Visual Art

Artists of Hangzhou

Alayna Kwan

This small piece, made out of air drying clay, is of the well known Gongchen Bridge in Hangzhou. It was created with nothing but my own two hands and a small straw. It is a symbol and token of the place, people, and the memories created there. The small boat is a nod to the lake and how it has helped to develop the economy and this society of people, those who call the bridge home, and those who are amazed during a visit. I wanted to keep it as a still-life sculpture because I find it more calming and peaceful, and it helps to keep the focus on the bridge and its symbolization. I have never been there myself, but I wanted to create something meaningful to a lot of people, yet through something quite simple. I hope people find joy though this piece, and see my excitement.

Andrew Fan

In this piece, I aimed to express the fluidity and flow of time by displaying the change in culture and beliefs in Hangzhou over the centuries. The two colour compositions used in the collage- black & white and multicoloured, represent two different time periods; one ancient, one modern. By placing, mixing, and morphing the two together, a sense of rapidity and sudden change of time is created- expressing the fluidity of time. The eye looking through the modern structure further symbolises Hangzhou’s ability to look at modern issues through the modern lense; the images are also placed in a way such that it looks like as if the eye is looking through the pagoda and the building- showing that not only is Hangzhou able to look at problems through the modern perspective, Hangzhou is also able to let the past be the past. The worn-down clock symbolises Hangzhou’s lengthened history. The hand and snake in the bottom right symbolises an ancient legend (白蛇传) in Hangzhou; torn on its side and “being sucked into a black hole” to express the flow of time; yet nailed closely to the woman in the image (represents every citizens of Hangzhou) to symbolise how Hagnzhou’s beliefs, culture, and even history is being forgotten bit by bit yet always nailed deep in our hearts. 

Amanda Ho

For my piece of art, I made a collage based off the grand canal in Hangzhou. I decided to make a collage instead of a painting or a drawing because I thought it was a more unique way to express the grand canal, as the grand canal itself is a unique site that Hangzhou is known for. I created my art through using various types of paper, newspaper and paint in order to piece together my piece. It required a lot of organization, and time management, as it was very time consuming and forced me to use my time well to finish on time. My intention with this piece was to show the stillness and calm aspect of the grand canal, as even though it is a popular tourism site in Hangzhou, it is also a beautiful scene to look at. I chose to do a sunset to display a sense of serenity and peace. 

Caelyn Chang

During this unit, I decided to create a piece of digital art on Procreate. I started by sketching the girl, and going over it repeatedly until I was satisfied with how she looked. The reference character that I used was the main female lead of “Lady White Snake” so I tried to use the colors which she wore: light pink, white and gray. I followed the same technique while drawing the background, and the bridge, but it looked plain to me when I finished, so I added small details like the clouds, boat, and crane. I tried to incorporate more traditional elements into the background, like the boat and the bird by drawing the cranes that constantly appear in traditional drawings and drawing a traditional Chinese boat.. I’ve also noticed how clouds in traditional paintings have swirls, so I tried to use the swirls in my own clouds as well. However, I decided to challenge myself and try line-less art, so it wasn’t very apparent. The bridge and the lake were the Hangzhou elements I incorporated, because when we “visited” West Lake, I found the answers that the locals gave me very interesting. Many stories which the locals shared were fantastical love stories, and I tried to convey the love component of the stories through the color palette. I also tried to make it look like a dream, to show how surreal it is that we have finally arrived in Hangzhou. Through my artwork, I tried to convey the message that West Lake is magical for many people, both locals and visitors alike.

Caitlyn Tang

Created on a digital canvas, the intention for this artwork is to show how Hangzhou has both traditional and modern aspects, as depicted by the tea bushes and the buildings in the drawing. In the tea bush area, you may see small nods to well-known Chinese folktales, such as the green and white snake symbolising the epic story of the white snake lady, and the two butterflies representing the story of the butterfly lovers. The tea bushes help represent the more traditional side of Hangzhou as there are many other passed-on stories revolving around the tea plantations. I feel that the buildings in the back help express the more modern side of Hangzhou as Hangzhou is also a place of innovation and development, and the buildings are newer to Hangzhou’s landscape. Through this piece of art, I want to show that Hangzhou today has a nice balance of both aspects. I also find the integration between the two aspects quite fascinating as it usually is quite hard to balance. I feel that this represents Hangzhou because although Hangzhou is a very traditional place that respects a lot of older traditions, it also allows new innovation and technology. 

