Between lines and colors, a watercolorist paves ways to a world of poetry

Li Qing carries forward the watercolor tradition which has been established for long in his native Jiangsu province, one of the earliest regions opened to Western art in the country. Being raised up in Jiangsu, Li has been accustomed to the serene, misty scenery there which has inspired creation of literary and art works throughout generations.

Li's ongoing one-man show at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, titled Reflections of the Color of Water, displays more than 100 watercolors made over three decades to trace his career and explorations.

Li was trained to master classic Chinese painting while studying at Nanjing Normal University. He then found great passion in watercolor. While he focuses on watercolor, he also integrates the moist feel and semiabstract approach of brushwork of Chinese painting. By doing so, he has presented a poetic world that harmonizes the light and the weighty, the extravagant and the simple.