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The Blossoming Artwork of
Marina Pang
T
by Robyn RIme
he paintings look unmistakably Chinese, even to the casual viewer. Serene mountain tops, drifting clouds, cascading rivers, the occasional solitary dwelling—crisp with finely inked details, washes of color, and glimpses of calligraphy. These are the works of Hong Kong native Marina Pang ’58, an accomplished artist who began painting later in life and, in fact, never thought she’d be painting at all. “I loved to paint, even as a young girl,” she says. “But my parents thought that taking fine arts in college would not guarantee a good job later in life.” Pang agreed with them, majoring instead in biology and securing for herself several satisfying jobs over the years. But later, when her two boys were grown and gone, “the house got very quiet,” and she thought, why not take up painting? Pang studied on and off for years with renowned masters in Chinese landscape and floral painting and calligraphy. Eventually she invented her own style, though it is still firmly based in Chinese traditions. “All Chinese painting begins with Chinese ink,” she explains. “Some people like to have just black and white, but I like to have a bit of color.” Pang enjoys using different media to create new effects and has worked in watercolor, gouache, acrylics, and most recently oil. “Watercolor is very free—it creates its own painting,” she says. “You follow where the water leads. The most beautiful painting flows into its own shapes, and you go from there. It’s a pleasant surprise.” The somber tones in Pang’s watercolors serve her work well, according to Yeung Chun-tong, director of the University Museum and Art Gallery at the University of Hong Kong. “Marina prefers using thick ink, blue, dark brown, and green to paint the hills and vegetations. … This sharp contrast in the use of colors has brought out a clear delineation of the waters, clouds, and hills and also succeeded in unfolding the shaded corners and sunlit places in the scenes.”
Marina Pang. September Colours. 1995. 46 CONNECTIONS | Winter 2011-12
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