Conquer the mountain

I am having so much fun experimenting with my Ancient Secret Chinese Solution that I am constantly searching for appropriate subject matters to paint with.  Somehow I am obsessed. 

I had fun with the snow contrasted by the dark water.  I thought it looked stunning.  My new project must involve snow and dark water.  How about placing a snowy mountain with the foothill woodland in the background for good measure.  A screen saver used by the local Public Broadcasting audio channel fit the bill perfectly.  I'll paint that.

A horrible thought came to mind.  A small painting was not going to emanate the aura of a grand landscape.  I should try something bigger perhaps.

Luck will have it that I bought a surplus frame for very little moolah and it measures 4 ft x 2 ft.  My Xuan stock is 54 in x 27 in ( notice the 2:1 ratio ) so I have no problem with the raw material.
Armed with the new found curiosity and confidence, and perhaps a little arrogance, I started my painting.

My big painting.

I shall start from the foreground and work my way to the mountain in the back.  I shall be using the alum solution to depict snow.  Thus instead of leaving a void I am actually painting the void spaces too, albeit with the clear alum solution.  What I am going to do a little differently this time is to paint everything on one side of the paper first instead of constantly switching from front to back etc.  I ended up confusing myself since I liked the effects from both sides of the paper.  After I am done with the one side, I will flip the paper over and work on the back side and make my call after everything is done.

So the foreground is basically a large spread of flat snow covered ground with a stream running in the middle.

I painted in the left bank of stream, creating a few slopes to add interest to a otherwise flat feature.

Placed my right bank, using a little ink to create shading, giving the bank dimension.

I finished constructing the banks of the stream.   I wasn't going to do anything to the rest of the snowy plain, since it was going to be white.  I folded a crease in my paper and that would be the edge of the woodland at the foothill.

Time to conquer my mountain.

I began by writing in my snow using the alum solution.

I used a smaller brush because I wanted to make smaller lines, wanting to add texture to the snow.

With my brush soaked with ink and alum solution, I started my tree planting exercise.  The creased line in the paper facilitated in the positioning of the trunks.

Took the opportunity to write in many dots with the alum solution.  The plan was to have these dots appear as lighter than the surrounding, giving an air of snow cover on leaves and branches. 

Using a darker ink, I filled in the stream.

It was interesting to see the darker ink tried to obscure the alum solution painted snow, but only partially.  I seemed to have found a way to express submerged snow or ice.

Using different tones of ink now, going over the areas of the mountain and the woodland, I brought out what was hidden beneath the ink tone.

Painting with alum solution

Those of you who followed my blog know that I've on many occasions used alum solution for my painting.  I've affectionately called alum solution as my Ancient Chinese Secret Solution.  I believe my first attempt was marked by my "Splash" painting.  I've also tried to experiment with egg whites and epsom salts but was disappointed by the results. 

The role of alum for me has been relegated to a supporting cast status.  I intend to give it a major role in the sense that my painting would be dictated by the artful utilization of alum.  I plan to use alum as my "color".  Alum solution is used to size Xuan, the paper we paint on.  My friends who does Gongbi style brush painting use alum as a mordant when they paint on sized Xuan or silk.

I like alum solution because it works as a masking solution for me.  I know watercolorists use a solution that dries to form a rubber mask to conceal void spaces.  I am referring to the Resist solution.  One can paint over such areas and then peel off the rubber mask to reveal the protected area.  The fragility of the Xuan absolutely prohibits such practice.  The rubber mask would destroy and tear the paper when attempting to lift it off the surface.  The fact that alum imparts some impermeability to subsequent coloring could be attributed to the fact that it acts as a fixer.  It fixes the ink or pigment that is mixed with it.  Because the ink or color is fixed before the brushstroke dries, and as the rest of the solution in the brushstroke continues to slowly migrate through the fibers in the paper, a clear margin forms around the imprint of the brushstroke.  This clear margin is exploited to give the effect of  back-lit subjects.

I started by exploring the nuances of painting with alum solution.   I scribbled various lines on my Xuan, employing alum solution along with various tonal colors of ink.

Notice the clear demarcation around the individual brushstrokes.  

Then I tried something with a little more drama.  I used a very wet brush loaded with alum solution with ink on the tip of my brush.

All those brushstrokes were meant to be contiguous, and yet there were clear margins around each brushstroke.  

The above is the backside of my doodling.  The photo itself does not tell the whole story.  I believe the smartphone has built in level adjustment, thus making the image more vivid than it truly is.  Nonetheless, I think the effect of the demarcation is even more pronounced than the front.

What I wanted to paint was a snow scene.  I would attempt to paint my snow with alum solution.  Instead of reserving a blank space for snow, I used alum solution, combined with various shades of ink, to paint the appearance of snow.

First I started with the element of interest in my painting.  Following the rule of thirds, I folded a line that is one-third the height of my painting and that's where I spotted my elk.

A close-up of my animal.  The presence of alum solution in my brush rendered each brushstroke distinctly.