Carolyn Ho

This piece is an interpretation of the Grand Canal in HangZhou, along with its infamous Gongchen Ancient Bridge, the main statement in this piece. The three-arch bridge is sculptured using modelling clay with a wire skeleton, then detailed with small precision tools, finally painted over with many shades of gray acrylic paint, creating the hulking but picturesque bridge. Along with the bridge, there is also the Grand Canal itself, with its river and trees and structures on the side. As you can see, the body of water is not one solid shade, as river water is always changing, flowing, and can’t stay as one colour forever. This sculpture is created to symbolise hospitality and respect, for this is one of the most respected ancient landmarks in HangZhou, and a long time ago, it served exactly that for the king. On top of this, by creating this sculpture, it should be presented to others to preserve this landmark, and not only to not make it dirty, but to clean it.

Charlotte Fong

My goal for this art composition was to illustrate the differences between Hangzhou during day and night and capture Hangzhou’s beauty through water colour and cartridge paper. I also wanted to link my personal experiences from my childhood to interlink it to Hangzhou culture and overall create a portrait of not only Hangzhou’s beauty and it’s verisility and how different factors change it’s aesthetic through an art composition. My biggest inspiration for my art composition was to create a contrasting composition that not only showed Hangzhou in the day time but also a night whilst incorporating different scenery whilst using both warm and cool tones. The two artists and art works that I was inspired by Claud Monet and Vincent Van gogh because he showed soft and romantic sides to his art work and that was the feeling I was trying to accomplish with my composition. In the middle of my piece, there is a divide between the two sides of my art piece this is because I wanted to make it so when th pieces were together, it was completed and without the other side it wouldn’t be the same.

Cici Cai

The artwork I created is a painting painted with acrylic paints. The main figure in the painting is a girl who holds an oil paper umbrella and is dressed in a long gown made of lotus leaves and flowers. There are some traditional buildings displayed on top of the umbrella, such as a pavilion, a bridge and  tower. The girl is surrounded by verdant lotus leaves. The background is the lake and sky merging together as a whole. 
I made such a composition to personify the beautiful West Lake in Hangzhou. The girl in the centre of the drawing represents Hangzhou West Lake, featured by her serenity and beauty. Through depicting some quintessential architectures and traditional handicrafts, I emphasized the rich culture of Hangzhou.
I used light pink and green to paint the girl’s dress and umbrella, which formed a contrast that generated a sense of viviality. I have employed mild, warm colours to portray the figures to create a peaceful, harmonious atmosphere, which was my first impression of the overall scenery in Hangzhou. 
All in all, through this piece of art, I wanted to showcase the beauty of Hangzhou and Hangzhou’s natural scenery. I also aimed to express my love and passion toward Hangzhou culture. 

Cloudia Yun

Piece Name: 苏轼眼中的杭州
Although I strayed from my original design and layout for this piece, I still managed to keep the key elements in the peice. I wanted to show Hangzhou from the perspective of sushi as he was a influential character of this place.

Dora Zhao

My artwork is called “Dawn at West lake”, it is a piece of acrylic painting in the genre of landscape. My innovation for the painting came from our school visit to west lake, during the trip, I took many images of the prominent and breath-taking west lake, therefore the inspiration came to me and I decided to create a piece of artwork based around the west lake. After setting in on my theme, I started conducting research and splited my painting into compositions of the most famous aspects of the west lake, which includes: lotus leaves, a pavilion, a high horizon, and the sky. I decided to try out the style of acrylic paint, this was because in order to express the grand and awe inspiring beauty of west lake, it’s best to utilise bold colours, the arts room had a wholesome supply of acrylic paint of different colour tones, moreover, the fast drying nature of the acrylic paint allows me to add multiple layers if I’m not content with the drawing product, therefore I choose acrylic paint as my painting tool. The main subject of my drawing is essentially the west lake. I believe that the painting does successfully express my impression of the west lake, which is a place of grand aura and beauty that has a long and fascinating past. The time setting of my painting is dawn, this can be shown through the purple pinkish sky. Throughout the painting process, my biggest goal had always been to successfully express the beauty of the west lake, along with creating a far and distant effect with the different components of my painting. The message that I hoped to convey through the painting was the beauty of nature and the charm of historical attractions that stood for centuries and centuries, although time flows by, people, surrounding, environment change, places like the west lake still stood with its magnificent aura, watching generations and generations of people  in awe of its history and beauty. 

