I am looking for articles or books on the techniques, skills, preparations, inspirations, etc. of Chinese artists during the northern song dynasty mainly focusing on the silk ink paintings. It has been hard to track down articles about the detailed process.
Thank you so much!
When you say the "detailed process," do you mean that you are looking for articles that look at specific paintings, and attempt to explain step-by-step how the painter created them? If so, you might want to start with a chapter from Ping Foong's book The Efficacious Landscape with deals with Guo Xi's Old Trees, Level Distance (I forget which chapter it is), or look at Peter Sturman's article "Cranes Over Kaifeng."
If you are interested in the process of preparation, try Van Gulik's book Chinese Pictorial Art.
As for the inspiration, I think the best starting point would be Susan Bush's book* The Chinese Literati on Painting*.
If you can read French, Chinese, or Japanese, let me know, and I can try to offer some additional assistance. Happy Reading!