17. Gong Bi, Traditional Chinese Painting, 1995

This photograph was taken to document Jean Qin Ye’s (left) instruction of Rosalind Wang (right) in Gong Bi, a traditional Chinese painting style. The two artists worked together in 1995 through the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program of the Oregon Historical Society Folklife Program.

Jean Qin Ye was born into a well-known family of artists in Shanghai, China, in 1953. She began studying traditional Chinese arts at the age of ten, and by her early twenties had begun working as a professional artist. In 1991, after studying Western art styles during her early to mid-thirties, Ye moved to Portland. Although she has mastered the arts of Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting, and clay figuring, Ye is most well-known for her painting. According to Ye, “My paintings combine the techniques of traditional Chinese painting with a hint of western painting.…Together with refined calligraphy and various classical seals, my painting has achieved a harmonious balance between colors and patterns.”