Isabelle Gu

During the process of this piece, I used pencils, pens, watercolor paints, brushes, and paper. I started by doing a rough sketch on A4 paper, soon I had a rough idea. Then I sketched out my drawing on my A3 watercolor paper. I laid down thin watercolor layers of my basic colors and shadows, then started to add more complex colors and details. Finally, I used paynes gray and white with minimal water for maximum opacity, adding highlights and deep shadows. I made a semi realistic surreal painting of my visualization of humanity and nature spiritually merging. I chose the floating head and hands merging into the galaxy for this. The body parts are massive and floating, as if it were a part of the sky's scenery. Swinging from the hand as if it were a tree, is a pumpkin boy. This is another mixture of nature and humanity. My inspiration was from the story of the West Lake we read, in which the people thought it was so beautiful, that it spiritually connected them to nature. I hoped to achieve a painting that would show humanity being connected to nature just like the story.

Jasmine Zhang

Title of artwork: 西湖·从古至今杭州是著名的七大古都之一，同时也是现代科技发展的领衔城市。西湖作为杭州的标志性景点，见证了古色古香的中国，也见证着蓬勃发展的中国。西湖美景，经久不衰。我此番到西湖赏景，深深的体会到了苏轼的一句“欲把西湖比西子，淡妆浓抹总相宜”。西湖周围的小铺充斥着古典优雅的气质，和不远处那些拔起的现代建筑形成了鲜明的对比，十分有趣。于是我画了这幅画：从古时盛行的水墨画过渡到现代画法的油画棒。既不忘历史，也追求创新。

Katie Chiu

I created a collage that expresses the scene that I imagine in my mind when I think about all the research I’ve done and trips I’ve seen about Hangzhou. I wanted to show Hangzhou’s beautiful scenery and rich history while creating this piece so that people who view my art can understand the depth of Hangzhou’s culture and its beauty. I used mainly water colour, colour pencils, and pen to create my piece of art, and used layering techniques. I explored watercolour and how to use its special features to make parts of my collage stand out, such as being able to create a watery and My collage consists of many significant religious and cultural factors that Hangzhou is mainly known for, such as their famous Dragon Well tea and the Lingyin temple. 

Kristen Liang

This art piece that I’ve created is of Lady White Snake of West Lake in Hangzhou, which directly correlates to Hangzhou culture and folk tales. To create this, I decided to dabble in an area that I just recently started experimenting with - digital art, which I did on Procreate. The discipline that I represented in this piece was drawing, more specifically, a bit of figure drawing as well as architecture drawing. I made a detailed drawing of Lady White Snake in front of the pagoda she was trapped under for centuries, symbolising her freedom from that curse. My main influence was the folk tale itself, and I wanted to take that powerful moment of when she finally is free and place the liberating emotion that comes with it. 

Melanie Cheung

In my piece of artwork, I wanted to bring out what a day travelling in Hangzhou would be like through collage and digital art. I designed my art to look like it’s in chronological order: the top is the skyline of Hangzhou in the daytime and the bottom is Hangzhou’s skyline at night. I wanted to show the contrast between the two, which is how daytime Hangzhou is innovative and organised while Hangzhou at night is magical and fun. Apart from the skyline of Hangzhou during different periods of time,  I also added different famous Hangzhou architectures and desserts, and of course the Hangzhou CIS campus, and these overall showed Hangzhou culture and how unique of a place it is.

