How Chinese ink artist Water Poon’s innovative paintings taught a Hong Kong gallery co-founder to be bold and break rules
- T.K. Chan, co-founder of Blink Gallery and an ink artist herself, says Water Poon’s works made her realise how different Chinese ink paintings could be
- Get Together (2015) has had a particularly strong effect on her – it now hangs in her home and inspires her in various ways when she paints
As with much of the work of the mostly self-taught Chinese ink artist Water Poon Kwing-wing, who is also a well-known photographer and filmmaker, Get Together (2015) takes an innovative, minimalist approach to the medium, depicting nature using spare brushstrokes and pleasingly rounded forms.
T.K. Chan, a co-founder of Hong Kong’s Blink Gallery, who is also an ink artist, tells Richard Lord how it changed her life.
Water Poon has a strong visual sense and has been exploring various media and styles throughout his long career as an artist. Despite being largely self-taught, he has mastered the art of Chinese ink painting in Hong Kong and beyond for over half a century.
In his watercolours, Water often adopts a minimalist approach. He uses a limited colour palette, employs the colour wash technique and uses just a few defining brushstrokes.
I particularly admire how he draws animals, such as goldfish and birds, in the Chinese ink style. The way he portrays them is cute and simple, leaving plenty of white space for the audience to interpret. He incorporates design elements such as dots, lines and shapes into his artwork.
