Under the Gourd Trellis

The Chinese title written on this painting is "Hu Lu Jian Xia". The word "Hu Lu" means a "bottle gourd", "Jia" means "trellis" or "framework", and "Xia" means "under" or "below".

Several Chickens are feeding and doing what chickens do under the vines of gourd plants that hang above them on a wooden trellis.

This painting is by a woman named Pan Xiao-ling. She is from a farming village named Huxian in the Shaanxi Province of China. Born in 1958, she began painting in 1974.
Her paintings were the first Chinese folk art ever accepted for a series of postcards officially issued by the state-run "China Post" (Chinese Postal Service).

Exhibitions of her work have been seen in America, Japan, and Singapore.

Pan Xiao-Ling's work is a combination of folk and modern art. Her inspiration comes from growing up in a small farming village in the middle of China. This influence really shows in her paintings which usually depict the simple village life in the countryside of China.

Material used in this work are "shui fen" (paint powder and water - similar to gouache), on thick art paper.