Vine Maple Trail amended

I felt something is amiss after look at the finished painting for a few days.  I found it to be a little bland.  Lacking oomph!  My eyes were wandering all over the image, finding no place to indulge.

I decided to ham it up a little. I wanted to accentuate the shadows on the trail.  I needed to restore the difference between light and dark.  I know light values assume a somewhat different presentation in Chinese brush, but I don't profess that this is a traditional Chinese brush either, :p

Trying to lay down water based color on top of a surface finished with gel medium is next to impossible.  The color just sits on top, beading up, as if water on glass.  So I took some gesso and mixed in the color I wanted and made my own color paste.  This worked exceedingly well.  Good enough to show brush marks!

Beaverton Creek Vine Maple Trail ,continued

Not knowing exactly how the bottom layer will come out after it has been superimposed, I decided to err on the cautious side and painted in most of the scenery, except for the obvious foreground.  I also did this bottom layer with a more exaggerated tone.  My theory was that this way the bottom layer would reveal itself better.

Then I decided to add a little interest to the work by painting in something dear, a Deer (bad pun).

 

 

Now it is time to do the top layer.  I put my translucent Xuan on top of the bottom painting, and begin adding in foreground information.

It didn't  take me long to discover a new problem.  What I was viewing through the top layer is not what it would look after the 2 pieces are glued together.  Gluing the two would have eliminated the air gap between them and illustrate the bottom layer much better.  In the mean time, I could only guess.

So I stopped and wet down the top Xuan, just to get a more educated view of the bottom.

 

I hoped to integrate the top layer better with the bottom layer.  I was hoping for a gradual transition from foreground to background.

Wanting to make sure that my deer is not so hidden, I re-painted it on the top layer for insurance.

 

This was how it looked when the 2 layers were mounted together.  While still wet, thus the color was more vibrant, and the paper seemed more transparent.

 

 

 

 

Then I found out what it is like when the 2 layers were misaligned by just a millimeter.  The eyes on the deer have migrated to the top of the head, instead of being lined up with the bottom edge of the ears!

Frantic reworking on the top layer solved that problem.

The painting lost some of its lustre after it was dried.

 

 

An application of gel medium brings back some of that color depth.

I was not too unhappy with the end result.  I wish I could have done a much better job on these trees.  Those are awful awful brushstrokes.  I forgot about "writing" them in and I am not proud of them.

I also realized that no matter how saturated the background colors were, they just don't show through enough to make a difference.  So for background information, it is better to be either succinct dark lines or large patches of color without intricate details.  I also discovered the color on the top Xuan really obscures whatever is on the bottom layer.  In order for the bottom layer to show through, I'll just have to have faith and do not embellish the top layer over the same spots.

Beaverton Creek, Vine Maple Trail

Vine Maple Trail is the main path that leads to Beaverton Creek from the parking lot.   It is a paved blacktop that enjoys filtered sunlight and cooler temperature in the summer and non soggy, non slippery surface in the rainy season.  It is my playground, my gym, my treadmill.

There is this bend in the road where boughs from opposite sides of the road embrace each other to form a series of archways.  With the morning fog and the low angle of light, it is simply ethereal.

I recently got a hold of some really thin and translucent Xuan.  The kid in me urges me to experiment with it.  I wanted to see if I could reassemble this image of depth and light and shadows by using this Xuan as a layer, as in photo editing .

So on this "background" layer, which is a fiber board with glued on canvas, I started to write down what I considered background information; footprint of the trail, trees in a distance.

There was a large fir tree flanking the right side of the trail.  At first I was ambiguous as whether to treat it as background or top layer.  But then I thought what the heck, I laid it down anyways.  If I wasn't happy with it sitting in the background, I could paint it again on the top layer.  Perhaps the 2 layers combined would give it more depth? 

Just to be sure, I found a partially painted piece of this special Xuan and laid the vacant portion over the fir tree.  It did not show through at all, to my horror!  Then I wet down the Xuan to make it more translucent.  Now the bottom image is coming through! 

So this little test validated my concept of top and bottom layers and now I can forge ahead.  My next concern is whether the bottom layer will come through like the way I envisioned it to be.  After all this is not not Photoshop where I can adjust the degree of opacity of the different layers.

Beaverton Creek Napolean

I can fondly remember the Napoleon ice cream in my days as a kid growing up in Hong Kong.  Strawberry, vanilla and chocolate flavors in pink, white and brown stripes.  The challenge was how to savor the treat for the longest duration before it melted away in the non-air-conditioned room.

