Frequently
Asked Questions About Our Paintings Where
are your paintings shipped from and how long will it take
to receive it?
Are all your ink paintings original and one-of-a-kind?
Do
you sell prints or reproductions of paintings?
I've
seen other online stores selling Chinese paintings for really
cheap prices. Why are your paintings more expensive?
Are
your ink paintings painted on paper, silk, or some other material?
Are all your paintings ready to frame or already
framed?
Do you sell hanging scroll paintings?
I like a painting that is marked "SOLD".
Do you have duplicates of of your paintings?
How
much do you charge for shipping?
Where
are your paintings shipped from and how long will it take
to receive it?
The
paintings are stored and shipped via USPS airmail from our
Southern California office. After ordering, the average delivery
time in the U.S. is 3-5 days. For orders shipped outside the
U.S.A., delivery time is around 7-14 days.
Are
all your ink paintings original and one-of-a-kind?
Yes.
Each ink painting is an original and was hand-painted by an
accomplished Chinese artist in China. Many of the artists
we work with on a one-to-one basis and each painting on our
website was hand selected.
Do
you sell prints or reproductions of paintings?
No.
All our paintings are hand painted one-of-a-kind originals.
We do not sell prints, reproductions, or mass produced art.
I've
seen other online stores selling Chinese paintings for really
cheap prices. Why are your paintings more expensive?
China
has been mass producing art, including paintings, for hundreds
of years. Many online dealers of Chinese paintings (especially
dealers based in China and/or selling on Ebay) are selling
mass produced "factory quality" paintings. These
paintings are usually produced for the tourist market in large
quantities by common workers (not artists) and art students
under the supervision of a single artist. Our paintings are
more expensive because we only offer original paintings by
accomplished talented Chinese artists. None of the art we
offer is mass produced and many of the Chinese artists we
work are or become very well know in the China art market.
We look at thousands of paintings each year and hand picked
each painting available on our website.
Are
your ink paintings painted on paper, silk, or some other material?
Unless
noted our ink paintings are painted on a traditional Chinese
paper call "Shuen" (Xuan). Shuen is the most popular
paper in China among brush painters and calligraphers. Westerns
usually refer to Shuen paper as "rice paper".
Are
all your paintings ready to frame or already framed?
All
our ink paintings are flattened, mounted on a thick backing
paper, and ready for framing. Many of our paintings are mounted
with a silk brocade mat. Paintings with a silk brocade mat
will be noted in the painting's individual painting page.
All of our ink paintings are cold-mounted by hand. Unless
noted, our oil paintings are shipped rolled.
Mounting
a Chinese Painting: Cold Mounting vs. Heat Mounting
All of our Chinese ink paintings are cold-mounted
by hand. Recently many mounting shops and painting dealers
based in China are now heat-mounting their paintings. Using
direct or even indirect heat on any paper will damage the
paper's structure over the long-term. Cold-Mounting a painting
takes 24-48 hours depending on humidity levels where as the
heat-mounting process is instantaneous yet can damage the
painting.
Do
you sell hanging scroll paintings?
Very
few of our paintings are mounted in the scroll format. The
scroll format should only be used for the storage of a painting
and we highly suggest framing it behind glass or acrylic to
prevent it from damage. Please see the below section Displaying
a Painting - Scroll vs. Framing for more info about displaying
your painting.
I
like a painting that is marked "SOLD". Do you have
duplicates of of your paintings?
Because
each painting is an original one-of-a-kind, we only have one
of each painting available for sale. If a painting is sold
we may be able to commission a similar painting by the original
artist or find a similar painting by a different artist for
you.
How
much do you charge for shipping?
Airmail
shipping within the U.S.A. is always free. Orders shipped
outside the U.S.A. are free with a minimum $250.00 order or
$35 for orders totaling under $250.
Please
see below for lots more information about our Chinese Paintings.
