art and culture in Hong Kong. In this resource kit, Chu Hing-wah will be introduced.

In Touch with Hong Kong Artists: Chu Hing-wah

Visual Arts

The Arts

Xuan paper, Chinese painting pigments, Chinese ink, big and small ink brushes, flat hake brushes, mats, cartridge paper, A4 paper (for making drafts), pencils, black markers, water glasses

Select a scene that you are going to paint.

Make a draft. Refer to the pictures of buildings and simplify their contour lines.

Identify their key features and draw them on the draft paper. Highlight the lines with a black marker. 

Place the draft paper under the xuan paper. The pictures on the draft paper will appear through the translucent xuan paper. Draw the lines gently on the xuan paper, based on the draft.

Dip the brushes in paint and remove the excess paint using the edge of the paint dish. Colour the picture dot by dot with the tip of the brush. Never paint in large strokes.

Tips: Add some white paint when blending the different colours. This can enhance the visual effect. The paint should not be too thin. It is suggested to blend two portions of paint with one portion of water. The contour lines in the colour blocks can be left uncoloured, so that the objects will be highlighted after applying ink on the reverse side of the paper.

Wait until completely dry. Before applying ink on the reverse side of the paper, place a mat under the paper. Dilute the ink with the same amount of water. Apply an appropriate amount of ink on the reverse of the paper line by line. 

Tips: Xuan paper breaks easily when wet. Apply the ink gently. First try applying ink on scrap xuan paper.

Before applying ink on the reverse side of the paper, place a mat under the paper. Dilute the ink with the same amount of water. Apply an appropriate amount of ink on the reverse of the paper line by line.

Tips: Place the cartridge paper on the xuan paper after applying the ink. Then turn over the xuan paper, together with the mat, and remove the mat gently.

The ink will cover the colour paint if you apply too much ink or if the paint is too thin. You could apply more colour paint when the paper is completely dry. When you finish, sign your name on it. 

Resource Kits

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In Touch with Hong Kong Artists: Chu Hing-wah

Your Art-making Activity: Chinese Painting

Background Knowledge

Materials and tools