Impatiens and locusts 1944

Qi Baishi made this painting, Impatiens and locusts, using ink and color on paper, and I can just imagine him crouching down to get a closer look at the little creatures in his garden! The brushstrokes here are so loose and free, aren't they? He's not trying to be realistic, but instead captures the essence of these plants and the little locust. What was he thinking when he painted this? Maybe he felt a kinship with the locust, a fellow wanderer just passing through. Look at how the colors bleed together. This reminds me of other painters who were interested in the natural world, like Georgia O'Keeffe. It's like they're all in conversation across time and space, trading ideas about how to capture the beauty and strangeness of the world around us. And the empty space allows for a certain lightness to prevail – the viewer is allowed to roam free! Painting helps us see in new ways and invites us to explore our own imaginative landscapes.