I did the 3 styles of Beaverton Creek ( Beaverton Creek, Beaverton Creek Yellow, Beaverton Creek Classical ) to hopefully answer my own question; What is Chinese Brush painting.

I know I had discussed this topic in my last few blogs, I thought I would use these 3 pieces to illustrate my assertion.  The givens were, all three were done using Chinese brush and pigments on Xuan.

The most impressionistic of the 3 belongs to this one done in green.  The painting exudes a strong "feeling" that is abstract and yet tactile at the same time.  One can almost paddle the kayak through the water and be mesmerized.  Aside from the split hair and splash ink technique, it does not look very Chinese.  I'll submit this work looks more western than Chinese, despite Chinese brushes being employed.

There is definitely a lot more traditional Bi-Fa in the Beaverton Creek Yellow although the composition is not very Chinese.   It should be evident that the artist had  training in Chinese Brush landscape and uses "chuen" and contour lines to describe shape and topography.  Some of the lines depicting stalks and trunks showed center tip calligraphic characteristics.  So can we consider this one under Chinese Brush painting, even when its composition is identical to the top one?  Must a Chinese Brush painting look traditional?  When is this a "watercolor" as some might call it and not a Chinese Brush painting?

I am sure not a lot of people would have problem classifying this as a Chinese Brush painting.  So what is different about this one?

Granted the bridge was absent from the other two, but that does not make this more Chinese than the others.

We can't get very far from this discussion without addressing Bi-Fa again.  I still think this is the quintessential element in defining Chinese Brush painting.  One must show not only the presence, but the craftsmanship of the brushstrokes.  The traditional brush rendition of shrubs and shores helped to cement this in the Chinese Brush painting category.

We mentioned the Three Perspective concept in traditional Chinese Brush landscape paintings.  This work here employed all three.  The void space at the bottom of the woods in the distance added to the Level perspective.  The meandering shorelines and all the little details along the banks defined the Depth perspective.  Along with height described by the few stands of fir, one gets the birds eye view of Beaverton Creek; thus gently gliding over it, enjoying the little tidbits of information that each section gives off.

The composition falls within a classical doctrine..  a literal translation would be One River Two Shores.  The painting is dissected  somewhat diagonally by the creek, with contrast on both banks. Left bank is more densely vegetated, thus the Yang, The right side would be the Ying.   However the Ying side actually created conflict by harboring the attention grabbing pink trees. Leaves are present only on some of the trees, again creating contrast.   Complementing contrast is harmony;  opposite banks are linked not only by the bridge, but by tree trunks leaning towards each other, by the pink answering the blue, by sharing the ducks.

Although the painting employs many color, the overall feel is not "Su", or ostentatious.

I would not be so crass as to claim that I have thought of all these attributes before I laid my first brushstroke on this painting;  a lot of these points are anecdotal.  The fact remains that much thought has gone into these 3 paintings to raise a point, What Is Chinese Brush Painting.

Miss You, Bill

 

 

What is Chinese Brush Painting, not living in the past

Does Chinese Brush Painting have to mean Guo Hua?  I submit to you that time has changed and when we speak of Chinese Hua (painting) we are no longer limiting ourselves to the narrow definition of National Painting (Guo Hua).  This is especially true these days, with the influx of western influences, a lot of the strict rote doctrines have evolved into new windows of changes.  One thing that has not changed appreciably is the fundamentals of using the Chinese brush and the essence of Chinese calligraphy, hence Bi-fa or Gi Bun Gong.

It is not possible to think of Chinese brush painting and not talk about Qi Baishi (1864-1957).  Aside from being a personal favorite of mine, his style is so painfully honest and his brushstrokes so painfully plain.  As far as I am concerned, he "writes" all his paintings, and epitomized the Guo Hua art form.

Then there is the famous Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) who is famous for his landscape paintings.  In the following example, he was still employing the 3 perspectives concept and his small trees were still done in the styles shown in Mustard Seed Garden, despite his bold splashing of color.(click on the painting for enlarged view)

 

When  we talk about contemporary Chinese painter, Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) comes to the forefront.  He is sometimes considered the father of contemporary Chinese painting.

 strong portrayal of brush strokes

                                                                                          (tree stump and chicks)

                   Banyan Tree             

 

 



Yang Ming-Yi is known for his Ink and Wash paintings.  Born and educated in China, he actually went to the US to further his studies and have exhibited all over the world.

