The palest ink is better than the best memory.
– Chinese Proverb
One of China’s gifts to the world is paper. From this one, invaluable, discovery countless cultural and artistic traditions have sprung. Everything from the ingenious folds of origami, to the awe-inspiring visages of ink paintings owe their roots to this one invention.
Paper’s unique properties when combined with ink, enthusiastically exploited by Chinese and Japanese artists, has given rise to a rich tradition of art, with styles ranging from the elaborately meticulous to the sparingly spontaneous.
As a person, I stand in awe of this heritage that has been passed to us all.
As an artist, I seek to continue to push the limits of this tradition with new methods, inks, subject matters and other innovations to give a fresh approach to the wonderful nature of this ancient medium. It is my hope that this will contribute to the better understanding of this oriental culture and gain a greater audience of the art in our modern world.
Lilian Lai
Featured Paintings
