Lucky Year of Clever Dog with Blessings on Spring Festival

As the new year of the dog, I would like to wish all the readers all the best! May everyone be happy every day and have a lucky year of the dog!

Dog is the most loyal friend of mankind, leaving a lot of colorful silhouettes in the history of human development. As early as the Warring States period of the Spring and Autumn, the dog and the pig, the cow, the sheep, the horse, the chicken are called "six animals". Up to now, there has been a widely spread saying among the people that “an abundant harvest of all food crops and six animals are all thriving.” Among the “six animals”, dog is considered as the most spiritual one. According to ancient Chinese mythologies, dogs are also totem worship of many peoples. For example, Zhuang, Miao, Dong, Naxi and other ethnic minorities have all spread the creation myth or magic legend about the spirit dog, which really shows the close relationship between the dog and human beings.

 Because of that, I have created two paintings related to dogs. The first one is "Long Life with Successful Long Term Business", which is draw for celebrating the birthday of my uncle. In that painting, there is a peach tree rising upright in a unique style with five peaches hanging down from the left and right. There are two well trained dogs，one sitting and one lying down, in the middle protecting the home. In the overall arrangement of the picture, I focus on the shape of the two dogs and even their furs as well as the main braches of the peach tree and the peaches. A large area in the middle has been left blank in order to make the picture more intense and strive to be delicate but not rigid. Beside capturing the shape, it is more rich in charm.

       It is said that peach is the legendary fairy fruit with the merit of prolonging life. According to some ancient Chinese traditions and records, giving peach as a gift was implied as giving life. Therefore, five peaches have been draw in the painting, which coincides with the meaning of the five blessings (longevity, wealth, healthy and undisturbed, virtue, good death) and symbolizes the blessing of the longevity. In Cantonese, both “dog” and “long” are homophones. It contains the good meaning of lucky for the year of clever dog, the long-term prosperity, and the strong foundation forever. The inscription of this painting is written by my father, a famous artist professor Siu Fai Wing. The title is written in Seal Script with strong and elegant style. The inscription text is written by smooth and gorgeous Running-cursive Script. The calligraphy indeed makes this picture more valuable.