Rice Fields

Bought some new paper lately, Korean Hemp Paper and I've been itching to try this out.

The paper is very unlike the Xuan paper in that it behaves almost like sized paper. Has a waxy feel to it and does not absorb water readily. I found that out when I splash some brush washing water on the paper ( my bad habit) and I was able to blot it up.

I wanted to paint the rice fields in China, flooded with water and surrounded by columnous hills that are quite characteristic of the southwestern part of China and Vietnam. I also had photos as references for this endeavour.


The composition is not your typical Chinese painting with the scattered focal points. My painting here has a vanishing point, definitely speaks of the western genre. I wanted to have a play of light values, by showing the reflections of the distant hills in the flooded rice fields, such that the massive fields behaves almost like water surface. I wanted the geometric array of roofs of the village commune to be contrasting with the strange looking hills in the background.

I painted the distant hills with wet wash, and when they are almost dry, I went over the contour with darker ink. The ink diffuses out and gives one the effect of vegetation. If I was to add silhouettes of trees etc on the hills, they would look too deliberate, and takes away the Xieyi feel of the painting. The fatal mistake I made in this painting is that I was " filling in " the roofs with concentrated ink, almost like painting by the numbers. Whereas this looks neat an tidy, but is totally devoid of any artistic feel to it. This is what happens when we use a 2 dimensional photograph as reference. Somehow we still need to portray a 3 dimensional look. I've often talk to other beginners about the shortcomings of looking too closely at a photograph, and this is a good example of what NOT TO DO. We need to be able to digest the image and translate into our own interpretation.

Two Ancient Pieces

I took one of my finished works to Hong Kong for mounting. Our local craftsman here lack the skill in silk mounting. Just got this back in the mail and I was so excited that I had to post this right away. Showed a head shot to reveal the size of this painting.



This piece of work is suppose to emulate the old classic style of Chinese Brush painting. The emphasis is with the lines, with scant use of color. My theory is that in the old days, illumination


is not great in a typical Chinese dwelling, even during daytime. So color scheme is simple and sparingly used. Artists showed their craft by displaying superb line qualities. Moist vs. dry, side tip, straight tip, fleeting strokes and hesitations are all used in a harmonious way to illustrate the aesthetic qualities of the painting. The "chuen" ( rubbing technique) is typically the "hemp" style, i.e. ala hemp fibres.

The land masses on the left has totally different characteristics from the right. The left is of multi-lobed hills, so the " hemp chuen" is used to define the quality of the slopes, the convolutions of the hills. The "hemp chuen" gives a rounded, definitely not jagged feel to the land features. The right hand side speaks of drama. Bold, protruding granites form the main features. Here the "chuen" is more of the "axe" type. Bold, discrete side-tips with lifts to give the harsh texture. Of course shading adds to the strong 3-D feel of features to the entire land mass.



The left and right is joined by a transitional spit, via a bridge. The willows on the spit bends to the right, answering to the left bending willows on the right side of the painting. Water space is left blank, with a very faint hint of the same brown color of the hills (integrating the overall color scheme of the painting)



This painting failed in the sense that the color was too heavy and too bright. I would have preferred a more subdued hue, especially that awful green with the willows. The mountain streams should be left with just a hint of color. The plateau on the left, behind the ridges is showing the wrong perspective..... showing too much of the top. The shore line on the right scurries upwards instead of staying at horizontal...... I must be tired.



Well, these are areas that I need to correct, if I have to redo this painting. I actually have sized another length of paper and I wanted to paint this again on sized paper, to see if the sized paper would give the painting a less saturated look, therefore coming closer to the "antique" feel of the painting.

ONE PERSON ONE STROKE PROJECT

On April 18th, I shall entice a bunch of Chinese Brush Painting enthusiasts to embark on a group project. I shall name this project One Person One Stroke. These people love the art of Chinese Brush Painting, but feel shy about painting anything of substance. I suggested this concept of a group painting. We shall each take our turn to lay down a few strokes, thus none of us would have to bear the entire cross. I wanted us to copy some one's work to begin with., working with a template, if you wish. I wanted our group to understand what the painting is about and why are certain things done the way they were. For without comprehending the meaning of the painting, then our copying would be in vain; we would not learn anything from our people's work.

This piece of work is loosely translated as Night Anchor by the Maple Bridge. The Maple and the bridge is self evident. The maple is done with the "dotting" technique and is ideal for a group of 12 to 15 people, for each of us would have ample opportunity for "dotting". The dotting involves different ink tones, and different color hues, would be interesting to see how it progresses.

