On my rostrum

I have been invited to conduct several painting classes for our local classic Chinese garden. This came as a genuine surprise to me. While I may be enthusiastic about Chinese brush painting, I certainly do not fit the bill as being erudite. Perhaps it is my affable disposition.

The Garden is situated in Chinatown, a neighborhood that is often associated with negative connotations. For some reason that is beyond my comprehension, Chinatowns invariably seem to be located in run-down areas. In our case, the homeless and drug problems further exacerbate the fragile existence of this place. A fence enclosure provides some distance from the random rocks being hurled at the windows, and visitors to this attraction must be buzzed in. It is not uncommon to encounter homeless individuals relieving themselves on the street in front of visitors, blocking their path.

Despite its small footprint, a mere city block, the Garden was constructed with craftsmen from Suzhou, a city renowned for its formal gardens. Therefore, it is certainly not a copycat or imitation facility. It strives for authenticity. 

My job is to introduce Chinese brush painting to novices.  

I stressed that I won't be conducting any plein air paintings.  The small plot of the Garden means that skyscrapers form the backdrop around the Garden.  Everywhere one looks, one sees city buildings competing with the classic architecture of the Garden, and is most disconcerting.  Thus I am hoping to coax the class into internalizing the features of the Garden and then distill that feeling into a painting.  In other words, compose our own canvas, or in this case, Xuan paper.  Additionally, perhaps more importantly, the painting needs to be able to be finished in an hour, give or take. 

I've taken liberty of utilizing a file photo of the Garden

The photo is probably ideal for plein air setting, but feels non-Chinese, if there is such a thing.

I lifted part of that photo onto my composition, 

Then I incorporated an example of a willow from Mustard Seed Garden.  I intend to borrow from my own journey in Chinese brush, having to study that compendium as part of the rote learning process.

Below is the new layout for the Garden

So this would be the distilled version that I shall attempt to paint.  Simple lines that even a novice can handle.

To translate my thoughts into executable plans, I need to make sure it's feasible, even in haste.  

Nothing fancy, just lines one can write.  

In the mix would be a few examples mixed foliage, as illustrated in the Mustard Seed Garden.

another try,

I think I succeeded in transforming a photograph into something more like a painting, a painting with a Chinese persona.  

The first painting looks a little busy, and the willow is a bit loud and does not yield to the background.

Thus the entire painting looks flat, as if everything is on the same plane.

The second one looks more poetic for sure.  There is contrast in scale and multitude, and a quiet elegance to it.  To fortify the relationship between the lonely willow and the buildings beyond, I am adding a boatman traversing in a boat.  That boat is plucked from the Mustard Seed Garden. The viewer can fill in the blanks with their own version of the story.  Where did the boatman come from, or where was he going to.

Since one of the brushstrokes that I will be covering is D'ian (dot), I decide to work another iteration with the impressionistic portrayal of waterlily, or duckweed, depending on the context. These are simply darker dots written within lighter dots while they are still moist.  

Okay class, here I come.