ONE PERSON ONE STROKE PROJECT

On April 18th, I shall entice a bunch of Chinese Brush Painting enthusiasts to embark on a group project. I shall name this project One Person One Stroke. These people love the art of Chinese Brush Painting, but feel shy about painting anything of substance. I suggested this concept of a group painting. We shall each take our turn to lay down a few strokes, thus none of us would have to bear the entire cross. I wanted us to copy some one's work to begin with., working with a template, if you wish. I wanted our group to understand what the painting is about and why are certain things done the way they were. For without comprehending the meaning of the painting, then our copying would be in vain; we would not learn anything from our people's work.

This piece of work is loosely translated as Night Anchor by the Maple Bridge. The Maple and the bridge is self evident. The maple is done with the "dotting" technique and is ideal for a group of 12 to 15 people, for each of us would have ample opportunity for "dotting". The dotting involves different ink tones, and different color hues, would be interesting to see how it progresses.

The bridge seemed simple, yet is difficult to master. First of all, the aesthetic proportions of the structure is difficult to achieve. If one magnifies the image, one would see that the lines are not solid, continuous lines. They are undulating, broken lines. Solid, continuous lines lack character, and look stagnant, as if they are formed by moulding. Chinese Brush Painting is all about the quality of the lines, so this is something we need to address.

Where does the " night " scene come from?? From the reflection of the moon in the water. By painting the moon as a reflection in the water, the artist makes the audience think, therebyentertains the notion that this night scene is more poetic. It can also be said that if the moon was in the sky, then the upper portion of the painting might be darker, and creates a sense of heavy on the top, not a virtue of a good painting.

Anchor is evidenced by the 2 boats that are tied up by the bridge, only half exposed.... adding to the security that these boat owners must have sought. Anchor can also be evidenced euphemistically by the birds that are resting at the tree branches on the right.

The maple trees are not all solid with dotted leaves, but spaces between branches are quite evident. This is what is known as "breathing" in Chinese Brush Painting.

The reflection of the bridge in the water is handled in a very low key fashion... barely a hint. It just adds to the dreaminess of the work, and harks a nocturnal theme.

I am really looking forward to the finished product, painted by a group of students, many of us are novices. I shall post the finished painting when we have it.