 

 

  









There is a new evolving style in Chinese Brush painting, the Ling-nan style ( some would call it the Cantonese style ).  This style is characterized by vivid color;  colored backgrounds and exaggerated, boisterous brushstrokes.  From a glance it almost looks like a western watercolor painting but the brushstroke says otherwise.  The pioneer in this style was said to be Gao Jianfu ( 1879-1951).  Some of the more notable artists in this camp are Gao Qifung, Chen Shuren and Chao Shao-An for those of you who are interested in further research.

 

 

 

When we take a look at the following painting by Chan Yuk-lin,  does it remind us of  Chinese brush painting?  The composition and the color suggest that it might not be.

 

 

But then look at the textbook page from the Mustard Seed Garden on how to paint mixed foliage in the woods, coupled with the obvious Chinese Brushstrokes, what do you say now?  It showed the artist's superb ability to turn an etude into a piece that carries its own weight.

 

 

 

I'll conclude this series of  What is Chinese Brush Painting  by showing a couple of paintings by Wong Lui-sang.  The color and composition does not remind one of a traditional Guo Hua, but the brushstrokes employed, the trees, and the "chuen" lines ( brushstrokes used for denoting topography, see my "Mountain Lobes" blog on 2/29/13)  on mountains definitely affirm that this is a Chinese Brush painting.

 

 

 

I am writing this series to reiterate my feelings about the art of Chinese Brush, as I did in a previous blog " Beyond Exposure, Understanding".  I don't claim to be an authority in this subject matter.  The opinions here are what I perceive to be correct for myself.  I do not own any copyrights of the images used here and it is not my intention to pilfer them.  They are here for the purpose of illustrating my point.  Please also note that Chinese put our Last name first.  Thus Qi Baishi is Mr. Qi, he might appear as Baishi Qi in some literature.  I am hoping this would help with the appreciation and connoisseurship of Chinese Brush painting without being superficial or patronizing.

 

 

 

 



What is Chinese Brush Painting, learning by rote

Traditional Chinese Brush painting ( Guo Hua)  can be divided into two main styles; Gongbi ( Gong means craft, Bi means writing instrument ), a meticulous and formal brush style and Xieye (Xie means to write, Yi means sentiment, expression), which literally means writing with expression and spontaneity. Within these styles, there are divisions into different genres such as Floral and Birds, Personalities and Landscape.  Landscape paintings are deemed the most difficult.

Guo Hua is typically learnt by rote.  Practice, memorize and practice some more.  Copying is one of the methods employed in the rote system.  Students copy their teachers and other masters.  Anybody who is serious about studying Guo Hua has labored with the Mustard Seed Garden, copying and studying different techniques and styles, honing their Gi Bun Gong.  It is perhaps due to this forced feeding that a lot of the Chinese paintings look similar to each other, especially with regards to subject matter and composition.

Mustard Seed Garden on tree arrangement

Mustard Seed Garden on mixed foliage    

 

Mustard Seed Garden on mountains        

 

Mustard Seed Garden on painting falls   

 

Mustard Seed Garden on painting incidentals

 

 

 

More contemporary examples of "how to" text material:

how to paint peony and koi

 finished painting of peony and koi

 how to paint fish                

Unfortunately we have so-called teachers these days using these as their templates for teaching Chinese Brush painting.  The "come-on" is to lure people to paint a fish with a scant few strokes and thus fulfilling the minimalistic presentation of "Asian art".  What they don't realize is this is just a gimmick and not a lesson.  The emphasis should be on the Bi-Fa..... how to start and finish and what parts of the brush does one need to pay attention to.  The result is a painting with all the lines in the right places, but shows no distinctive characteristics of a controlled brushstroke at all ( remember the calligraphy Te?).  This is fine as a means  to spark a person's desire to learn Chinese brush painting, but not an end. Being able to play "Chopsticks" on the keyboard does not make one a piano player, anymore than the person teaching it a piano teacher.

Qi Baishi (1864 - 1957) is a world renowned Chinese Brush artist.  He was born a peasant, became a carpenter, then taught himself how to paint.  He also worked on a few fish paintings.  In one, he actually wrote the following on the painting,

It is difficult to paint meticulously and be lively at the same time.  The difficulty lies in using  just a few strokes to capture the shape and attitude of the subject matter.  This fish exemplifies the masterful employment of ink tone, the superb brushstrokes, motion and energy.

How is this fish compared with the fish in the "how to" book?


to be continued