Natalie Cheung

To create my composition, I used Procreate, which is a digital drawing app that allows 60 layers maximum as my medium. Through this app, I was able to utilize the wide assortment of mediums available (sketching, acrylic, artistic , inking, spray paints etc. mediums used will be listed below), whilst also gathering materials such as images from CMs visits to Hangzhou’s West Lake and Grand Canal to create my final collage and mixed media art piece. In my art piece, I separated my art work into 3 main layers (Background, Ring of Separation, Interior), where within these layers, they all have their own individual subject matter that all contribute towards conveying the main subject matter, which is “Nature/Tradition VS Modern Hangzhou”. 
For the interior, I split the oval into the 6 sections:
For the top left section, I wanted to focus on the subject matter which is “Traditional Legends and Folk Tales of Hangzhou”. The inspiration of this section was stemmed from the story of the “Lady of the West Lake”. It is essentially a love story between a white snake that morphed into a human that fell in love with a scholar, which is based in West Lake. The two intertwined snakes symbolise the close bond between the white snake and the green snake, whilst the 囍Chinese character symbolises love.  I also used the Hartz brush pen on as the background of this section of the painting, to create the water ripple/wave effect that resembles the waters of the West Lake. Since legends are often mysterious and intriguing, the flame that stretches out of the white snake’s mouth into the bottom left section of the painting symbolises the fantasy and wonder these legends give urban society. 
For the bottom left section, I used a picture of a stone statue in front of some trees and erased half of the image. I used the other half of the space to create an oil painting of the nightscape in Hangzhou. Using warm and natural colours (creates a calm, peaceful, soothing tone) beside darker and more vibrant colours (neon lights, bustling Hangzhou city atmosphere even when night approaches) which I used the hatching technique with the flat brush to create this uneven, layered texture that I think turned out pretty decent. I want to compare the different aspects of city and nature in Hangzhou, showering the stark contrasts that these two locations within the city can give visitors very different feelings, affecting their interpretations.  
For the top middle section, I was initially going to draw a temple, however, I didn’t have enough time, so I used a photo of a Buddhist temple that my CM took during their trip, blended the sides with the Hartz brush to create the water splash, ripply texture (connect to the subject matter of West Lake). Through adding the image of the Chinese Buddhist Temple, I want to illustrate the uniqueness of the Chinese ancient architectural builds (the tiles, the structure of the Chinese temple). I also created a water bubble/water splash that has Buddha sitting on a lotus flower (to further enhance the peacefulness and religious aspect of Hangzhou/West Lake). 
For the bottom middle section, I also used the same technique as the previous section (by blending out the sides of the image). Lotus flowers are commonly seen on the West Lake, a signature flower that symbolises purity and enlightenment, which is the atmosphere that the West Lake embodies. I drew the lotus flower using the round painting brush, and used the clipping mask function to create the highlights and shadings on the lotus flower, adding white highlights to make it look fancier and magical. I also drew small glitters that drifted off into the other sections of the paintings, to convey the wonder and magical effect that West Lake visitors take away from their experience at the place. 
For the top right section, I wanted to contrast the traditional Chinese transportation (boats) to the modern Chinese transportation (buses, cars). However, I didn’t have enough time to draw the modern transportation, so I changed the subject matter to contrast between traditional side of Hangzhou (has a more rustic tone)and the modern aspect of Hangzhou (with sky scraper buildings, a more bright tone). 
For the last section, I wanted to incorporate convey the subject matter of Hangzhou’s Nature (West Lake and Grand Canal) by including sketches of flowers that I saw in the CM’s pictures. One particular flower I want to mention is the plum blossom, which is the Chinese national flower that symbolises the perseverance in adversity that embodies the living motto, as Chinese people call 「中國精神」. The colour palette that I used was full of warm colours, mainly naturalistic colours (green, light green, yellow etc.) Nature gives people a cosy and welcoming atmosphere, I wanted to convey through this section of my art piece, using organic brushes on Procreate called Paper Daisy and swordgrass, whilst also adding a flicker of glitter that is curved like a string to further convey the peaceful fantasy that West Lake creates for its visitors.
To separate the interior and exterior, I used the Hartz brush to create a simple oval stroke that symbolises unity and harmony between West Lake, Grand Canal and the modern Hangzhou, whilst each element is able to retain its uniqueness. 
 For the background, it is solely photo collage. I used a famous poem by Su Shi (inspired by the West Lake), drew a background using the colour tan (old, resilience) and the Hartz effect to create a rustic, antique background to convey one of my subject matters: Traditional Hangzhou. I included 2 other pictures of the Grand Canal and another one of a historic description plaque of Hangzhou. I smudged the intertwining sides of the pictures using the smudge technique so that the pictures could look like they are blending together to create a connection and bond between Hangzhou’s historical locations. 

Phoebe Lam

Collage 1:By using procreate, I combined images found online together to make a collage that represents what I see from the religion in Hong Kong and HangZhou. Growing up in Hong Kong, I know that the people from this city are quite superstitious yet incredibly busy with their fast-paced lives. After having gone on virtual trips in HangZhou and being lucky enough to arrive in HangZhou earlier than my peers, I realized that compared to the busy, crowded temples of Hong Kong, HangZhou temples seemed far more serene. Through cutting, pasting, and editing, I put what I noticed together and did what I could to show the different beauty Hong Kong and HangZhou possess in terms of religion.
Collage 2 and 3:The initial idea of this project sprouted when I was researching what Hong Kong was like back in the 80s and came across a list of celebrities of that time. The topic of celebrities and actors/actresses immediately grabbed my interest, which was why I decided to make a collage based on a Time magazine cover. Although Hong Kong is well-known for its bustling cityscape, I noticed that my parents and other locals always expressed their amazement and admiration at old HK films. Connecting these ideas together, I made a collage that aimed to convey the beauty of old Hong Kong from the aspect of the film industry.
Because this project did not have just one collage but 2, I constantly thought about what I would do for the magazine cover for HangZhou. Although I did not have as deep of an understanding of this city compared to Hong Kong, my impression of HangZhou had always been a city with advanced technology and a modern atmosphere. Right away, I remembered that Jack Ma had been head of the Alibaba Group and was born in HangZhou. Using this piece of information, I made a magazine cover of Jack Ma and all the subsidiary companies under the Alibaba Group to capture the modern feeling in the city of HangZhou.
Overall, I hope the two magazine-cover collages I made can complement each other due to their similarity in structure and show off the outstanding parts of both Hong Kong and HangZhou at the same time.

