Preserving the fine art of Chinese ink painting

CHINESE artist Nan Qi comes across as a simple man. He finds inspiration in everyday life, became an artist because it made him happy, and his favourite music is the sound of birds, waves and the wind.

But despite his down-to-earth nature, the artist has a self-assigned mission - to work towards the preservation of Chinese ink painting as an art form, which he himself has chosen as his go-to style of creating works.

It's the "charm and spirit" that makes this art form worth preserving, says Nan Qi, who is a founding director of the Chinese Painting Association in China.