About
Our Chinese Paintings
We offer the largest selection of original hand-painted Chinese
paintings and calligraphy art works on the internet. Hundreds of
affordable, high quality Chinese painting and calligraphy works by accomplished
artists
are available for your selection. Our original Chinese ink and oil paintings
are
entirely hand-painted by accomplished and up-and-coming Chinese artists
living in China. A majority of the paintings we offer are from artists
we visit
and work with on a regular basis. We maintain long term relations with
our artists and are able to offer their works at prices much lower than
market
value. All
paintings are hand-painted and we do not offer prints of any kind or "factory
made" paintings.
Painting
Dimensions
Dimensions listed are for the actual image area of a painting. If an ink painting
is mounted with silk
brocade borders, both the painting's actual image size, and its size with
the sild borders will be listed on the painting's individual page. Example:
Actual Painting Size: 27" x 52", Painting Size with Silk Brocade
Borders: 33" x
62". Oil on canvas paintings typically have 1" to 2" white borders
so the actual canvas size of a 24" x 36" oil painting with its white
borders may be 28" x 40".
How
You will Receive Your Chinese Painting
Most of our ink paintings are shipped to you rolled. Smaller
sized paintings may be shipped flat. Unless noted, all our
ink paintings have been flattened, pressed, double backed
(mounted on paper) and are ready for matting and framing.
Please look at each painting's individual page for more details.
Oil paintings are shipped rolled and ready for stretching.
We do not offer services such as stretching or framing.
Displaying
a Chinese Painting - Scroll vs. Framing
Although the Chinese hanging scroll format is very traditional
in the eyes of westerners, we highly recommend framing all
ink paintings under glass (smaller paintings) or acrylic (medium
to large size paintings) for protection from damage. Displaying
a painting in the hanging scroll format for extended periods
of time, even for a few days may expose the painting to damaging
amounts of dust, humidity, and other natural elements that
will in a short period of time cause damage to the painting.
The hanging scroll format is mainly used by collectors as
a method to safely store a painting. The scroll is then unrolled
to show the painting to friends and other collectors or hung
for special occasions only. In China, scrolls are frequently
hung in temples and public places but only when there is not
a concern about the painting or calligraphy work being soiled
and damage.
Certificate
of Authenticity
Unless noted, each ink painting and oil painting purchased
includes a Certificate of Authenticity. This certificate displays
the painting picture, name of the artist, and other relevant
information.
Paper
Types
There are two main types of rice paper - Raw and Sized. The Raw paper,
also known as Shuen is the thinner of the two, smoother and very absorbent.
Sized paper is a bit thicker, textured on the painting surface and will not
bleed. The different types are used for different purposes. Regardless
of the type, all Chinese painting paper is very thin and special care should
be used when mounting and framing.
Brushes
Most if not all Chinese brushes are made from natural animal hairs. Brushes
come in all shapes and sizes for different purposes. The range extends
from hard fine-tipped points for intricate detail to soft broad ends for
washing background. Some artists will even move astray from the conventional
brush and use techniques such as finger painting, splattering, and daubing
to produce different textures and visual effects. When all is said
and done, it is not how the ink or color has got there, but how it effects
the overall painting.
Inks
and Colors
All of the colors are water soluble. Most vibrant colors are derived from either
mineral or vegetable pigment. A mineral such as chalk or part of a plant
such as red sandalwood is ground up and mixed with a binding agent to produce
either a dry color chip or a ready-to-use color liquid. Other contemporary
color tones such as ultra marine blue and copper green are man made.
Chinese
Oil Paintings
All of our oil paintings are entirely hand painted by Chinese artists. All
of our oil paintings are painted on canvas using traditional Western oil paints
and brushes. Many of our oil paintings are original works or original
creations but some may be copied by the original artist, or inspired from other
Chinese artists and prominent works of art (traditional Chinese and Western
oil paintings of the late 18th-20th century as well as works done by contemporary
artists).
