Inauragation of my Tedious Project

I am going to make the most out of my "stencil" from my so called tedious project.  I feel that I should be able to recoup the time and effort I invested in developing that stencil and frankly I want to see how many variations I can make out of my mosaic plot map.  I took a picture of my mosaic outlines so that I could print off copies of it when I feel the urge to play.   Obviously I could also do it the traditional hard way, by laboriously copying it onto another piece of Xuan paper using ink and brush.  If I do that, I would be able to retain the original dimensions, which is approximately 13 inch by 26 inch.

Andrew is a 9 year old 4th grader who likes to draw.  One of his work enjoys the accolade of being selected for display at the administration office of his school district.  

Why don't I print off a copy of my "tedious project" mosaic and let him have a go at it.  I am curious to see the result!

I really do not want to stymie Andrew's imagination so the only information he receives is that the lines represent 2 ducks swimming in a pond and there are ripples and reflection of trees and shrubs in the water.  He is encouraged to do whatever he sees fit with the print out.  There are no rules.

I am impressed with Andrew's dedication in attempting this drawing.  How often does one see a 9 year old sitting by a table and just draw?  I ask him to take small breaks and walk away from the table and try to form some idea about his drawing from a distance.

After one such small break, Andrew decides to add a duck to the drawing.  He paints in a third duck and ripples.

I must say, I am impressed.  It is also interesting to see that he is portraying webfeet on his duck.

Andrew comments that he likes the looks of certain colors sitting side by side; in particular the orange and the blue.  So I googled the topic of complementary color and showed him the color wheel.  He seemed to be impressed by that and all he talks about now is complementary color.  I certainly did not expect that.  Never underestimate a 9 year old!

Two hours has elapsed and this is the result.  I am told that he plans to finish the water with a silver color.

Painting the blues

Now that I have the entire painting sketched in, and my basic chuen brushstrokes and light values established, I can concentrate on the task of coloring.  

The painting pays homage to Red Cliffs, so I am dedicating the right side of the painting to the red cliffs; since that portion of the landscape is facing the audience, so making those cliffs red would be more fitting for the title.

I am going to start with the left side of the painting.  This is the shore across from the red cliffs alongside the river.  My choice of color be something along the bluish line.  In painting I am always reminded of the relationship among the different parts of the painting; how they contrast or support each other.  I am not sure if there's the concept of color wheel in classical Chinese painting and I might be out of place by saying that the application of color wheel is a strictly a western practice but I think it serves my purpose in this case.  I've not attended art school or anything, all I know is that colors on opposite sides of the color wheel are complementary color combinations and they tend to be more dramatic.  Drama is what I want in this painting!  Since I am not using a pure red I suppose I can fudge a little by not using a pure green.  I decide to use blue and green as my complimentary color to "reddish" for this part of the painting. 

I am also continuing to explore the coloring from the back of the Xuan paper method.  The paper I am using is sufficiently thin and translucent for the color to come through from the backside of the paper.  The advantage of coloring from the back is the presentation is more subdued, and it allows for more transparency for subsequent application of color on the top side.  In a way it resembles working with layers or masks in photoshop and not so much with mixing colors in a dish.

The darker areas of the red cliffs also receive a layer of blue color applied from the back of the paper.

This is how everything appears from the top side of the Xuan paper,