A flower-and-bird scene fill this Chinese scroll painting, and it settles into a space the moment it goes up. The flower-and-bird tradition drew painters back for generations; this scroll proves it still has life. From a distance it's one image; up close it's heron, lotus and reeds, each worth a look on its own.
Stroke by stroke, the literati manner comes through: ink balanced with light, sparing color. In Chinese painting, in China the written word outranks all other arts — a good hand was the scholar's calling card. Summer lives in the painting: blossoms at their peak, deep greens, long unhurried days. The tall, narrow format is part of the pleasure — you read it downward, the way you'd stroll a path.
Know someone fond of Chinese brush painting? This is a housewarming gift with real thought behind it. Its demands are small: one nail, one calm wall. It is a fine example of heron and lotus Chinese painting, the kind of piece that grows on you.
