Water-based Woodblock Printmaking (a.k.a. Water Print) Creation Method:
The artist carves an image with richly expressive cuts onto several (sometimes more than ten) wooden printing boards, and dyes them with Chinese ink or other water-soluble pigments. Artist then prints this image on paper, usually Chinese scroll paper, in a creative process that draws from experience and intuition to control water content, pressure and other factors. The resulting prints are signed and marked with their limited edition numbers by the artist to create the final original artwork.

The Tradition of Water Print:
Water print was invented in China more than one thousand years ago and was the earliest tool for the reproduction of paintings. It played a key role in the spread and progression of ancient Chinese civilization. Its greatest achievements were in spreading religion (such as a page of the Diamond Sutra found to date back to 868 AD), the continuation of literati traditions (such as the Painting Manual of Ten Bamboo Studio & the Manual of Mustard Seed Garden), illustrations for vernacular literature (such as those for the Romance of the West Chamber) and folk art (such as the town of Tao Huawu's New Year posters). Water print eventually spread to Japan, where it developed into Ukiyo-e art. Ancient painters (such as Chen Laolian and Qiu Ying etc.) would collaborate with carvers to continue the lines and styling traditions of Chinese ink and wash painting in water print. Through the explorations and practices of modernist artists (such as Huang Yongyu, Wu Fan, Wu Junfa and Zhang Xinyu) and contemporary artists (such as Chen Qi and others), water print gradually developed into an independent medium for artistic creation.

Contemporary Artist Chen Qi (born 1963)
has been dedicated to honing and updating the ancient and mysterious language of the water print for over twenty years, imbuing it with contemporary vitality and edge, and reciting through it a poetry of the soul steeped in classical culture.