Barney Stinson

I have worked in ink for 16 years, from wedding scrolls to museum reproductions. I keep two studio ledgers and one rule: a stroke goes down once. Over the past 4 years I have taught roughly 180 students and completed 62 commissioned works. On slow mornings I grind my own ink, which takes 20 minutes and settles the hand.

Practice Commissions & Exhibitions

Founder & Resident Calligrapher

Stillwater Ink Studio, West Lake

2018 – Present

Completed 62 commissioned scrolls and 14 restaurant signage sets, with an average lead time of 11 days.
Built a class program of 3 tiers, reaching 180 students since 2020 at a 78% return rate.
Supplied 9 galleries across Zhejiang and Jiangsu with framed works on a standing consignment.

Reproduction Calligrapher

Nine Rivers Heritage Workshop

2014 – 2018

Hand-copied 40 classical scrolls for museum and private archives, matching stroke order within stated tolerance.
Mixed and aged pigment for 3 restoration teams, cutting outside supply orders by about 30%.

Studio Apprentice

Master Hall of Longjing Brushwork

2009 – 2014

Ground ink and prepared paper for a 6-person studio, roughly 400 sheets per month.
Advanced from basic strokes to running script over 5 years under one teacher.

Technique Hand

Regular script (kaishu)Master

Running script (xingshu)Master

Cursive (caoshu)Advanced

Seal carvingWorking

Scroll mountingWorking

Pigment & ink grindingAdvanced

Record Notes

Solo exhibition

"One Stroke, One Breath", Qiantang Riverside Hall, 2022. 34 works, 11-day run.

Training

Diploma in Chinese Calligraphy, Hangzhou Fine Arts Institute, 2009.

Languages

Mandarin (native), English (conversational).

Materials

Xuan paper, pine-soot ink, goat and wolf brushes.

Hangzhou · Ink on paper BS