荷塘清趣Quiet Pleasures of the Lotus Pond (on card)

A small painting on card. The lotus leaves are swept in with a big brush in dark and pale ink, some face-on, some turned aside, their veins drawn in scorched-dark ink. A single pink lotus opens at the centre, outlined, its petal tips washed with rouge and its seed-pod dotted green and yellow, with a bud rising above it. At the upper right a reed leans out, and on it perches a kingfisher, blue-green back and rust breast, bending its head to look down as if watching for fish. At the foot of the card, among clumps of water-grass, a pair of ducks swim at ease, one behind the other.

The title at the upper left reads “Quiet Pleasures of the Lotus Pond”: a corner of a pond, birdsong and the scent of flowers, and the pleasure of stillness.

此为卡纸小品。荷叶以浓淡墨大笔写出，或正或侧，墨色酣畅，叶筋以焦墨勾勒；粉荷一朵居中盛开，花瓣双钩，瓣尖晕染胭脂，莲蓬点以石绿与黄；上方花苞一枝挺立。右上一茎芦苇斜出，翠鸟一只栖于其上，翠背赭胸，俯首下望，似窥水中游鱼。画底水草数丛，野鸭一双游于其间，一前一后，悠然自得。

左上题“荷塘清趣”。荷塘一角，鸟语花香，取其清静自适之趣。