Sketch on a Summer Day

Wet black ink layered over dry, staccato brushstrokes and splattered dots of black and brown form a large mountain mass at this composition’s center. A rickety staircase that climbs from the shore to the top of the mountain bisects the massive form and leads to a cluster of houses and whimsical trees. The thin gray ink washes that make up the sky and distant mountains impart a sense of gloom and yet are tempered by the bright yellow sun hovering above. The use of splashed ink in painting has a long tradition in China; many artists, both ancient and modern, have created a personal style through its unpredictability and spontaneity. Li Huasheng’s career has been dogged by politics: during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) he was forced to paint in secret, and then, during the Spiritual Pollution campaign in 1983, when the government criticized artists for their “decadence and impurity,” he was targeted as an enemy of the state.