Under My Care is a Chinese brush painting of my little bonsai in traditional free style (Xie Yi) technique. Ink on rice paper. A classic ink painting. The ultimate challenge for the Bonsai designer is to expose the essence of the tree. The challenge for me was to transfer this onto paper. The word “Bon-sai” is a Japanese term which, literally translated, means “planted in a container”. This art form is derived from an ancient Chinese horticultural practice, part of which was then redeveloped under the influence of Japanese Zen Buddhism.It has been around for well over a thousand years. The ultimate goal of growing a Bonsai is to create a miniaturized but realistic representation of nature in the form of a tree. In China the calligraphy always belongs to the painting. It’s like the signature from the artist. The bigger characters are always the title of the painting. The smaller calligraphy shows the name of the artist and sometimes where and when the painting was created. On the picture is written „ pén jǐng - bai jie hua yu shang hai” what means “Bonsai - painted by Bai Jie in Shanghai” Bai Jie is my Chinese name. You can also buy it without the calligraphy! Check out my gallery.