A brush with good fortune
EVERY Chinese New Year, people often seek out beautifully-painted artworks featuring scenic oriental vistas, or long scrolls of intricate calligraphy with auspicious sayings, all in the name of inviting good fortune into their homes or business premises.
Artist Jack Shi, 54, has been producing Chinese-style paintings for decades. He first began his craft back in his native city of Shanghai, China, and continued to paint here in Malaysia, where he has been living for the past 16 years.
Shi is also a familiar face to tourists and locals who visit Central Market, where he sells his artworks to discerning connoisseurs.
Shi took up the art of calligraphy 10 years ago, and since then, has been selling his own calligraphy works alongside his paintings.
We recently caught up with Shi at his temporary booth on the Orange Concourse (Lower Ground 2) of Sunway Pyramid Mall in Subang Jaya, Selangor.
The mall’s concourse area has been decorated to resemble a street from 1970s Hong Kong during Chinese New Year for this festive season, as part of Sunway Pyramid’s Mai Zao Gai! promotion.
Shi’s stall stood out with its eye-catching array of scrolls, some depicting auspicious sayings or characters of good luck and fortune, while others featured flowers, fishes and scenery.
“In school, we were taught how to write Chinese characters using a brush. That is where my love for calligraphy began,” Shi explained.
He said he looked up books and works by other artists in order to teach himself the art of Chinese calligraphy.
Shi showed us his ink blocks, that he first dissolved with a little water before dipping his brush in it and drawing out his masterpiece in bold brush strokes.
His delicate brushes have soft bristles, which are made from animal hair such as goat.
Brushes can also be made from the hair of other animals such as the weasel, wolf, rabbit, or horse.
Sitting at his booth, Shi also showed us some of his specially-commissioned drawings and paintings. Among them were beautiful artworks, which would be mounted onto fans.
Some were definitely drawn for the season, and either featured the year’s Rooster, or had some Chinese characters that carry auspicious meanings for the new year.
Shi said the most requested Chinese characters he has been asked to draw are those that symbolise prosperity, as well as to attract wealth.
Shi’s calligraphy works are priced between RM5 and RM20 depending on the size.