Rehearsal

It's almost Chinese New Year.  February 19 is just around the corner.

I painted a horse last year to welcome the year of the horse.  The guest of honor this year is the ram.

I've been entertaining the thought of doing a painting for a ram.  This is not a subject that I've painted before so it would be fresh.  Luck would have it that I've been invited to do a couple of painting demos for school children, to honor Chinese New Year.  I'll have added incentive now to research my subject and embark on  the painting, except the stakes are  higher now.   I have to actually show that I could paint.

I seemed to have developed an affinity for phthalocyanine Blue.  That was the first color I reached for.  I sketched out a couple of rams in my scrapbook.

My emphasis will be on the posture.  The way the ram holds the head defines the painting.  However, I don't want to skim over the details of the facial features.  Perhaps I could paint a ram with attitude, if somehow I can grasp the expressions.

This is where I was having tons of problems.  Was I painting dogs.


How did the saying go; if you never made a mistake, then you've never tried.  After my incessant
giggling stopped, I began to analyse my mistakes.

The snout was too pointed.  I needed to make it thicker.

Time to get down to basics.  Stop being a cowboy.  I actually started to identify the components of a ram's snout.  I was sketching with a mission now.  The way I work around the problem was by creating a cylinder for the snout.  I could therefore control the diameter of the cylinder and made sure it didn't turn into a cone!

I also reached back to my high school days, when I was sketching animal skulls.  I do remember the strong  mandibles of  herbivores so their molars could grind up the grass they eat.

Feeling a little more reassured, I tried my sketching again.

I decided to break down the painting process into discrete steps.  Normally I am dead set against it.
I've met too many students and colleagues who would shy away from painting something just because they've never "learned" how to paint it.  I believe the fault lies in the system of rote learning.
We were taught to paint by memory, and not by observation.  It is my assertion that all these "How to Paint" books actually do more harm than good.  We become limited to, and by, these so called steps and this explains why most Chinese brush paintings look alike.

I suppose this is not the time to stay on my high horse.  I need to show high school kids how to paint a ram with a Chinese brush, within an allotted time frame.  Breaking the ram painting into discrete steps is the only way to get through it.

I would start out by painting the nose and the lips (steps 1 and 2).  This is followed by the 2 circles forming the two ends of the cylinder, or snout (steps 3 and 4).  Then we paint in the eyes, ears and the horns, and they all contribute to the spirit of the animal.  Finally how the ram carries itself, i.e. the neck and the limbs, speaks to the body language of the animal. 

It's time to make it bold.  I (the ram) mean business.

Banal Fail

I looked at my bastardized piece for a few days and I really didn't like that son of gun too much.
Since I couldn't possibly do anything more to hurt it, I whipped out my brush and started to paint in a flock of geese.  Migrating Canada Geese.

I was wrong.  I could make the painting worse. 

The painting now looked even more constrained, and trite !  It actually looked more like a snapshot than a painting.  Although I did not paint this from a picture, I still think it is a valid illustration of why one should never paint from a photograph.

I had to loosen up the painting somewhat.  Again I resorted to the titanium white.  I selectively blocked out some of the birds and a few valleys to take away some of the uniformity.   All these white-out moves unfortunately went against the grain of Chinese Brush methods.   I might as well be doing oil or watercolor.  The only thing Chinese about this piece was the calligraphic brush strokes of the geese; at least I tried.

I think I was able to loosen up the painting a little, but the caveat is it is still cliche.

Bastardization

While still locked in the mode of describing those distant hills I saw while driving on the freeway, and having crusted wells of Prussian Blue along with Phthalocyanine Blue left over from the punting painting to consume, I decided to paint more hills.

The reminder I jotted for myself was simple; a dramatic fore/aft gradient and a  transition from warm to cold as the distance mounts.

Again I used the sized Xuan, keying on its tolerance to color moving and building.

After the color had dried, the painting looked very soupy. I must confess the thought of painting a dreamy landscape did cross my mind.  Perhaps not as featureless as my Glimpse painting, but nonetheless fluid.   But the rolling hills were too representational; I could not escape the realism.  The painting was begging for better definition.

