An Afternoon with the Chan Lim Family of Artists

Have you ever wondered how Chinese paintings are Made? I learned all about the art in one afternoon. it’s mesmerizing to watch a painting being done in 3 minutes. – Mea 🙂

Alex Chan Lim Painting

I was invited to the Chan Lim Exhibit Opening last September 5, 2015 at SM City Bacolod and good thing too because I have always wondered how Chinese paintings were made. I’ve always thought that maybe they were just printed out instead of hand-painted because it’s difficult to get the flicks, precise stripes and depth the paintings possess but, boy, was I wrong.

Seeing Mr. Alex Chan Lim in action made me realize three things about Chinese Painting:

It’s possible to achieve the specific Chinese painting characteristics with just watercolor and a paint brush.
It takes experience, practice and discipline to do Chinese painting.
The process of doing the painting is an art in itself.

This demonstration was done right after a presentation of the Chan Lim Family of Artists and believe it or not Mr. Alex Chan Lim was able to finish a beautiful painting of a flower in merely 5mins (probably even less if he wasn’t explaining what he was doing).

A little Background

The Chan Lim Family has been involved in the arts for more than four decades now. They’ve already conducted several art classes, workshops, seminars, on-the-spot painting demonstrations and, not to mention, several exhibits both locally and internationally. The family is one of the few remaining notable Chinese brush painting artists in the country today. Current art classes are conducted at their family studio in Pasig City.

Our Turn

After the demonstration, it was our turn to give Chinese painting a try. I broguht my son along so he can try it out for himself. We were approached by Ms. Gina (one of the exhibit artists) and she taught my son how to paint a bamboo stem with leaves.

It was not easy because you’d need a certain degree of discipline to do the strokes but he tried his best and his painting came out pretty good.

visit sm city bacolod to view the exhibit

We went downstairs right after the tutorials to officially open the exhibit to the public. We had the privilege to view the artworks first and let me just say that they’re beautiful – very beautiful.

If you have the chance to visit SM City Bacolod today, don’t forget to drop by the Chan Lim Exhibit. Don’t miss the chance to see authentic Chinese paintings done by a family of artists (and their students) who have been practising and passing down the skill, keeping a piece of the Chinese tradition alive.