Traditional Daily Life

Below is another painting that attempts to portray a global view of traditional village life. This painting is characterised by its strong overall design. The image is divided into four quarters, bisected vertically by a darker series of trees running through the centre, and horizontally by two processions travelling in opposite directions. Everything seems to emanate from the centre of the painting.

This final example does not take a distant view of the proceedings, but focuses on several areas of activity. This painting has areas of opaque paint, used together with translucent ink and watercolour. Panda has picked out several of the motifs using white, including bird and flower details, and some of the rice plants at the top. The majority of this painting is dominated by a layer of yellow that unifies the composition and gives it its warm cast, but the artist has placed a small area of pure blue at the top left corner that almost glows in contrast to the rest of the painting.

Bruce Granquist