Ahh, the foreground is better defined.  I also rearranged the contour lines a little.  They look less haphazard now.

I liked the way my color was bleeding from the brushstroke and I wanted to preserve those little tendrils before they are absorbed into the background. They resemble tree trunks poking out in the haze.

My hair blow-dryer came to the rescue.

The sized Xuan had a pinkish tint to it, especially against this blue theme.  My hills in the background could use a little toning down also.  I debated hard about using titanium white for this purpose.
I was taught by my first teachers to never use titanium white in landscape paintings.  Streams and rivers and clouds and mist are just virgin real estate on the paper.  I should never consider titanium white as a color.  The only exceptions were when mixing with other color to paint flower petals for example; especially the two-toned ones.  How dare I entertain such evil thoughts; first by using a hair blow-dryer, and now using white to mask colors? 

I am bastardizing the painting.

Time to say my Rosary and beg for forgiveness.  I had only good intentions.  I just wanted to experiment.

Now I shall be at peace with myself and see if I should commit the next cardinal sin of painting a flock of geese over this landscape.

A Glimpse

Every time I drove on the freeway I couldn't help but be fixated at the distant hills.

With the fog, the rain, and the decreasing daylight, the details on the hills were trying their best to be revealed.  It was just a silhouette a moment ago, but serendipitously pupils dilated and my rods and cones sprang into action, and my visual cortex interpolated the shadow into features and details.  I suppose this is how I would define soul.

I could see the branches and leaves floating in the swirl of  darkness, shrouded in haze, against a clearing in this otherwise featureless veil.  I was having tunnel vision.

I began by recalling the tree branches and the hilltop.  I used dots instead of discrete lines to denote the pixels.  I was trying to make them discreet.

I attempted many layers of different colors, hoping for a well blended body with hints and punctuations of amorphous features.

For my color, I used dabs of gamboge, phthalacyanine blue and ink and I sat them on different edges on my plate.  I did this so that I could freely mix those 3 in any combinations and obtained a continuum of colors.  This is almost like a living color chart, continually evolving and changing depending on my mood.   The technique could be used most effectively on a small scale; to be used extemporaneously.   I wouldn't do it if I needed a large quantity of a given color.

I then began to paint in the veil of darkness. 

I was trying to achieve the effect of extreme vignetting, with most of the 4 corners darkened.  This is where I lost my resiliency.  Perhaps I've spent all my patience building up all the pixels for the hilltop!  I felt the urge to hurry.

I did not take steps to build up my haze.  I miscalculated the wet Xuan.  I over compensated for the eventual saturation of the ink.  I was getting streaks instead of a haze.  These must be the wrinkles in the veil that I failed to see.

After copious dousing with my brush wash, I was able to hide the flaws and render them less obtrusive.

I started out by painting a well defined scene that I recalled but as the process went on I found my focal point changing.  As I became more involved with the painting, my desire to reveal concrete objects became a backstage  to portray a certain feeling.  I was drawn in more and more by that yearning for a bright spot in this desolate landscape.  For all I care it could be ET parting the dark sky and motioning for me to come home.  I felt a strong urge to hide the physicality of the painting and just go for the guts, literally.  I showed my painting to my acquaintances and almost all were trying to find the representational aspects.  Were you painting a sea?  You were painting reflections in water!

I suppose I succeeded in confusing my audience, yet I failed to deliver the basic sentiments. Would it help after make it wear the label " A Glimpse"?

Continuing to act out

Fueled by the recent attempts to romanticize  lotus root harvesters, I re-examined the martial art figure paintings that are pinned on my walls.  I now wanted to create a series of figures.  Not in the vein of the hazy silhouettes of the long-polers, but more like a staged presentation, a group exercise.

Strike the iron while it's hot.

I was trying to avoid the flat line arrangement  by grouping my figures in a semi-circle. Using various clothing combination and shades of  black to break up a otherwise monotonous composition.  I even threw in a female figure in the center for good measure!  She looked almost like a man suffering from gynecomastia, with a horse tail hairdo pinned on.