The bridge seemed simple, yet is difficult to master. First of all, the aesthetic proportions of the structure is difficult to achieve. If one magnifies the image, one would see that the lines are not solid, continuous lines. They are undulating, broken lines. Solid, continuous lines lack character, and look stagnant, as if they are formed by moulding. Chinese Brush Painting is all about the quality of the lines, so this is something we need to address.

Where does the " night " scene come from?? From the reflection of the moon in the water. By painting the moon as a reflection in the water, the artist makes the audience think, therebyentertains the notion that this night scene is more poetic. It can also be said that if the moon was in the sky, then the upper portion of the painting might be darker, and creates a sense of heavy on the top, not a virtue of a good painting.

Anchor is evidenced by the 2 boats that are tied up by the bridge, only half exposed.... adding to the security that these boat owners must have sought. Anchor can also be evidenced euphemistically by the birds that are resting at the tree branches on the right.

The maple trees are not all solid with dotted leaves, but spaces between branches are quite evident. This is what is known as "breathing" in Chinese Brush Painting.

The reflection of the bridge in the water is handled in a very low key fashion... barely a hint. It just adds to the dreaminess of the work, and harks a nocturnal theme.

I am really looking forward to the finished product, painted by a group of students, many of us are novices. I shall post the finished painting when we have it.

ABOVE THE CLOUDS

I've decided to try the Portland Open Studios again this year and try my luck again. Above The Clouds is one of the entries I submitted for jury. The subject matter and technique is quite traditional Chinese Xueyi Landscape, using the wet wash method for clouds. One thing to note is the choice of color in this painting. I've conveyed a fossil-ed feel to the rock columns to show the hardness of the masses. This is done to offset the relative lack of "chuen" (meaning rubbing, usually to impart texture) on some surfaces. I've used a little titanium with the opaque greens to make the trees really stand out, to contrast with the hard landscape. I've also positioned the gazebo on the lower peak on purpose. The upper peak had steps along the flank of the hill, but leads to no obvious structure, unlike the hill on the bottom, where the serpentine trail leads to the gazebo. Perhaps the vista on the top hill is obscured ????

How "Splash" was created

As discussed in the last posting, I am experimenting with my techniques/methods. I am trying to describe water sprays/splashes when it hits a rock, a boulder. I am trying not to attenuate the energy of that flow. So I employed my own SECRET ANCIENT CHINESE recipe of a masking fluid and delivered it onto the paper in a controlled and deliberate fashion. Now I can fill in the background, first with light tones to define the splash, then gradually building up the peripheral barriers to the water. This was a challenging and yet fun project, it all started when a classmate of mine and I were small talking about masking fluids, and whether Chinese Brush Paintings utilize it or not.

SPLASH

The Beaverton Arts Commission had an open call for artists to submit their works for an exhibition at the Beaverton Library. I had submitted 4 pieces and this is the only one accepted.



This was indeed a new experience for me. I was experimenting with the style and technique of my art work.



The style is kind of abstract.... it is Xueye ( paint with feeling, thought) for sure and the technique is to paint around the voids. I was experimenting with my own concoction of a masking solution. I settled with alum and milk. The painting was created with controlled flicks of the masking solution on Xuan paper. I then painted around the splashing, forming my water and rock and boulder. Title of the piece is called "SPLASH" and I am quite happy with the impression of movement, and a palpable sense of energy. I am especially gratified that I could still paint the rock and boulders using traditional Chinese technique. I feel that I have amalgamated pretty nicely the East with the West.

The Conception of "Moon Lit Stream"

This is how " Moon Lit Creek" was conceived. I am posting this to show how the creative process works sometimes.

The painting on the top was the teacher's rendition of the subject matter. As an art student, we are taught to examine and reason and I think the most import element, to seek emotional impact.

I did not like the treatment of the trees, where each sat on a "bun" of earth. I did not like the confluence of one stream into another, it seemed rather odd. And the sketch did not speak to me at all.

So I started to rearrange the furniture. I wanted to create contrast with subject matters, dead tree versus bright foliage. I wanted to illuminate the subject matter, both physically and emotionally. I was able to connect the tight shot of water flowing over rocks, to the distant origin from the water fall. All the while without showing the entire length of the stream. This adheres to the Asian philosophy of not revealing everything, so that the observer's mind can connect the dots. I borrowed the technique of creating depth through scale, I paid attention to light values, I tried to think of whether the color is warm or cold, and how the overall tone will affect what the painting is trying to say. Yet all the while I am employing traditional Chinese brush methods to lay my lines and texture rubbings. My personal belief is that we cannot live in the rigid world of the past. Learn we must, to employ modern understandings, along with classic techniques, to paint what is relevant today.