Can a painting done with oil painting brushes but carries a Chinese motif be called a Chinese Brush Painting? How about doing Monet's Water Lilies using Chinese brushes, can the resulting work be called a Chinese Brush Painting?
In Chinese societies, one would use the term "Guo Hua" (Guo means national, Hua means painting; to paint) to describe traditional Chinese Brush Painting. Guo Hua is done with a round brush, using ink or pigments, mixed with water and painted on Xuan(Hsuan) paper or Juan(silk). The finished painting is signed off with seal(s) and mounted either on paper or silk and presented as scrolls, or more recently, in frames.
Aside from the perfect complement of the Xuan(Hsuan) paper as a writing medium, the Chinese brush shoulders perhaps the most vital role in the discipline of Guo Hua. It has a round body that come to a point. The mission is how to coordinate the strands of hair to the point, and with the belly of the brush to form lines with various thickness and shapes. Chinese use the brush for their calligraphy; thus calligraphy and painting are firmly intertwined. In fact, the Chinese often use the term to "write" a painting to describe the act of painting, and the audience is urged to "read" a painting. This symbiotic relationship has led to the term "Shu Hua" (calligraphy, painting) to describe the 2 commonly linked art forms and exhibition halls in museums catering to the art of Shu Hua.
Bi-Fa (Bi means writing instrument, Fa means the method) describes the nuisances of mastering the brush. Bi-Fa is also known as Gi Bun Gong (the fundamentals) in some circles. Think of the fingers holding the brush as the A-arm of a car's suspension. Our job is to load the brush with the correct amount of water/ink/pigment, with the help of correct camber angles and toe-in, apply suitable pressure and speed, such that the tip, or edge, or the belly of the brush, or combinations of such, form a desirable footprint on the Xuan or Juan. In other words, keep the tire on the road, mitigating sand, gravel, sleet, rain or snow, taking into account speed and tire pressure. Thus one can spin wheel, drive, skid, drift, brake or even induce wheel hop. Sounds complicated? Well, when we drive most of us have an awareness of whether the road is slippery, or if we have run over something and we instinctively adjust our driving to the road conditions. We are at ease because we know what our equipment can and will do.
In order to properly "read" a painting, the audience need to be equipped with some basic knowledge of Guo Hua so they can be literate in this subject. Obviously Bi-Fa is at the center stage. We demand artists to show calligraphic characteristics in their brush strokes. Virtues of the line, how ink or color is dispersed are all important.
This example shows lively ink tone, deliberate yet free strokes. Ink should have 5 tones, and lines should demonstrate "Li"(strength). This is the difference between a motionless live snake and a dead flaccid one, even though both trace the same lines.
Examples of writing with different parts of the brush. Whether this is an egret or heron is not important. What is important is the brushstroke and the attitude.
(to be continued)
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