I don't dislike the painting.  I thought I was able to parlez a sense of movement.  A sense of energy.
Then I realized that my proportions were out of whack.  The figure on the left had too big of a torso, the man next to him looked weird.

My figures didn't carry any hidden symbolism, as the right hand of David purported to. I've seen sketches by fashion designers that really accentuated the waist, the bust, or the limbs.  Was I subconsciously exaggerating particular scales to emphasize certain gestures?   Perhaps.

So I decided to rein in my imagination a little by trying another set of martial art forms.    These new figures were a lot smaller.   By working on a smaller sample, I felt the inevitable urge to be a little more precise, even at the expense of being too logical. 

The arms on the third man from the left was still too long.   But I really liked those long flowing lines.  Such grace.

So what should it be.  How should it be.  Am I allowed certain latitude when painting human forms  or do I have to demonstrate my knowledge in anatomy in order to paint human figures?  In traditional Chinese figure painting, the images were all flat, devoid of any semblance of a three dimensional projection, devoid of any shading.  Does the fact that I am using a Chinese brush on Xuan mean that I have to paint in the traditional style to merit the resulting work? 

Food for thought.

At the end of the day, I am painting for my own amusement.  Yet painting involves exposing myself a little; taking emotional stock,  and I can't do that in a vacuum.  I do react to people's feedback, I'm not immune to that.   I do believe, however, that if a painting moves me, it has to move someone, somewhere.

Push Pole Brigade ( Brushed Line version)

While still digesting the last painting, I decided to do another version, with more emphasis on lines.

For this I used a paper that is normally reserved for calligraphy. I had not used this particular brand before but I was game.  This paper has a slight yellowish tint to it although one can't tell from the picture.

I had intended to go on, but somehow the void on the right stopped me.  I thought it was interesting.  I just wasn't sure where the focal point should be. 

Let me ruminate on that.

I decided to jazz up the dark values such that the audience is drawn deeper into the painting.  I also filled in the background with more shadows; semblance of more figures.  Nothing too drastic, but now I can sense where the punch is coming from.

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.

Putting scraps to good use

I have a nasty habit of not cleaning up my ink dish, and color dish for that matter.  Of course, remnants of Xuan belong to that category of clean up later.

Today I am going to re-purpose my scattered goodies.

Found a little frame that I picked up from a second hand store years ago and decided to do some doodling using my dried up ink and color on a piece of Xuan that rested against my stool.

I wish I had a smaller seal for small works like this one.

Finishing Touches

Now that we are happy with a piece of work and consider it done, we need to make it presentable.

I have prepared most of my works using the Xuan-Boo method that I devised, but allow me to show the more common wet mount method.

The finished painting is placed face down on a smooth surface like glass of acrylic, and starch is brushed on the back with a stiff brush.  The stiff brush helps to push out all the trapped air bubbles and brush out the creases in the Xuan.

On top of this is laid a piece of blank Xuan, which is a little larger around th  edges than the painting we are preparing.  Starch is applied along the edges of this piece of blank Xuan, and the entire piece is lifted to be hung on a new flat surface, like a wall or a door.

The process allows the wet starch to relax the fibres in the Xuan where we painted our work, and the new blank Xuan forms the backing, adding stiffness and provides a white reference background for our work (Xuan is translucent, thus the white background is critical in establishing the white balance, as in photography)  When the blank Xuan get hung ( with the painting attached on the other side), its edges are glued to the wall or door.  As the blank Xuan dries, it tauts the fiber in the paper, tightening up the entire surface of the painting. 

Now my work is free of wrinkles, and stiffened with backing, and looks richer because of the added white balance.  The painting is now "mounted" and is ready for framing.

For this piece of work  I chose a float frame i.e. the back plate is transparent also. I did this to take advantage of the translucent nature of Xuan.  When I place this framed painting against a window or light source, the painting takes on a different ambiance.  It reminds me of the double faced silk embroidery or a lit lantern.

