Product Description

This book combines 40 original cat paintings with a selection of ancient Chinese wisdom, ranging from proverbs to Confucian sayings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120038 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

Review
Original cat paintings combined with ancient wisdom: a unique and upmarket book for cat-lovers everywhere.

About the Author
Kwong Kuen Shan is a Chinese artist living in Britain. She exhibits her paintings locally in Brecon and the Welsh mountains.

Excerpted from The Cat and the Tao by Kwong Kuen Shan. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
I suffered from cat phobia. I never had a cat until six years ago. My first cat adopted me. Healey belonged to my ex-neighbour. They moved away taking all their cats with them. Healey returned four times to the land where he was born and brought up. The fourth time my husband and I felt we had to keep him on humanitarian grounds.
For a year he was kept outside and fed out in all weather. I could not bring myself to touch him, let alone allowing him into the house. I knew the fear was irrational. I froze every time he was near me. Quietly and patiently he changed all that. I have had more cats since.
At the time I was developing a new painting project and something was missing in the plan. One day while gardening I saw Healey sunbathing between me and stone buddha, our garden gnome. He curled around the buudha, looking relaxed and happy. I found the missing element.
What seemed to be a good idea at the time landed me on a very steep learning curve. I had no knowledge of cats. I never painted them before. An amazing journey began. I started observing and studying cats; my own cats, Healey, Rocco and Joseph; other people's cats, stray cats. I was totally charmed by their elegance, agility, resilience, and above all their independence and mental toughness. I wanted to capture all these in the only way that I know, the Chinese way. It took me two years to produce enough sketches to work from, but now I have an ever expanding cat album. They are painted in Chinese styles with Chinese tools, materials, techniques and perspective. I have exhibited these paintings several times.
I painted the pictures in this book using both the meticulous and freestyle techniques. The meticulous method involves detailed drawing and refined elaboration, while the freestyle uses deceptively simple and economical brush strokes to capture the character and spirit of the the subject. It is not concerned with details.
My understanding of cats continues to develop and my affection for them to grow. I want to do more with these lovely creatures who share our lives. I want to share my appreciation of them with others, for them to see my vision of cats! I want to add an extra dimension to my cat album, and I have drawn on my knowledge of Chinese literature to achieve this.

Customer Reviews

Chinese wisdom complements beautiful cat paintings.
This book is based on the principal of "less is more." Spanning over eighty-four pages, we are treated to a visual feast of beautifully painted pictures by the author. The delicate brush strokes and combination of Chinese symbols are easy on the eye - this really is a book to sit down and relax with. Not that that's a bad thing, of course; the texts are selected from ancient Chinese proverbs, poems and sayings from some of the great teachers - Lao Tse, Chong Tse and Sun Tzu, for example. This offering would particularly enthrall those readers with a keen interest in Buddhism; not only through the classic writings, but also the original paintings - many of which are inspired by Zen teachings.

This is not a step-by-step guide to ancient wisdom; it is more a selection of the author's favourite proverbs. It took me less than half an hour to finish the book, for it is more of a keepsake than in-depth reading material. It can be categorised as neither philosophical nor religious, nor artistic, but a hint of each, mixed with aspects of the author's own personality and cultural background. A self-confessed ex cat-hater, Kwong Kuen Shan seems to have overcome her feline phobia and in doing so discovered her niche. This is a book to buy for cat loving friends and relatives, or perhaps even as a treat for yourself. A wonderful book, full of surprises and charm, just don't expect to be enlightened just yet.