Qingdao: Field Experience (En Plein Air) Part 1

Class Photo: The Department of Water-based Materials at The China Academy of Art (Qingdao, China 2019)

Every year, The China Academy of Art takes two weeks out of the fall semester to send all of its students across China to paint en plein air (or known as painting outside). In Chinese this is known as Xie Sheng ”写生“, and it is a must for all art students in China to spend a part of each year painting outside and in nature. 

My department (The department of water-based materials) traveled about 7 hours by trains outside of Hangzhou to spend two weeks in the city of Qingdao, China. It is a major city in the eastern part of China, located in the province of Shandong. It is a city located on the coast of China, by the Yellow Sea. It is a beautiful city with both a beautiful seascape on one side, and gorgeous mountains on the other. 

Photo taken of the seaside in Qingdao, China (2019)

 Photo taken of Mount Lao in Qingdao, China （2019）

During the 7 hour train ride from Hangzhou to Qingdao, I broke out my new set of watercolor paints by Paul Rubens. It was a nice set sold at the art market near my school. To be honest it has been one of my best purchases as an artist, as it comes with a variety of colors and even after a year of painting I am still using this same set. During the train ride, I painted a few color swatch samples to past the time. 

Upon our arrival, we each actually received a bundle of art supplies to use during our time in Qingdao. Our professor picked out each one with us specifically in mind. I would recommend all of these materials if you are interested in watercolor painting, or sketching outside. 

One of my favorite things that we received was a big canvas bag to carry our supplies in during our time in Qingdao. The bag had a print of one of our professors paintings as well as his name, Chen Jian. My second favorite material we received was this small sketchbook by Canson. By the end of the trip, I had filled this book with many sketches as well as pictures and certain memories written down about my time in Qingdao. If I ever get back to China (right now I am stuck in America due to the pandemic), I promise to take you on a tour of this sketchbook and show you all of the sketches I did while sitting outdoors painting. 

Well, that's all for today. I hoped you enjoyed my short introduction and the first day on my adventure to Qingdao. Look forward to hearing more about my time in Qingdao and seeing all the pictures, memories, and art I created while I was there. 

Until next time, 

​Hannah