 

 

The poetry on my painting came from a poet in the Ming Dynasty.  The loose translation is as follows:

 

One can't have song and dance with wine

 

Whatever poetry one writes is for nobody

 

Yes your desk is full of documents

 

Yet half of them are rubbish

(Song and dance with wine is the proper protocol in social settings.  If one is in the company of wine and can't amount to song and dance, one is doomed and castigated.  One can't be happy even when the occasion dictates it.   You think you know it all, but the truth says otherwise.  The author is lamenting that his Master has entrusted the wrong people)

Acting out

There came a time when I was just killing time, sitting at my desk.

I wished I had a drum set.  I did have one for a while, as a custodian of a drum set for a beginners orchestra.  Those were happy days.  I am sure my neighbors didn't think so !

So I ended up doodling.  I had taken some picture of this martial artist in a park and I've observed him for a long time.  His energy intrigued me.  Somehow I opened my album at his page.

I grabbed my brush and scratched on my ruled notebook.

 

 

then I got a little bolder and tried something beyond stick figures

 

 

I felt kind of sheepish and giggly, almost like a school kid;  doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing, and all the time being afraid to get caught.

 

I think this freshness motivated me.  This is a game now.

 

 

out comes the sketch pad and charcoal pencil.  I am filling in with more details now.

 

 

 

I really wasn't too concerned about whether the image has the correct proportions or not.   In my mind I could only feel his movements, his energy.  I was trying to picture that.

 

Then I tried my ink and brush on the sketch pad

 

 

 

 

Finally I had the urge to try that on Xuan with ink.

 

 

That was a fun way to spend an afternoon!

Courtyard from another angle

Rather than re-doing the last painting all over again, I decided to keep my interest fresh by painting the same courtyard, but viewed from a different angle.  Instead of framing the enclosure with posts and beams, I will do it with shrubbery this time.

 

 

I began my plot with the usual light ink sketching of the intended characters, and made some of them really obvious so that I would remember what I had intended to paint, in spite of my senility.

 

 

 

Again I picked out some points of interest and elaborated on them first.  I don't know if these were the most interesting or the easiest to paint, but I painted them a darker tone, to establish my black values I suppose.

 

 

I used different techniques to show layers and perspective.  The front and back branches of this little tree in the courtyard is differentiated by the obvious contrast in ink tone and gesture.  The front branch "a" is not only darker, but is a dryer brushstroke; thus harsher and conveys more texture.  The back branch "b" is lighter and unremarkable.  This tree is set up against a tree "c" from outside the courtyard.  That tree is represented by scattered fat dots and negative space branches.

 

The little tree is set in front of the breezeway.  That gesture is emphasized by the break in painting the lattice work ( circled in red).  That little void or gap helps to establish the spatial relationship of the two objects.  Paying attention to the perspective of the different focal points in a painting should be an organic process; pleasing to look at, and comes naturally.   One feels the presence of the breeze without having to wonder why or where it comes from.

 

 

 

 

Layers of light ink wash was applied judiciously to highlight the different structures.  Typical Chinese brush works do not cater to manipulating light values.  My personal belief is "why not".

It helps to bring into focus and add interest to the work.

 

There are a couple of "oops" that are apparent.  The first one being the "gou" lines were worked over too much, to the point that they obscured brushstrokes.  The lines on the stone in the courtyard illustrated my point.  The lines were smut and too dark.  It was like smudging lip stick way past the contours of the lips, hoping to change their shapes.

 

The other oops was the tree branches at the upper right hand corner seemed to be too detached.  There was no relationship between the branches and the rest of the painting.  I remedied that by painting in layers of leaves, some of which even covered the top of the breezeway.  I think this alteration made the painting more cohesive.

 

 

 

 

 

Appraising my courtyard

I've been looking at my last etude, my interpretation of a formal courtyard; casting those intense scrutinizing stares, amidst the occasional casual glances.   I found something.

I believe the vertical post on the right is too domineering.  It suffocates the painting. I should do the painting all over again, paying attention to what I deemed was wrong.  But I just can't motivate myself to do that.  I lack that discipline.  Rather than investing my energy in re-painting this piece of work, I thought I would cheat and do a digital correction and see if my assessment is correct.

before

 

so I photoshopped the lower portion of the post away and I really think that did the trick.  It helped to open up the painting.  It can breathe now.  I'll pursue my correction when I am in the mood again.

 

after