Little is known about Bai Xueshi. Even though the artist is renowned worldwide, he has remained very discreet throughout his life. Born in 1915, he has a unique style. His watercolor drawings are inspired by the artistic influences of the northern school. Bai’s paintings were especially famous and appreciated during the Song Dynasty.

Bai is characterised by his desire for perfection. Every detail and nuance are accurately reflected on paper. He explores every corner of the mountains and rivers that he represents in his paintings.

Like many of his contemporaries, the master Bai puts his mark on his paintings. His style differs a lot from the others. through the presence of a source of light in his paintings. Sometimes emanating from the sky, or from the mountain hollows, this deep, white light is reminiscent of the mists and clouds that can be encountered at very high altitudes. He also enjoys the marriage between black ink and colour (usually green, blue and red).

MAGNIFICENT LANDSCAPES
Mount Huangshan, Mount Taishan or the Li River are some of Bai Xueshi’s favourite places. The landscapes filled his paintings with spirituality and vitality.

COLOUR IN CHINESE ART
The Theory of the Five Elements conveys that everything in the universe is the product of change and the movement of those same five elements. Viewed as concepts. not objects.

WATER, FIRE, METAL, WOOD, EARTH
The theory was used throughout ancient China by the Shang, Zhou and Qin dynasties, to select colours.

青QING 藍BLUE
The word Qing was used to refer to the colour blue, green, and on occasion black.

The character 青 (Qing), comes from the idea of “sprouting plant life” and the word itself is meant to invoke images of the sky, birth and new beginnings.

Now the Chinese language does have a separate word for blue (藍).

This colour corresponds to the Chinese element of wood, it represents nature and renewal, often indicating spring. The colour implies vigor and vitality.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE PAINTING TECHNIQUE
Xieyi (寫意xiě yì), freehand, loosely termed watercolour or brushwork. Chinese character "水" (means water) and "墨" (means ink) together to name this painting skill "水墨" as the core of xieyi. Xie means to write and Yi the meaning. A famous Master of Chinese painting, Zhang Daqian, said that xieyi indicated the fact of 'drawing the spirit of the beings’. When a painter uses the xieyi technique, she or he always tries to describe exaggerated forms to express their feelings. Different from gongbi, xieyi generalizes shapes and displays rich brushwork and ink techniques.

PRICE REALISED
Bai Xueshi has had several gallery and museum exhibitions, including at the Himalayas Art Museum.

Many works by the artist have been sold at auction, including:

“BLOSSOM IN THE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE”
Sold at auction in 2011 for US$578,662

“SCENERY OF LIJIANG”
Estimated at HK$150,000-HK$200,000
Sold at auction for HK$450,000

“MAGNIFICENT LANDSCAPES”
Estimated at HK$500,000 - HK$700,000
Sold at auction in 2013 for HK$1,590,000