ON a very hot evening our members welcomed the return of artist Anne Allen.

She was answering a members' request to come and demonstrate Chinese landscape painting.

She is pictured here with a previously created traditional style Chinese painting.

This genre was originally inspired by calligraphy, which is why these works are begun using Chinese black ink, which is sometimes made from pine soot or Tung oil.

The method involved beginning at the front of the picture – which was made on the surface of Chinese rice paper – and loading special brushes with light then dark ink.

We first created the outlines of trees then progressed to painting overlapping leaves, then rocks in the foreground and middle distance, leaving one area clear for a waterfall.

Finally we moved onto colour washing in the furthest mountains, painting them blue and also painting the leaves and shadows in the same colour.

Treetops and the peaks of the mountains were completed in Sienna, with an area of white paper left blank to represent the waterfall.

One interesting aspect of this technique was that the direction of light is not as relevant as it is in other types of paintings – with the exception being abstract artwork.

Because of this you need some imagination when it comes to depicting shadows.

Chinese painting was not actually intended for display. Instead it was taken out of storage daily to refer to a different section of a scroll.

The rougher side of the paper, which is very thin, should be used for landscapes.

Also, it is best to use the brown bristled brush for landscapes, with the white bristles more suited to portraying flowers.

Before applying the paint the brush should be made fairly wet and blotted on the heel. Water should be added with a second brush, not by dipping it into a container of water. Do not hold the brush like a pencil.

Chinese painting workshops are also held at Pool in Wharfedale, and people interested in attending should visit cbpsyorks.co.uk for details, which are updated by Anne Allen.

Courses last a whole day, rather than the two hour sessions of Keighley Art Club, meaning that the various steps can be followed with more care, under the guidance of experienced artists in this field.

Our club is now on Facebook, although the page is still at a very early stage. Please continue to visit it as events, members' work and any information on any other activities should soon be appearing.

The joint Keighley Art Club and Bingley Art Society exhibition in Cliffe Castle Museum is still on the horizon for September this year.

We have not been allocated a theme, and I would point out that all the hard work of cataloguing and hanging is carried out by the curators and museum staff, to whom we are most grateful.

We are supplying 12 items to Keighley Library for their poetry and art exhibition which runs from September to November. Dionne Hood has arranged this, and it based on the works of the poet Chris Tutton.