Sugar painting is a traditional Chinese form of art. Just as its name suggests, the paintings are made from. sugar. They can be either regarded as works of art or eaten as desserts. In and around China's southwestern Sichuan Province, it is usual to see. some folk artists producing sugar paintings along the streets, in the parks and around the schools.
The art of sugar painting goes back to the Ming Dynasty, about 400 to 600 years ago. At that time, the upper- class people used sugar paintings as offerings to gods. Some common patterns were tigers, lions, dragons and so on. Later it became popular among the common people. In the Qing Dynasty, sugar painting became more popular. Many people made a living by making and
selling sugar paintings as desserts. The patterns for sugar paintings included all kinds of things that people liked.
Sugar painting is very different from the other forms of painting. First, the artist doesn't use brushes, oil paints or paper to create paintings. instead, the artist uses brown sugar or white sugar as the main material, a spoon and a shovel as the tools, and a marble slab as the" paper". When the painting is done, the artist uses a wooden stick to hold it. Second. the artist has to produce the work very quickly, since it's nearly impossible to paint if the hot sugar cools down. Thira, the sugar painting is finished in one stroke, so the artist should design a pattern and the order of stroke in mind before any action. And the artist must follow the order while making the painting, or he/ she will ruin it. To know the whole process very well, the painter has to practice hundreds of times in the first place.
