Our latest painting challenge is to copy a painter whose style we like, so that in the process of copying we may learn different techniques. One of my fellow students found the process soothing because so many decisions had already been made: colour, composition, medium and subject. Another chafed against the restrictions. I decided to try Chinese ink painting as I love the vibrancy of ink on paper.

"Flower-and-bird painting was separated from decorative art to form an independent genre around the 9th century. A great many artists painted in this genre during the Song dynasty and their subject matter included a rich variety of flowers, fruits, insects and fish. Many of the scholar painters working with ink and brush used a great economy of line." This great description is from Asia-Art.net. I did three copies of a rooster in the style of Xu Beihong (1895-1953) with varying degrees of success. I was really pleased with the feathers of my first attempt, the claws of the second and the head of the third. Displayed together they have a certain whimsy.