No.10 Cover - received on 2010/10/07 from Philippines

Thanks to JP for sending me the beautiful cover with painting stamps, along with a set of mint stamps. The cover was posted from Manila on 1st Oct 2010 and received at Singapore on 7 Oct.

The stamp set is Vicente Manansala, National Artist which was issued on 20 May 2010.

The stamps are:

   7p   Bayanishan (1982)

   7p   Fish Vendor (1982)

   7p   Nipa Hut (1984)

   7p   Sabungero (1982)

Vicente Silva Manansala (January 22, 1910 - August 22, 1981) was a Philippine cubist painter and illustrator.  Manansala was born in Macabebe, Pampanga. From 1926 to 1930, he studied at the U.P. School of Fine Arts. In 1949, Manansala received a six-month grant by UNESCO to study at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Banff and Montreal, Canada. In 1950, he received a nine-month scholarship to study at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris by the French government.  Manansala's canvases were described as masterpieces that brought the cultures of the barrio and the city together. His Madonna of the Slums is a portrayal of a mother and child from the countryside who became urban shanty residents once in the city. In his Jeepneys, Manansala combined the elements of provincial folk culture with the congestion issues of the city.  Manansala developed transparent cubism, wherein the "delicate tones, shapes, and patterns of figure and environment are masterfully superimposed". A fine example of Manansala using this "transparent and translucent" technique is his composition, Kalabaw (Carabao). Vicente Manansala, a National Artist of the Philippines in Visual Arts, was a direct influence to his fellow Filipino neo-realists: Malang, Angelito Antonio, Norma Belleza and Baldemor.   The Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Lopez Memorial Museum (Manila), the Philippine Center (New York City) and the Singapore Art Museum are among the public collections holding work by Vicente Manansala. 

Source:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicente_Manansala
[2] http://www.philippinestamps.net/RP2010-Manansala.html

Local Art of Singapore on the Stamps

On 12 Feb 2004, Singapore Post released a set of 20 stamps featuring artworks from two renowned Singapore artists, Liu Kang and Ong Kim Seng. Both artists have made significant contributions to the local art scene.

Liu Kang (刘抗) was a Singaporean artist famous for his Balinese-themed figurative paintings. He was a founding member of the Singapore Art Society, and was credited with developing the Nanyang style.

Liu Kang's Artwork

Ong Kim Seng (王金成), was born in Singapore and has been a full-time artist since 1985. He has participated in group and solo exhibitions around the world. Ong is the first and only Singaporean to have won six awards by the prestigious 138-year-old American Watercolor Society (AWS), of which he was conferred membership in 1992. He is also the only Asian artist outside the USA to be admitted into AWS. His website: http://www.ongkimseng.com/ .

Ong Kim Seng's Artwork

Ong Kim Seng's artwork on a set of cup pads

In 1995, Singapore Post also issued a set of stamps to present the local artists' painting.

The stamp with 70c face value shows the artwork from Chen Wen Hsi’s Gibbons (1977).
(Source: http://yesterday.sg/2007/04/chen_wen_hsis_art_printed_on_stamps/)

My dreaming stamp issues on traditional Chinese painting

When you look at a stamp, you will be impressed by its design, color, content, ect; When you look at a stamp on painting, you will be definitely attracted by the painting. In another word, you are enjoying a painting.

Perhaps it is because the Chinese Post issued many stamps on traditional Chinese painting, I am always attracted by the stamps in painting topics. Today, I would like to share with you two issues on traditional Chinese painting: Galloping Horse by Xue Beihong and Qi Baishi's Painting Selection. These two issues are also my dreaming stamps and I will try to collect them during my next home visit in China.

Galloping Horse (Series No. T28, Issue Date: 5 May 1978)

Xu Beihong (徐悲鸿, 1895 - 1953) was primarily known for his Chinese ink painting of horses and birds. He was one of the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a new model China at the beginning of the 20th century.

Some Chinese ink painting works by Xu Beihong

The other set of stamps are from another Chinese artist - Qi Baishi.

Qi Baishi's Painting Selection (Series No. T44, Issue Date: 15 Jan 1980)

Qi Baishi (齐白石, 1864 - 1957) was one of the most well-known contemporary Chinese painters. The subjects of his paintings include almost everything, common animals, scenery, vegetables, figures and so on. In my memory, when I heard his name for the first time, his name was linked to the painting of a common kind of vegetable - Chinese cabbage.

Qi Baishi's artworks

References:

1. http://www.pudongstamps.com/
2. http://www.chinaonlinemuseum.com/