Ancient architecture through a new view

Where Qin favored precise lines and carefully measured proportions, Nolte embraced bold colors and expressive brushstrokes.

One of her favorite architectural details was the ornamental roof creatures perched along Foguang Temple's ridgeline. With dragon-like heads and fish-shaped bodies, they are rooted in Chinese mythology.

"They're beautiful," she says. "There's something almost fairytale-like about them."

She compared them to the gargoyles found on Gothic cathedrals in Europe, which channel rainwater away from buildings, but found their Chinese counterparts far more imaginative.

In another sketch, she transformed an incense burner at Huayan Temple in Datong into a playful cartoon character with arms, legs and a gourd balanced on its head.

A stone lion at Jinci Temple glowed in warm orange watercolor. Even Buddhist statues appeared softer and less solemn through her brush.

"I found it very challenging to capture such richly detailed architecture in a drawing," she says.

Her solution was to deliberately leave blank spaces, which "allow the viewer's imagination to complete the image", she says.

Qin admired that confidence.

Western artists, he says, often seem more willing to break conventions and prioritize expression over precision.

He, by contrast, constantly worries whether the colors are accurate and whether every architectural detail has been faithfully reproduced.

Perhaps, he suggests, it comes from growing up surrounded by these monuments. "There is a kind of reverence."

He has also noticed another difference. Chinese artists often emphasize the relationship between architecture and the surrounding landscape, while artists like Nolte are more likely to isolate a single architectural detail.