My next task was to see how I could effectively portray snow covered trees.  I decided to model the trees after the firs and lodge pole pines that are so prevalent here.  I began my trial and error by using simple dots.  Dots of different shades of alum solution.  Note that I painted on the back of my paper.  The fact that the images on the back side looked better than top side gave me that direction.

I tried using two brushes.  One with alum solution and the other with ink,  I wanted to see if I could effect a more realistic representation of snow covered trees.  I painted the darker poles on the top side of the paper,  hoping the interplay of front and back side would add to the ambiguity and therefore the nondescript feel of snow covered trees.

So far I was dotting my "snow" and painting in the tall poles of fir.  The vertical lines of these fir trees should give my painting a structure.

The above was the back of the snow brushstrokes but the top side for painting the tree poles.  Confused?  That was my premise.  Exploiting the translucent Xuan by employing  both surfaces as my canvas.

For the other half of the painting, I changed my method of painting.  I painted individual trees and tried to assemble the additional members in a cohesive manner.

Close-up if my snow effect.  Notice the translucent dabs formed by footprint of my alum solution.

The same image on the reverse side of the paper.  Again, it seemed to present the feel of snow better.

So this is what I ended up with

I can't remember which side is the front or back now.

So is this a painting about a snow covered woods or about an elk?  I'm re-living my moments of painting my Korean Maidens.

Will Epsom Salt Work

I've used alum solution in my painting quite a bit.  It is affectionately called the Ancient Chinese Secret Solution by me.  Alum is used as a sizing agent for Xuan.  I understand alum is used as a mordant in dying.  I use it to function as a masking fluid by exploiting the fact that alum treated Xuan is less absorbent,  thus the treated area will reveal with a different gradient when stained. 

I typically would paint on the back side of the paper with a alum infused brush.  The brushstroke will reveal a clear margin when a different color is painted over it; as long as that color is not too strong to obscure the margin.

Here's an example of the margin

I've also used this technique to create a blurry image by first painting with alum on the reverse side of the paper, allowing the brushstroke to show through the top side.  I then go over the top side with a darker color, being careful to not totally obscure the original brushstroke on the back side.  The resulting image has that interesting back lit effect and suggests a 3 dimensional perception, especially when viewed from a distance, or by squinting one's eyes.

Here's another example of painting done with alum solution.  Its role in making the paper less absorbent is exploited to the extreme by functioning as a masking fluid.  It was used to paint in the snow.   Obviously it is well suited for high contrast work like this one.

I was contemplating painting a desert scene and I was interested in a novel way to depict the wind generated ridges on the sand dunes.  I didn't want to paint these wavy ridges with hard ink brushstrokes.  I therefore turned to my secret solution and envisioned the clear margins left by such brushstrokes would be more enigmatic and evoke more drama in my painting.

But I ran out of my Ancient Chinese Secret Solution.

I resorted to my daft antics. 

I recall a leftover bag of Epsom salt from when I sprained my ankle.  Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate.  Could I substitute Epsom Salt for Alum, which is aluminum and potassium sulfate.  I recall reading about using copper sulfate as a mordant, so why not magnesium sulfate?

I rolled up my sleeves and went to work.  I prepared a saturated solution of Epsom salt.  My experiment involved painting with the Epsom salt solution in raw and semi-sized Xuan.  I painted on the top side of the paper, and on the back side of the paper to see if the reveal is different.

Here is the result of painting on regular raw Xuan.  The top image is painting the Epsom salt solution on the top side of paper; bottom image is painted on the back side.

Here is the result of painting on semi-sized Xuan.  This paper is less apt to absorb liquid because of the sizing, therefore I wanted to see what effect my concoction will have, if any.

So when applied to the top side of the semi-sized Xuan (top image) Epsom salt seems to have a smidgen of effect.  I think I can make out a semblance of a faint margin.

As you can see, Epsom salt solution failed as a candidate for alum substitution.

I know what will be on my shopping list now. 

SNOW SCENE

I am having so much fun with my

Ancient Chinese Secret Solution that I am itching to try different things with it, especially when given the proper provocation. The opportunity came when I was shown how to use the alum solution to paint. I did not agree with the application of the technique, nor did I like the paintings, so I've been experimenting some more on my own.

I used straight alum solution. There are a couple of things that I am doing differently this time. Number one, I am painting on the back side of the paper first. Number two, I am mixing ink and color to the alum solution for subsequent detail work to create the layered effect.

So I started with the snow on the trees. Turning the Xuan paper over, start laying down the alum solution where the snow is. Of course I have to have an image of the trees first. While the patches are still wet and can be easily spotted ( unlike the ones I did on the Speedboat painting), I started to layer over different ink tones ( mixed with the alum solution). When these are close to being dry, I turn the Xuan paper over to the proper side, and lay down alum solution with blue (or ink) for detail work. The snow on the ground is done with big fat brush, side tip fashion. I did the water with dark ink to bring out the contrast and make the snow stand out more. Again, the final touch is to use my brush washing water as a wash for the entire piece. Sure it dulled the snow somewhat, but I think it added that intangible dreaminess to the work. What do you think?