For the last 100 years, western art has seemed to be in a conflict between the traditional and the modern, between the real and the spiritual, between the concrete and the abstract. Since the advent of photography, artists have searched to redefine their purpose and determine what style would best express it. In a century which included Freud, the mechanized death of two world wars as well as the mechanized daily life of factories, television and computers, artists have sought to clarify what their message should be - what to see; what to think; what to feel. Their search has often left us bewildered and numb.

What a revivifying revelation it is then to enter Eileen Fong's world of Chinese brush painting. Trained in the Scientifically rational ways of western medicine, Fong shows a spiritual release in the ancient art of her ancestors - combined with her experience and love of the Canadian landscape and all things in it. One glance at her sensitive and incredibly beautiful paintings show that we are in a new world indeed. Here we find a deft and sensible compromise of the conflict between the head and the heart, the mind and the spirit. Her style of Chinese brush painting neatly and effectively combines realism, so you can recognize what you are looking at, and Symbolism, so you can go beyond what you see to what you may feel and sense. If her book were only a collection of her pictures, that would be more than enough. But there is more. From the selection of special brushes to the preparation of the lovely colours, Fong shows us simple techniques by which we may create our own Chinese brush paintings, too. Whether the reader intends to practice this art or simply delight in its pleasure, it's all here in this small book. To read the contents is to enter into Eileen Fong's world - a place filled with serene thoughts for the mind, sensitive feelings for the senses, and skilful Techniques for the hand of the artist.

The reader will turn the pages, slowly, deliberately and appreciatively, not wanting to miss any of the gentle intricacies that abound. We are set before a finely and delicately prepared meal: we want to linger over each dish, to discover all the subtlety of each delicious creation. In Eileen Fong's art we are presented with a feast for the eyes and the spirit - a Chinese feast that will leave you hungry for more.

Michael Chriss
Director of Education
The Old School House Arts Centre
Qualicum Beach, British Columbia

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Professor Emeritus of Humanities
College of San Mateo
San Mateo, California