Push Pole Brigade (Punting for Lotus Root)

Happy New Year !

I was lounging around and caught a documentary on lotus root harvesters.  That is a job I could never do.  There were times that I had to put on my waders to repair the banks along the creek behind my house and I was totally exhausted in 5 minutes trying to free my feet from the mud.

I was impressed with how poetic it seemed; heading out in the waking morning, traversing the waterways to the lotus pond, pushing off the long poles to propel the sampans, gliding.

I suppose it would be poetic only if one ignores the imminent hard labor.  Still I pretend to be in the company of fellow harvesters, forming a queue, pushing off, anticipating the bounty, day dreaming a little in the early dawn mist.


I chose to use a rather dark Prussian Blue/Ink combination.  I thought ink alone would be too subdued.  I would use different tones to expand the spatial relationship's.  I wanted to present the objects against the light, for a silhouette effect, and using the different orientations of the long poles to add interest and direct attention.

I brushed on some darker color onto the closest subject, for a better contrast.  Using a clean brush and clean water I moistened a thin margin around the outline so the color/ink would migrate out a little.  This was done to avoid a harsh outline presented by the overwhelming dark patch.

The alteration added drama to the first edition.

Lets all forge ahead and make this a successful new year!

Tree Grooming

I dug up an old, unfinished painting of 3 trees.  My last painting exercise made me do it.

The crown of the main tree is filled in to make it look fuller.  The main trunks are painted over with a really rich ink that I found.  Giving the tree added dimension and a cogent presence.   This added "blackness" contrasts very nicely with the lighter strokes, and plays up the thin white margins left by the alum solution.


The cluster on the right side of the painting was actually painted on the back of the paper.  Ink was allowed to bleed through, forming a somewhat blurry and washed out image.

I used my brush wash to selectively douse some branch clusters, forming shadows and adding to the three dimensional presentation.

Just realized that I started out the year with this tree.  I suppose it is fitting to end the year with it too.

 

 

Ho Hum

First it was 50 miles per hour wind coupled with freezing temperature.

Now it is 50 miles per hour wind with mild temperature but tons of rain.  A blistery day.

Swells are at 20 feet.  The images of waves slapping the jetties are awesome.  Too bad I am too chicken to brave the weather.  Staying home to paint instead.  I need to nurture my sanguine disposition.

The wind and rain had pretty much stripped the trees of their leaves.  The silhouette left by the branches is like looking at the sky through a well used loofah.

I'll be faithful to the cut out look.  Ink shall be my color.  I mixed alum solution with my ink, hoping to achieve the crystalline margin amongst the different brush strokes.

I laid out the main trunks and grew my tree from there.

The trees are more filled out now.

Using broad side tip strokes to depict what little is left on the branches. I slanted my brush strokes at an angle to create some movement.  I am sure the pithy rain gave me that idea.

I filled in the gaps using a combination of dots and short dabs to make the scene a little busier than it really is.

Finally I used a very light sepia color to selectively darken the left side and upper corner of the painting, contrasting that with the white space and the more sparse arrangement on the right, befitting my idea of harmony.

I did not get the anticipated white margins from using the alum solution.  I believe this is because I am using a semi-sized paper instead of the raw un-sized Xuan that had been my staple.