Chinese
Paintings on Silk
Painting on silk goes back to ancient times. Its strength, durability, and
texture make it a suitable for painting on with ink, color and other water-soluble
media. The drawback of silk is that it is much more expensive than rice paper
or linen canvas. Most contemporary Chinese artists paint on paper and not silk
and most silk paintings available today are copies of older painting and not
originals. Silk is an ideal material to print on so many modern silk paintings
are a combination of machine printing and hand painting. We typically do not
offer paintings on silk.
Calligraphy
Each calligraphy work offered is hand-painted. Some of the
more popular, smaller and less expensive calligraphy works such as single
word calligraphy are created
by
the artists in limited
quantities therefore the actual calligraphy piece you
receive may be slightly different than what is displayed on the web site.
Chinese
Painting Background Information
In addition to price, dimensions, and media these are a few other elements
of information we try to provide for some paintings:
Artists
We attempt to offer background information about our artists. If we have
information for a specific artist, an artist's link will be provided on a painting's
individual page or for information regarding the artist of any painting we
offer, please e-mail us for
details.
Character & Seal
Translations
We attempt as much as possible to translate all of the written characters and
seals a painting might have whether it be as simple as the author's signature
or as complex as a poem. However, characters do not always translate into
English word for word. For poems and other written artistically written expressions
we feel in translating the characters the original intent and meaning would
be misguiding or even lost. In other instances there are characters and
seals that are simply untranslatable.
Dates
All of our paintings are contemporary (unless noted). Many
of the paintings are undated or dated using the old Chinese
calendar. In most cases we can estimate a painting's completion
date based on when we aquired it from the artist.
Subject
The cultures of China and other East Asian countries are rich
in symbolism and art motifs. We like to provide information
on various symbols, figures etc…In some paintings, we
feel there isn't any explanation needed.
CHINESE
PAINTING CONDITION - WHAT TO EXPECT
All of our paintings are in excellent condition and ready
to frame but we post the below facts to avoid any misunderstandings.
Rice
Paper Paintings
All of our paintings are rolled and properly backed for mounting and framing. Because
of rice paper's thinness, there are some minor details to expect when receiving
a painting:
1)
Many Chinese artists fold their paintings after completion.
Even though all our rice paper paintings are flattened and
backed, some folds and hairline creases may be slightly visible
due to prolonged folding and/or ink rubbing on the creases,
and/or paint flaking off a fold. Most fold lines cannot be
seen from normal viewing distances or even upon close inspection.
2)
Some of the corners and edges might be mildly creased and/or
torn. These can easily be cut or matted out or may only
be visible with close inspection.
3)
The absorbency of rice paper in some instance causes minor
color variations. This may be unnoticeable on the pictures
we post, but noticeable if examined closely with the naked
eye. Drips of water and/or ink can cause a "rain drop"
effect, bleeding or other variations. This is not a result
of a mistake or mishandling, but rather the result of the
artist working on such sensitive paper. In other words, it's
part of the art.
4)
The mounting of a Chinese painting is a wet process. When
wet, the painting is attached to a backing paper for added
strength and to flatten the painting and remove major imperfections
and folds in the paper. Once mounted there may be small imperfections
such as minor surfaces hairline creases and other variations
that are usually not visible after framing and viewed from
normal viewing distances. Our Chinese paintings are fine art
on paper thus natural imperfections do occur. This is all
part of the Chinese painting experience.
5)
Tears in the painting. Unmounted Chinese paper is fragile
and easy to rip. Most tears are small and occur during the
painting process by the artist. Small tears in the painting
paper are not uncommon and most are not visible after the
mounting and framing process.
If
you have any questions about certain painting's condition,
please email or call us and we'll pull the painting and inspect
it for you.
Oil
Paintings Condition
Oils painted on canvas are much more durable than rice paper paintings. Regardless,
if there were any "major" imperfections, we will mention them on
the painting's individual information page.
If
you have any questions regarding a specific painting or
have any questions or comments, please email us.
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