Rea Lam

  In this piece of art, I hope to capture the beauty of the west lake. I wanted to paint the west lake as it was always regarded as an iconic yet symbolic sight in all of China. I also chose this specific reference image as I was always fascinated by traditional Chinese architecture, which is represented by the pagoda in this painting. Another point is that the lotus flowers in the bottom right corner hold a significant meaning to me as it is a sacred part of buddhism. It’s breath-taking scenery has inspired many poets, painters, as well as other countries. Growing up I have always heard folk tales and legends about West Lake, some of the most prominent ones being “The Legend of Lady white snake”. I chose the art medium of a mix between watercolor as well as acrylic as I wanted to develop my watercolor skills while still being able to express the natural beauty of the west lake to the full extent of my ability.

Renita Tang

I created a story expressed in a comic about someone going to Hangzhou for the first time, where they learn to appreciate quiet moments of life juxtaposed to the hectic lifestyle that modern technology brings through fighting off coffee obsessed zombies :D 
I decided to draw a comic, because I’ve always loved reading comics and I love how you can tell a story through a sequence of images and really bring to life a story with expressions, colors and personality. Through this project, I want to develop the skill to visualize my stories, and sketch my ideas down on paper and draw them into life. And have an end result of a story and visuals that I am proud of. 
Click here for full comic

Sophia Wang

An abstract representation of Hangzhou and it’s people, the beauty of the West Lake and their culture reflects onto the woman with no face, she has no identity as represents all of the Hangzhou people, not just a single one of them. 

Tingting Zhao

In this piece of visual art I created a one-point perspective landscape view of Hangzhou’s Longjing tea fields, with varying figures as the main subject matter. I started by painting using acrylic paint, then finishing off the details with oil paint for greater richness in colour. I drew out figures on a piece of sketching paper using charcoal pencils, then cut them out and stuck them onto the canvas. 
The figures illustrated in black and white represent significant characters who played important roles in the history of Longjing tea, the rest being tourists and tea farmers from the present day. Contrast can be seen through the black and white figures of the past and the coloured figures from the present, therefore conveying the different stages of the development of tea throughout time. Through presenting my interpretation of the tea fields, I wanted to express the historic and cultural value of Longjing tea and its story from the past to the present.
The figure in the middle-front of the painting is a depiction of myself facing the tea fields, symbolising my position in Hangzhou and the view of tea fields from my perspective. I want the painting to evoke a peaceful mood, which I hoped to achieve through a combination of different elements, such as the overall balanced composition inspired by real images of the tea field as well as the natural colour choices used. 

Zoe Wai

My art piece explores West Lake in Hangzhou in the form of a paper collage. In order to create my art, I collected magazines and chose colours I needed to create my mixed media collage. I sketched a drawing of west lake onto my cardboard paper and then I then cut out the colours I needed for my project and stuck it my backing. 
I made a collage out of magazine paper of a sketch I did of West Lake. The main inspiration of this artwork is West Lake. My first impression of Hangzhou was West Lake and how beautiful it was, so I wanted my artwork to be related to West Lake. West Lake also has a remarkable reputation in Hangzhou for its scenic beauty and I wanted to compliment the beauty of it, like many famous poets and painters. 
I decided to do my artwork in the form of a collage because firstly I love collages. Secondly, I enjoyed the concept of collages. You use small bits of insignificant paper to create a beautiful piece of artwork that represents something you want to talk about. Thirdly, although West Lake is a very big place, every single part of it makes up what it is, revealing the significance of every part of West Lake, even a droplet of water makes up what it is. What I hoped to achieve is was West Lake with a pavilion sitting in the centre of the artwork using tiny strips of paper. The message I hoped to convey was to spread the importance of West Lake in Hangzhou. West Lake is a part of Hangzhou that cannot be omitted, it is like a cultural part of Hangzhou since when i interviewed the locals in Hangzhou this question “Do you think Hangzhou is actually as beautiful as they say?” People automatically link this question to West Lake and my many answers were that West Lake is beautiful and many other comments about West Lake when I asked about Hangzhou as a city in general.