THERE was a good attendance of members and visitors for the July meeting when speaker Peter Milward's subject was Water Colour and Chinese Brushwork.

Peter teaches in all disciplines of the graphic arts and has a particular interest and knowledge in Chinese art.

He explained how his interest started during his early contact with students from the Far East.

He started his presentation by displaying the range of brushes, inks and paints in their various forms and the specialised papers used in calligraphy and painting.

A range of strictly defined marks are used in calligraphy and the same marks are introduced into paintings and can be seen in flower paintings and the more figurative landscape paintings.

Peter explained that every mark, colour and shape had a particular significance and meaning and that the message of a painting can be literally read with an understanding of these conventions.

A familiar pair of properties that can be attributed to a painting or a passage of a painting is that of Yin or Yang, the negative, passive force or the positive, dynamic life force respectively.

These concepts were recognised of course by those members who were familiar with the application of Feng Shui.

In the course of the evening, Peter demonstrated the calligraphy brush strokes and also produced paintings of the classic subjects of orchid, chrysanthemum, plum blossom and bamboo.

A wealth of information on the philosophy of Chinese art was provided and the presentation was much enjoyed by the audience who showed their appreciation at the close.

The next meeting will be at St Luke's Memorial Hall, Evesham Road, Headless Cross, on Wednesday, August 6 at 7.30pm.

Tim Harvey will speak on the subject of "Wildlife in Water Colour" and will complete a wildlife subject.