Gone like a yellow crane

"去如黃鶴 "  for those of you who doesn't read Chinese, that means "Gone like a yellow crane".

Legend has it that some scholar was visited by a crane-riding fairy.  The fairy and the crane departed after a few drinks and no trace could be found of the encounter.  Thus the phrase "gone like a yellow crane" suggests something or someone is gone for good and never coming back.  

Sometime ago I painted a rather dark piece, a figure head with eyes closed and an enigmatic expression on the face.  There were also nondescript people in the background, seemingly ready to vacate the scene in unison.

It was a setting of emptiness, departure, abandonment. 

I don't know why I had painted it the way I did.  I just remembered that I wasn't feeling happy, per se.  I've attached the labels of "Zen" or "Meditation" to the painting, but somehow these labels don't really address my feelings when I painted it.  I just employed the catch words of "Zen", "Meditation" to satisfy the masses.  Pretty stereotypical or perhaps even fashionable for some Asian fellow to exploit or appropriate eastern ideals of Zen and Meditation, right?

Perhaps it is a personality flaw of mine.  I like to paint when I'm not feeling "right".  I like to paint when I am upset.  I like to paint in cramped quarters.  I like to paint when surrounded by noise.  Only then can I translate the swells in my thoughts into something perhaps only I can comprehend. 

I painted this female drinking by herself, her face manifesting an introspective and less than jovial expression.  Perhaps touched by the music from the guitar and lyrics from the singer. 

Could it be that I was painting myself in that picture.  I was in an introspective and less than jovial space myself when this painting was done.

Anyways one day out of the blue I added a crane to my dark painting.  Flying away from the scene.  Right away I knew that was the missing link.  That had always been the story I was trying to narrate.

Aside from being the topic of a legend, the yellow crane happens to be included in the lines of a famous poem.  

I am going to showcase just the two pertinent lines from this poem.  It is difficult for me to type the whole poem in Chinese because I don't seem to be able to learn to type Chinese on my keyboard, despite my younger brother's relentless efforts.

黃鶴一去不復返

白雲千載空悠悠

My English translation is:

The yellow crane has left, never returning,

All is left are white clouds, emptiness, for millenniums.

I felt so much better after I added the missing crane to my painting.  My painting had finally unveiled its true meaning.

I had wanted to write those two verses onto the painting but I didn't feel the urge at the time.

I was at a happy place, at the time.  I was too busy being a narcissist, enjoying myself.

Well today is one of those days that my emotions get the better of me.  My buddy whom I've known for almost 5 decades is now taking donepezil, a medication used for treating cognitive issues by preserving the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.  I desperately need something positive to steer me into the clear.

There is no better time than now to finish my painting by putting down the calligraphy.  I have always confessed that my calligraphy leaves a lot to be desired.  In order to not deface my painting, I need to make an effort to practice my calligraphy first.  People might frown on me for needing to practice for calligraphy before I pen, or brush in this case, something.   I don't see them frown on musicians rehearsing before a concert.  

One of my go tos is a fa tie that transcribes a thousand characters into different font styles 

Mine happens to include 6 different fonts,

So I start to practice on the two verses of the poem that I alluded,

All that culminates in this

I am in a good place, again.  For now.  Such a catharsis.  I have words to guide me now, GPS for my thoughts.

This all seem anecdotal I am sure.  To me it's more like the chicken and the egg argument.  We paint to express something inside of us, but that "something" might not be lucid in the beginning.

I'm ready for my vision.

The Chinese round brush continued

I've alluded to how and why the Chinese round brush is more than a mark making instrument.  Like almost all utility tools, it sometimes attracts the perversions of fame over function.  I am ashamed to admit that I have fallen victim to the pursuit of the "best" brush; brushes that are handcrafted in limited quantities by supposedly "famous" artisans.  The lure is to manufacture a want.  Wanting a rare product, a unique way of packaging the brush hair, a brush that looks and writes like no others.  I am reminded of automobiles.  Some cars cost over a million dollars.  Yes they are certainly fine pieces of machinery and they go fast but for the average driver they are just symbols of conspicuous consumption.  I am not convinced that owners of such cars are necessarily better drivers.  Do they even use the million dollar car as transportation or as a trophy in their garage.  Thus I am an average painter and I fail to appreciate the virtue of these fine rare brushes.  I just thought rare brushes could buy me status.  What was I thinking.

Anyways I am not here to vent, just because I paid an exorbitant price for a mediocre product.  I am trying to expand on how the brush is used in painting.

I've loaded just the tip of a wet brush with ink, holding it flat on the paper with the tip pointing towards me. Nudging the brush in small arcs I can depict floral petals

If more attention was paid to the voids and the separation between the petals, this flower head could be more wholesome.  But you get the gist of it.

Canada geese is a favorite subject of mine.  The white band just behind its eye on the neck is a distinct identifier.  It is a simple matter of writing the beak, the top of the head and the neck, leaving a gap at the top of the neck.

Holding the brush side tip, write the body of the bird.  I then use a clean wet brush to draw out the ink to the breast and tail area.

This one is done on inkjet photo paper, just for the heck of it.  ( INK-jet, does anyone get the correlation?)

I'll illustrate the different nuances between a center tip and side tip brushstroke.  The following is a crab leg done with side tip brush.  The tip of the brush is loaded with ink so one can see the trek of the brush tip.

In the next example, the image of the left is done with center tip brush.  The ink tone is even across the width of the leg.  The one on the right is done with side tip brush.  

The one on the left feels sturdy and proper whereas the one on the right is more playful, with varying widths and ink tones.

The following is an example of a person using the wrong edge of the brush in painting (writing) the crab legs.  I am drawing your attention to the two crabs on the upper left corner of the insert.  It's not like the person doesn't know how to use the brush, but due to whatever lapses he throws it out of the window. The result is wiry lines that resemble nothing of the exoskeleton of legs of a crab. 

Using side tip brush, writing a short arc

When a succession of such segments are put together, a shrimp is bone.

Starting with three simple lines, center tip, we have the basic construct of the leg of an insect.

Using a side tip brushstroke, write the wings and thorax and head of the insect

Write lines for body and whiskers etc. using center tip brushstroke,  we have a complete insect with just a few simple brushstrokes.

Three  simple side tip nudges become the body of a frog

Add limbs to complete the painting

Here is an example of a frog on a lily pad employing these simple brushstrokes

This writing is not meant as a tutorial for painting.  There are different ways to skin a cat.  The crux of the matter is how to use the Chinese round brush properly to get the results we want.  As the round brush does not come with an edge, only a tip.  The blog hopes to emphasize the importance of knowing the aesthetic difference between a center tip and side tip brushstroke, and allow them to be our allies.